HANDMADE PASTA WORKSHOP:
FUSILLI DI FELITTO and PICI

 
 

Thank you for registering for this special fund-raising class!

Fusilli di Felitto is a long, hollow noodle made by rolling egg-enriched semolina dough around a long, thin metal skewer. The shape, which originated in the town of Felitto, in the National Park of Cilento, is part of the Slow Food Presidia of protected Italian foods.

I have searched high and low for the special metal skewer required to make traditional fusilli di Felitto and have been unable to find a source. SO, for this class, I will be demonstrating how to make this pasta, using the skewer I brought back from Cilento. Then, we will all make the dough and rather than roll it around a skewer, we will roll it out into pici, another traditional shape. Pici are long, hand-rolled noodles from Tuscany and are as traditional and delicious as fusilli di Felitto.

The dough for this pasta is somewhat atypical, in that it is made with semolina flour, but enriched with eggs and a little olive oil. The dough rolls out beautifully, whether you’re rolling it around a skewer or rolling it out into pici. And although traditional pici are made with just flour and water, they are really good when made with this enriched dough, especially sauced with ragù. Speaking of which…

In addition to the noodles, we will be making a southern-style ragù with beef, pork sausages, and red wine.

You will find links to printable versions of both the pasta and ragù recipes below. You will also find a list of ingredients and equipment. Since this is a hand-made pasta class, there is very little equipment required.

I am sharing links to several different types of skewers that are used to make a variety of fusilli and other shapes. I’ve tried using them to make fusilli di Felitto, but they don’t work well (they are too big). But I wanted to pass along the information in case you were interested in trying your hand at rolling the dough around a skewer (I will demonstrate several techniques). You can also use a thin wooden/bamboo skewer, the kind used for shrimp or fruit kebabs.

THANK YOU again to all who signed up for this class or who made a donation to March For Our Lives. Your generosity made it possible for me to donate $1,000 to this worthy charity that is looking for a solution to the gun epidemic in our country.


ZOOM LINK FOR CLASS

Please follow the above link to access the class at the appointed date and time.


C LASS PREPARATION

Here are a few things you can do to get ready for class:

Refer to the ingredients and equipment lists below to make sure you have everything you need well before the class date. Links are provided for less common ingredients and for ingredients/brands I like and use.

Read through the recipes (printable versions linked below) to familiarize yourself with them, and to help make sense of the ingredients and equipment lists.



INGREDIENTS LIST

Note that the links provided below for ingredients and equipment are mainly to give you a clear idea of what you will need or what will be useful. You can buy from the purveyors I’ve linked to (I don’t receive any commissiions) or from your preferred sources.

For the pasta:

  • 300 g Semola rimacinata or semolina flour for making the pasta.
    This is a hard-wheat flour typically used to make pasta in the south of Italy. You can find semolina flour, such as Bob's Red Mill, at most grocery stores.

  • Semola rimacinata is a more finely milled version of semolina. If you can find it, it's the best flour to make this pasta.

    FYI: An offer from from Olio2Go
    I have been using a brand of semola rimacinata called CioBio, which I get through Olio2Go, an online purveyor of Italian products. The manager, Luanne, has offered to to include a free bag of this flour to anyone registered for the class who places an order. Olio2Go will also donate 25% of your purchase to March For Our Lives. You don’t have to order flour, or even anything listed for the class. But if you happen to place an order, please mention that you are taking this class and use the code Pasta4Lives and Olio2Go will include a bag of the CioBio flour. It is SLIGHTLY past expiration date, which is why she is offering it for free. However, I have been using it, and it is perfectly fresh and fine, and it makes great pasta. That said, this is ENTIRELY optional. Although Olio2Go is an online business, they have a small storefront not far from my house, and so I often buy products there, not only for classes but also just to cook for my family. Their products are excellent quality.

    Here are other good online sources for semola rimacinata:

  • Semola Rimacinata Castelvetrano, from Gustiamo

  • Finely milled Semolina Flour, from Hayden Flour Mills

  • Caputo Semola Rimacinata, from Supermarket Italy

Other ingredients for the pasta:

  • 2 large eggs

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

For the ragù:

  • 1 1/4 pounds (1 kg) boneless beef chuck roast

  • 1/2 pound (2 links) Italian pork sausage, spicy or sweet

  • Yellow onion (1 large)

  • Garlic (1 clove)

  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry red wine, such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

  • 1 quqrt (1 L) tomato passata (I like Mutti brand and Bionaturae brand tomatoes)

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • Fresh chile pepper or crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

  • Bay leaf (2)

EQUIPMENT LIST

  • Dough scraper (optional; very useful for mixing dough and also for shaping).

  • Thin wooden skewer (optional)

  • Clean tablecloth or large rimmed baking sheets, for placing the shaped pasta

    For those of you who are interested in metal skewers, here are a couple of online sources:

  • Brass fusilli iron from Fantes Kitchen Shop

  • Pair of brass ferretti from QB Cucina

  • Fusilli set from Artisanal Pasta Tools

PRINTABLE RECIPES