Today we pay homage to the queen of Italian cuisine, pasta, with three extraordinary dishes, each representing a different region of our beautiful country. From the pasta ca' nnocca of Sicily , to the Struncatura of Calabria , to the Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe of Rome . Each bite tells a unique story and an unforgettable flavor!
1) Pasta ca' nnocco
Ingredients for 4 people:
500 g of pasta (shape of your choice)
500 g of fresh anchovies
400 g of peas
4 spring onions
1 teaspoon tomato paste
parsley
breadcrumbs (optional)
extra virgin olive oil
Clean and debone the anchovies carefully. Brown the chopped spring onions in oil, add the peas, the tomato paste dissolved in half a glass of water and cook covered.
Once the peas are cooked, add the anchovies and let them break up, then the chopped parsley.
Separately cook the pasta in boiling water. Drain leaving a little damp.
Pour the pasta into the pan where the sauce was cooked and sauté, adding a little oil if necessary.
Serve sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs if desired.
Discover other traditional Sicilian recipes with Sicilia in Cucina - The flavours of Sicily
2) Trimming
Ingredients for 4 people:
500 g of struncatura
100 g of green or black olives in brine
20 capers in salt
2 large cloves of garlic
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 basil leaves
500 g of tomato
2-3 salted anchovies
salt
Pasta can be seasoned in many ways, but the most popular is a very simple and 'crunchy' rustic sauce.
You need olives (better if small and tasty, black or green, like those in brine from the Piana di Gioia Tauro), which must be crushed together with the previously desalted capers in salt.
After frying the chopped garlic cloves in oil, add the chopped olives and capers and leave to cook over a high heat.
When the soffritto is cooked, until it is almost crispy, add the cherry tomatoes. In winter, in ancient times, cherry tomatoes were used, which at the end of summer, still green, were hung in the shape of a large bunch of grapes: in this way they ripened slowly and were preserved throughout the winter.
Cook the sauce for another quarter of an hour and finally add 2-3 salted anchovies and a pinch of chilli pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, cook the struncatura in a large saucepan until it is boiling and remove it from the heat until just under al dente.
Put it in the pan and finish cooking it on the stove in the sauce, adding cooking water, as you do for risotto, without ever letting it dry out too much. Serve piping hot.
Discover other traditional Calabrian recipes with Calabria in Cucina - The flavours of Calabria
3) Tonnarelli cheese and pepper
Ingredients for 4 people:
500 g of fresh tonnarelli
300 g of grated Pecorino Romano
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Boil the tonnarelli, drain them and set aside a little of the cooking water.
Stir them in a large pan with the pasta water, add the pecorino and stir until they become creamy.
Sprinkle with plenty of black pepper.
Discover other traditional Roman recipes with Roma in Cucina - The flavours of Rome