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 […]
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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Ahh, spring — a celebration of all things green — fresh fava beans, asparagus, snow peas, green garlic, chives…the most glorious time of year. The season of (much needed) new beginnings. While locally grown fava beans won’t make an appearance in my neck of the woods for a couple more months, I jumped the gun
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Culurgionis (culurgiones), also known as culingionis (according to the Encyclopedia of Pasta) is a stuffed pasta from Ogliastra, a mountainous area on the eastern side of Sardinia. The filling is commonly made with boiled/mashed potatoes, olive oil, Pecorino Sardo cheese (fresh and/or aged), garlic, mint and, sometimes, saffron — though the filling can vary depending on
When I first started making pasta, the primary question on my mind was…what is the perfect ratio of flour to eggs to yolks? Each recipe I came across had a slightly different ratio of whole eggs/yolks. Hmm… What I’ve come to learn is that there is no singular “perfect” pasta dough recipe. Probably not the answer you were looking for —
This particular pasta shape is called cappelletti, which fittingly means “little hats” in Italian. They’re from Emilia-Romagna, in particular Reggio Emilia, but also found in Lazio, the Marche and Umbria Cappelletti are often filled with meat and bathed in chicken or capon (aka rooster) broth or alternatively, filled with soft cheese, typically ricotta, cacio raviggiolo,
I’m working my way through the Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini de Vita. Only 350+ pasta shapes to go (lol). Today is all about garganelli; a tubular pasta from Emilia-Romagna. Its name derives from the dialect word garganel, meaning ‘chicken’s gullet,’ which the ridged garganelli apparently resemble. It’s a fairly easy shape to make. Mix the
Cecamariti is an unusual pasta, from the Rieti province, Lazio region of Italy. More specifically, Sabina country, an extensive area, about an hour north of Rome, covered with olive groves and dotted with medieval hill towns, monasteries, castles and vineyards. They’re unusual, in that they are made with natural yeast (i.e., sourdough starter), flour and