Eat Well, Live Happy: Pasta Tools

During the summer of 2024 I decided I wanted to start making homemade pasta more often. I also wanted to invest in some high quality pasta tools that are made in Italy. I started following various Instagram accounts of people who make all sorts of amazing pasta shapes. Of course, Pasta Grannies are my favorite to watch, but I enjoy watching younger chefs as well. I never buy cookbooks anymore but I came across one that I knew would be helpful and purchased it - Pasta Every Day by Meryl Feinstein. A quick look at her Instagram page will tell you why I bought her book - the photographs alone are stunning.

In mid-June I purchased a Divina Cavatelli Pasta Maker, which makes quick work of something that could otherwise be done by hand. This is a fun little pasta machine that suctions to your countertop or table and is perfect if you have a young helper - kids have a lot of fun doing the work of turning the crank!

Divina Cavatelli Pasta Maker

At the same time, I ordered a Marcato Otello pasta machine that can only be used to roll out pasta/lasagna sheets, cut fettuccine and cut tagliolini. You cannot use a motor or any attachments with it. I love the simplicity and old style of this machine. Although I was initially looking for a quieter motorized pasta machine (quieter than my KitchenAid), I much prefer to hand crank my pasta sheets rather than use my KitchenAid roller attachment. The distinct sound from the machine cranking away instantly brings me back to being in my Grandma Filomena's basement when I was younger while she was making pasta. It is one of my favorite soothing sounds in the world (besides the ocean!) and is much preferred over the loud noise from a motor.

Marcato Otello Pasta Machine

I had a 28" wide x 22" deep dough board that I bought a few years ago. This was a great board but after using it many times, there were a few things about it that I really disliked - the board stuck out from the countertop because of where the lip is placed, which also decreased the usable surface area on top (the board is reversible so the lip is on both sides of it). I also could not open my kitchen drawers that are underneath my 1" thick countertops when using this board because the 1.5" lip blocked the drawer from opening, so I could not keep the board out all the time if I wanted to. I used it and put it away so it was not sticking out or blocking anything else in the kitchen. I also wanted something a bit wider and deeper that would go all the way back to the backsplash, with a lip that was the correct size to sit flush with the countertop edge and not stick out and also not block my drawers from opening. After looking around at various custom made boards, I found one that was exactly what I was looking for on Southridge Woodworks' Etsy page and website. I reached out with the size I had in mind (32" wide x 24" deep) and ordered a custom reversible maple board from him. This was a bit of an investment, including a high shipping cost because of the size and weight, but I knew I'd love it and that it would suit my needs much better than my first board, which I passed on to one of my sisters who recently asked me where I got it from.

My old dough board

My new dough board

For smaller tasks, such as making gnocchi, this 14" x 24" Maple Serving Board works very well. I put a slightly damp kitchen towel under it to keep it from moving. I also use this when I make biscuits, pie dough, sugar cookies, french bread, etc. I store it in a cabinet and if the large, heavy dough board is not needed, I reach for this one. However, this board is not useful when kneading pasta dough (it moves too much for kneading) or making spaghetti (it's too small).

Maple Serving Board

Making gnocchi on the maple serving board

As I watched more and more videos, I noticed how many people hand cut their pasta. This eliminates the need for expensive pasta cutter attachments. I researched pasta knives and did not find much, so I'm not sure what most people use. I ended up buying a Berti Pasta Knife from ThatsArte.com when they had a Black Friday sale. This knife is made in Italy and is quite beautiful. As its name implies, it will only be used for cutting pasta. The first pasta I cut with it was Pappardelle, which I served with bolognese, and it was delicious! I wasn't sure if my boys would like it because it's a little more difficult to pick up with a fork since it's so wide, but they said it was the best homemade pasta I've ever made! I also used this knife to cut ricotta gnocchi, which I served with butternut squash sauce, and it was even more delicious!

