Above: Remember this name (we dare you to try): Pasta di Semola di Grano Duro all’Uovo. Tell us your opinion at the next dsm unveiling party.
By Wini Moranville
I don’t generally spend $8 for a package of pasta, but that may be changing now that I’ve discovered that Gateway Market carries the Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand of Pasta di Semola di Grano Duro all’Uovo.
That’s durum-wheat semolina pasta with eggs, for those of us who don’t parlono italiano. The egg is key—it adds deep yellow-gold color to the pasta and unmistakably rich flavor. But there’s something else at work here, according to Gateway chef/partner George Formaro.
“That brand is amazing,” he says. “If you ever knew an Italian mother or grandmother that made pasta, and you noticed the almost magical touch that they used to prepare their pasta, you would swear that these guys were conjuring up that same magic. I think of my mom every time I use it.”
In fact, it’s so flavorful and rich that Formaro says he saves the water used to cook the pasta, “like it were a fine simmered stock,” and adds it back into the dishes he’s creating with the pasta. That helps him dress the pasta lightly, more like you would a salad, rather than slathering it with the traditional Italian red sauces we all know and love.
My favorite way to serve it is, in fact, French: en persillade (with garlic and parsley). I melt a little butter, sauté some garlic and parsley just until their fragrances are released, then toss this mixture with the cooked pasta and a little of the cooking water. This makes a simple yet refined side dish to the braises of the season.
Gateway Market is at 2002 Woodland Ave., 515-243-1754; gatewaymarket.com.
Wini Moranville writes about food, wine and dining for dsm magazine and dsmWeekly. Follow her on Facebook at All Things Food–DSM.
