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  • 4 Steps to Great Baked Pasta

    There really is nothing like baked pasta for comfort, warmth and even luxury. There is some evidence that baked pasta is the original preparation of pasta too going back a couple millennia with a lasagna type dish. Baked pasta does take a little more time and involves more steps than a simple pasta dish, but the payoff is worth it. Here are 4 steps to great baked pasta. 1. Cook the pasta less than listed on the package by about 1/2. (ie. shorten a 10 minute cook time to 5 minutes) 2. Don't dump the pasta cooking water. 3. Integrate all the ingredients before baking. 4. Cover the dish for most of the cooking time and then uncover at the end to give it a little brown. Recently we had one of our Etto Super Fans share with us a fun creation he calls Etto Pasta Pizza with Figaro. Here is his recipe: FIGARO PIZZA PASTA AN ETTO SUPER FAN RECIPE By Chris Gonzales    IG @gonzo_eats DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE PDF PREPARATION Begin heating a large pot of salted water to cook the pasta in Preheat oven to 375° Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, sausage, and onions and cook for 4 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the meat is browned and cooked through. Drain grease. Reduce heat to medium. Add beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape off fond. Add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine and heat for 1 minute. Add the marinara and pizza sauce and stir to combine. Let it simmer, partially covered, while you boil the pasta for 1 minute less than al dente according to package instructions. Reduce the heat of the sauce to low and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Stir to combine. Top with mozzarella and then with pepperoni. Cover and bake for 10 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 15 minutes Enjoy! Like this recipe? Download the PDF Do you have a favorite pasta recipe to share with us? If so email gina@ettopastificio.com and you may just see it here.

  • What Are the Best Pasta Shapes for Soup?

    If you haven't tried Etto pasta in soup now is the time. On a chilly night or even better yet, a rainy one a great bowl of soup that includes Etto pasta and some Bread Bike bread on the side is super satisfying. Cooking pasta in soup requires a bit of skill and patience. I've found that using the cooking times on our box often isn't enough time because soup is rarely boiling the whole time. Use the box time as a starting point and then taste until the texture is right. I often don't mind if soup pasta is a bit beyond al dente (you remember our old friend from last week). When making a soup with pasta use less than you think. When making a soup for four people I often add only a large handful or around an etto (100 grams or 1/4 pound). The pasta absorbs the liquid and grows in size and can overly dominate the soup. The starch from the pasta will act as a thickener too to help give the soup a richer feel. There are a ton of different soups that can be made with pasta and a quick internet search will reveal many. The reality is almost any soup could benefit with the addition of a little pasta. I think The best pasta shapes to add to soup are ditalini or conchigliette, but the reality is, that any pasta including our cute Fido (dog pasta) and Figaro (cat pasta) can make a bowl of soup even more exciting. Can you imagine the joy from the little ones? Don't forget, pasta also adds protein and complex carbohydrates to your soup. Tomato soup? Add some conchigliette Vegetable Soup? Add some ditalini, or for the kids Fido and Figaro Chicken Noodle? Make it with Etto reginette. The classics however are minestrone, cioppino ( we stock some great ones in a jar that only need a bit of seafood and a dash of pasta) and my all time favorite pasta fagioli. This dish on the East Coast somehow became known as Pasta Fazool, but whatever you call it make sure you make it at least once this winter. It is a humble country dish that I consider to be a luxury and pasta is the star. (see the recipe below) What's your favorite soup with Etto pasta?

  • What does Al Dente Mean? Dry Pasta January Continues with and Introduction

    Al Dente isn't the name of a bit player in the Sopranos, but what a great name for a mobster (Hollywood you can use that). Al dente, of course, has to to with the right cooking time for dried pasta. "Al dente" technically means "to the tooth" and signifies pasta with the right firm texture. As you hopefully learned last week pasta cooked al dente is better for you, being lower glycemic, with the starch breaking down in your body more slowly. In addition, overcooked pasta is a cardinal sin in Italy. How do we achieve the perfect al dente you ask? During my time researching Etto, I spent time up in the hills around Naples in the Amalfi Coast area. There is a town called Gragnano that is famous for the production of dried pasta. The town's main street allowed the ocean breeze to flow down the street and dry the pasta. The sidewalks were wide and had plenty of covered alleys in the event of weather so the pasta could be rolled under a covering to protect it from rain. I'm not sure what came first, the town or the pasta, but both had been there for a very long time. The ocean breeze was reminiscent of our own breeze in Paso Robles of the Templeton Gap and our distance to the ocean is fairly similar. Just another validation that Paso is the perfect place to produce world class pasta. Gragnano pasta is considered among many to be the best in the world. In addition to visiting pasta factories and spending time with great pasta producers I also ate a lot of pasta. There was a price fix restaurant that must have had a half dozen pasta dishes and the fixed price was not much more than lunch at Chipotle. The thing that stuck me as I dined in this famous pasta region was the extreme al dente texture. The pasta was downright crunchy, and these were the experts. It was a bit of a revelation, and to be honest a little too extreme for my taste. It did, however help me understand what al dente truly means. If the pasta sticks to your teeth that might be a bit underdone, but in Gragnano they seem to like it that way. To cook pasta al dente here's what I suggest: Don't forget to salt your water - 2TB Kosher salt and don't add oil. Make sure the water is really boiling before you drop any pasta into it. Look at the cooking time on the bag or box of pasta. At Etto we have tested each shape for the proper cooking time many times. We provide a range, and high quality pasta like ours is much more forgiving so you can do this. Set a timer based on the instructions on the box. This is one of the top uses for a smart watch in my opinion. Some folks recommend cooking the pasta a minute less than the instructions call for and then finishing in the sauce. With Etto pasta this will result in a pretty crunchy al dente style like I experienced in the old country. I suggest using the lower end number of the range on the box with a quick taste a minute before. Then if it's close (soft with a little crunch) turn off the water and give it 30 or so seconds. Using a slotted spoon or spoon with a net drain directly into the sauce as quickly as possible. From here, mix the pasta well and give it another taste. As long as your sauce is hot it will cook a bit more in the sauce until the perfect texture is achieved. Just remember there is no way to go back if the pasta overcooks. I have a tendency to try to be a little more on the al dente side for taste, tradition and health reasons. It's not always the most popular pasta with the rest of the family. If you want to try to be on the more extreme side warn the rest of the crew and if it's too much for them just add a little pasta water to the pasta and sauce together and cook a bit longer. The sauce will just integrate better and the dish will become one. Let me know how al dente you like to go? Mezzi Rigatoni Al Dente with Tomato and Bacon Mezzi Rigatoni is a great pasta, but the problem is if it overcooks it gets flat. Follow the instructions above to keep the shape of the tubes firm and the texture perfect and finish in the sauce. To make this sauce I cooked strips of pancetta (bacon of guanciale works) in the over at 250 for about 10 minutes. In a sauce pan I cooked a little onion in olive oil, added some pureed tomato and then the pancetta drained from the fat. I chopped a little spigarello that I had on hand, but just as easily could have used kale or spinach. Add the al dente pasta and mix with a little pasta water. Buon Appetito!

