Old McOrsini Had a Farm

lesson on how to make pasta at Lake Trasimeno

Pictured above, I was receiving a lesson on how to make pasta at Agriturismo Orsini on Lake Trasimeno by the Orsini family. They own a farm on the lake and are one of the founders of the slow food movement in which they completely sustain their selves and farm by complete means of only what they produce themselves. Interestingly enough, there has been an olive oil “famine” this year in Italy due to a bacteria, Xylella fastidiosa, that grew on olive trees and wiped out a large majority of one of Italy’s main exports. Because the Orsini family are in complete control of their products, they were able to get their animals to eat the infected olive branches therefore saving their olive oil production this spring. They are one of the only companies in Italy that were able to successfully produce healthy olives this year and therefore their oil is in high demand. Our group was privileged enough to buy their homemade olive oil before it was released to the public which is sure to sell out quick!

As soon as our group, 90 American students studying abroad at the Umbra Institute this semester, arrived at the farm we were immediately welcomed with open arms by this family. They immediately fed us a “peasant’s breakfast”, which I thought was fit for a King! It consisted of their homemade bread with olive oil and then another sweeter bread that they also made there with chocolate chips baked inside. Molto buono! (Very good!) After a meet and greet with the family over some bread and olive oil, we were given a lesson on how to make pasta – start to finish. Starting with eggs and flour, all the way to how to correctly cut the pasta and then let it dry properly before cooking. After eating pasta that we made that day, and several other courses they prepared for us for lunch; they gave each apartment a plate of even more fresh pasta to take back with us and eat for dinner that night. Such sweet and loving people.

Below is the process of how to make pasta taught by the Orsini family:

step 1: flour and eggs

outside class

step 3: rolling out pasta

step 4: being taught how to cut the pasta properly

took off the training wheels

ready to be cooked!

finished product, lunch!

Location: Lake Trasimeno, Italy