International Cooking School of Italian Food & Wine

<< Back to Ingredients LA PASTA SECCA - Italy’s Artisan Pastifici At the pastificio, this is what spaghetti looks like after it is dried. Later, the strands are separated and packaged.

At the pastificio, this is what spaghetti looks like after it is dried. Later, the strands are separated and packaged.

Ahhhhh, Italian pasta. There is nothing like it. A good pasta can make or break the flavor and texture of the dish. Remember - Italians value the pasta more than the sauce. It’s the pasta that is the star. True artisan pasta-makers respect tradition by using bronze dyes for extruded pasta, which give a surface of microscopic roughness and a porosity that aids the sauce in clinging to the strands of pasta rather then sliding off. They use slow drying methods so there are no cracks or breaks in the strands and the pasta withstands boiling much better. With that in mind, along with distribution and what is available to you in specialty stores in your area, the following Italian culinary artisans have raised Italian pasta-making to a fine art:

MARTELLI - Truly an artisanal pasta from Tuscany made from durum wheat and cold water, made from beginning-to-end by only family members. For over 80 years. Only 4 extruded pastas are made - spaghetti, spaghettini, maccheroni di toscana, penne classiche - and all are “al dente” perfection!

I LATINI - Producer of more than 23 cuts of dried pasta, farro whole grain and more than 9 cuts of farro pasta. In the Marche, Latini grows his own wheat and farro, and annually grows experimental grain fields for R&D. Blended wheat and water pastas as well as mono-cultivars. Latini is a leader in dried pasta.

BENEDETTO CAVALIERI - Established in 1918, this southern producer from Apulia makes more than 12 different pastas including a few unusual southern cuts. Made from only durum wheat semolina and water, a fine-quality pasta.

CAMPOFILONE - Established in 1912, near Ascoli Piceno in the Marche. Made with durum wheat semolina and eggs, no water. This company makes just a few flat cuts of tagliatelle, tagliolini, fettucine and flat sheets for lasagne. Also squid ink pasta. Although dried, Campofilone pasta is the closet to the fresh pasta I eat in Bologna because it is so thin, with a silky texture and delicate flavor. Incredible.