Casarecce

Sicily, Italy -- Traditional

Classic pairings: Pesto alla trapanese, Eggplant and tomato, Ricotta and tomato

Casarecce is a short, rolled pasta from Sicily, roughly 5cm long. Each piece is formed by rolling a flat rectangle of dough around a thin rod and then removing it, leaving an S-shaped cross-section with inward-curling edges rather than a fully closed tube. The resulting shape has two channels running along its length that trap sauce. The name means “homemade” in the Sicilian dialect, reflecting its hand-made origins.

Geometry and sauce logic

Casarecce’s S-shaped channel creates two longitudinal pockets that grip sauce along the pasta’s length. Unlike tubes (which capture sauce inside) or ribbons (which coat on the surface), casarecce does both: sauce enters the channels and coats the exterior ridges. Pesto alla trapanese — Sicilian pesto made with almonds, fresh tomato, and basil rather than pine nuts — is the definitive pairing, because the almond-thickened sauce lodges in the channels. Eggplant and tomato (pasta alla norma) is the other canonical Sicilian application: the dice of eggplant and tomato chunks seat themselves in the shape’s pockets.

History

Casarecce emerged from the Sicilian home-pasta tradition predating industrial production. The rolling technique requires only a flat surface, a thin rod (traditionally a knitting needle or wire), and semolina dough — accessible to home cooks without equipment. Industrial versions standardize the shape but retain the S-profile cross-section.