Berti Pasta Knife

Hand-cut Pappardelle

Hand-cut Ricotta Gnocchi

After using my pasta knife a few times, I realized that I was limited in how much pasta I could cut at a time, depending on how wide my pasta sheets came out. I've never been good with rolling pins, so I am not ready to use a mattarello and roll out my own thin pasta sheets (I don't think I'll ever be that skilled). Instead, I purchased a Marcato Atlas 180 machine with only the roller - no attachments (the only attachments available for the Atlas 180 are fettuccine and tagliolini, which I already have on the Otello and if I want to make either of those I would use the Otello since it is much nicer), simply because I want to use the Atlas 180 when I will be making pasta that I will hand cut, fill (ravioli), or when making lasagna sheets. This machine can produce 180mm wide sheets of pasta versus the standard 150mm from most machines. I had a hard time finding this without the cutter attachments but I bought it from Bed Bath & Beyond for $65 which seemed like a good deal considering the price of the alternative small commercial pasta machines that can produce even wider 210mm sheets - the cheapest of which was $659 for the manual version and $1,789 for the electric version! Those are quite large and heavy and more suited for culinary school, restaurant use or daily home use. Since this is something I only do once or twice a month for my own small family of 4, I'm quite happy with my economical choice. This is something I definitely could have done without since I already have other machines that can roll out pasta sheets, but for the minimal price, I think it's worth it to be able to produce wider pasta sheets, and if I ever decide I want to use a motor with it, I can purchase one. The benefit of the motor is you can produce pasta faster, use both hands to feed the dough through and catch it on the other side, and with the motor attached to the pasta machine, the machine does not need to be clamped to a table or countertop. Not having to clamp it down would be my biggest reason for wanting a motor. The downside is having to listen to the sound of the motor!

Marcato Atlas 180 Pasta Machine (roller only)

Now that I had a wider pasta sheeter, I needed a few tools to make more shapes by hand and filled shapes. I purchased a set of brass pasta wheels and a brass round ravioli stamp. These brass tools are made in Italy and they're expensive but they cut dough really well and keep the filled pasta closed much better than a ravioli mold does - I received this mold as a bridal shower gift almost 10 years ago and I've never used it. A note about brass tools - you're not supposed to use dish soap on them, or even wet them. I'll simply wipe or brush off the flour when I'm done using them, just like how I clean my pasta machines (don't ever wash those either!).

Pasta Wheels

Round Ravioli Stamp

I had my eye on this olive wood gnocchi board for months, but it was out of stock for a while, so instead I ordered a gnocchi board with a garganelli rolling pin from a woodworker in Canada. I wanted a small rolling pin, but the only one he sells comes in a set with other items I do not need, so instead I bought a dumpling pin to use with pasta dough when a large rolling pin is not needed. To assist in the gnocchi making process, I bought a potato ricer, which I've read also helps make the creamiest mashed potatoes.

Walnut Gnocchi Board & Garganelli Rolling Pin

Maple Dumpling Pin

Potato Ricer

To keep my new small pasta tools together and in good shape (and not in a drawer knocking up against all other kinds of kitchen tools), I bought this beautiful pasta tool case made by a lady in Canada. I asked if she could use a custom fabric for mine, as I love fabrics that look like the colorful ceramic tiles found in Italy. She let me know which website she orders her fabric from so I could pick one out. After looking at tons of options and narrowing them down, I decided on a pretty majolica tile print with my favorite colors (turquoise and blue) that reminds me of my trip to the Amalfi coast - an easy choice! She happened to show a picture of my case on her Instagram stories so I got a sneak peak of it before it arrived! It was even prettier in person and fits my tools nicely.

Photo from Amore e Limoni's website

Fabric I chose for my pasta tool case

My custom made case!

My case and pasta tools

The last item I wanted was a pretty Deruta pasta serving bowl. I have a few inexpensive bowls that are pretty plain but I wanted something special that was made in Italy. I found two with aqua/teal colors in them that I loved and waited over 6 months until they went on sale before I bought them for myself. One is Deruta Colori Aqua/Teal and the other is Deruta Ricco Mediterraneo. I also really love this Vecchia Deruta bowl, but it is similar in style to other small pieces of Italian ceramics I have, while the two that I bought are very different and unique.

This is a great start on some high quality pasta tools that I've been slowly collecting over the past year and a half. I try to avoid paying full price for anything if I can, and luckily I found good discounts on almost all of these items, with the exception of the two handmade items from Canada and the custom dough board. Depending on how often I use them and how much I like them, I may eventually add a few more small tools when I can snag a good deal on them, but for now I'm set with everything I've been looking at buying. Now I just need to find the time to use them!

Of course, you can make pasta with nothing but a rolling pin and your hands (or, depending on the type - just your hands!), but I consider these tools a worthwhile investment. I also love supporting small businesses, especially handmade items and items made in Italy. Since they are all made very well and I always take good care of my kitchen items, I'll be able to pass them down to my sons one day. The biggest benefit of my new hobby (aside from it being therapeutic for me) is I'll be feeding my family healthy, delicious homemade meals and instilling in my sons a love of homemade pasta, just like my grandma and mom did for me.