Frascarelli: Umbrian Pasta + Truffles

Recipe + Video

I am definitely not one for making home made pasta. First of all, I generally like dried pasta when I’m cooking at home. My favorite shapes tend to be spaghetti or penne. Classic shapes with classic sauces. And when I do want fresh pasta like fettucine or ravioli? It’s easy for me to go across the street to the market to pick up some in time for dinner.

That said, even I will be making the following recipe that I learned in Umbria a few weeks ago while on a truffle hunt with our guests. It’s got so much going for it, not the least of which is that it’s EASY. It’s kind of like spaetzle, or dumplings, but with the final cooked result being akin to risotto. It’s called frascarelli and evidently it is an old fashioned Umbrian recipe that everyone’s grandmother used to make. It’s the kind of dish you can pull together when you think you don’t have anything in the house. Since I don’t have an Umbrian grandmother it was the first I had heard of it.