From an early age, Meryl Feinstein received just a few hints about her true calling. As a young girl, she was “the kid who ordered pasta every time” her family dined out. In college, she developed a devotion for the colors and forms of Late- Italian Renaissance paintings and tapestries. Then, as a newly married woman, when her hands touched tortelloni dough in the family-home of a balsamic vinegar producer, it finally hit her: pasta.
Since her honeymoon trip to Acetaia Malagoli Daniele in Modena, Italy, two years ago, most days Meryl’s hands are covered in flour and water.
“Art was at the center of my life for a long time, and food, too, but more like a hobby rather than a career path,” she said. “Pasta was a perfect convergence of those things– it’s such an artistic and sculptural medium. What I love about making pasta is shaping it. People ask me about fillings and sauce, but for me, I get the most joy from making each piece of pasta.”
The day after she left Italy, Meryl began studying at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City with a singular focus– (Yes, you guessed it, PASTA)– leaving behind a career in art PR. From there, she worked the pastry and pasta lines at award-winning Chef Missy Robbins’ restaurants in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
portrait by Austin Garza-Kilcullen
Today, Meryl has a growing career as a pastaia in Austin, Texas, where she founded the Pasta Social Club. She misses New York yet has managed to combine experiences from both places into one concept.
“It’s a difficult thing to create something accessible around food that’s not super high-end,” she said. “Most of what I saw [in New York City] were huge beautiful events. I wanted something for normal people.”
From the comfort of her kitchen, Meryl hosts remote and in-person pasta-making classes and private dinners with a supper-club feel. This spring, her social media audience doubled as Instagrammers and media outlets like New York Magazine and the BBC looked to her for guidance on newfound culinary hobbies.
While some may never be masters of pasta, Meryl believes anyone can become a maker. And she believes it’s her mission to help.
“I don't want people to feel that if they can't do it the traditional way, then they can't do it at all,” she said. “If you want to get into pasta making and the craft, I’m 100 percent behind you and with you.”
For beginners, she recommends starting with Pici, a chubby hand-rolled spaghetti from Siena. Meryl believes there’s no shame in pasta machines either. Above all, remember that the way you make the dough is key. Meryl says it’s better to think of dough as a technique and not a recipe.
Meryl’s kitchen is filled with pasta treasures. Among her favorites is a corzetti stamp from Romagnoli, a vintage brass-fluted pasta cutter, and a new Sardinian pasta cutter from a friend.
This summer, Meryl suggests trying out a rustic herb-laminated pasta to add some flourish and flavor to pasta sheets. She serves the pasta with an almond pesto.
Meryl encourages creators to look at some Italian precedents for inspiration. Check out the father of modern Italian cuisine, legendary Italian chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, who was famous for his “Ravioli Aperto,” and “Carta di Musica,” a cracker-like bread from Sardinia that is decorated with wild herbs.
Meryl Feinstein’s Herb Laminated Pasta Tips:
Recommended ingredients and tools:
Flour: Caputo or Molino Pasini
Soft-leaves of mild herbs
Pasta machine: Marcato’s Atlas 150
Spray bottle
How to choose the herbs:
- Use tender herbs like basil, mint, thyme, parsley, and sage. Avoid woody ones like rosemary, which will puncture the pasta sheet and be unpleasant to eat. Use only the leaves, no stems! If you choose strongly flavored herbs, like sage, pick the smaller leaves, so that they don’t overpower each bite.
Before you roll the pasta dough and herbs in the machine:
- Lightly touch the pasta sheets with water, so that the herbs adhere to the dough. Meryl recommends a spray bottle. Be careful with the water – too much can over-saturate the dough and make it stick and tear when rolling back through the machine.
As you roll the pasta sheet, keep this in mind:
As you roll the pasta sheet through the machine with the herbs inside, the dough will start to expand. Feel free to cut the corners off of one end to allow the sheet to roll through smoothly.\
Lightly flour both sides of the pasta sheet with '00' to absorb any excess moisture that can burst through when the herbs stretch. (“This happens a lot with basil!” said Meryl).
How to cook or store:
As you hold the herb-laminated pasta, make sure your sheet tray is well-floured with semolina and the pieces don’t touch. For pappardelle, stack the strands with a layer of semolina between each to prevent the moisture of the herbs from making the pasta stick to itself.\
Shake off the excess flour before cooking or freeze it by laying it flat, dust off the excess flour, and place in a freezer bag for longer-term storage.
Meryl’s pasta dough recipes and videos:
- Choose your favorite here.
Buon Appetito!