Pasta Saragolla Rigatoncini for lunch today (link).
This was the first time I made this pasta, and "I'll be back." While not as heavily wheat-flavored as the whole wheat pastas I've had, it has a deeper, more earthy flavor than a standard pasta, such as a typical Rustichella d'Abruzzo.
I made a variation on a broccoli sauce that I've made before. I cooked up some small-diced smoked pancetta in a small amount of Calabrian chili oil, including some ground peppers, and a bit of a friend's Rancho Milagro EVOO, locally grown in a nearby town. A very fresh and flavorful bottling. The pasta was cooked in the water used to cook the broccoli. The dish was topped with a one year old Pecorino Romano.
A little bonus was that the pancetta pieces would work themselves into the pasta tubes, adding a little surprise with the bite. And since the broccoli was not completely smooth, sometimes a piece of broccoli would find its way inside as well.
This is a great pasta, but not for everyone or for even most dishes. But when everything comes together, this pasta and the simple, quick meal it made, is a delight.
