Scialatielli con frutti di mare

A unique fresh pasta from Sorrento dressed with a mixed seafood sauce

I was in the lovely town of Praiano on the Amalfi Coast recently for a family wedding. There I discovered a rather thick semi-long fresh pasta called scialatielli, served with a delicious sauce of lobster simmered in fresh tomato. It was a memorable meal, made even more special by the gorgeous view…

Scialatielli are the brain child of chef Enrico Cosentino of the Il Buco restaurant in Sorrento back in the 1970s. In recent years they’ve become a mainstay on restaurant menus throughout the Sorrentine Peninsula and popular in the wider Naples area. In typical southern Italian style they’re made with durum wheat flour but, very atypically, the flour is mixed not with water but with milk and egg, and flecked with minced basil.

Scialatielli have an appealing tender yet chewy texture and a rather unique flavor. They lend themselves to all sorts of sauces, but classically you serve them con frutti di mare—with mixed seafood sauce—which you can make “red” or “white” (with or without tomato) or as here, something in between, with a few fresh cherry tomatoes.

Do be aware that, like bucatini, scialatielli are a messy pasta. Since they’re thick and not quite long enough to twirl properly with a fork, the sauce tends to splatter on you when you eat them. Do take care and be prepared to do some extra laundry. But don’t let that deter you. if you ask me, the mess is well worth it.

---

You might also like…

Here are a few more delicious pastas from the Sorrento Peninsula and the Amalfi Coast.

Spaghetti alla Nerano

When I first blogged about this pasta back in 2017, I wondered why it wasn’t more popular outside Italy. Well, things have certainly changed since then! Thanks to Stanley Tucci, this has recently become probably the best known pasta from the Sorrento Peninsula.

Named after the beach town where it originated, this could be the child that your basic pasta and zucchini would have if it got married with a cacio e pepe. It’s a delightful combination, with zesty provolone cheese adding considerable interest to the often bland vegetable.

---

Maccheroni positanesi

In the tradition of no cook tomato sauces like the much better known pasta al pomodoro crudo, in this recipe the pasta is dressed “a sette sapori“—with seven flavors: tomato, garlic, onion, celery, parsley, basil and oregano. Francesconi also offers up a ten flavor variation, where you add to these basic seven the holy trinity of Neapolitan flavorings we saw just last week: anchovies, capers and olives.

Maccheroni positanesi has a more delicate flavor profile than its more famous cousin. And yet, as delicate as it is, maccheroni positanesi will fill your mouth with its complex combination of flavors. Highly unusual for Italian cookery, which typically focuses on making the most out of a few essential ingredients. But therein lies the charm of this unique dish. A delicious change of pace, maccheroni positanesi definitely deserve to be better known.

---

Ndunderi di Minori (Ricotta Gnocchi)

From the town of Minori on the the Amalfi Coast, ndunderi, a kind of ricotta gnocchi, are traditionally served on the three feast days dedicated to Minori’s patron saint Trofimena: November 5, November 27 and her main feast day on July 13. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying them any time you’re in the mood for this delicious treat…

You make ndunderi much as you would gnocchi made from potatoes, but since you needn’t boil and mash the potatoes, they process is rather simpler. The cheeses make them even tastier than potato gnocchi. And rather lighter on the palate and stomach.

Ndunderi are classically paired with a sugo di salsiccia, a kind of meat sauce made with sausage rather than ground beef or pork, in which case they are practically a meal in themselves. But they are also lovely with a meatless tomato sauce, melted butter scented with lemon, or indeed any other sauce you might use on potato gnocchi.