Ten lesser-known traditional pasta recipes you must try

Pasta! The word takes you to Italy all of a sudden, without even a blink of an eye. Pasta is the main ingredient in most Italian sides. From Italy to India, pasta has truly gone global. It reached far-off places. Many hidden old-style lesser-known traditional pasta recipes budded as a unique delicacy used local pasta. Additionally, these regional, lesser-known traditional recipes are the perfect treat for your taste buds. These dishes mirror simplicity and freshness yet are palatable. All the types of pasta used were hand-rolled and made from durum wheat.

1. Chutagi-

This dish from Ladakh, oozing with Indian flavors is a soupy one instead of a saucy texture. In winter, the most sought-after platter provides warmth in vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions. The non-Italian pasta is made from durum wheat flour and is hand-rolled in a bow-tie silhouette. This wholesome, nutritious delicacy is a perfect comfort food.

2. Tagliatelle al ragù –

Ragù Alla Bolognese, a traditional meat sauce in Italy, is one of the mangling recipes. It is an easy recipe. The recipe requires perfect ingredients, time, and a thick-heavy-bottomed clay pot. Authentic Ragù Alla Bolognese is cooked in butter with low-fat pork belly, ground beef, and veggies like onion, carrot, celery, and tomato paste. The slow cooker method of cooking the dish enhances its flavor. Ragù Alla Bolognese was paired with polenta or bread during the 18th century. Today it is served along with the flat pasta, Tagliatelle.

3. Maccheroni sull’anatra-

This duck ragù pasta is a traditional American-Italian delicacy cooked with egg pasta squares. The thick square pasta floating in duck sauce would take you to Tuscany.

4. Moroccan Couscous-

Traditional Algerian Couscous is hand-rolled from wheat or barley semolina. These tiny, round balls are a powerful source of antioxidants, thanks to their Selenium content. From the roasted vegetable salad to the authentic Moroccan Couscous makes a versatile side dish. Moroccan Couscous is a slow cooker festive dish. This dish is cooked in a pot called a couscoussier. The delightful meal is soft and filled with the aroma of slow-steaming meat (beef) and vegetables.

5. Abruzzese ragù Maccheroni Alla molinara-

Maccheroni Alla molinara is a unique miller-style pasta hand-rolled into long and thick form by local grandmothers. This typical yet flavorful pasta made of durum wheat and egg appeared around the mid-14th century in a few towns along the Fino River. The dish is served with braised duck meat and tomato sauce. Every year in August, Pescara province honors this dish at a town festival.

6. Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino-

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino is one of the simplest and quickest traditional Italian pasta dishes you can make. This classic chili garlic pasta, made with just five ingredients cooked over low heat, is a winning recipe from Naples.

7. Pasta Alla Carbonara-

This spiced spaghetti dish consists of guanciale or pig’s cheek, Pecorino Romano, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Earlier, the recipe was quite popular among Roman coal miners. That is where the pasta derived its name from. While carbonara is made differently in different regions, it is one of the easiest traditional Italian pasta dishes. You can also make carbonara pasta with rigatoni. The key is their sauce-holding capacity.

8. Culurgiones-

It is a unique traditional Italian pasta recipe from Sardinia. Made from durum wheat, the pasta is stuffed with garlic-flavored potato mash and has a refreshing mint flavor. Culurgiones resemble Tibetan dumplings due to their pinching and folding closing. Since the dish is a no-fry recipe, it is boiled and served with pecorino cheese.

9. Cavatelli with oyster mushrooms and sausage-

Pugalia people use a unique type of king-sized flavor-rich oyster mushroom called cardoncelli traditionally for making this recipe. Capunti or Cavatelli pasta is artisan canoe shape pasta from the Apulia region of Italy. The dimpled beauty has an incredible capacity to hold the sauce. Together with pork sausages, it sits in garlicky tomato sauce. The bay leaf and ricotta marzotica make it a perfect Autumn-Winter dish.

10. Malfaldine con ricotta in Bianco-

Durum wheat semolina made Mafaldine originated in southern Italy and has its roots in the Italian royal family. The native Neapolitans prepare Malfaldine con ricotta in Bianco in three variations. One, with sheep milk’s ricotta, pecorino, and lardo cheese; the second, with a simple onion sauce; and the third chickpeas variation called ‘con Ceci.

If you have tried any of the lesser-known traditional pasta recipes mentioned above, we would like to hear about your experience in comments. Or do let me know if I missed including any.