Pappardelle

Pappardelle are wide flat ribbons of pasta. De Cecco places them in the long, flat pasta family and says they are eaten all over Italy. Barilla gives its egg pappardelle as about 13 mm across, states that they originated in Tuscany and that the name comes from the Tuscan verb pappare, to eat with childish joy.

The name. The Treccani dictionary derives the word from the verb pappare, though how it was formed is not fully clear, and describes pappardelle as a kind of lasagne boiled in water, mostly with meat and game sauces — for example pappardelle al sugo di lepre, with hare sauce. Figuratively, a pappardella is a long, muddled speech.

Under Italian law (DPR 187/2001, art. 8) egg pasta is made only from durum wheat semolina and at least four whole hen eggs, not less than 200 g of egg per kg of semolina. Barilla's egg pappardelle list semolina, water and eggs and cook in 7 minutes. Pappardelle without egg are also sold: Garofalo's Pappardelle Nido are 100% durum wheat semolina and cook in 8 minutes, De Cecco's dry Pappardelle n.201 in 6 minutes.

Barilla suggests rustic sauces with slow-cooked meat. De Cecco recommends sauces of wild meat and game, tomato sauce with cheese, and creamy sauces. Garofalo pairs its nests with the Neapolitan recipe with Avellino porcini mushrooms.

Why it matters to you. The words «pasta all'uovo» mean at least 4 eggs, that is 200 g, per kilogram of semolina; without them, pappardelle may contain no egg. According to USDA FoodKeeper, dry egg pasta keeps up to 2 years unopened but only 1–2 months once opened; fresh, 1–2 days in the fridge; cooked, 3–5 days.