Matera Pasta Guide

Fresh pasta has ancient origins, it was born between Puglia and Basilicata, prepared with durum wheat flour, water and salt, a simple and poor recipe like much of the Lucanian cuisine, which reminds Basilicata as a country of shepherds and peasants where enogastromia is closely related to the fruits that the earth provides. The varieties of pasta are numerous and often resume a tradition common to other areas of the South: Strascinari, Orecchiette, Lasagne, and the Frizzuli which are the most characteristic of Matera.

"Fusilli con la mollica", also called "frizzuli con la mollica", are a typical Lucanian dish, made of fresh pasta, which is given the shape of fusilli thanks to a ferretto. This dish is usually seasoned with sauces based on meat and tomato and the final touch is given by the fried breadcrumbs of the typical Matera bread accompanied by a sprinkling of Peperone di Senise PDO.

Other typical flavors of the Lucanian cuisine are the "alla potentina" ravioli, which are square and filled with ham, parsley and ricotta, seasoned with sheep meat sauce. Or the ravioli materani whose shape resembles that of a sock, in fact their name in dialect is cazino. They are filled with ricotta, sugar, spices or lamb ragù.