Pastas of Italy and where they came from
- Diego Perdomo
- Jun 11, 2023
- 3 min read
by Diego Perdomo
Whether you’re experiencing pasta fatigue or looking to broaden your horizons, it would almost be impossible to deny the versatility of Italy’s primi piatti, or main courses. Culture, and cuisine by extension, is very regional in Italy, with prominent cities being the center of kingdoms before the county unified. Like the convergence of history into ancient Rome, many local dishes are the results of people exchanging ingredients and interacting with whatever resources they had at their disposal.
Ragu al cinghiale:
Tuscany’s most charactersistic dish finds its origin in the seasonal hunting of wild boars, which are both regarded with regional pride and disdain as the iconic pests tear down iconographic vineyards. The sauce is typically prepared with pappardelle, a flat Tuscan pasta shape. The taste is slightly gamey but appropriately hearty for the autumn and winter months that line up with hunting season.
Fiocchetti di pera in salsa di taleggio e asparagi:
This variation on pear ravioli from Trattoria 4 Leoni is served in a pasta shape akin to bundle at the end of a bindle. Within the pasta, the mix of pear and taleggio cheese combine into a sweet, mild and creamy flavor that the asparagus adds a slight crunchy texture to. While the flavor is slightly understated, the dish is filling and a unique combination local to Florence.
Pici:
Distinguished by its thickness, this traditionally hand-rolled pasta originated in Sienna, with most sources tying its origin to a simple pasta for peasants and ancient Etruscans. One forkful, even when trying to follow the modest and slower pace that Italians enjoy their meals at, will leave you with a full mouth of pasta. To have a fully Sienese experience, try pici al ragu senese, or pici in a meat sauce that uses pork.
Gnocchi al Sorrentino:
Hearty and refreshing are two qualities that appear to be diametrically opposed in food, however, gnocchi alla Sorrentina treads the line carefully to give a satisfying dining experience. Characterized by a simple sauce of cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese, basil and garlic, the dish is typically baked and served in a clay dish.
Tagliatelle nere con gamberii, calamari e pomodorini
While it may seem like this dish is local to Sorrento, this coastal dish has it’s origin in Sicily through the squid ink pasta that distinguishes the dish. Hailing from the Inn Bufalito, a restaurant that specializes in Buffalo mozzarella dishes, this dish takes a savory approach that contrasts the brand Sorrento has cultivated through the roots of refreshing lemon flavors.
Spaghetti al Nerano
Served at L’ Approdo in Capri, this pasta is among one of the most popular pasta dishes in the Amalfi Coast, the Neapolitan region that encompasses Sorrento and Capri. The pasta found new life after being enjoyed by Stanley Tucci in his Netflix series “Searching for Italy.” Maria Grazia, of Nerano, is believed to have created the dish and is survived by an eponymous restaurant run by her descendants. The pasta is traditionally made with zucchini, provolone, garlic and basil to create a light dish perfect for the hot climate of the coast.
Seafood Linguini:
While this portion was served in Rome, linguine alla vongole is from coastal Liguria region where Genoa is located.
Carbonara, Amatriciana, Gricia, and Cacio e Pepe:
Rome, a capital that has been the seat of consolidated power for empires, monarchies and republics, has history converged into its signature pastas. All of these pastas have a base of Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper served with spaghetti.
Breaking down each ingredient, the Pecorino Romano’s prominence originates from roman empire as a local cheese from the Lazio provence. The local culinary tradition of black pepper likely dates back to the Roman Empire, with the valuable spice being used as medicine, currency and ingredient. Guanciale, the cured pork cheek that is generally marketed as bacon on English menus, is in all the aforementioned pastas but the cacio e pepe.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara contains egg and guanciale (top left). Spaghetti alla amatriciana has tomatoes and red peppers (top right). Spaghetti alla gricia has guanciale (bottom left). Pici cacio e pepe has the base ingredients of Pecorino Romano and black pepper (bottom right).
Pastas I made for my roommates:
Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
Trying to recreate the simple, yet powerful flavors of Italian cuisine, I limited myself to few seasonings and ingredients. Rendering a sausage’s fat to cook spinach, I made spinach and sausage ragu seasoned with garlic, white pepper and oregano.
Gnocchi con pollo alla cinghiale
Later into our trip, I longed for the contextually over-seasoned food I would make at home so used chicken breast, olive oil and a cinghiale seasoning packet to eat with gnocchi. Perhaps it was because I didn’t put enough consideration into the flavor combination, but I felt like the quality of the food in Italy was better complimented by simple flavor combinations rather than a utilitarian approach to seasoning.
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