Antiche Maccheroncelli di Gragnano

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Described as a hol­low pen­cil, mac­cheron­cel­li is a short pas­ta that’s slight­ly thin­ner than a pen­cil with a hol­lowed out center. 

The Mac­cheron­cel­li pas­ta specif­i­cal­ly pro­duced by Antiche Tradizioni di Grag­nano is a cer­ti­fied Pas­ta di Grag­nano prod­uct. A qual­i­ty label rec­og­nized across Europe, prod­ucts labelled Pas­ta di Grag­nano promis­es a qual­i­ty taste, a firm, toothy tex­ture and their sig­na­ture rough­ness that holds pas­ta sauces infi­nite­ly bet­ter than any oth­er dried pas­tas in the world.

PREPA­RA­TION AND PAIRINGS

Because of the ridges on the sur­face of the mac­cheron­cel­li pas­ta, heavy sauces cling well to the shape and tex­ture of this pas­ta. A ver­sa­tile pas­ta, this is great for oven-baked casseroles or even chunky toma­to based recipes such as bolognese.

Go sim­ple with a Mac­cheron­cel­li al Limone or enjoy the con­trast­ing tex­tures and taste of a con­tem­po­rary, Mac­cheron­cel­li Pas­ta with Bur­ra­ta and Fried Bread­crumbs. If you have any left­over Makati Shangri-La Sour­dough or Baguette, bring out the food proces­sor and make some home­made bread­crumbs, deep fry until gold­en brown. Sauté some olive oil, kale, chili flakes with the cooked pas­ta. Serve with fresh bur­rati­na cheese.

The Birth­place of Dried Pasta

Just south of Naples lies a hill­top town known for pro­duc­ing the best dried pas­ta in the world. Lov­ing­ly referred by the locals as Oro di Grag­nano — the gold of Grag­nano — this lit­tle town is cel­e­brat­ed for its air-dried, bronze-extrud­ed pasta.

Rec­og­nized by the Euro­pean Union as a PGI prod­uct (“Pro­tect­ed Geo­graph­i­cal Indi­ca­tion”), Pas­ta di Grag­nano ensures a strict stan­dard of qual­i­ty. Made with only high qual­i­ty durum wheat, fresh spring water sourced from the near­by Mount Lat­tari and extrud­ed through a bronze dye, pas­tas made in Grag­nano pro­duce an amaz­ing­ly al-dente bite and a sig­na­ture rough­ness that clings beau­ti­ful­ly to any pas­ta sauces. Today, only 16 pas­ta pro­duc­ers are rec­og­nized for true Pas­ta di Grag­nano, one of which is Antiche Tradizioni di Gragnano.

Storage Instructions

Store in a cool dry place.