The Art of Handmade Pasta at Tre Dita
Explore traditions, techniques, and stories from Chef Evan Funke's pasta lab
Twists, tubes, ribbons—every pasta shape has a purpose, a personality, a story. Some cradle sauce, some create a unique bite, and some even carry legends passed down through generations.
At Tre Dita at The St. Regis Chicago, that tradition meets modern technique. Award-winning chef and pasta master Evan Funke has built a kitchen where every pasta is crafted with intention, beautifully complementing sauce, texture, and flavor. Bringing those shapes to life everyday is Pasta Maker and Sfoglina Mary Ciancio, who not only executes each form with precision daily within the restaurant’s open-view temperature- and humidity-controlled “pasta lab,” but also strives to carry on the stories behind them.
“Here, we focus heavily on technique,” Mary says. “But in Italy, it’s about tradition and feel. Now I try to bring both into the work.” Here, we delve into some of the time-honored techniques and history behind three of Tre Dita’s signature pasta shapes, alongside wine pairings from Wine Director Kat Hawkins to beautifully complement each dish.
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Strozzapreti
From Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, strozzapreti is a hand-rolled pasta made by twisting strips of dough into short, irregular lengths. The spiral shape gives it a slightly chewy texture and plenty of surface area to hold sauce.
Its name loosely translates to “priest stranglers,” deriving from a darkly funny legend about a greedy priest who ate the pasta too quickly and choked. But the deeper story is one of resourcefulness: When eggs were heavily taxed by the church, Italian households relied on humble flour-and-water doughs, shaping pastas like this from necessity.
At Tre Dita, the Strozzapreti alla Vaccinara is served with oxtail ragù and finished with pecorino croccolo. The twists and folds of the pasta capture the rich, slow-cooked sauce, delivering a bite that’s both hearty and textured.
“The irregular, spiraled shape creates a layered, chewy texture that is exceptionally effective at capturing hearty meat ragùs and chunky sauces,” Mary says.
Kat’s Expert Wine Pairing: “Pair the Strozzapreti with a 2017 Boca Nebbiolo from Vallana. Its bright acidity and firm tannins cut through the richness, while earthy, spiced notes echo the ragù’s depth.”
Tortellini
Tortellini is one of the most iconic pastas from Bologna—small, filled, and carefully folded into its signature ring shape.
Tortellini is rooted in one of pasta’s most romantic legends. As the story goes, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was staying at an inn in Bologna. Hoping to catch a glimpse of her, the innkeeper peeked through the keyhole, but all he saw was her navel. Struck by her beauty, he tried to recreate it in pasta form, resulting in the tortellino’s distinctive “belly button” shape.
“This is not a story about a creepy guy peeping—it’s about someone so moved by beauty that he had to recreate it through pasta,” Mary says. “That’s what I do every day: recreate the beauty in the world through pasta.”
While it isn’t on the regular menu, Tre Dita often features it in the Tortellini alla Panna as a special or pasta del momento. The shape honors Bologna, where Chef Evan Funke learned the craft.
“This shape takes great skill to produce, and exemplifies both the skill of the sfoglina and the complexity of pasta sfoglia al mattarello (hand-rolled pasta), the very concept that makes our pasta lab special,” Mary says.
Kat’s Expert Wine Pairing: “The 2022 ‘Cervaro della Sala’ Chardonnay from Marchesi Antinori. Its creamy texture, citrus, and subtle oak echo the dish’s rich cream sauce, while fresh acidity cuts through the richness, balancing each bite and enhancing the pasta’s delicate, savory filling.”
Pici
Pici are long, thick strands of hand-rolled pasta made from just semolina flour and water. It is a perfect example of cucina povera, an approach to food rooted deeply in poverty where meals consisted of cheap and readily available ingredients.
“The shape originates in Tuscany, and is a highlight for our Tuscan restaurant,” Mary says. “The nature of the shape and roots in cucina povera allows it to shine on the menu as a Tuscan staple of handmade pasta.”
Tre Dita is the first certified Tuscan restaurant in the United States, which makes this shape a natural fit for the menu. The Pici Cacio e Pepe pairs pecorino croccolo and black pepper in a sauce that’s sharp, creamy, and deceptively simple yet complex. The thickness of the pici gives the dish structure, holding the sauce while adding a satisfying chew.
Kat’s Expert Wine Pairing: “A 2021 Trebbiano from Monteraponi brings brightness and lift, with citrus and mineral notes that cut through the richness and highlight the peppery edge of the dish.”
Learning from the Masters in Bologna
In early 2026, Mary had the privilege of spending three weeks in Bologna, immersed in the city’s legendary pasta culture. By day, Mary attended classes at Vecchia Scuola Bolognese, the pasta sfoglia school that Chef Evan Funke also trained at, learning directly from his first teacher and mentor. There, they saw firsthand the traditional Bolognese approach that informs the pasta they make every day at Tre Dita.
Outside the classroom, Mary explored Bologna’s culinary scene—wandering the streets, enjoying meals recommended by world-class chefs like Funke, and sampling tortellini at a different restaurant each day. Mary also visited Parmigiano Reggiano producers, toured prosciutto makers in Modena, and learned how traditional balsamic is aged. Through it all, what stood out most was the care behind every ingredient.
“It gave me a deeper respect for the process,” Mary says. “That’s something I bring back into the kitchen every day.”
At Tre Dita, this perspective comes to life in the details: Handcrafted pastas rooted in tradition elevate each ingredient into a story on the plate.
“I now stand strong with one foot planted in tradition from Bologna, one foot planted in technique from Chef Evan–two feet that propel me into my career as a sfoglina–steadfast in protecting tradition, but ever meticulous in my technique to do so,” Mary says.
