Ciao Bella
Mastro Sapore – the Master of Flavour – is the Italian pasta brand bringing an authentic taste of Apulia to our dining tables. Does anything bring joy like a bowl of pasta and sauce? For me, no. You can keep your bells and whistles because they are not needed. This is simple, nourishing and delicious food. And when it’s produced properly – the artisanal, slow, sustainable way – it is a pure and healthy product. Words and illustration by Becca Perl.
Made with love, from seed to pasta
Mastro Sapore pasta is made with 100% Apulian wheat, with the emphasis on quality over quantity. Once the wheat is harvested it’s stored at room temperature and naturally ventilated rather than refrigerated. Next, low-speed cylinders turn it into coarse-grain semolina. Semolina and water combine to make the dough (no egg, so it is all vegan). The shapes are gently made with bronze dies which ensures the pasta has a rough, porous texture – perfect for absorbing sauce. The pasta is then dried at 37°C over a period of 72 hours and hand packed ready for you to enjoy at home. The slow and gentle methods used to produce Mastro Sapore pasta means that it retains all its nutritional goodness.
Pick up from Baccello in Christchurch or order online using the discount code PIER for 20% off: mastrosapore.co.uk
The original fast food
Pasta is the best and healthiest fast food. What other meal can you get from cupboard to table in less than 15 minutes, with zero stress? Even premium pasta brands such as Mastro Sapore are affordable when you work out that it equates to around 80p per portion. And with 14% protein, you don’t need to top it with anything more than a sauce of your choice.
Rigatoni
Taking its name from the word rigato meaning lined or striped, rigatoni are wide tubes with ridges on the outside and smooth insides. It makes the perfect partner for a chunkier sauce and is a firm favourite in the south of Italy.
Pesto cime di rapa
Hands up who’s heard of pesto made with turnip greens? Me neither! Cime di rapa – also known as rapini or broccoli rabe – is a brassica with a sweet and slightly bitter flavour. You can use it on any type of pasta, unless you are a traditionalist in which case you should use orecchiette.
Tubetti
Small but perfectly formed tubetti is often used in soups, stews and broths. It adds texture, soaks up the flavours and looks pretty cute too. Great for minestrone.
Cavatelli
Cavatelli means little hollows and this pasta is indeed the ideal shape for carrying sauce. It has a wonderful, almost chewy consistency characteristic of a slow dried pasta. In Italy, it’s commonly cooked with garlic and cime di rapa or tomato sauce.
Fettuccelle con arco
I’m not sure if this would be sacrilege in Italy, but I use Mastro Sapore’s fettuccelle in place of spaghetti for our favourite Nigella Lawson recipe. Spaghetti with Marmite is so good it has even been known to convert Marmite haters – it’s just pasta, butter, Marmite and optional Parmesan.
Sugo
Who’s ever eaten a tomato in Italy and thought “so THAT’S what tomatoes should taste like?” Sugo (which means sauce) is that in a jar. The classic tomato and basil sauce is made to a traditional recipe with only a handful of ingredients that come from farms in Apulia. Made with extra virgin olive oil and no artificial preservatives, you can almost taste the sunshine.
