(photo: ingredients for our mafalde fish pasta include wild or standard dandelion greens, garlic, onion, salmon, and grouper) When I speak to my mother on the phone each night (yes, don’t snicker there’s no way around avoiding your Italian mother) she inevitably asks me, “so, what did you make for dinner?”  And while I often answer back with a southern Italian classic […]

(photo: radiatori with tomato sauce or ragu and tiny meatballs or polpettini) Radiatori are medium sized (short) pasta shapes that look like older style radiators (hence the name).  Radiatori are thick, have a ruffled edge, and are used like fusilli (with thicker sauces such as a ragu).

Stuffed pasta, of any variety, is adored in Italy and it is served on special occasions and on ordinary Sundays.  Stuffed pasta includes ravioli, tortellini, lasagna, cannelloni, manicotti, etc.  The Cannelloni with Beef (Cannelloni di Manzo) , and/or minced beef recipe below is a variation on the traditional cannelloni with ricotta / cheese recipe. Cannelloni with Beef (Cannelloni di Manzo)   […]

(photo: Orecchiette with broccoli rabe) Orecchiette is literally translated as “little ear” and the pasta is created by using the thumb to press down on the pasta dough to create a concave shape or disc.  Orecchiette originate from the southern Italian province of Puglia located on the “heel” of the boot.   I like orecchiette because the shape holds the condiment or sauce […]

If you haven’t noticed we don’t do many dessert recipes on Scordo.com and the reason doesn’t stem from a philosophical objection to sugar, flour or butter, rather we don’t bake often because we’re, frankly, not very good at it (though we’re getting better all the time)! Baking requires precision and following recipes one to one; a process that goes against our improvisational talents […]

  (photo: packaging is first rate, if not a little wasteful)  We’ve covered the pasta shape tagliatelle here on Scordo.com in the past (via the Scordo Pasta Challenge) but we decided to review the pasta shape one more time given the quality of Caponi Pontedera tagliatelle and the fact that it’s an egg based pasta (pasta all’uovo).   Pastificio Caponi […]

One of our standard pasta dishes here at Scordo is Pasta with Ricotta, Tomato Sauce, and Parmigiano Reggiano.  Our  ricotta is often homemade (see our recipe) and the tomato sauce comes by way of our canned tomatoes.  The pasta condiment produced here is the ideal representation of tomato, rich cream, and hearty flavors (think of it as lasagna or pasta al […]

(photo: Calugi tagliolini, about 1/2 pound) Tagliolini is another variety of tagliatelle that is long and cylindrical in shape.  Tagliolini are generally thinner in shape and more delicate than tagliatelle.   Recently, I was fortunate enough to try Calugi’s dry tagliolini from Cambiano Castelfiorentino situated between Livorno and Firenze in northwestern Italy.  Calugi makes their tagliolini with eggs and flour but adds […]

(photo: homemade cavatelli with broccoli) Cavatelli are about an inch to an inch and a half in length and are made from semolina, flour, and water.  Cavatelli usually have a rolled edge and are easy to make at home.  We paired our homemade cavatelli with brocolli, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil.  The Scordo Pasta Challenge chugs along! (photo: homemade […]

(photo: clam sauce in pan including chopped clams, garlic, olive oil, red pepper, and parsley) Why I Would Want to Be Reincarnated as Pasta and the Scordo Pasta Challenge. In many Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, it is believed that when a human dies s/he is reborn into a new body.  You’ll also find the same concept in […]