Corzetti
or croxetti are a beautiful type of pasta from the Italian region
Liguria that many Liguri do not even know since it's being consumed
mainly in the Eastern side of the region. My Mum, for example, - a real Genovese - had never seen them or even heard their name.
They are made with wonderful carved wooden stamps with
lovely symbols embossed on both sides (I have 5 types of stamps
engraved with stars, suns, laurel branches, trees and flowers).
Yesterday I enjoyed myself a lot preparing the corzetti with my friend Claudio Varone.
You can find some more information about corzetti on this Wikipedia page.
We made them mixing spelt flour and chestnut flour and then served them with a traditional Ligurian walnut sauce,
the one my Mum always makes at home. We slightly modified it by adding
pine nuts because we did not have enough walnuts. A truly scrumptious
sauce. I advise you to add, as we did, a lot more marjoram than the
amount you see next to the food processor (I love this herb, for me it
represents the true smell of Liguria, much more than basil) and serve
WITHOUT Parmesan or pepper.
On our first plate we put both cheese
and black pepper but on the second one (the dish was too good, we both
had THREE servings each!!!) we avoided them and the corzetti tasted a
lot better. Parmesan or grated grana and pepper, in fact, distract you a
bit from the delicate intensity of the sauce that is already very rich
in flavour (and cheese). If you want a bit more flavour add a little
salt to the sauce.
The procedure, the ingredients and the quantities can be found in the almost-video. Enjoy!
One of the most beautiful forms of pasta, in my opinion. And Ligurian walnut sauce is truly to die for…
Posted by: Frank | October 09, 2012 at 01:39 PM
Abdsolutely, Frank, so beautiful and special. And this version of the walnut sauce by my Mum is really great.
Posted by: Nicoletta | October 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM