This Italian pasta street is run by nonnas. They were also at the Ambani wedding
If there's one thing (among many others) that Indians associate Italy with, it has to be its pasta, pizza, panuozzo and, of course, gelato. You
If there's one thing (among many others) that Indians associate Italy with, it has to be its pasta, pizza, panuozzo and, of course, gelato. You will find even the smallest eateries in India dishing out pizza and pasta to customers. Yes, they may often be desi versions of these videshi favourites, but we love the cuisine nevertheless. And given that many of us now travel to explore food as much as destinations, you simply cannot miss this amazing street in Italy's Bari. Every morning, nonnas roll out fresh pasta just outside their homes for visitors and customers to watch. And guess what? They were also at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar. (L) Tourists buy orecchiette from a pasta maker's stalls in Bari. (Photo: Getty Images) More about the pasta street Read Full Story The street is officially called Strada Arco Basso, though most tourists know it as Strada delle Orecchiette (Street of Orecchiette) or simply "Pasta Street." Almost every morning, elderly local women, popularly called nonnas (grandmothers), set up wooden tables outside their homes and hand-make fresh orecchiette pasta in full public view.
Visitors walk through the narrow alleyways watching them roll dough, cut it into small pieces and shape each one with a swift thumb movement. The pasta is then laid out on trays or wooden boards to dry in the open air. Close-up of woman preparing homemade pasta, Bari, Puglia, Italy. (Photo: Getty Images) If you want to try your hand at pasta-making, you can do that too. The nonnas will sit down with you, chat and even teach you how to shape the perfect pasta, which you can later buy and cook with a sauce of your choice. At a time when pasta is readily available in stores in countless varieties and is largely factory-produced, these women continue to preserve the traditional art of pasta-making. This isn't a staged demonstration created for tourists. They are simply carrying forward a domestic tradition passed down through generations while selling small quantities of homemade pasta to supplement their household income. Tourism arrived later. Colourful fresh pasta orecchiette for sale, Bari, Apulia, Southern Italy, Italy. (Photo: Getty Images) What is orecchiette? Remember we talked about orecchiette pasta? If you're wondering what it is, orecchiette means "little ears" in Italian because the pasta resembles tiny ears.
It is one of the defining foods of the Puglia region. Traditional orecchiette from Bari is usually made with durum wheat semolina and water. Unlike many northern Italian pastas, eggs are generally not used in the dough. In the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, local ladies first roll small cylinders of dough by hand and then, using a knife, create orecchiette with an ancient gesture keeping alive a centuries-old culinary tradition passed down through generations in Bari. (Photo: Getty Images) What it feels like to be on Pasta Street Remember how our dadis and nanis would sit together with other family members, making seasonal goodies such as pickles and papad on the terrace? Along with the work came conversations, stories and gossip. The nonnas of Bari do something similar. They sit outside chatting in the local Barese dialect while their knives tap rhythmically against wooden boards. Freshly shaped pasta dries in rows outside doorways, and neighbours move in and out of one another's homes. Tourists who have visited say it feels less like a tourist attraction and more like accidentally stepping into someone's family courtyard.
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