WHAT IS CASARECCE?
Casarecce are short cut pastas that have a cool “S” twist. This makes them look like an ink stamp for Superman. The name itself means “homemade”. While dies are used today, the shape was originally made with a busiate. This was a thin rod that the pasta dough was wrapped around, giving it a hollow form.
WHERE IS CASARECCE MADE?
This cut’s hometown is the Italian island of Sicily! A parched paradise that looks like a desert sitting on top of an ocean created this pasta. However this cut has become popular all over the deep south of Campania. Also in some coastal areas squid ink is used to die casarecce black, giving it more contrast against various sauces.
ITALIAN ALZHEIMERS – YOU FORGET EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE GRUDGE?
Famous movie and wine maker Francis Ford Coppola said this during an interview with the Financial Review. In it he talks about his 20 room lodge in the jungles of Belize. On the street side, his cafe Cinecittà Bar still serves local backpackers. So you can buy a bowl of casarecce pasta with eggplant, basil and cacioricotta cheese for just €9 ($11). To read more about this beautiful place, click here!
WHAT SAUCES GO WELL WITH THIS PASTA?
Try these scroll shaped pastas with a Sicilian pesto or ragu tomato sauce. The groove down the side of this cut is narrow. As a result, thick, chunky sauces won’t be trapped as well inside its’ curves. Futhermore Sicilians love their seafood, so a white wine sauce with fresh sardines and some anchovy fillets can’t go wrong either! Or go more vegetarian with some eggplants, tomato and basil. If you’d like to see one of our recipes using casarecce, click here!