BUCATINI - ITALY

1.1 LB - Naples, Italy

Bucatini pasta is thicker than spaghetti and has a thin hole down the center of each long strand - think of a drinking straw. More toothsome and even thicker than the average mass-produced version, the bucatini by Sapori di Napoli is perfect for serving with accompaniments from the finest extra virgin olive oil to a light tomato sauce.



Serving Suggestions:

Bucatini is a staple of Campagna, where it is traditionally served with puttanesca sauce, and also in Lazio, where it is served all'amatriciana, with olive oil, chopped tomato, Pecorino, pancetta and a little crushed red pepper.

The drinking-straw shape allows the sauce not just to coat the pasta, but to get all the way inside the tubes, too . . . the better to maximize the flavors of pasta and sauce!

About Sapori di Napoli:

The average Italian consumes about 20 kilos (44 pounds) of dried pasta a year, and most of them agree that some of the best pasta is made near Naples. In Italy's Campania region pasta is considered art, ritual, culture, and history, especially in Naples and the towns and villages that surround it. The craftsmen at the Pastificio Artigianale Romita - located in the village of Borgo Reale di S. Leucio about 15 miles due north of Naples - produce their pasta Sapori di Napoli with the love and devotion of connoisseurs. Starting with the purest water and semolina from hand-selected durum wheat - it is the "semolina" del Tavoliere flour, an extra fine flour produced from the unique durum wheat grown in the nearby territory. They work the dough by hand before extruding it through bronze dies in the traditional manner. The pasta is then dried slowly under controlled low-temperature conditions - from 24 to 92 hours depending on the shape. This slow drying leads to uniform absorption of water during cooking and a perfect "al dente" on your plate.

All of their pastas are produced exclusively from durum semolina with a low ash and high gluten content, characteristics that create the best texture and flavor. But, most importantly, it is their skill handed down through the generations that makes their pastas true works of art. It is the experience and skill of the Master Pasta Maker that makes all the difference, especially when he is employing antique methods now abandoned by the industrial pasta manufacturers. These factors give Sapori di Napoli's pasta a superior flavor and texture on their own, but also the ability to catch and hold all of your favorite sauces in the way they way they've been doing so in Italy for so many centuries.