  • Dry Pasta January -Why dried pasta is good for you

    I'm one of those folks that hopes for year round moderation. The Italians seem to have mastered this after eons of practice. To the consternation of many of my friends in the wine business Dry January is now upon us. For those not in the loop, lots of folks have decided that after the indulgences and maybe even overindulgence of the holiday season January is a time to reset and give the body a little break. It's never a bad idea to take a step back, especially after a bit of binging. I had my fair share of wine and way too many sweet treats this holiday season and my plan instead is to moderate by celebrating Dry Pasta January. Wait, you say, isn't pasta one of those heavy carb laden evils we should cut out in the new year to give the body a break. Au contraire, if you believe this you haven't been paying attention or are new to Etto. Etto's dried pasta could and should be the cornerstone of kicking off your New Year on the right track. Here's why our dried pasta is good for you Etto Pasta is: Low Glycemic - which means low in sugar compared to most favorite foods including many vegetables. Complex Carbohydrate - as a complex carbohydrate pasta cooked al dente (more on this next week) breaks down slowly in the body for around 36 hours without sugar spikes providing fuel and energy for active folks especially kids . Protein by the Etto - Hopefully by now you know that Etto means 100 grams. A perfect portion of pasta for a meal. 100 grams of Etto pasta has 13-14 grams of protein without any additions. A little lean meat, veggies or cheese can boost this number. Vegan and Vegetarian - If you don't eat meat or need a little break after the holiday meat wagon Etto pasta combined with fresh vegetables, legumes or Mighty Cap Mushrooms is the perfect satisfying meatless lunch or dinner. Single Ingredient - Etto is a single ingredient food like a piece of fruit or vegetable from the farmer's market. The water we mix with our organic semolina flour evaporates during our drying process. It's a magical transformation. Evil Gluten - We've had dozens of happy and grateful customers of Etto pasta report that the discomfort from gluten does not exist with our pasta. These folks tend to be our biggest evangelists. We suppose it has something to do with the organic supply chain and our commitment to high quality semolina flour and our sparkling clean facility. (Of course, those who are diagnosed with celiac disease should always choose gluten free pasta). Testimonial - I've personally been eating Etto pasta from the day we tested our first batch over six years ago and have never felt better. Many friends ask me how I seem to have lost weight eating so much pasta during the last few years. When I started Etto I did so because of a love for pasta that started when I was a young boy. Living in Italy I discovered much higher quality pasta, that was not only more delicious than the pasta I grew up with, but also made me feel great. I combine our pasta with local veggies and sauces and other ingredients from the Etto marketplace that don't have hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup. I truly believe that healthy pasta is the key though to keeping my weight down and giving me energy to stick with my moderate exercise program. Most of my Italian friends eat pasta more than I do (like once or more per day) and seem to be the healthiest people I know. I plan to eat pasta this January more than any other food and also will have a little wine from time to time too. Hopefully you decide to take this journey with me too and boil up some dry pasta a few times a week and become a believer in ................Dry Pasta January.

  • A quick visit to Milan

    I know Milan really isn't on the way back from Boston as the crow flies, but at least it's almost half way there. Stephy was asked a month ago to speak on a panel in Milan and since we were close (or at least closer than usual) we decided to fly over for a couple days. The organization behind the event with the cryptic and interesting name of BE.COME covered some airfare, hotel and meals. We were able to taste more than our fair share of amazing Italian wine, and even snuck in some white truffles (recipe below). We’ve been fortunate to present our wines (Giornata) on a few occasions in Italy and the response is somewhere between surprise, shock and admiration. Italians believe that each grape variety in Italy is suited to a very specific place and really will not show true expression beyond these little areas. We’ve always been of the notion that while certain grapes do better than others in California, the grapes don’t know that they are planted in California vs. Italy and should do just fine, since Paso shares so many of the same soil and climate attributes that are found in Italy. Stephy has spent the last 20 years working to prove this and I was so proud that she was selected to attend, to tell our story and present our wines to an array of journalists and winemakers at this event. Her presentation was from the heart and we made some new friends and also were shown a great deal of respect for our efforts with Italian grape varieties in Paso Robles. Late November and December isn't the worst time to be in Italy, the days are shorter, but there are very few tourists and crowds. It's easy to get into any restaurant and attraction. Since our trip was only 3 days, and much of the time was in the conference at the hotel we could only see so much, but hey a few days in Italy is nothing to complain about. As you read this we will likely be on a plane headed back home. We look forward to seeing all of you for a fun and busy December in Tin City and Etto. This isn’t the first Etto newsletter written on a plane and in airports, but because of the travel times and short layovers it seems a little chaotic so I apologize for the typos in advance. I was finally able to visit the venerable retailer Peck located in the center of Milan. This store is a little like Etto’s marketplace if we’d begun 150 years ago or is like Etto might be 150 years in the future. I’ve only been to Milan on a couple occasions for a short period of time and both times Peck was closed so I was happy to finally have a chance to visit. This retailer was one of the first specialty retail markets in Italy and it’s safe to say is one of the world’s finest retailers of gourmet food items. The quality and breadth of items here is difficult to quantify, as it’s almost like a museum of Italian gastronomy. While Eataly is an emporium for all to experience the joys of Italian food with locations springing up all over the world, Peck is only in Milan, a place where you could imagine mostly the well heeled Milanese buying items for a holiday party attended by fashion designers, models and formula one drivers from Ferrari. The enticing offerings at PECK in Milan We carefully examined the entire store and while prices were a bit on the higher side they were not too prohibitive. Since it was our last night before we flew out and we promised our daughter pizza we were dressed comfortably for the night, and felt completely under dressed to be inside Peck. Milan is like that though, it’s the kind of place where guys riding a bike look like they are ready for a photo shoot, there are designer stores around every corner and high fashion just seems to be a way of life. We didn’t buy anything at Peck, but next time we end up in Milan I might try to rent a little place with a kitchen close by and dress up a bit and shop at Peck for a few meals. Everything in the store looked as it was prepared for a Michelin starred restaurant, a glimpse into the back of the market revealed a prep area that was highly polished. While Etto has a long way to go to become Peck, and we love that our customers and employees come dressed as they are, there was still some major inspiration from our visit to this legendary purveyor. If you happen to be in Milan and enjoy Etto it’s definitely worth a visit. Carne Crudo or Beef Carpaccio with Truffle I know this recipe isn't fair and not many of you including me will actually make this, but you never know. We are hoping the truffle pricing comes down a bit over the next couple weeks as we plan to handle some pre sale orders again for the holidays. Use the best quality beef you can find like Niman Ranch beef we carry at Etto. Chop the beef as fine as you can, or slice it thin and cover with a layer of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet until its as thin as possible. Add a touch of salt, pepper and high quality extra virgin olive oil. Use a truffle shaver to shave black or white truffles over the beef. Buon Appetito. Stephy Terrizzi BIO

  • Romes top local food markets to visit this summer: part 2

    Continued from July 22nd, 2023 ... Yesterday was the day I feared the most, the eye of "Caronte" or the day that Rome broke it's all time heat record. Again I decided to start my day early. This time I hit a couple of the top local food markets near the Vatican in Rome. The first was a pretty small and very working class one called Mercato dell Unita. This market was not flashy at all, but the quality and prices seemed to more than make up for it. I was on the early side and didn't see much to eat, but if you were in the hood it might be worth checking out. I then returned to a place I'd been before the Mercato Trifonale. This is easily one of the best markets anywhere and by that I mean not just in Rome. The quality and look of everything is beautiful. I spent about 20 minutes talking to a woman in my rough, but getting better Italian at the booth with all the condiments pictured above about my/our favorite Italian ingredients. I filled up my backpack with a selection of jarred condemnti, pesto, chili, and also bought some herbs, onion tarali and a fresh roman pecorino infused with pear. Sounds a little weird, but it was amazing and hopefully will make it through customs. I know it's strange that I'm bringing home jars of stuff from Italy since I have a full store full of the stuff, but Stephy I swear this is different stuff. On the way home I took a quick detour to check out the Spanish Steps to see how many idiots would be hanging out on them during the hottest day ever recorded in Rome. Turns out not too many, I've seen them so packed before that you can't see a single step. A few folks decided to go into the fountain below the steps as you can see above. I hurried home, grabbed a panini on the way and some watermelon (I didn't realize that Rome in the summer is filled with watermelon, it's everywhere) cranked the AC, took a shower and rinsed all my clothes since I still had no luggage. After a long nap, I grabbed Kate and we hit a local steakhouse called Joseph. It's a strange name for a Roman restaurant, and even stranger that the couple employees I asked had no idea who Joseph was and why the restaurant was called that. My wife and daughters love steak so I thought this would be a good break for Kate and she got a beautiful New York for 24 Euros. The restaurant has all types of aging rooms and beef from all over including Wagu at prices that were amazing for the quality. I of course stuck with a seafood pasta and an appetizer of gambero rosso crudo - the famed red shrimp of Italy that spawned the bible of Italian gastronomy of the same name. The restaurant has about 4000 reviews and most are very favorable. If you go there you must make a reservation or you'll be in trouble. It's like the Jocko's of Rome. When we left at least a hundred people were waiting to get in. Maybe Joseph is Jocko's cugina (cousin). And................................ on the fifth day we got our luggage. The luggage saga is too long to tell, but I got a pair of Apple Air Tags for Father's day leading up this trip and I will never travel without them again. After close to four hours, and the Rome airport staff telling me our bags weren't there, I basically led them to our bags with my phone via those Air Tags - no joke. I celebrated shortly after, with a Trippa alla Romana sandwich at a place - you guessed it - in a market - it was very tasty and less than 5 euros. They asked is I wanted a little something after and I thought they said some sweet wine, but I was presented with a 2 pound chunk of watermelon. It was cold, refreshing and perfect and I tried to eat the whole thing to not offend them as the staff watched me. The place is called DAJE CUCINA Romana and word is they make some mean pasta too. Next time for sure - check out the cool graphic that clearly shows the difference between all the roman classic pastas - might have to use that at the pasta bar. I've never seen Einstein so happy. I looked like a hero to my daughter getting her bag back and we celebrated the evening from a roof top in Rome high atop the fanciest department store in town, called La Rinascente. If you take the escalator up all six floors past all the high fashion Italian items, the top level contains a marketplace of Italian gourmet foods. I saw many items that we carry at Etto and others I wish we did and maybe will someday. Around the corner is an outpost of one of Naples top pizza restaurants with 8 Euro pizza. Beyond that is a restaurant with a rooftop cocktail lounge that offers one of the best views in the entire city. Please keep it a secret, sure the cocktails a little expensive at 15 Euros, but you get snacks with your cocktail and a priceless view. I look forward to reporting about Bologna next week and coming back to Paso soon with a million new ideas. And with that, Buona Notte.

