Rustichella d'Abruzzo

On Sundays, all the children gathered in the Sergiacomo paternal house, a small white house in the “Carmine” neighborhood in Penne, surrounded by an evergreen garden, a centuries-old olive tree and a myriad of geraniums placed in even occasional pots. That house had seen them grow up. Not everyone had started a family but Sunday was the day when everyone went back to the old house to spend a day together. The only ones who had not met a soul mate were the uncles Lino and Serafina. Aunt Serafina had stayed with her parents running the old pasta factory that was on the lower floor of the house, which was built by grandfather Raffaele and grandmother Mariapalma, nicely called “Fafina”. For the occasion, Aunt Fafina prepared “Le Rustichelle” and kneaded, with the small kneader, the semolina that was left over with the eggs from the hens in her yard. That so precious mixture, because it did not include water but only eggs, was then pushed by the vine into the bell and into the bronze die, giving back a rough chitarrone worthy of the Sunday sauce. After 90 years, Aunt Fafina’s recipe is revived by Rustichella d’Abruzzo. The Rustichelle of durum wheat semolina from the Vestina area use 100% eggs from free-range hens for a format typical of the Abruzzese culinary tradition.