Pettole
These are the nice versatile pasta squares I wrote about in an earlier post. The pasta package describes then as being originally from the Abruzzo region, which has a great, very varied cuisine. Perhaps this is not a classic traditional passa but in any case pettole are well suited to the ground lamb or pork with sweet pepper sauces of the Abruzzi region.
Squares of pasta of varying sizes are found in a number of other regions, sometimes made with soft flour and eggs, sometimes with hard (durum wheat) flour and water. North Western Tuscany has the confusingly named "maccheroni", which are squares or rectangles of egg pasta and nothing to do with the tubes shape at all. They are used in a traditional dish called Pasta Tordellata. The pasta squares are loosely layered with leafy greens in winter or asparagus and fava beans in spring, plus fresh ricotta and a light meat sauce, very delicious. Liguria has the prettily named Mandilli de Saea, or silk handkerchiefs, which alas are becomingly increasingly rare. The usual dressing for these is a classic Genovese pesto.All of these pasta squares are very versatile and can be served with a number of different sauces though they suit protein / veg mixtures especially well. They are also good for a number of the thick chunky soups called "minestre", a category which includes the classic beans and pasta, the famous Pasta e Fagioli and its relative Pasta e Ceci or chickpeas and pasta..
