Pastificio dei Campi & the making of a region's pasta tradition

From http://www.pastificiodeicampi.it

Imagine a town so dedicated to making pasta that its design revolves around it—literally. Welcome to Gragnano, near Naples, Italy, a hill town wedged between a mountain range and the Amalfi coast. When Gragnano was built hundreds of years ago, the main street was made extra-wide so that pasta vendors could dry out their product in the fresh breeze that blew down the center of the road.

To this day, artisan pasta makers of Gragnano take seriously their role as keepers of a tradition, using time-honored techniques and local resources to create a pasta of unsurpassed quality. P&C Market has worked with one such vendor, Pastificio dei Campi, to bring these products to Capitol Hill in a variety of inspiring shapes.

"It is so exciting to be one of the first importers of the highest quality pastas anywhere in the world,” says Brett, our food and wine buyer. “It is such a privilege to work with Giuseppe and his family to bring in something made with so much love."

Pasta “di Gragnano” implies both a location and a style of production (not unlike DOC wine appellations; in fact, a group of Gragnano producers are seeking an E.U. designation to protect the pasta’s provenance). The process begins by combining the town’s spring water with durum wheat. Next, the pasta is finished by hand and gently pressed through bronze castes, before being slow-dried at a very low temperature. This technique, passed down from generation to generation, creates a subtly chewier, nuttier pasta, with more surface area and a slightly rougher texture—making it better able to absorb the flavor of a sauce.

With such insistence on creating an unrivaled product, it’s clear that Pastificio dei Campi is far from your typical pasta. Made in small batches, each box can be traced back to what day that batch of wheat was sown, what field it was grown in, and when it was harvested. That attention to detail, combined with the company’s devotion to quality, means that when you take home a box of Pastificio dei Campi, you’re not just buying dinner—you’re investing in the history and future of pasta. Now, that's amore!

On our shelves, you’ll recognize classics such as spaghetti and linguini, along with other options. For an authentic Southern Italian dish, try the pacherri or ziti, cooked al dente and topped with a Neapolitan ragù. We hear time and time again that our customers are finally able to replicate their favorite Italian meals with Pastificio dei Campi pasta. It’s the real deal, and we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.