7-course Pasta Dinner in Rome

This was one-of-a-kind pasta dinner! We have had our share of wedding dinners and holiday feasts but never have we ever had a 7-course pasta “only” dinner. We found out about this unreal pasta dinner, thanks to Katie Parla who shared that Casa dei Tajarin was hosting a tasting in Rome.

Leggera. Light. This is how Mauro from Casa dei Tajarin described his pastas. A serving of this can be classified as light but a 7-course pasta dinner can be called anything but light. I would dare say that we easily ate over 200 grams of pasta per person last night. Actually, if you take into account the cheese plate and the panna cotta, it’s a 9-course dinner.

To be fair, I was full but Mauro is right to say his pasta is “light” because they didn’t feel like a stone in my stomach. That was what stood out for me last night as I was still able to walk out (not roll out) of Beppe e i Suoi Formaggi where the event was held.

Before showing you what we ate, another highlight of the event, but not food-related, was that it was lovely to finally meet Twitter friends in person. If you are planning a trip to Rome, you would want to check out these resources: Context Travel, Gina Tringali, Revealed Rome, Walks of Italy and Young in Rome.

Let the 7-course pasta dinner begin!

Back to the food.  From the menu above, you can see that we started the course with pasta with olive oil and black pepper. The intention was for us to taste the pasta. This event was more a pasta tasting as all the 7 courses had only a touch of sauce in order for us to taste and appreciate pasta. After the third course, I was ready to surrender.  But like a trooper, I hung in there!

Served with Olive Oil and Black Pepper

The 4th course was very interesting. It was served cold with three different cheeses and with nuts. Initially, I wasn’t sure I liked this at all but slowly I started savoring this dish. The mix of the 3 cheeses and nuts gave it not only a different taste but texture. If there was a dish I would try again, this would be it. I think it’s because I really want to get a taste of this unique combination again.

Of the next three courses, I enjoyed the three khorasan flour tajarin with three meat ragu as it felt very comforting and familiar. I was surprised I was still able to appreciate the 7th course considering how full I was.

After all that pasta, I was eagerly looking forward to the cheese and dessert. The pasta was outstanding but I would have been completely happy with 5-course pasta dinner.

The cheese plate was simply delightful.  I actually could have had another plate of the cheeses! The only cheese I didn’t care much for was the French one which just tasted bland, in my opinion. The others were exceptional.

At this point, I was ready to burst! However, for a sweet-tooth like myself, there is always room for dessert. There was no way I could turn down panna cotta. And I wasn’t disappointed at all. It was rich and smooth and although I would have preferred if it was a bit more firm, that was a minor issue because I cleaned it up in no time.

This was really a memorable experience.  Something that is impossible to forget especially when you wake up the next morning with a pasta “hangover”. I couldn’t even think about breakfast and to help me recover, I only had green tea!

For €40 this event with wine-pairings is more value for money than the lunch menu at L’Asino d’Oro.  It was a treat and professionally conducted. Although the seating arrangements were tight and we were tucked in a section without a window, it was great fun, food and company.

For those interested, you could purchase these pastas at Beppe e i Suoi Formaggi starting at €8 per a pack of 500 grams. Also, there will be a wine tasting event with a lighter dinner next week at the same venue. I don’t know if there will ever be another 7-course pasta dinner again but it will definitely be hard to beat this one!