PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUL PASTA

A couple from Kazakhstan is making Soul Pasta in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy. 

Last September, Kamila Batyrova and Damir Ikhsanov opened the business at 4903 Baum Blvd. in Bloomfield. They sell a variety of scratch-made pasta and sauces, appetizers, sandwiches, gluten-free options and desserts available for delivery and takeout in bags or gift boxes. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUL PASTA

If, like me, you have no chill when it comes to food, there’s a table inside where you can chow down. I had heaping helpings of cheese ravioli in a zesty marinara as well as mafalde in boscaiola, a cream sauce with organic mushrooms and onions. I paired the two plates of pasta with fresh-baked bread, creating a carbohydrate trifecta.

I took a bag of bigoli to go. It’s thicker than spaghetti and made of semolina flour. You could probably jump rope with it, but I recommend devouring it al dente. 

“When you are cooking with love from the soul, everything is good,” says Batyrova, who’s been feeding people most of her life. “If you’re in a bad mood, get out of the kitchen.”

Before coming to the United States from the Central Asian country four years ago, she worked as a criminal psychologist. Her husband was in the oil business. Thanks to the pandemic their visit turned into a permanent stay. They learned how to speak English by watching “Dallas” reruns and holiday movies such as “Home Alone.”

Their kids — who, at ages 7 and 10, resemble a young Macaulay Culkin — grew up watching athletes from their homeland shoot and score in the NHL. Now they participate in Little Penguins Learn to Play, a youth hockey program sponsored by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUL PASTA

The boys’ drawings are on display at Soul Pasta along with the work of Mimi Ilnitskaya, an artist from Kazakhstan.

In addition to a great meal, I got a crash course in Kazakh culture. One of the main national dishes is beshbarmak, a rich, salty, family-style mix of boiled meat and wide noodles that you eat with your hands (beshbarmak translates to “five fingers”). The couple plans to add it to the Soul Pasta menu. Utensils are optional.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Before settling with his family in Pittsburgh, Ikhsanov went on a cross-country road trip that took him to 44 states. He continues his American education by working for a ride-sharing company and making local deliveries. By networking behind the wheel, he’s picked up new Soul Pasta customers.  

It’s quite a shift from his black gold days in Kazakhstan. But who needs crude oil when you make a mean Bolognese?