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!
