Casarecce

Casarecce pasta is a short dry pasta of durum wheat semolina and water, rolled like a small smooth piece of parchment folded in at the edges. De Cecco places its origin in Sicily, and Rummo's casarecce are 45 mm long and cook in 10 minutes; their grooves hold anything from meat ragù to a broad-bean cream. ¹²³

The shape. Rummo gives exact measurements for its casarecce n° 88: 45 mm long, 1.4 mm thick and 8.9 mm across the roll. ³ De Cecco describes the casareccia as a small parchment rolled up and folded at the top, and says its smooth, slightly porous surface holds every kind of sauce. ²

Sicilian roots. According to De Cecco, the shape comes from Sicily but is typical of other southern regions too; its name evokes home-made pasta, and it recalls the Arab-style busiata, made by wrapping dough round a thin plant stem. ² Italy's list of traditional foods records «busiati col pesto trapanese» as a Sicilian dish. ⁹

What they are made of. Under Italian law, dry pasta sold as durum wheat semolina pasta contains only semolina and water, so casarecce are not egg pasta, despite the homely name. ¹ Divella lists its caserecce n° 25 among regional shapes and gives 355 kcal and 13 g of protein per 100 g. ⁶ They contain wheat, a gluten allergen. ¹²

Cooking times. Rummo's casarecce cook in 10 minutes, Divella's in 8, and De Cecco's n° 88 in 11, or 9 for al dente. ³⁶² In Rummo's recipes the pasta goes into the sauce half-way or a couple of minutes early and finishes there with ladles of cooking water. ⁴⁵

Two Rummo recipes. For 2, Rummo cooks 250 g of casarecce with 500 g of broccoli softened with garlic and chilli, finished with olive oil and aged pecorino. ⁴ Its aubergine version roasts 750 g of aubergines and 300 g of cherry tomatoes at 180 °C for 40 minutes and blends them with 300 g of ricotta and 30 g of pine nuts into a silky cream. ⁵

Caserecce alla portoghese. Divella's recipe for 4 boils 400 g of bronze-drawn caserecce together with 250 g of green beans for nine minutes, then tosses them with 200 g of cherry tomatoes, half an onion, 150 g of pecorino and 50 g of toasted breadcrumbs, topped with 100 g of ricotta salata. ⁷

Casarecce vs fusilli and trofie. Rummo's fusilli n° 48 are a spiral 40 mm long and 10.5 mm wide that cooks in 8 minutes, while its casarecce are a rolled sheet, 45 mm long and 8.9 mm across. ¹⁰³ Divella's slow-dried trofie take 12 to 14 minutes. ¹¹ Casarecce sit between them: a twist, but open along one side to trap the sauce. ²

Why it matters to you. Pick casarecce for ragù, vegetable sauces with pecorino or ricotta, and Sicilian-style aubergine dishes; the rolled edges catch the sauce. ²⁴⁵ Cook them 8 to 11 minutes depending on the brand and finish them in the pan. ⁶³² Check the label for wheat. ¹²