Carmelita's Cookitaly

recipes, food facts and food lore from Italy
 

Strangozzi alle Vongole

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Oh my, I'm a fan, I love Strangozzi!

With plenty of chewy consistency, they are thicker than Spaghetti alla Chitarra, and more rectangular, rather than square. They are wider and flatter than Linguine. Linguine start life round and are mechanically pressed "flat" though if you examine the cross section really they are elliptical. And yes, Strangozzi can definitely take a meat ragù or a Carbonara.

My clams - I much prefer the smaller "lupini" to the larger "vongole veraci" which are invariably farmed and not as tasty - were gorgeous, smelling only of the sea, like a salty sea breeze, and every single one of them opened. But the protagonist of this dish was without a doubt the pasta.

Applause for gli Strangozzi, my new favourite pasta!
   

Filed under  //   Pasta   Umbria   chilli   clams   garlic   pasta shapes   pasta with clams   strangozzi with clams   vongole  
Posted January 31, 2010
 

These are called Strangozzi.

Strangozzi

 

I bought these some time ago but I have not tried them yet.

This is a very ancient pasta from the region of Umbria, and yes, the name refers to strangling: another priest strangling pasta like Strozzapreti and Strangolapreti.

They seem to be similar to Spaghetti alla Chitarra, but traditionally they would be made using just flour and water then hand rolled and cut into narrow ribbons. They also bear some resemblance to the Pici of Southern Tuscany, though those are made using a very different technique.

In Umbria, specifically in Spoleto, they are usually dressed with a fresh tomato sauce made fragrant with garlic and a tiny bit of hot chilli for the famous Strangozzi alla Spoletina or else dressed with the classic garlic, olive oil and chilli dressing. This being Umbria, they are frequently dressed with diced black truffles warmed in olive oil with a single salted anchovy and a little garlic or less frequently tossed in butter and grated Pecorino and topped with shavings of black truffles. In Norcia, the meat capital of central Italy, they serve them with a sausage ragù, which strikes me as perhaps too heavy a dressing. Then there are the vegetable dressings: wild asparagus in spring, Porcini,or Porcini and butternut squash, in the fall.

Apparently Michelle Obama is very fond of Strangozzi alla Carbonara. I'm planning to try them tomorrow with a clam, parsley and garlic sauce, Strangozzi alle Vongole.

Might it be that Strangozzi are as versatile as Spaghetti?.

Filed under  //   Pasta   Strangozzi alla Spoletina   Stringozzi   Umbria   black truffles   pasta shapes   traditional  
Posted January 30, 2010