Priest Chokers

[pazzaglia]

Caro Mario,

I'm writing an article on strangolapreti ... originally it was going to be something short and cute detailing the lesson my mother-in-law (who currently resides in Trento) gave to myself and a couple of friends during her first visit to America.

When I started doing more research on this recipe, I discovered that there isn't a set recipe. For example, in Trento they are ricotta & spinach gnocchi with a sage butter sauce, the Berghamaschi claim to have invented the forementioned recipe but throw a little pancetta in the mix, the Romans use this term to refer to potato gnocchi in a tomato sauce and in Basilicata it's a dried pasta shape (loose-twisties) served with a ragu'.

In your culinary travles, what versions of strangolapreti and strozzapreti have you run across and, more importantly, which do you prefer?

Ciao,

L

P.S. to eGullet -- thanks for the opportunity to speak to the Italian Food Oracle!

[Mario Batali]

hey the strozzapreti i know are rough twisties of fresh pasta sauced with a rustic ragu of pork or sausage in the romagna region and they are my faves mb