  • Romes top local food markets to visit this summer: part 1

    I often get asked about Italian travel recommendations and hey, maybe even by you. I'm happy to help however I can, even though my brand of Italian travel might not be yours. One of my biggest recommendations is to try to avoid Italy in the summer and especially Rome. When I found out my daughter applied and was accepted to the European Ballet School in Rome for the a month that spanned July and August, sure I was proud, but I was also scared. Even though I've told people not to visit Rome in the summer, I've never done it. Maybe it won't be so bad, nice breezy warm evenings to enjoy a cool beverage al fresco. Then I started hearing about "Caronte", the name of the ferryman in Dante's poem Inferno who took folks to hell, and the also the name given to the historic heatwave on the brink of our travels. Sure, Paso gets hot, but an ancient city filled with stone, a big river, mobs of tourists and zero breeze is a different kind of heat. When we broke the record yesterday from all time in recorded history I wondered just how long recorded history is in a place called the eternal city. Our first couple days didn't go as planned, as a mechanical issue on our United flight from SLO caused us to miss our connection to Rome. We were rerouted through Frankfort to Milan adding an extra 24 hours of travel to our trip and to add insult to injury, our bags didn't show up. I could spent hours describing the unfortunate series of events that ensued over the next several days to get our bags back (it took six days), but I'll save that for a letter I'm drafting to United's CEO and executive team. Please let me know if you'd like to see it, but I know you'd rather hear about food. At least Kate got to see the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, which is probably the world's most beautiful shopping mall. She says it's a big deal on the social media too. Speaking of social media, our first stop after a train ride to Rome with a pit stop for underwear, socks and toiletries was a town that Kate learned about on Tic Tok called Nemi. I know very little about TikTok, but I do admit it really came through for us on this one. Nemi is a town that is famous in Italy for strawberries. So famous in fact that nearly every shop, restaurant and bar has a strawberry theme or at least incorporates strawberries into their menus. There are strawberry crepes for breakfast, salads with strawberries for lunch, strawberry cocktails and of course every type of strawberry dessert you could imagine. (Kate's loved strawberries since she was a girl and was in heaven) In addition, there is also a ton of great meat like the shot above of me in a meat forest and plenty of pasta too. The dish pictured is a tortelloni with a cacio e pepi sauce inside and gaunciale on top, a brilliant spin on pasta alla gricia. We also had a black summer truffle pasta. We might be among the first American tourists to ever step foot in Nemi. The town is built on a cliff over a beautiful lake that Como has nothing on, and the place was just beautiful. The restaurants and cafes were charming and since it's only 45 minutes from Rome's main airport FCO, it's really easy to get to. I will return for sure and I give it a high recommendation. We stayed at a little B&B called Vistalago Guesthouse that had a huge terrace over the lake. Our dinner with the great pasta was at L'Acqua Bulle. A fancy restaurant with great value and very kind service. If you make it to Nemi give it a try. The next day we meandered back to Rome, and I grabbed a big plate of buccatini all' amatriciana along the way. Kate checked into her dorm and I wandered to my Airbnb that was just a few blocks away. The dance program is located in a part of town that might be referred to as transitional. I imagine it's what some rougher parts of New York City looked like in the 70's before it turned into a giant shopping mall. I'm not sure if the neighborhood even has a name, but the metro stop is Cornelia and it's second to last on the far western side of town about 10 minutes past the Vatican. At first I was a little nervous with my new surroundings, but after snagging a large beer, four squares of Roman pinsa and 2 suppli (Roman arancini - rice balls) for less than 10 euros life seemed pretty sweet. I ate this in the AirBNB and crashed. My favorite places to visit and eat in Italy and in Rome are the local food markets. Every town has at least one, it's the place to get fresh produce, meat, fish, fresh pasta and even pants and shoes. Rome has a ton of them and on the my first full day in Rome I visited a new one to me called Testaccio that was a 45 minute train ride. With the heat of "Caronte" looming my strategy would be to wake up every morning at sun up and get out and try to eat as much as possible before the heat really started kicking in. I spent the morning walking around the Circus Maximus that was putting up scaffolding for some type of giant spectacle music and arts festival. Some things never change - "bread and circuses", and then headed to the market by about 9AM. Testaccio is a lovely market that's light, bright with light colors filtered sunshine streams in, tons of produce and food stalls. It's not close to any of the main tourist zones, and seemed to be mostly frequented by locals. When I visit a market for the first time I like to go up and down every single row first to kind of get a lay of the land. I noticed a couple pretty nice looking pasta booths and a couple other pizza spots. I asked at one of the pasta spots how early could I get pasta in my broken Italian, "A que hora, mangia la pasta". When I speak Italian I usually get some strange looks. I'm not sure if it's that they are trying to process what I just asked, or trying to figure out why I'm even trying to speak Italian in the first place. The older folks usually answer me back after the pause, while younger Italians answer back in English giving me the scowl that a father of a couple teenage daughters knows so well. So, I had pasta for breakfast at around 9:30 PM - I'm guessing it's the earliest the place had ever served a plate of pasta. I then said something like,"Io mangia prima la calda" - hopefully meaning, "I need to eat before it's hot" since I got an approving nod, I then proceeded to say, "Dopo pronzo dormo tutto giorno poi mangia la cena" - Something like, "After lunch, I sleep all day and then eat dinner". Since this was not as well received, thus from there, I decided to just stick to the "ciao" and "grazie mille" for a while. The breakfast pasta (classic alla gricia) was amazing, and since I knew lunch would be right after, I opted for the 4.90 euro option. Not sure why it wasn't just 5, but hey I'm not complaining. The pork was crispy, the sauce creamy and the cheese generous as you can see. I didn't even mind the paper plate and compostable fork. After that ,I wandered a little bit and then decided to grab a little pizza. This looked like Roman style pinsa, but the gregarious owner said that no that it was just normal Roman pizza and then tossed in that it was the best pizza in all of Rome. I tried 2 different types, the first with fresh cherry tomato and buffalo mozzarella and the second with squash blossom, anchovy and burrata. As far as the best in Rome? "No lo so" - "I don't know" but with 4.9 stars on Google and 500 reviews he may have a case. I would recommend visiting Casa Manco and Altro Pasta e Vino in the Testaccio market. I made the long journey home and was drenched an sweat by the time I got inside and thanked the heavens above that my apartment had excellent air conditioning. Once the sun drops behind the buildings in the late afternoon the heat is somewhat bareable and I was off again to try more pasta. This time I ventured to a spot right around the corner called Tagliatella. This little spot was like a mini stripped down Etto Pasta Bar with all pasta made on sight, simple ingredients, classic roman pastas and a couple seasonal ones. Good local beer and wine is featured with friendly service. If we ever expand Etto Pasta Bar to new locations this is how I'd do it. I walked past the next night and a couple of the same people were eating there from the previous night - if that's not a good sign. The tagliatelle with pork ragu was simple, balanced and perfect. I would eat there every week if I lived here To Be Continued

