Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Maltagliati all'uovo- A Pasta Salad Ingredient















Pronunciation: may-ltay-LYAY-tee

Maltagliati pasta are flat, roughly cut pieces of pasta produced as random shapes from the scraps of pasta being cut and formed for another variety of pasta. Or it can be pasta that is intentionally cut into a formed shape, similar to a trapezoid or a parallelogram. Maltagliati pasta is often used in minestrone soup or in others recipes as pasta e fagioli.

Often these packages of stray/broken pasta are seen in Italian or gourmet markets and can be quite tasty with a finish of herbs and olive oil. You can also create your own maltagliati after making lasagna or your own pasta at home. This pasta was sold as 'pasta all'uovo' which means 'egg pasta'.

Another Italian goodie which has made its way into my kitchen. My sister visited this past July and we took her into NYC for a few days. While having an eating experience at Eataly-il Pesce we saw quite an array of pasta and fresh foods. I have made this variety before, but not quite such a thin version. You could tell by the crinkled edges they must have been lasagna noodles at one time, but yet they are so thin. They soaked up the flavors of my homemade vodka sauce mixed with wood ear mushrooms. After rinsing the pasta in cold water I tossed in the other ingredients. A great lunch snack before we took a swim.

We picked up fiddle head ferns (which I found odd, since they are usually out of season by then), wood ear mushrooms (often found in hot and sour soup and stir fry's), and farro, orzo, gunaciale, black truffles, Italian cheeses, sauces and many other types of pasta for hubby's eating pleasure!













(wood ear mushrooms sold by the pound at Eataly)

Another wonderful purchase and eating experience from Eataly-

Black Rice from Venus, The Goddess Of Love