From a small artisan producer near Pisa, in the western part of Tuscany, comes this noteworthy, traditionally made pasta you’ve probably never heard of. The Antico Pastificio Morelli is in the very small town of San Romano (population of about 1,500), which is halfway between Livorno, on the coast, and Florence, in the center of the region. It’s also about 20 minutes northeast of where the Martelli family make their amazing maccheroni and spaghetti, in the really big town of Lari (8,000 people).
In fact, Morelli is actually older than Martelli--the company dates back to 1860, and the family currently running it are in their fifth generation of pasta production. By contrast, the Martellis have been at it “only” since 1926. Both families make fantastic pasta, sticking to all the important little details that the big makers have long since abandoned in their belief that “no one can tell the difference” or that “people won’t pay for that old-style stuff.”
I’ve never bought either of those theories, but I do buy a lot of Morelli and Martelli pasta. They do all the things I like in a pasta: low-temperature mixing, bronze die extrusion, and very long, low-temperature drying of the pasta.
It also turns out that pasta germe di grano--pasta made with wheat that has its natural germ still intact, is their true passion.
Try ‘em all!
This article was originally published on www.theatlantic.com. Read the complete article here.
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*Image of “pasta ingredients“ via Shutterstock
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