  • Pasta Crisis Sweeps the Globe, but Stops at Etto

    In case you missed it nearly every major news organization has been reporting feverishly about the major pasta crisis that has bitten Italy. Just do a quick google search or click here: Italian Pasta Crisis. It seems that prices of raw materials rose and the prices have too even though the prices have recently dropped. There has been some disparity between regions with pasta prices in Tuscany rising over 50% and other with a modest 5% increase. The government is looking into the matter and some citizens have accused producers of price gouging. I have also noticed the prices of Italian pasta rising when I check out some supermarkets (It's hard for me not to walk down the pasta isle). The truth of the matter is, grain prices rose dramatically over the past couple years, at one point getting so high that I'm sure we lost money on the pasta we were producing (triple our lowest price). Also, the price of cardboard for our boxes and shipper boxes went up too and fuel also for delivering. Lucky for you, I made the tough decision not to raise prices hoping that my sales would increase, which they did, and the price of raw materials would drop too and I'd eventually be in better shape once on the other side. Our pasta price is the same price since we opened Etto. Did I make the right decision? I sure hope so, but I guess time will tell. Luckily we are playing the long game and we think our price is fair for the quality of our product and represents good value. As prices hopefully continue to drop and we get more efficient things will work out just fine. Thanks for all of you sticking with us and recognizing the quality and value we offer. Let's hope Etto doesn't have to raise our pasta price - it's the last thing I want to do.

  • What is Pinsa Romana?

    We've known about pinsa Romana for a while, but all of a sudden it seems like it's poised to have it's Hot Chicken or Rolled Ice Cream moment. I think it's better than both. Pinsa Romana is basically Roman style pizza and the word "pinsa" derives from the word to press. The first time I had it was close to twenty years ago in Rome and I didn't give it a ton of thought. Since then it has crossed my plate on several occasions here and abroad, but has always been relatively obscure. I thus declare this the Summer of Roman Pinsa, and when there are a dozen pinsa restaurants in SLO county you can smirk and say, I've known about pinsa for years. My wife Stephy actually discovered a place called Montesacro in San Francisco that claimed to be America's first pinseria. Whether this is true or not who knows, but the place is as amazing as the neighborhood is shady. Stephy was so excited about her discovery that she took a pizza to go to share with me. As soon as you could say Pinsa Romana a dastardly rouge zombie like fellow, grabbed the pizza package from her hand, and walked away. She did the smart thing and basically just kept walking. I was able to try the place soon after and the pinsa was phenomenal. Lucky for you they have opened a few new locations including the safe and preppy Marina district and one in the even more sanguine burb of Walnut Creek. If you prefer a little danger and adventure you can always try the original one in Soma, right off 6th Street, maybe skip the carry out though. Recently on a trip to Los Angeles I heard about a new Pinsa spot called Oste that opened in West Hollywood (WEHO). I called a friend about it and he said, I know the owners and I'll let them know you're coming. It was Friday night and Oste does not take reservations - yes it's a new hot spot and I'm not WEHO cool. I showed up with my daughter thinking I was all cool anyway and gave the Roman guy at the front my name. He looked at me like I was some kind of A-hole and said we don't take reservations so you need to wait. I explained my friend Stefano grew up with the owner yada yada, and he said, "I'm an owner - wait over there with the rest of the crowd". We actually scored a table pretty quick, but since they are open during lunch and dinner maybe avoid Friday night. Kate was so embarrassed she wouldn't even look at me. She did love the pinsa however and even the Nutella pinsa they brought us for desert. If you live near, in or travel to LA, I highly recommend you visit Oste. I think their pinsa is even better than Montesacro. Probably don't use my name or Stefano either. https://www.ostelosangeles.com/ Why all this talk about Pinsa? As some of you know we just began stocking authentic. It has already become a big hit without any promotion. The normal price is $18 for 2 pinsa Romano doughs, but since this is a new item and the distributor wants to promote it they are offering a special that allows us to sell 2 of these for $12 - What a Bargain! We hope to have this special in place for a while so take advantage of it while you can. There are few better ways to celebrate the joys of the summer bounty from the garden than on pinsa Romana crust. I love pinsa for the lightness and crunch of the crust, but there are also certain health claims that don't hurt either. According to Oste and a couple other advocates of the pinsa it has about 1/2 the sugar, much less fat and cholesterol and even less calories vs. traditional pizza. I hope this is true, but what I know is true, is that pinsa is the fastest and most delicious meal you will be able to make for the family and guests this summer. The early response from moms with kids has been phenomenal.

