While the definitive origin of pasta and
noodles may be open for debate, it is
clearly the Campania region that
introduced them to the world. “It will be
maccheroni, I swear to you, that will
unite Italy,” pronounced Guiseppe
Garibaldi on liberating Naples in 1860.
The people of this region were nick-
named Mangia Maccheroni (macaroni
eaters), and they remain devout pasta
lovers to this day. Their pasta is the finest
and most varied in the country – perhaps
in the world.

Spaghetti, ravioli, gnocchi, tagliatelli,
pappardelle – you name it, the people of
this region made all of it from scratch.
No one went the store for a box of mass-
produced spaghetti. The kitchens of
Campania were often festooned with
racks of all descriptions draped with
drying homemade pastas of all
descriptions. That’s what my childhood
kitchen looked like. That’s how I learned
to make pasta and that’s how I create it
today.

I know this isn’t possible for most home
cooks, so I have found ways to create
and package the freshest of pastas that
are easy for you to prepare at home and
showcase the delicious home cooked
flavor that my brother and sisters and
I relished as children.

This is the same for my pasta sauces and
ragus. Not mass-produced by numerous
factory workers with little personal
connection to their product. I scour local
farmers markets for the freshest peppers
and tomatoes at the peak of their ripeness,
the most perfect onions, the finest
mushrooms, and newly picked herbs that
fill the kitchen with their fragrance.