Newly available this week we have fresh gnocchi from Carmella Alvaro of Melina's Fresh Pasta. Carmella is the head pasta maker at Melina's and took some time to tell us a little more about her company and her passion for fresh pasta and traditional Italian food.

Hi Carmella! First, what made you want to start Melina's Fresh Pasta and begin offering fresh pasta to folks around the Triangle?

My family is from Italy and I was the first person in my family born in the US. Like most Italian kids I grew up watching my parents treat food as the center of attention - my dad's garden, annual tomato canning and sausage, trips to the butcher shop and farms to get meat instead of going to the grocery store etc etc... I wanted to share the Italian tradition of eating fresh, local and seasonal ingredients and teach people that Italian food doesn't come from the Olive Garden! I decided to focus on pasta and to a trip to Bologna Italy for pasta making school where I learned how to make pasta in the traditional way.

Where did the name Melina come from? Why not Carmella's Fresh Pasta?

I am named after my grandmother - Carmella. An affectionate nickname for Carmella is Carmelina or Melina. Only my family calls me Melina while everyone else calls me Carmella. I decided to name the company after my nickname as it reminded me of my trips to Italy to see my aunts and uncles.

Where did you learn to make fresh pasta?

I took a trip to Bologna, Italy which is the center of fresh pasta making in Italy. Italian food is very regional, almost hyper regional actually. I spent time with real "Sfogline" - the pasta ladies who roll out the dough and form the pasta shapes by hand learning how to get the dough consistency right and how to make different kinds of fillings.

What made you want to get involved with fresh pasta, can't we get pasta premade from the grocery store?

Most of the "fresh pasta" at the store is pasteurized and pre-cooked (gasp!). So you are getting a product with preservatives in it and paying for water weight since it's already been boiled for you and the gas that they inject into the packaging. Italian cooking is about using a few ingredients but making sure they are of the highest quality and freshness. Most of my pasta has fewer ingredients than you can count on one hand (if you leave out salt and pepper). We use real spinach, real mushrooms, herbs that I grow myself etc. We freeze the pasta to allow for better storage and transport but it is made fresh.

Can you describe the pasta making process? What are the keys to a good fresh pasta? What tips do you have for a novice pasta maker?

There are a number of ways to make fresh pasta at home. I prefer the way I learned in Italy - with the "materello" or the rolling pin. It takes a little practice but when you roll out your first perfect "sfoglia" or sheet of pasta dough you will be rewarded! You just can't get the same texture with the steel rollers on the pasta machines. Since there are only two ingredients in the dough it is worth paying more for fresh eggs from the farm and a special kind of pasta flour called "Tipo Doppio Zero" which you can find online or in specialty food stores. This is a finer milled flour which allows for a softer dough. Like most Italian food - the recipe is simple - one egg per 100 grams of flour. No salt, no olive oil. If you want a richer dough, you can add an extra yolk or two. Here at the pasta shop we use specialized tools to make the pasta dough, roll out the dough, stuff the ravioli, form the gnocchi and cut the pasta but it is still a very manual process.

How do you hope to see Melina's Fresh Pasta develop into the future?

I would like to have time to teach pasta making classes and educate people about real Italian food - the regions, the ingredients, and the traditions!

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