  • Etto is Edible

    Edible's Summer issue just arrived and guess who's on the cover. When Edible Magazine comes calling we answer the call, and so glad we did because our pasta got a cover shot. It's hard to believe that Edible is only 20 years old. I've enjoyed the magazine in places I've lived or visited since the beginning. Edible is a celebration of local food communities and wherever you visit and find the magazine it will give you a good glimpse into the local food culture. There are over 80 different issues produced around the US and I'm so glad we have one here. When I moved here I was surprised that our county even had our own Edible since we are a pretty small market. A few years ago the magazine even ceased operations for a moment and luckily a local woman Gail Cayetano stepped in and revived our local edition with many of the original contributors and new ones as well. When I look at the masthead it seems I've crossed paths with most of the folks that contribute to the publication. It's a who's who of big names in the food scene. They even have their own chef, the illustrious Rachel Ponce, who contributes recipes that push the bounds of creativity. Edible these days is more than a magazine, but also a community builder for all things local in the food scene. They've hosted workshops and dinners and seem to make sure their thread touches all that is authentic, exciting and cool within our food community. Their next dinner series looks amazing and features prominent American immigrant chefs who will tell their story and prepare foods from their native lands highlighting, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines. Edible Dinner Series . Act fast because tickets will sell out. Expect to see us at one or maybe all of these dinners. You can read the current issue of Edible here: https://ediblesanluisobispo.com/spring-2022/ or pick up a copy at Etto. You can even subscribe to support the publication on their website. Edible tasked Etto with making a summer pasta salad and we went to work. Pasta salad is fairly rare in Italy, and since I'm not a mayonnaise fan we decided to go in more of a pesto, caprese with burrata type of direction. It's one of the more complex recipes we've done, but the hard work will pay off in the end. On a hot summer day, this is a cool summer salad on a plate. Please give me some of that fried chicken pictured above. Buon Appetito! READ THE FULL RECIPE HERE

