Corzetti

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Corzetti (in Genoese dialect curzetti) are a kind of fresh pasta typical of the Ligurian cuisine of north-west Italy, and traditional also in the area of Novi Ligure just across the border with Piedmont in the Province of Alessandria.

There are two different kinds of corzetti. Those from the Val Polcevera, one of the principal valleys of the area of Genoa are made in "figure of eight" shape. Elsewhere curzetti stampae (“pressed” or “stamped” corzetti) are found. These are small, thin rounds of pasta which are given an embossed decoration using a special wooden hand-tool. The embossing is indeed more than decoration as it helps the pasta to hold its sauce better. In the historic centre of Genoa there are still traditional pasta shops where the corzetti are hand-made and where they make these tools to make them with.

Besides the artisanal production, corzetti are also made on an industrial basis using ravioli machines made by such companies as Arienti & Cattaneo, Ima, Ostoni and Zamboni.

[edit] Preparation

A pasta dough is made using flour, water and and salt^[1] and rolled out into a sheet. The pasta is cut into rounds which are stamped to form the embossed relief, and left to dry for a while. After boiling in salted water they are typically dressed with a walnut or mushroom sauce (the latter called Tocco de funzi, in Genoese) or alternatively with pesto. Around Novi a sauce of mushrooms and sausages is common.

[edit] References

• This article was initially translated from the Wikipedia article Curzetti.
• I prodotti tipici in Piemonte. Piemondo.it.

Notes