The Sicilian sun, romantic alleys, Amalfi Coast, Gelato from Naples, grazing fields of olives and grapes- these are only the very few things that we recognize Italy with. But, how can one forget Italy’s obsession with pasta, right? Just like rice in India, pasta is Italy’s basic form of carbs. Starting from the absolute basic Aglio oil to baked and stuffed pasta, a pasta dish made in Italy is a thing of dreams.
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Just like the country itself, it’s pasta dishes are vivid, colorful, and extremely sumptuous. You can expect just two ingredients on the plate or even 10, one thing you can be sure of is that it is going to be a culinary revelation for every pasta-lover! One such variety of pasta that the whole of Italy boasts of is stuffed pasta- one of their traditional holiday foods. On Christmas Eve, the grand-moms and the moms of the house will come together for an absolute culinary riot in the kitchen, making pasta right from the scratch. How else would you end up with an epic stuffed pasta dish anyway, right?
Stuffed with a plethora of meat as well as cheese varieties, the stuffed pasta signifies much more than just Italy’s genius and adeptness when it comes to making pasta dishes. Even though Italians don’t need any particular festival, occasion or reason to indulge in the making as well as relishing an outstanding pasta dish, Christmas especially calls for a showstopper dish that would sit proudly in the middle of the dinner table, and that dish happens to be stuffed pasta. Involving a variety of fresh cheese, meat, herbs, and grandma’s love, this dish comes to life at every Italian family during the holidays!
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Take for example the traditional Culurgiones de Casa which is home-style ravioli where the fresh sheep cheese and chard come together with nutmeg and saffron to add the perfect hint of sweetness to the savory of the dish. For simpler options, the ricotta-filled ravioli served with a garnishing of snowflake-like pecorino romano is the perfect homely yet traditional dish. Every house in Italy is encumbered by the smell of pasta sauce simmering away or the manicotti being backed in the oven, or the ladle full of sauce being prepared for the lasagna.
Almost every Italian household has its own little tips and tricks for making the sauce just right or kneading the pasta dough to absolute perfection. It’s more of a matter of family heirloom in the form of recipes than just Masterchef-style pasta dishes.
