PASTA OF THE WEEK

WHAT IS ALFABETO? Also known as alphabet spaghetti, this tiny pasta is made for soups. It is older then you think, with newspaper articles just after the U.S. Civil War mentioning it.  The irony to me is that in Italian they use accents over some of their vowels. So even if an Italian kid gets the […]

WHAT IS RIGATONI? The birth of this legend started long ago with a chef named Toni.  Day and night, he struggled to create a new pasta shape in the Italian town of Riga. No that isn’t true, but hey you write over 50 pasta descriptions back to back and see if you don’t get a […]

WHAT IS DISCHI VOLANTI? The name of both an Alfa Romeo sportscar and Bond villain’s ship, Dischi Volanti is Italian for “flying saucers”.  Supposedly this cut was invented in the U.S.A. in the 1940’s after some U.F.O. sightings.   It is a small, circular cut of pasta with a lip ideal for trapping sauce.  However this semolina […]

WHAT IS FOGLIE? This pasta, made in the shape of olive leaves, is an Apulian dish that has grown in popularity and can now be found throughout Italy. It is occasionally dyed green with vegetables such as spinach.   This allows your dish to have a bit more color then normal in contrast to red tomatoes […]

WHAT IS PICI? It is a Tuscan chubby spaghetti.  The name comes from the technical manufacturing term for making them “appiciare”.   This is another pasta of the cucina povera (poor cuisine) family.  Pici has been made with just flour and water for thousands of years.  However you don’t need a machine or an Italian grandma […]

WHAT IS AGNOLOTTI? This little known cut is a circle of pasta folded in half with stuffing inside. Named after the chef who invented it, agnolotti is often served with butter and cheese (the custom with many pastas from that region).  It is in the dumpling family of pasta so popular in the north.  Ravioli […]

WHAT IS SEDANINI? These slightly curved short cuts of penne are named after the short stalks of celery they resemble. However a smooth version of sedanini was invented in Naples and nicknamed “elephant’s tusks” (starting to see a theme here? Napolitans were like the Einsteins of pasta). This cut comes in lisce (smooth) or rigate […]

WHAT IS ANELLINI? Anellini are tiny, little rings of pasta.  Futhermore they are one of the first cuts that Italian children eat . Anelli is their bigger cousin, and Anelloni is like the calamarata (calamari) cut but has grooved ridges on the inside of the pasta.   WHERE ARE ANELLINI MADE? These cuts originate from […]

WHAT IS BIGOLI? Possibly from the word “bigat” or caterpillar, this pasta was traditionally made from whole wheat flour. Today though artisanal producers also use semolina and duck eggs. Bigoli was created as a deliberate regional play on spaghetti by making the tubes thicker. This cut become a local favorite during the 1600s in the […]

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 […]

WHAT IS CRESTE DI GALLO? Gallo in Italian translates as “Rooster” or “Cock” (the bird, don’t be immature 😊 ). The crest shape of this short cut is named after this male chicken’s comb. One myth has it that the Medici family was saved from assassins when the family roosters screeched as the killers snuck […]

WHAT IS ZITI? Popular at weddings, the name “ziti” is rumored to come from the word “zita” or “bride”. These short, narrow tubes are often used in baked macaroni dishes (ziti al forno) in Italian American recipes.  While this cut looks similar to penne (both are short, hollow tubes), there are two differences. Penne is cut […]

WHAT IS CANNELLONI? This Italian pasta is a short cut tube which is stuffed and covered in sauce.  The name comes from the latin word for “reeds”.  This evolved into the Italian word cannello or “tube.” In the States the name “manicotti” is also used for this cut, which means “big sleeve.”  For Americans manicotti has […]

WHAT IS RAVIOLI? Ravioli are Italian dumplings that consist of a filling between two layers of dough. There are many variations as they are great for using up table scraps or leftovers.  One theory is that the Italian word riavvolgere or “to wrap” is the origin of this name.  That is until the 1920’s when […]

WHAT IS TORTIGLIONI? Tortiglioni is a Napolitan variation of the classic macaroni cut. It has a curved shape and deep, angled grooves. The name comes from the Italian “torquere” or “to twist.”  It is a tubular cut that is a member of the pasta al forna (baking pasta) family.   WHERE IS TORTIGLIONI MADE? This […]

WHAT IS DITALI? Ditali is Italian for “small thimbles” due to its small, tube-like shape. Ditalini is a smaller version of ditali (like all pastas ending in “ini” being a smaller version of their predecessor.)  It is very popular in soups and has also been called baby penne or very small macaroni. Pasta e fagioli is […]

WHAT IS MACARONI? This cut has been popular in the States ever since Thomas Jefferson introduced it.  It is also called “elbow” pasta due to the slight bend in its’ middle.  In the U.S.A. it is almost always served to children with a very suspicious cheese “product”. If you follow the letter of the law, […]

WHAT IS PIZZOCCHERI?  If buckwheat pasta had a name, it would be called, well, buckwheat pasta.  But the most famous among them would be pizzoccheri!  This flat ribbon cut is in the tagliatelle family. The name comes from pinzochero or “bigot”.  No, pizzoccheri isn’t racist or anti-Semitic. Back then use of the word bigot had a […]

WHAT IS CHITARRA? Chitarra comes from the Italian word for guitar.  This pasta is made by running the dough through a board of “strings” which slices the pasta into individual strands.  Traditionally this is an egg pasta.  Also the guitar wires do not give the pasta the same texture as bronze extrusion does.  Industrial versions […]

WHAT IS CAPPELLETTI? Besides a love of consonants, these “little hats” are in the dumpling family of pastas. Originally they are from the northern region of Emilia-Romagna.  Myth has it they are named after the pointed hats of Spanish soldiers from the 1600s. Though from a bird’s eye view, this cut looks a bit like […]