I LOVE FUSILLI!

Fusilli, according to Google, together with rigatoni, tortellini, linguine and penne, are one of the types of pasta most loved by Americans (Google internal data, January 2015-February 2016).

With its sinuous shape, fusillo hugs and lets itself be hugged by sauce, and this is the secret of its success in the kitchen! 
The art of making fusilli is at least four centuries old. The original fusilli hail from southern Italy, specifically from the Campania and Molise regions, where their recipe also calls for the use of eggs.

Fusilli owe their names to the corkscrew rod along which the dough is wrapped. Today they are made with flour and water and are part of the Italian  traditional agri-food products.

The legend of the Fusiddo from Gioi

In the Cilento area, in Campania, the fusillo takes on the dialect name of “Fusiddo”.
Here the pasta is still made by hand, with the addition of eggs, and pulled up to 15 cm in length.

According to the legend, when the city of Gioi was threatened by the Saracens, the inhabitants showed pasta at the tip of their guns to demonstrate they had an abundance of food and they would not yield to the assault. While withdrawing the guns from the openings in the defensive walls, the dough twisted on itself, taking the classic form of the fusillo.

After a thousand years, this procedure has remained more or less the same, and the dough is still twisted on itself using a rod.
To this specialty, every year the city of Gioi dedicates the event "His Majesty, the Fusillo".

All the colors of the Fusillo

As we travel across Italy, we often encounter colorful boxes of pasta.
Fusilli that are red, green, orange, black, and purple. In fact, in many areas of Italy there is the tradition of preparing the Fusilli dough, and not only, adding certain fresh and natural ingredients to add taste and color to the dishes. 

Among the ingredients most often used in the fusilli dough: red pepper, spinach, turmeric, cuttlefish ink and dried beet.

The Fusillo in the kitchen

According to the Gioi tradition, the Fusilli "ace it" when served with ragout: of pork, veal, wild boar, and mutton.
But they also combine perfectly with simple sauces, like tomato and vegetable ragout, and are ideal to prepare cold pasta salads during the summer.

We suggest you to try Fusilli with Seitan and sesame seeds ragu, a simple recipe, fast and rich with flavor.