  • Italian Marathon of Pasta - Part II

    We pick up our pasta marathon on the back stretch having just arrived in Firenze (Florence) full and tired. Tyler still looking for a salad and Rob, still along for the ride, as we continue the pasta journey of my dreams and the others possible trepidation. Florence is a place I lived over twenty years ago and has bittersweet memories for me. The city is basically a giant museum, and because of that fact it is filled with tourists. The Central Mercado has gone upscale and in addition to produce, meat and fish features a large food court restaurant complex on the upper level. In addition to some local fare, there are vendors from Rome, Southern Italy, Sicily and even burgers, asian bao and sushi. I'm not sure if I am crazy about this change, the market still has some good traditional food options downstairs, but the upstairs is less traditional and was extremely crowded on a weekday even before the summer tourist crush. Florence is also home to a couple dozen US satellite college campuses and thus filled with a young international crowd that might be there more to have fun than to learn, and of course are always buzzing around on scooters like a bunch of annoying gnats. We stayed outside the city center in a more quiet residential neighborhood and it seemed to suit us better. As much as I love and am fascinated by Rome, Florence and Venice, these three places are better off visited once for a couple days only to get yourself off to the countryside or any other less visited city to really experience the beauty of the real Italy. Our first dinner in Tuscany was at a neighborhood spot outside the crazy tourist zone. I do love Tuscan pasta, but the real specialties here are things like the rustic soups (ribollita, pappa al pomodoro), grilled meats, wild game and the ultimate bistecca alla Fiorentina. DAY 5 Pici is a typical Tuscan pasta that's kind of like a thick spaghetti. In the countryside they are often handmade and are closer to our casarecce, but longer. Unfortunately cinghale, or wild boar my favorite pici partner was not is season so we settled for pancetta. This dish wasn't bad, but just not super exciting. A better dish was rigatoni with a pheasant sauce, prepared like the cinghale sauce I like so much. It was rustic and super satisfying. We enjoyed a couple bottles of top quality Chianti with our meal, with the star of the show that was yet to come - a glorious bistecca alle Fiorentina. I'm all for a good steak every now and then, but the Fiorentina is really something special and a site to behold. This was no exception and we couldn't tackle it between four of us. It's not just the massive size, but it's usually about 2 inches thick too. Rob was the big winner and got to gnaw on the bone. Tally - 19 Pasta Bistecca alle Fiorentina Interlude DAY 6 Day six will be known as the day Tyler finds his salad, but it wasn't supposed to happen. We started the day with our bellies still reeling a bit after eating a copious quantity of steak and drove to the countryside. Our first stop was to visit my old stomping grounds Isole e Olena where I worked and learned truly how to make wine twenty years ago. The owner, and legendary winemaker, Paolo DiMarchi was out of town so I was able to give a self tour and show the crew where worked so long ago, even though it felt just like yesterday. Our next stop was the town of Panzano where we visited the shop of Dario, probably most famous butcher in the world. Twenty years ago I visited Dario's shop a couple times and he was only famous in his town of about 500 people. Now it seems the entire town is a shrine to Dario with multiple businesses owned by him and even a gift shop that sells stuffed toy bistecca alla fiorentina toys alongside the dry aged real ones that hang in the back. I was tempted, but didn't buy either of them. We had lunch in a 1000 year old castle that belonged to Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Italian explorer that was the first to expore the Atlantic coast of North America including allegedly the Hudson Bay. The castle is now home to a large winery and they fed us a very large lunch with plenty of wine and our 20th pasta dish. That evening we had a reservation at the one fancy type place we planned to visit on the entire trip. A friend recommended it and we drove an hour to get to this place up in the his on the opposite side of Florence. When we arrived the place was closed and a young kid with crutches, suffering from a typical scooter accident, told us we were out of luck. It was a huge bummer since we had a written reservation, but we had to soldier on. This place I will not be recommending. Meats and cheese - Pasta pomodoro - Pasta with sugo cinghale. Not sure where to go found a little place that we refer to as the Italian Denny's. It was kind of like an upscale truckstop and I doubt a tourist wad been there in a long time, if ever. The crowd were trades people all getting off work. The food was incredibly inexpensive and very handmade and really nothing like a Denny's. In comparison to the other more charming places we visited it was decidedly less charming and the prices were about the same or less than Denny's. The big news however was Tyler found the Loch Ness monster of Italy, a regular green salad. I think he smiled the entire time he wolfed it down, Rob and I got one too to build some salad camaraderie. Of course we also got pasta, a quite good version of pasta with Cinghale. Tally - 21 Pasta DAY 7 On the seventh day we did not rest, matter of fact it was our longest day of the trip with about five hours of driving. We visited two wineries in storied Montalcino and what might be the best pasta factory on the planet (Maybe some day Etto). As we got close to Montalcino we had one of those aw Fu&%$&*! moments. Rob realized the keys to our AIRBNB were still in his pocket. We had already been on the road two hours and were late for our first winery visit. Right now, I am nominating Sara Rossi from Padelletti winery for sainthood. As we concluded our amazing visit I told her about or little problem with the key. There are not key cards in Italy but like four inch 1/2 pound skeleton keys that were probably made by a blacksmith like 200 years ago. How you wouldn't notice you had this still in your pocket is another story? Sara offered to drive it back to Florence two hours away and said she could tie it in to a visit to her brother who works a hospital. I offered to pay expenses or shipping, but of course she refused. Sara Rossi, you are our hero! We then visited another winery and the dream of a pasta factory in the hills of Montalcino. The family grows their own heirloom grains right outside the door of the factory that looked like this: After we finished drooling we took a tour of a perfect small pasta factory. It was extremely inspiring. They actually host visitors both on this property and their castle (of course) where we bought this fun pasta snack. http://www.mulinovaldorcia.it/Home/GB After this visit we drove another couple hours to the agritourismo where we stayed for the night dropped our bags and of course headed out for more pasta. We ended up in a rather fancy, but inexpensive restaurant on the banks of Lake Bolsena. It was clear to me that this was another place where very few tourists ever go. The staff spoke little to no English and the only thing the server could tell me about the fish in the lake fish pasta was that it was from the lake. I have no idea what it was, but it was easily one of the best fish pastas I've ever had. The frutti di mare wasn't bad either. The simple marinara was OK, but the place clearly excelled with sea or lake food. Casarecce with lake fish - Fettucine with marinara - Casarecce with frutti di mare Tally - 25 Pasta DAY 8 On the last day we stopped at a little town that I've wanted to visit for quite a while. Civita di Bagnorgio is what's referred to in Italy as a "dead town" citta morta. We call it a ghost town, here - it's a place where no one really lives anymore. The only way to get there is via footbridge that small vehicles also use to shuttle supplies. I'm also afraid to tell anyone about, because it's one of those amazing places that I'm sure will be wall to wall tourists soon, but early in the morning we pretty much had it to ourselves and the few cats that live there. My words won't do it justice, but I highly suggest you visit soon and please don't tell too many people about it. It's about an hour and a half north of Rome and based on the enormous visitor center they are building it won't be a secret for long. Rigatoni Amatriciana - Photo at Civita di Bagnoregio -Spaghetti alla Gricia Rome was or last stop which is often the case on my trips to Italy. We checked into the FCO airport Hilton - ducked into the airport for our covid tests. All negative, I could have stayed a couple more days, but I guess not. We took a taxi to Rome for our last pasta of the trip. We were on a hunt for the best classic Pasta alla Gricia. A taxi driver gave us one recommendation, but then a wine shop said that's more of a place for pizza. I know the best place in the world for this dish, but it's gotta be full since it's Friday night. We begged him to call and explained we own a pasta factory in California yadda yadda. He was able to get us in at 9:30, so we went to a bar a couple blocks away in what was a very sketchy neighborhood from appearances and tried our best to act cool and fit in. When we got to the restaurant the interior was beautiful, but the food and service was even better. We had the best artichoke I've ever had in my life and a very good rigatoni Amatriciana. The spaghetti alla Gricia, however was perfect and I'd say would have to be the best in the world as far as I know. The chef at the end spent time with us and even downed a grappa shot with us. We called him the Pasta Jedi Master. He brought out some pasta to show us the quality. The next morning we flew home tired, full and happy. Rob met his pasta Jedi master, Tyler found a unicorn green salad in Italy and I only gained three pounds (I swear it was from the airport food). On the drive home Rob said to me, after this trip, I'm know I'm going to be eating a lot more pasta and Tyler even had a little pasta on his salad on our first day back to work in Paso. I was so proud and knew the trip and all the hard work had paid off. Tally - 27 Pasta A true marathon was complete.

