An iconic fresh pasta from Piemonte in northern Italy, agnolotti del plin get their name from the regional dialect for “pinch,” which is how you PASTA WITH A STORY made the pasta. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNIQUE PASTA SHAPES To form each agnolotto, you pinch two sheets of fresh egg pasta dough AND PAIRINGS together, or “fare il plin,” over the PAIR WITH: traditional filling of veal and pork.
The resulting small pouches of pasta are deeply flavorful. Delicate and rich, this pasta is best highlighted Simple sage-and-butter sauce with a simple sage-and-butter sauce. ...you get saucy
TROFIE Liguria Ribbons and wheels, bowties and butterflies — Italy has an infinite cache of pasta shapes, each with its own unique history, texture, and place on the dinner table. Native to Liguria in northern Italy, trofie are twisted, spiral-shaped pasta. Their true saucy love is pesto from Genova, Our chefs always remind us that the pasta should “marry” the sauce: each which is made by crushing fresh basil shape has the perfect saucy match made in pasta heaven. Italian cuisine with extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, sea varies based on each region’s culture and biodiversity, so each ideal pairing salt, and garlic. is often drawn the same region’s most available ingredients. Trofie from The ribbed spirals of the pasta are Liguria are at their spiraled best when served with the seaside region’s fine PAIR WITH: perfectly designed to pick up the fine pesto, while orecchiette’s “little ears” are made to scoop Puglia’s specialty consistency of the pesto. This pairing broccoli rabe-sausage combination. is guaranteed to transport you to the Ligurian seaside, bite after perfect bite. Pesto FOGLIE D’ULIVO CROXETTI Puglia, Calabria, Sicilia Liguria
An iconic fresh pasta from Piemonte in northern Italy, agnolotti del plin Croxetti — “little crosses” — are get their name from the regional round and flat discs of pasta dialect for “pinch,” which is how that resemble coins, down to the you made the pasta. decorative stamp. Created near Genova in Liguria, this shape was To form each agnolotto, you pinch customarily pressed with the royal two sheets of fresh egg pasta dough families’ coats of arms, a tradition together, or “fare il plin,” over the that our producers still follow today. PAIR WITH: PAIR WITH: traditional filling of veal and pork. While thin, the pasta is surprisingly al dente, creating satisfying bites The resulting small pouches of pasta to savor. Locals enjoy croxetti with are deeply flavorful. Delicate and their favorite Ligurian sauce: green Fresh tomato & mozzarella rich, this pasta is best highlighted Green beans, potato, and pesto beans, potato, and pesto. with a simple sage-and-butter sauce.
VESUVIO ORECCHIETTE DI GRANO ARSO Campania Puglia
Named after the still-active volcano Created in Puglia, this pasta has a hazy by the port city of Napoli, Vesuvio secret behind its rich flavors: fire. It’s true. is a short curly pasta common to the The tradition of making bread and pasta southern region of Campania. If you with grano arso – “burnt grain” – reaches squint a little, the squiggly shapes also back to the days of cucina povera. Literally resemble a shell, representing the sea. “poor cooking,” this no-waste style called for every last scrap of ingredient. So, after farmers burned the fields to fertilize the Once you taste the unique pasta, you soil for the new planting, the peasants PAIR WITH: won’t be surprised that it is made in PAIR WITH: saved any leftover toasted grains, which Gragnano, the birthplace of dry pasta they ground into a rich, deeply flavorful making. The bronze extrusion gives the flour. pasta a textured surface and al dente bite. Each piece has numerous nooks Orecchiette are often paired with broccoli Sausage ragù and crannies that pick up chunkier sauces, such as sausage ragù. Broccoli rabe and sausage rabe and sausage, a chunky sauce which its “little ears” catch perfectly.