Amalfi-style scialatielli

You cannot say you have been to the Amalfi Coast without eating at least one plate of scialatielli. For those who do not know them, this is a pasta format (obviously typical of the coast) whose shape resembles a fusillo, but shorter and flatter. They are traditionally handmade with flour, milk, eggs, basil, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and grated pecorino cheese. Another distinctive feature of scialatielli is their roughness and porosity, which translates into a great ability to blend perfectly with any sauce. The original Amalfi recipe calls for them to be dressed with seafood topped with a few cherry tomatoes, but they are also delicious with a simple tomato sauce or with more hilly ingredients such as porcini mushrooms.

Unlike many other gastronomic specialities about which the disputes to establish origins are endless, scialatielli have a very precise date of birth and father. They were invented by Enrico Cosentino, a master chef and long-time cook, who presented them at a national culinary competition in 1978, winning the ‘Entremetier’ of the year award. Their story, however, began a few years earlier. As early as 1976, Cosentino himself began developing this new pasta format while working and teaching cooking in San Giovanni in Fiore, in the province of Cosenza. Although recently invented, scialatielli have become a traditional speciality in their own right.

Regarding the origin of the name, there are two theories and both seek it in the Neapolitan dialect. According to the more established theory, it would derive from the combination of two words, ‘scialare’ and ‘tiella’, meaning ‘enjoy’ and ‘pan’ respectively, indicating the genuineness and goodness of the product once seasoned. The second, on the other hand, refers to the verb ‘sciglià’ which, referring to hair, means to muss up, to dishevel. And this is the state in which scialatielli are presented as soon as they are drained and served on the plate.

For those who want to prepare Amalfi-style scialatielli at home, here is the recipe.

Ingredients for 4 persons

400 grams ‘00’ flour
1 egg
100 ml milk
2 basil leaves
grated seasoned pecorino cheese
extra virgin olive oil to taste
parsley
salt and pepper (freshly ground) to taste
800 grams of seafood (mussels, clams, clams)
250 grams of cuttlefish
250 grams of shrimps
250 grams of cherry tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic

Procedure

First devote yourselves to preparing the pasta. Make a sort of small volcano with the flour and in the middle add the egg, pecorino cheese, 4 tablespoons of oil, basil, finely chopped parsley, just a pinch of salt and pepper. Once the ingredients have been added, start kneading, pouring in the milk a little at a time, until a smooth and homogeneous dough is obtained. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

After the dough has rested, flour it and roll it out with the help of a rolling pin until you obtain a sheet similar in thickness to tagliatelle (about 3-4 mm). Roll the dough and cut it into strips about 10 cm long. Place the resulting scialatielli on a tablecloth and sprinkle with more flour so that they do not stick together.

Once the scialatielli are ready (not cooked!), prepare the sauce. After cleaning all the seafood, fry the chopped garlic in a little oil in a frying pan. Then add the seafood, the chopped cuttlefish, the peeled shrimps and finally the tomatoes cut in half. When the seafood opens up, it will be ready.

In the meantime cook the scialatielli in plenty of salted water, drain very al dente and continue cooking in the sauce for a minute. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.