Puglissima - Handmade Italian Pasta and Olive Oils

Recently at Ripe we were introduced to a new range of organic products, handmade in Italy. As we learn more about how these simple products came to life, who makes them and what they represent, we feel certain that they are something that many of you would enjoy. The Puglissima range of certified organic pastas, oils and traditional biscuits are made with dedication and care, upholding longstanding values of quality, simplicity and passion. This range is dedicated to the cultivation and creation of food of exceptional quality, handmade pastas using traditional recipes to bring us an authentic Italian taste experience. As many of us have come to realise, the best foods are those grown organically, then prepared in ways that preserve their true flavour.

  The Puglissima Pasta range, is handmade using traditional recipes from Apulia in Italy. The "Cavatelli Di Grano Arso" for example, is a traditional rolled shape (cavatelli) pasta, following an old rustic tradition of the Puglia region. They have a beautiful rich dark colour, as the wheat flour has been roasted. During the war, the wheat crops of puglia where burnt, and as no food could be wasted, people still harvested the burnt grains of wheat from the fields. These where then ground to make this flour - grano arso. Today, the wheat flour is roasted in ovens fueled with olive wood to give this distinctive flavour. This style of rustic food, once all but forgotten, is making a slow comeback, due to the encouragement of groups such as the slow food movement, and it is well worth seeking out, bringing a rich flavour to any simple dish, not to mention a good story to share with friends and family as you enjoy eating it. A light sautee of cherry tomatoes with olive oil and parsley is recommended  to savour the rich taste of this pasta.  It is interesting to note that due to the roasting process,  around 80% of the gluten is removed from the pasta, making it easy to digest, and  giving it a low GI . Click here to read a traditional recipe from Puglia, using this pasta with mussels and cannellini beans. Yum!

Other pastas in this range include a plain cavatelli, and the traditional shapes "Fricelli", and "Orecchiette" (little ears) have a fine textural surface that hold sauce so well. 

The Extra Virgin Olive Oils in this range are also of exceptionaly high quality. For each different olive variety that these oils are made from, puglissima uses a different press, and the oils are bottled unfiltered, to keep the flavours genuine. Carolea, Peranzana and Ogliarola Olives produce a beautiful delicate oil, the type that would be used with fish and soft light foods. The Coratina variety produces a strong oil, more suited to rich foods. The olives are harvested from the trees to ensure that they are perfectly ripe, and are then pressed on the same day. Puglissima also produces are beautiful limon oil, by pressing lemons with the olives. This method ensures a pure flavour, and is superior to an oil that has simply been infused with lemon after processing.

To read more about where these beautiful products are made, and to see some authentic recipes as recommended by the makers themselves..... visit their website:  http://www.puglissima.com/ricette.asp (click the flag upper right for english / italian translation.