In two days, on October 25th, it's the 27th anniversary of World Pasta Day. Pasta, which UNESCO has declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is the quintessential dish of the "Mediterranean diet" and an undisputed symbol of Italian identity. The Bel Paese is known worldwide for its pasta, a key food that gives us the energy to face our daily commitments with its carbohydrates.
Besides celebrating its taste and importance, this day also highlights its great variety, which translates into countless shapes: long pasta, short pasta, nests, small pasta, filled pasta... Each type has unique characteristics that differentiate it from others, but all share the same irresistible goodness.
In honor of this World Pasta Day, today we learn how to prepare a typical Emilia-Romagna recipe: Strozzapreti with Meat Ragù.
Strozzapreti: a story of anger and frustration
The history of Strozzapreti is rooted in the era of rural Romagna, and its origin is shrouded in various legends. What's certain is that at the time of their creation, this land was poor and under the rule of the Papal States.
One of the most accredited legends tells of very heavy taxes that were personally collected by priests in the homes of farmers, where in addition to money, they also demanded a plate of pasta for lunch. The "azdore", the housewives of Emilia-Romagna, were thus forced to prepare food even for their tax collectors. And it is precisely here that the legend is born. The strozzapreti, prepared with a dough based on water and flour, were stretched and slightly twisted until they took on a shape similar to the noose with which convicts were hanged. This shape represented the (not-so-subtle) hope of the Romagna housewives that the priest would choke on them.
This dish, born from frustration and negative feelings, today represents one of Emilia-Romagna's culinary symbols and is known throughout Italy with names that vary from region to region.
Strozzapreti with Meat Ragù
The iconic dish of Romagna: tasty, delicious, and easy to make
DifficultyEasy
Preparation time1h
Servings6
€
CostMedium
Ingredients
- For the Pasta:
- 500 g flour
- 75 g water
- 75 g milk
- Salt to taste
For the Ragù:- 1 celery stalk
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 20 g butter
- 100 g ground veal
- 100 g ground pork loin
- 100 g ground eye of round (or similar cut)
- 1 glass dry white wine
- A little tomato paste (or passata)
- 300 g casatella cheese
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Method
- Pour the flour like rain onto the cutting board, rearranging it into a crater. Inside of it, you will pour the water, the milk, and the salt, then mixing them with a fork into the flour.
- Work the dough until you get a firm and consistent loaf.
- Let the pasta rest for 30 minutes.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the sheet, not too thin. Cut strips that are 1 cm wide and approximately 6 cm long. Roll them with the palm of your hands until they form small, elongated spirals.
- Meanwhile, make the finely chopped celery, carrot, and onion soften in a pan with the oil and butter. Add the meat, make it brown, then pour the dry white wine, letting it evaporate.
- Combine the tomato paste and let it cook for about another forty minutes on low heat.
- Boil abundant hot water in a pot, pour the strozzapreti in, drain, and season with the ragù to which you will add the casatella cut into small pieces.
- The heat of the pasta and the ragù will melt the cheese, also blending the flavors.
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