⏰ Service 13 — A Full Italian Pasta Dinner
← Block 13–14: Pasta & Grains from Scratch Overview
The challenge: Three pasta shapes, three sauces, made in one evening. This is how an Italian family the rest day lunch actually works — generous, abundant, and a showcase of everything pasta can do.
Full Meal (serves 4–6):
- Antipasto: Serious Eats — Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil — toasted bread, ripe tomatoes, garlic, good olive oil
- Pasta 1: Serious Eats — Classic Cacio e Pepe — a small portion per person as a first pasta
- Pasta 2: Your fresh tagliatelle from earlier in the block dough (make it ahead) with Serious Eats — Slow-Cooked Bolognese (make the sauce the morning of the project session — it needs 3 hours)
- Salad: Serious Eats — Tricolore Salad — arugula, radicchio, and endive with lemon and olive oil dressing
Skill targets: Bolognese seasoned in layers throughout a 3-hour cook. Fresh pasta cut to even width. Cacio e Pepe silky and sauce-y, not dry and clumpy.
🎥 Compare Notes: How to Make Ragù Bolognese (Northern Italian Meat Sauce) — Watch the sequence of liquid additions — milk first, then wine, then stock — and why the order matters for the final texture.