Producer spotlight: Il Pastaio di Nuoro - Organic pasta

Our pasta from Il Pastaio di Nuoro is made following a very simple and traditional recipe, and as such the quality of the ingredients is crucial. Only specially selected durum semolina and wheat flours, strictly organic both in growing and production is used; along with the purest quality water sourced from around the mountainous town of Nuoro; resulting in perfect flavour and balance of minerals in the pasta.  

Pasta such as penne and malloreddus, a popular small striped shell gnocchi shaped pasta, is shaped by drawing dough through bronze dies, which gives the finished pasta a pleasantly rough to the touch exterior, as well as lending the pasta a unique porosity that allows it to absorb seasonings, and stay intact without breaking during cooking. When cooked perfectly al dente, the pasta will release some of its starch into the cooking water or sauces because of this porous surface, and when mixed vigorously with a sauce, will create a beautifully glossy exterior finish.

A traditional Malloreddos recipe is a tomato sauce made with fresh sausages and saffron, ‘malloreddus alla campidanese’. We also love them cooked with fish stock, sea urchin roe, and shaved katsuboshi flakes on top!

The fregola pasta shape is traditionally made using earthenware or basket containers, with small amounts of pasta dough rolled against the sides of the vessel; as it is rolled in a circular motion small sized balls of pasta are formed, comparable to large cous-cous. This very traditional Sardinian pasta shape can be toasted once dried, lending an earthy, nutty, sweet and bitter flavour to the pasta which makes it incredibly unique in a finished dish. Fregola can be used in place of risotto rice with vegetables or seafood, for example a delicious fregola tostata with bottarga, artichokes and chilli, or a vegetarian treat with peas, broadbeans, aromatic saffron and a deeply matured goat cheese (like our crabu!).

When the pasta is formed, it is dried at a much lower processing temperature than many other pastas. This slow dying process is more traditional and more time consuming, but allows for a much higher quality product with preserved flavour integrity.

At Capo Caccia we stock a range of Il Pastaio di Nuoro pastas including penne, caserecce, fregola and malloreddus in 500g and catering sizes. Why not give them a try!