Language
Portuguese, English, French, Italian, Spanish
Duration
2-3h / 1 day
Difficulty
Beginner
Next Date
09/04/2026

Italian pasta sauce workshop in Lisbon where you learn the actual secrets behind a truly authentic Italian sauce and finally understand how to cook pasta al dente properly with store-bought pasta. Hosted by Sara Di Rocco in her home kitchen, this is a hands-on session that goes beyond the recipe and into the logic of Italian cooking: why certain pasta shapes work with certain sauces, how to build flavour from the start, and what most people get wrong without realising it. Expect food, wine, beer, soft drinks and a thorough introduction to Italian hand gestures.

You choose two sauces from a selection that includes ragù alla bolognese (regular or vegan), carbonara, pumpkin with gorgonzola, caramelised onions and walnuts, classic basil tomato sauce, prosciutto and rosemary, and aubergine and burrata. Sara walks you through both preparations from start to finish, covering the techniques, the reasoning and the cultural context behind each one. By the end of the session you will have made, eaten and genuinely understood two classic Italian sauces and have the recipe card to recreate them at home whenever you want.

What you’ll learn

🍝 The secrets behind a truly authentic Italian pasta sauce from scratch

🍝 How to cook pasta al dente perfectly using store-bought pasta

🍝 How to match pasta shapes to sauces and why it matters

🍝 The technique and logic behind two classic Italian sauces of your choice

🍝 Italian culinary culture and the reasoning behind traditional cooking decisions

What’s included

🫒 All ingredients and kitchen equipment

🫒 Full guidance from Sara Di Rocco throughout the session

🫒 Two sauces of your choice from the full selection

🫒 Food and drinks including wine, beer and soft drinks

🫒 Digital recipe card for both sauces sent after the workshop

What you leave with

Two authentic Italian pasta sauces made by your own hands, a proper understanding of pasta al dente, and a digital recipe card to bring both dishes into your own kitchen from this point forward.

I am Sara Di Rocco and alongside my sourdough, kimchi, tea blending and bone broth workshops, this is one of the sessions I love most. Italian pasta sauce is the kind of cooking that looks simple from the outside and rewards understanding enormously once you are inside it. The session takes place at my house in Lisbon under the supervision of my cat Covinha. If you have a cat allergy or would prefer a different arrangement, just let me know.

Sessions run with a minimum of 2 participants. No prior cooking experience needed.