Welcome to the second instalment of my series on Italian food. In this post, I’ll be presenting some of the most popular types of fresh pasta in Italy. I’m sticking to the culinary definition I provided in the previous part, so I won’t be including egg pasta.
Disclaimer: There are hundreds of types of pasta. I selected just a few. I was unsure whether to use the singular or plural for pasta shapes; i.e. trofie is or trofie are. I consulted several sources, including Google Ngram, but only came up with irregular patterns. In the end, I opted for the singular, which I’m still second-guessing.
Now, let’s go on a culinary journey through Italy, shall we?
FETTUCINE DI CASTAGNE
Region: Aosta Valley.
The name speaks for itself. It’s fettucine made with chestnut flour. It’s not surprising to see nuts in a savoury dish. From the far north to the deep south, there are many traditional and modern dishes that use nuts.
TROFIE
Region: Liguria, southern Piedmont, south-western Sardinia.
Trofie is made with semolina flour and water. It’s a short, twisted pasta, usually served with Genoese pesto. There’s also a rustic version with chestnut flour and a savoury walnut sauce.
PIZZOCCHERI (ALLA VALTELLINA)
Region: Northern Lombardy.
The dough is made with water, buckwheat flour and sometimes 00 flour. Pizzoccheri is cut into short, thick strips. It’s usually served with diced boiled potatoes, chopped boiled savoy cabbage and melted butter.
BIGOLI
Region: Veneto, eastern Lombardy, Trentino.
Bigoli is made with 00 flour and water. The shape resembles spaghettoni (long, thick cylinders). Bigoli can be found in different dishes, the most traditional being Bigoli al ragù d’anatra (duck meat sauce).
CJARSÒNS
Region: Friuli Venezia Giulia.
This is a stuffed pasta with various recipes for the filling, including sweet versions. It wouldn’t be fair to pick just one recipe. As for the ingredients of the pasta sheets, the verdict is the same: 00 flour and water. In case you’re wondering, cjarsòns is Ladin (not to be confused with Latin). It’s worth noting that Ladin varies from valley to valley.
To be continued (of course)...
Headline image by canmandawe on Unsplash
I think I've had the CJARSONS with two of my friends in Italy. I actually googled all pasta images, lol and the cjarsons one looks familiar. Is it a specific area's type of pasta? That's because I remember while eating, two of my friends talked about the area name or something. I'm really not good at Italian and their English sounded weird. So, I might be wrong. Duh, I didn't read the region, lol. You've already mentioned it. Anyway, I really enjoyed it!
Cjarsòns is a delicacy from the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, also knows as Friuli. This region is located in the north-east of Italy. Italy has hundreds of varieties of stuffed pasta. Unless you've been to Friuli, it's unlikely you've had the Cjarsons.
I'm quite interested in how FETTUCINE DI CASTAGNE tastes because I adore nuts! Eating FETTUCINE DI CASTAGNE is now on my bucket list.
Simo (@Simone-) Yeah, I ate Cjarsons and not Cjarsòns, lol. Are you joking or serious?
@Simone- On the singular versus plural issue we say spaghetti is and lasagne is, but I expect you know this.
Will there be receipes? I bought 00 flour today in the hope that there will be recipes.
@Dripdrip I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. If you want to make fresh pasta, you're better off with an Italian food magazine. Although I used to "make" fresh pasta with my grandmother when I was little, she didn't teach me how to knead the dough, let alone all the ins and outs. And I was too busy eating raw pasta—it's delicious—to learn by watching. I don't have recipes of my own. The best I can do is share recipes I find online. I'm really sorry😅. I hope you won't be mad at me🙏.
@yumiyumayume Yumi, what I'm trying to say is that you may've eaten something very similar to cjarsons. What was the filling like?
@Akiko I'm happy to hear that! Unfortunately, I cannot find the authentic recipe used in Aosta Valley. I only find generic recipes with eggs. That was my point in those posts. People tend to use eggs too often when it comes to fresh pasta.
@Simone- Oh well, I'll start looking.
Simo, I thought you were picking me on, lol. Thanks to you, I'm learning Italian culture and I have lots of topics when I see my friends there. I don't remember the filling because I had it only once more than 5 years ago. When I see my friends, I should ask this too.
@yumiyumayume I'd never pick you on. I'm happy to hear that I'm helping to expand your knowledge of Italy
Buon Giorno, Cimo. I know it, but I doubted it, lol. I know you've posted a new entry. I'm going to my painting's teacher's studio. When I get home, I'll read that. See you later!