Sciuè sciuè Pasta: abundant cherry tomatoes, cheese, and fresh basil. The recipe for scarpariello, a quick and tasty pasta dish that is part of Neapolitan tradition, born decades ago among the alleys of the Spanish Quarters in Naples. It was the time of the scarpari, the old shoemakers, who were repaid for their artisanal work with what was available in the pantry. So with the pieces of cheese available, the tomato sauce left over from the day before (the Neapolitan ragù) and the basil leaves, a dish was created with a simple and genuine seasoning, quick to prepare and tasty. Over time, the habit of making scarpariello with fresh cherry tomatoes has been “accepted”: we propose it with sweet cooked datterini, seasoned with Pecorino and Parmigiano that will envelop the spaghetti for a creamy seasoning! Scarpariello pasta is a real delicacy, thanks mainly to the quality of the ingredients used: in some parts of Campania, it is also prepared with the format of scialatielli pasta and with yellow cherry tomatoes. For an even more substantial version, we recommend ziti lardiati made with tomato and, precisely, lard!
Scarpariello Pasta
INGREDIENTS
542 Calories per serving
320g Spaghetti
500g Cherry Tomatoes
30g Grated Roman Pecorino
30g Grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
Abundant Basil
½ Long Fresh Chili
70g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic
Salt as needed
Difficulty: Very easy
Preparation: 5 min
Cooking: 15 min
Servings: 4 people
Cost: Low
PREPARATION
How to prepare Scarpariello Pasta
To prepare the scarpariello pasta, start by putting a pot on the stove with water to cook the pasta; salt when it boils. Take the datterini: wash them and cut them in half 1, then take the long fresh chili pepper, cut off the end, and open it to remove the seeds 2; then cut it into strips and chop it finely 3.
Grate the Pecorino romano 4 and the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP. In a large pan, pour in the extra virgin olive oil and heat it; add the chopped chili pepper and the whole peeled garlic so that it will be easier to remove5. Sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; then add the datterini 6 and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti 7 al dente. Once the datterini sauce is ready, salt it, remove the garlic 8, and add some of the basil leaves 9. Add a ladleful of cooking water, so that a delicious creamy sauce is created.
Drain the spaghetti al dente, keeping a couple of ladles of cooking water, and pour them directly into the pan with the sauce 10. Over low-medium heat, finish cooking in the pan, stirring the spaghetti with the sauce, adding water from the cooking as needed 11 so that the sauce is creamy. Turn off the heat, add the grated Pecorino 12 and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, alternating with more cooking water,
stirring constantly to prevent the cheese from starting to melt13. Scent the dish with some more basil leaves 14. Serve the pasta allo scarpariello immediately, adding more fresh basil on each dish 15.
Storage
It is recommended to consume Scarpariello Pasta immediately.
Any form of storage is not recommended.
Tips
You can vary the type of pasta, preferably long or fresh like scialatielli that hold the sauce well and use also chopped tomatoes or yellow cherry tomatoes.
It is recommended to mix well and continuously when grated cheeses are added alternated with pasta cooking water to prevent the cheese from hardening.