  • Italian Marathon of Pasta - Part 1

    This is the first leg of a 7 day journey that I took with Rob Emery, Production Manager for Etto, and Tyler Hill, Assistant Winemaker for our winery Giornata, in May of 2022. Here we are fresh off our flight from Milan, fresh faced and ready for adventure. I was ready for what was to come - I've been training my whole life for this. Rob was looking forward to the pasta riches that I told him about but also a bit nervous and said a couple times, "I'm just along for the ride". Tyler, Giornata's assistant winemaker, and salad enthusiast brought his running shoes, I was a bit worried about Tyler. Even thought he's run ultra-marathons I doubt his brand of training will do much good for our pasta marathon. I told him I think they have some types of salad in Italy but could never really recall trying one. I'd have to keep a close eye on Tyler. I did my customary weigh in before I left for Italy and hoped that my usual theory, that no matter how much I eat over there, I never really gain any weight. These eight days would put it to the test. Please enjoy this 2 part pasta marathon, and those of you who beg me for an Etto sponsored trip to Italy read this as a caution and you might want to begin training now. Join us next week for part 2 of this special series. Day One We went to lunch with our Italian wine barrel maker, Mauro Gamba and one of his favorite local spots near the town of Asti. His family has been making barrels for seven generations and probably eating pasta for more. I love when places with let you try two or more different pastas together on one plate. Here we have a raviolini with meat ragu and spinach agnolini with butter and herbs. Both were as good as they looked. We were off to a strong start. Mauro Gamba proudly eats pasta everyday - I wish we could have brought him the distance with us. Dinner on day one included another two for one pasta dishes with the two classic pastas from Barolo. We visited a little spot in La Morra up in the Barolo hills and had agnolotti del plin and tajarin al ragu (seen below). I've had both of these dishes many times over the years and felt these were very worth examples in not exemplary. We came out of the gates strong. Tally Day One - 4 Pasta agnolotti del plin and tajarin al ragu Day Two On day 2 we visited some friends who make wine in Barolo and kicked around wine country a bit. Rob inhaled his lasagne at lunch and forgot to take a picture -it happens. For dinner we visited a great new restaurant in the town of Alba called Ventuno.uno or 21.1. The owners and chef were from the south of Italy and focused on Campania style pasta and a little classics of the classics from Alba too. I assured Tyler that our two pastas were mostly fish and he would never run faster after eating them. We also enjoyed raw beef with a bit of fresh truffle. Ahhhhhh - Alba. Clockwise from top left - Spaghetti with red shrimp and bottarga - Spaghetti with Fava bean and spring onion - Paccheri with Tuna, orange zest and spring onion, Tortelli with veal and cream sauce. Tally Day Two - 9 Pasta Day Three On Day 3 we visited the town of Parma, famous of course for Parmesan cheese and Prosciutto di Parma. We had copious amounts of both and even some Lambrusco to wash it down for breakfast no less. This was my first visit to Parma and in addition to being one of Italy's best food cities it's also an amazing arts town. We visited the theater where Verdi wrote and performed his famous opera. I also learned a valuable lesson that you never ask for tortellini in brodo in the city of Parma. It's a dish famous in Bologna while only an hour away might as well be across the globe. They eat Anolini in brodo in parma. While I did like it, sorry Parma, but tortellini in brodo is superior in my book. Top right we have trombe with fresh peas, onion, anchovy and cheese. Clockwise from top left -Tagliatelle with meat bianco ragu and breadcrumbs - Tortelli d'erbetta stuffed with cheese and chard - Anolini in brodo. Tally Day Three - 14 Pasta Day Four On day four we visited the factory where our pasta machines are made on the outskirts of Parma and also visited a small pasta factory in Verona. The owner of Italpast, our pasta equipment, also owns restaurants - like eleven of them or so, mostly in Milan, but also a new one near his factory. He wanted to show off his newest restaurant to us and I knew we were in trouble. This was one of those classic Italian lunches where the food kept coming and the wine kept pouring and we didn't want to be rude so we ate until we were about ready to pop. At one point when I glanced over at Tyler I could tell we had his game face on - like on mile 95 of a hundred miler. Just when we thought it was over a huge bowl of tortellini in brodo came out. The owner wanted us to try it and I figured, I've been training so why not. After my first bite he claimed that the flavor was off and sent it back to the kitchen. He shouted all the bad words I know in Italian into his cell phone to I'm sure a very nervous chef and slammed the phone down and asked if we wanted coffee. We drove to Florence late afternoon, didn't eat dinner that night and I slept on my back. Top: mezzi monica filled with parmesan fondue with culatello and porcini. Bottom left to right. Tortelli d'zucca - Pasta being made in Verona. Tally Day Four - 17 Pasta Please join us next week for part 2 of this thrilling series and start training now.

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