21
Ironically, Saturday Night Pasta has turned into a social aair,
with friends wanting to share in the pleasure of making pasta by
hand. I won’t deny that the act of cooking and eating connects
people, so gathering friends around a table makes a rather
lovely night in – although I recommend no more than three to
ease the amount of dough making and avoid distraction with too
much wine. I’ve had many memorable nights around my pasta
bench, cooking, laughing and eating with friends. To watch
people beam with pride while making their own pasta is like
theendorphin release some say you get from exercise.
Then there’s the satisfaction of cooking for friends. I enjoy
nothing more than preparing for a dinner party, with pasta being
the pièce de résistance. Sure, the alone time in the kitchen, just
pottering and preparing the meal, is the therapy, but it feels
good to delight friends with the homemade pasta you’ve spent
the day making. Everybody loves pasta and I promise that even
the simplest of sauces can result in the loudest admiration.
It’s been reassuring to see others catch the Saturday Night
Pasta bug, and feeling the same satisfaction and self-worth
that it brought me. Connecting and sharing stories with people
via Instagram is one of the really positive things that can come
out of social media – and funny that food still has the power
to connect, even though it’s not sitting there in front of you.
It lls me with an enormous sense of pride and fuzzy feelings
when I see people indulging in a Saturday Night Pasta ritual
and spreading that joy around the world. I really want to say it’s
more than just a night in because it feels bigger than that. So,
I’m going to be bold and condent for once in my life and claim
that it has, unintentionally might I add, become a movement.
Of course, you can’t make pasta every night in the way some
yogis practise every day. That would be unrealistic. But I do
take great comfort in knowing that even on a Monday I’m only
ve days away from my ritual. Besides, that’s why they invented
dried pasta.