Rustichella d'Abruzzo Pasta

Rustichella d'abruzzo Pasta

We grew up wasp in the 50s in the suburbs of Toronto which 

meant pasta occasionally turned up at dinner in the form of 

macaroni and cheese......UNTIL....we started to take summer holidays 

into the states in the early 60s.  We first tasted "Italian food"

in the form of  pizza on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey

followed by spaghetti and meatballs and then lasagne enjoyed in

some family run restaurants. Our taste buds were suddenly turned on.  

Our mother was excited as we were, however, our father, did not like 

the way the food looked.  He had grown up on meat and potatoes.  

Food swimming in red tomato sauce did not look appealing to him.

Upon our return home, our mother started experimenting in the kitchen

making us (meaning her and us) lasagne or spaghetti with meat sauce

and then something meat and potato for dad.  Yet things started to shift.

Toronto enjoyed a huge influx of Italian immigration after war and 

Little Italy was born, an enclave of all things Italian from grocery stores

to restaurants.  Soon Italian restaurants were blossoming all over the

city and into the suburbs too.  Our family started to frequent a

small delicatessen, Gus & Marie's for  take-out dinner.  I can still

remember the "exotic" aroma of the herbs and spices infused in

everything that they made. A love affair of all things Italian was

born.  And guess what......our father's favourite food is now Pasta.

Over the years, he and our mother have explored the vast array

of Italian restaurants throughout the GTA. We, the daughters,

have been fortunate to visit Italy many times over the years where 

we have enjoyed different regional pasta dishes.

Now the thing about pasta is this.

You should always buy the best pasta as it is the foundation for

the sauce.  This point was driven home to us by Suzie Bini, a local

chef, who spent a day teaching us Tuscan cusine at Villa Eleanora 

which we had rented for the month some years ago.

Not only that, pastas are crafted to complement certain sauces and,

of course, each region is reknown for its own special pasta.

For example, long pasta such as linguine, spaghett, bucatini are

best eaten with fine textured sauces such as tomato, pesto or

meat ragu which will cling to the long strands.  Thicker pasta

such as tagliatelle, fettucine are served with thicker creamer sauces.

Pasta shapes like penne, fusilli, rigatoni, orecchiette are best

with thick, chunkier sauces especially those that have pieces of

sausage, seafood or vegetables.    

This somewhat long discussion has brought us to the title of today's

blog:  Rustichella d'Abruzzo.  This pasta has been made by the

same family in Italy since 1924.  They pride themselves on making

pasta in the same artisan way for almost 90 years and you can

taste the difference in every bite!

The family who continues to carry on the tradition.

The Village Grocer carries their full range and we have
enjoyed trying the different shapes.  Rustichella
has become our "go to" pasta as you can taste the
quality. They also carry a line of pasta sauces, a little taste
of Italy in every jar.

Most Italians enjoy pasta every day as a starter before

the main.  However, in North America, pasta is the main

course. During the winter especially, it graces our table

at least once a week--great comfort food. 

As for our father, it is his favourite food.  

When he comes to dinner, he says he hopes that we are

having pasta!  We are always happy to oblige!