How to Choose the Perfect Pasta:
Our artisanally-made pastas offer flavor that is far superior to that of more industrially-produced brands. They are easy to cook perfectly al dente, and have ideal textures for holding different sauces. Our favorite brands include:
- Poschiavo: A unique Swiss pasta made by the Fisler Family since 1900.
- Marco Giacosa: Rich and delicate egg pastas from the Piedmont city of Alba.
- Gioie di Fattoria: Rustic and flavorful pasta from the Northern hills of Abruzzo (the farro pasta is a staff favorite).
- Rustichella D’Abruzzo: Family owned and operated since the early 1900s – made of the highest-quality ingredients in a wide variety of shapes and textures.
When choosing a shape, think about what sauce you will be using or how you will be preparing the pasta.
- Small shapes (orzo, trofie, anelli): Orzo is great in cold salads and soups, anelli is perfect in soups and trofie is a perfect match for pesto.
- Short-cut pastas (ruotine, garganelli, penne, rigatoni): Best for use in casseroles and salads or with your favorite pasta sauce.
- Thin long-cut pastas (spaghetti, vermicelli, bucatini): Best for creamy and smoother tomato sauces that will coat the pasta. Also good with a simple dressing of olive oil and grated cheese.
- Wide-ish long-cut pastas (fettuccine, tagliatelle): Best for thicker sauces and meat-based sauces.
- Wide egg pasta (pappardelle, tagliatelle, maltagliati): Best for thicker sauces and meat-based sauces.
- Shells and spirals (conchiglioni, fusilli, farfalle): Suitable for both thicker and thinner sauces, as the sauce will get trapped in each piece of pasta.
If we were to keep just a few cuts on hand at all times, they would include durum wheat spaghetti, farro penne, egg pappardelle and maybe a bag of trofie.
Storage is simple – just keep the pasta dry. It keeps for a long time but just make sure none of those pesky meal moths get into your cupboards and ruin your pasta!