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Hi fam! It’s Em. If we haven’t met yet, let’s fix that.

I’m a pasta chef at Mano Cornuto (Montreal folks pull up) and the girl behind Only Pasta—a project I started in the depths of covid—part coping mechanism, part excuse to spend way too much time making noodles.

It started as a small online shop, people could order my pasta and my dad Mario and I would roll up like uber eats, delivering orders around town. Somehow, that side hustle turned into a full-time gig, and next thing I knew, I quit my career to pursue.. pasta.

Fast forward—I did a few catering, couple collabs, pop-ups, and eventually landed in this chaotic and loud kitchen where I get to cook, create, and learn every damn day.

One day, Catherine St-Laurent from Mise en Place came in for lunch, sat at my bar, and gave me a full TED talk on substack. I never heard of it before, but when I checked it out I realized it’s exactly what I was missing ! A spot where I can finally share my recipes, geek out over pasta, and just connect with people.

So boom. Here we are. If you’re trying to level up your pasta game, I gotchu ! Expect recipes you can whip up in your sweatpants no stress, deep dives into ingredients and slow food rants, pro tips to make you feel like a pasta god. Plus step-by-step tutorials for those ready to get into fresh pasta-making (most recipes work with dry pasta too).

So smash that subscribe button and bring water to a boil !

Em

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Fusilli al Ragù Bianco di Salsiccia

Ingredients (for 2)

• 250g fresh fusilli¹ or 125g dry 

• 2 Italian sausages 

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp chili flakes

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ cup white wine, optional

• ½ cup heavy cream

• Zest of 1 orange

• 1 cup kale, roughly chopped

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Pecorino Romano, finely grated

How-to

1. Cook the fusilli in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water.

2. Remove the sausage casings. With clean hands, break down the sausage meat with the fennel seeds in a bowl.

3. In a pan over medium heat, cook the sausage meat in olive oil until browned and fully cooked, breaking it further with a spoon as needed.

4. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up any browned bits, and let it reduce slightly.

5. Lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream, half of the orange zest, and kale. Simmer until the kale wilts and the sauce thickens slightly.

6. Toss the cooked fusilli into the pan, adding pasta water as needed to bind.

7. Plate and finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a first snow² of Pecorino Romano and the rest of orange zest.

1. The fusilli can be swapped for rigatoni or orecchiette if you prefer

2. First snow meaning to sprinkle the cheese lightly and evenly on the plate