FALL SEASON
Our Pasta Programme
Every season, we shine a spotlight on a series of traditional pasta shapes fabricated using traditional methods and their culinary anthropology—from the moments in history that led to them, to the regional influences that shape them from past to present.
Fall head over heels in love with our fresh cast of Fall pasta shapes and plates—from Gramigna Paglia e Fieno, a weed-shaped pasta from Bologna that comes in shades of ‘straw and hay’; to Rigatoni alla Vaccinara, where a braised oxtail ragu borne out of ‘cucina povera’ in Rome is best scooped up with porous tubes of pasta.
Two hallmarks of Italian civilisation come together in an incredibly delicious Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, or if you’re lucky, go for our limited quantity specials that come in the form of a Gli Strangozzi alla Spoletina—egg pasta cut over a chitarra and served with a humble yet traditional condiment from Umbria—and Pasticcio Carlofortino, a mix of three hand-made pasta shapes with a fusion of San Pietro finest flavours.
Experience Italy’s nuanced regional diversity through the lens of the seasons, one strand, parcel, or shape at a time.
Gramigna Paglia e Fieno
Origins: Bologna, Emilia Romagna (North)
Egg-based, bronze extruded short pasta coloured ‘paglia e fieno’ with a condiment made from pork sausage and Parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P.
A curlicue-shaped pasta from the Emilia-Romagna region, Gramigna is Italian for Bermuda grass, and adopts the shape of the namesake weed. It is also commonly found in border areas of Le Marche, where it is touted to be an interpretation of couscous, which has been imitated in many pasta shapes across Italy throughout history. Originally grated with a large-holed grater—and later, using a specific utensil with a large-holed die—today it is made using bronze dies which are known as gramignoni or spaccatelle. We prepare our Gramigna in the style of ‘Paglia e Fieno’, a traditional Italian dish originating from Siena, which translates to ‘straw and hay’—egg gramigna for the straw, and spinach gramigna for the hay. There are various ways to dress this dish, but none more satisfying than a buttery condiment made using pork sausage and Parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P.
Rigatoni alla Vaccinara
Origins: Rome, Lazio (Central)
Bronze-extruded short tubular pasta with a braised oxtail ragu
Beloved across Italy, Rigatoni is most prevalent in the ordinary cuisine of Rome and central through southern Italy. While it takes its name from the Italian word ‘rigati’, meaning ‘ridged’, the ‘rigatone liscio’—which we favour—is made without ridges but with a porosity typical of bronze extrusion that retain sauces just as well. We pair it with a braised oxtail ragu of white wine, soffritto, tomato passata and pecorino romano crosta nera D.O.P.—an iconic dish borne out of ‘cucina povera’ in Rome, Lazio. Its history lies in the ‘vaccinari’, the lowest social classes in Regola, the 7th rione in the heart of the eternal city. This dish, along with many other popular offal offerings in modern-day Rome are all categorized as the ‘quinto quarto’ or fifth quarter of the bovine—essentially parts that nobility never had to endure like spleen, intestines, tripe and brains. The least appreciated cuts were left to the class of the proletariat such as your butchers, tanners, leather workers and the ilk that were connected to slaughterhouses and tanneries, said to have populated the east of the Tiber. La coda alla vaccinara is not only a typical dish of the eternal city but a representation of cucina povera, prized for economy and versatility. While primarily enjoyed as a secondo, its leftover sauce can be “stretched” to dress pasta.
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Origins: Rome, Lazio (Central)
Bronze-extruded long pasta with an emulsion of cheese and black pepper
Over the past decade, cacio e pepe has become a culinary phenomenon that has inspired everything from doughnuts to street corn. How it became one of Italy’s most viral pasta is no secret: it’s easy to knock up on a whim and is more delicious than its meagre ingredients would suggest. However, to make it well is a challenge upon itself and serves as the ultimate litmus test in pasta perfection—imagine a tight and silky sauce gliding across a plate of pasta versus one that is gloopy and runny, pooling at the base of your plate. Success lies in getting the right texture by balancing the ratio of pasta waster to pecorino, adding cheese off the heat and achieving consistent ‘mantecatura’ by paying close attention to how everything comes together in the pan. Our vessel of choice is Spaghetti, a long, thin cylindrical pasta that is another hallmark of Italian civilisation. Given its tendency for the better release of starch to more cohesively bind condiment and noodles, matched with the rugged profile of its bronze-drawn nature, the cling factor to an incredible sauce is doubled.
