Federico Fellini, an Italian film director once famously said, ‘Life is a combination of magic and pasta.’ Agreeing with him, I can say that currently, the most magical place in Visakhapatnam is Hotel Novotel’s Square restaurant that is hosting a 12-day pasta festival. The festival is a part of their dinner buffet at the restaurant.
Fettuccine, linguine, ravioli, pappardelle or cannelloni - name your type of pasta and the restaurant has it. Executive chef Mrinmay Pal along with chef Dayanand Singh put up a magic show tossing vegetables in an oiled pan, adding sauce and making your pasta in no time.
“The speciality of this festival is the home-made pasta. Unlike other times when ready-made pasta is used, for this festival, we are making the pasta dough in the hotel using semolina, refined flour, egg and salt. The benefit of making the pasta at home is that you can make flavoured dough which adds to the paste of the final product,” explains executive chef Mrinmoy.
I begin my pasta treat with lemon linguine aglio olio e peperoncino, a lemon flavoured pasta made by lightly sautéing garlic in olive oil. The dish came dressed with a layer of grated cheese, adding a thick texture to the pasta.
What’s cooking Lemon linguine aglio olio e peperoncino
Made in tomato sauce, the lemon flavoured pasta had a dominant tangy flavour that was well complemented with the spiciness of pepper.
Next on my pasta bowl is a tagliatelle made in pepper-cheese sauce. I twirl up a nice warm forkful of the pasta, pop it in my mouth. The monotony of the silky creamy cheese is broken by the occasional bite of peppercorns, that spices up the otherwise bland dish. Swimming in a pool of butter comes the ravioli pasta that is stuffed with a thick paste of spinach and cheese. Topped with sauted slices of tomatoes, cherry, zucchini, broccoli and bell peppers the serving of the pasta looked like a piece of art splashed with vibrant colours. The buttery flavour of the pasta and the vegetables makes the dish an absolute winner. All in all, it was a delightful pasta feast!