Italian Food (2)
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Italian Food (2)

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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

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