wildgreensandsardines

Stuffed Paccheri

Paccheri are short, wide tubes from southern Italy, typically Campania. In order to form each paccheri, I rolled out a piece of dough and cut it into 3- by 2-inch rectangles. Then each piece was rolled over a grooved gnocchi/garganelli board with a 3/4-inch dowel and sealed to form each tube. A bit tedious, but the end […]

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Braised Polipetti (baby octopus) with Squid Ink Spaghetti alla Chitarra

Braised polipetti (baby octopus) is one of my hands down, all-time favorite dishes. As the octopi stew, they release much of their water content, which melds with the tomatoes and red wine to yield a slightly briny, rich and thick sauce that is nothing short of lick-the-bowl-clean delicious. Octopus can be tricky to prepare. Cook it too

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Trofie with Ramp Pesto

Trofie comes from Liguria in northwest Italy, in particular the area of Camogli, as well as areas of Tuscany bordering Liguria. They are spindle-shaped, spirals with tapered ends.  They’re traditionally made with wheat flour enriched with bran, potatoes, bread or chestnut flour and water. And, served with pesto alla Genovese — made with basil, garlic,

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Scarpinocc

This particular shape is called scarpinocc. It originated from the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its name stems from the word scarpa, which means shoe, as this rather odd looking-shaped pasta resembles an old-fashioned wooden shoe. These scarpinocc are filled with Taleggio, a washed rind cow’s milk cheese that’s big on personality (read: creamy, smooth, salty, strong, complex,

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Foglie d’Ulivo

Foglie d’ulivo or olive leaves fall into a category of pasta known as strascinati, commonly found in Southern Italy, particularly Campania, Puglia, Basiliccata and Calabria. This category also includes cavatelli (rolled with one finger), as well as orecchiette; ceccatelli (rolled with two fingers); and those rolled with three, four or eight fingers. Each producing a longer or

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Agnolotti del Plin

Agnolotti (agnolotto singular) del plin are an iconic pasta from Piemonte in Northern Italy.  Plin translates to pinch in the regional Piemonte dialect (pizzico in standard Italian) and refers to the way these pasta parcels are ‘pinched’  in order to give them their characteristic shape.  Meat filled agnolotti are typical – anything from beef, veal, lamb, rabbit, pork, and/or chicken, often a

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