Bigoli co’ L’anara
Origins: Veneto (North-East)
A thick, long, extruded egg pasta dressed with slow-cooked duck ragu and finished with Parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P.
A signature of Veneto in the North-East, Bigoli finds traces of its history dating back to the 1400s during the Ottoman-Venetian conflict. However, the pasta really came into prominence with the 17th century invention of a small-batch extruder called a bigolaro, allowing families to produce thick, rustic strands of bigoli at ease. Even then, there are notable differences between the bigoli found in different regions in Veneto. In Venezia you’ll commonly find the whole wheat Bigoli Scuri, a commoner’s dish sparingly dressed with anchovies and white onion. A more luxurious version can be found in the municipality of Thiene, made with Muscovy duck eggs and sauced with a slow braise of duck and its offal. Ours takes after the latter with porous, bronze-extruded bigoli in a slow-cooked duck ragu and finished with Parmigiano Reggiano D.O.P.
Mezze Paccheri al Sughetto di Zucchine e Seppie
Origins: Salerno, Campania (South)
Short, wide tubes of bronze-extruded pasta with grilled squid, zucchini, and datterini tomatoes
While the origins of various pasta names might not give any indication of deliciousness, paccheri comes from the Neapolitan paccaria, meaning “to slap” – as in one getting slapped in the face by this large-shaped pasta should it be consumed too quickly; or the slapping sounds made by the pasta landing on a plate. Made by extruding an eggless dough through a bronze die, paccheri was invented by Sicilian pasta artisans to smuggle superior cloves of Italian garlic into then-Prussia, with each piece of pacchero hiding multiple cloves of garlic. Thanks to its resemblance to rings of calamari, paccheri is also known as calamarata, and, in the same vein, is often paired with a seafood-based sauce. We play on this with a flavourful shellfish stock, rings of grilled squid, and freshness from zucchini and datterini tomatoes.
Pasticcio Carlofortino
Origins: Carloforte, Sardinia (Islands)
A mix of three hand-made pasta shapes with a fusion of San Pietro flavours featuring Genoese pesto, tuna in oil and buzzonaglia di tonno
Available in limited quantities as a special only
Pasticcio Carlofortino is a fusion of flavours—Genoese pesto, tuna in oil, buzzonaglia di tonno (dark tuna meat nearer to the spine of the fish), and tomato passata—showcasing typical products from the island of San Pietro, thanks to its long tuna fishing culture. A fishing town on the island of San Pietro south west to that of Sardinia, Carloforte has over many centuries maintained its strong “Genoese” identity, preserving many proud Ligurian traditions which explains these mix of elements. Pasticcio Carlofortino features a mix of three pasta shapes made from durum wheat semolina which includes among its formats, cursetti (similar to strascinati), macarruin, and cassulli (similar to Sardinian gnocchi).
Gli Strangozzi alla Spoletina
Origins: Spoleto, Umbria (Central)
Long, flat egg pasta cut over a chitarra, served with a vegetarian condiment of tomatoes, garlic, peperoni and parsley
Available in limited quantities as a special only
Umbria’s most famous native pasta shape served extensively at Umbrian tables, strangozzi (aka stringozzi) are essentially thicker, more sturdy fettucine. The name is said to have originated from stringhe da scarpa, meaning ‘shoelaces’; or stringa, meaning ‘string’. The shape may also vary from a slightly irregular version of spaghetti alla chitarra to a wider fettucine and can be made with an egg or eggless dough. Our strangozzi relies on the shoelace model utilising egg dough and are made religiously by hand: rolled manually with a wooden pin and cut over a chitarra, a framed wooden instrument strung with wires that is typical in Abruzzo. Our condiment of choice follows the humble but distinguished tradition typical in Spoleto: made using tomatoes, garlic, peperoni and parsley.
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