\\\\\\\'

The Batter Thickens

A food blog balancing sweet treats & healthy eats.

Ditalini Pasta with Calabrian Peppers

By

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

I’m back with more ditalini. It may be my new favorite kind of pasta. I know I’ve only really made one box worth of it, but it’s pretty delicious. The perfect shape, the perfect sauce vehicle, so easy to cook in a sauce. The world of pasta options can be overwhelming. I’m not sure what the Italians have been up to for the last hundreds of years, and why they have 17,000 options for what shapes they make their pastas. Let’s just lock in on a few options here, people. I’m locking in on ditalini for now. I don’t need to be so overwhelmed.

I started to do some research to see if there was a known number of pasta shapes, but I was quickly overwhelmed. Wikipedia doesn’t have a count, but they do have a list. I searched for ditalini and learned that it’s apparently an alternate name for “ditali,” and it can also be: “tubetti, tubettini, gnocchetti di ziti, ditaletti, coralli; denti di vecchia, denti di cavallo, ganghi di vecchia, magghietti.”

What is Italy doing. Have they had nothing else better to do since Rome collapsed? They’re just kids playing with pasta dough like it’s Play-doh, trying to make up new shapes? When was the last time a new pasta shape was patented? Do they make a million dollars when that happens? Is that why they’ve been making so many?

The more I think of this, the more questions I have. But I fear that means the more questions that I will not get answered. I fear finding the answers would overwhelm me.

I was going to touch on Calabrian peppers a bit in this post, but now I’ve gotten all sidetracked by pasta. This is a dangerous rabbit hole.

But the Calabrian peppers! I had never heard of them until I had the egg salad sandwich from South Lyndale Liquors, and now I feel as though I see it everywhere! Pasta sauce in the grocery store, on lots of menus. This is now my third Calabrian pepper recipe on this blog! They’re tasty, so I won’t complain, but it’s a classic example of that whole “you hear about it for the first time and then suddenly it’s everywhere” phenomenon.

This post was a bit rambly. Hopefully I’ve given you some things to think about. The same things that I think about: how many pasta shapes are there? Are Calabrian peppers becoming a trend, or is it a trick from my brain?

Print

Ditalini Pasta with Calabrian Peppers

  • Author: Audrey
Print

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter unsalted

2 garlic cloves minced

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon crushed Calabrian peppers

1.5 cups dry (uncooked) ditalini pasta

2.5 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large, wide skillet, and add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two. Once the garlic is fragrant, add in the diced onion and Calabrian peppers. Stir everything to combine and continue cooking for a 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the uncooked ditalini pasta and broth. Add salt & pepper to taste. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
  3. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and stir often, making sure the pasta is in an even level. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, or until the majority of the liquid is absorbed. Then add the remaingin 2 tablespoons of butter and parmesan cheese.
  4. Once the butter and cheese have melted/dissolved, taste for any needed salt, pepper, or extra parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Notes

Recipe zhuzhed-up from Flavorful Eats

Never miss a post!