“Nothing else, not opera or Renaissance art or Roman ruins or even pizza, so exemplifies Italy as pasta.” Burton Anderson, Treasures of the Italian Table (1994)

Call it pasta, macaroni, maccheroni, or noodles, most of us eat it at least once a week. It’s relatively inexpensive, easy to store and easy to cook, and can be served and sauced in a wide variety of ways. An Italian book on pasta names more the 350 shapes of pasta. Straightforward and simple as strands of spaghetti or tubes of rigatoni, it’s also available in whimsical shapes: little ears (orecchiette), priest stranglers (strozzapreti), and handbells (campanelle).

Speculation continues about the origin of pasta, but the common belief that Marco Polo brought it from China has been disproven. The first written account of pasta in Italy was found in a merchant’s records which mentioned a shipment of maccheroni arriving in Genoa from Sicily in the late 1200s. The Genoese were responsible for distributing it throughout Italy.

Italy’s first pasta industry was located in Campania near Naples in the fields surrounding Mt. Vesuvius. The area around Gragnano had large wheat fields with rich soil and pure mountain water. While locals claim to have invented pasta, early records show it was imported to Naples from Sicily and Sardinia until the early nineteenth century.

Dried pasta (pasta secca) is made with high protein durum wheat flour and water - nothing else. The dough is mixed by a machine and then pushed through a die to create the different shapes and sizes. Cheaper pastas use a teflon die which produces a smooth noodle, while more artisan pastas use a bronze die which creates rough edges for holding sauces. The Southern part of the country, known as the Mezzogiorno (midday), is known for pasta secca, such as penne, ziti, fusilli, spaghetti and conchiglie.

Fresh pastas are popular in the north, especially Emilia Romagna, where egg is used instead of water for their pastas. They are usually rolled flat instead of being forced through a machine, which gives them a smoother surface, perfect for stuffing (ravioli, tortellini). We make our pappardelle to go with M’tucci’s rich Five-Pork Bolognese sauce.

Italians always cook their pasta al dente (to the tooth). It’s a fine line between under-cooked and crunchy to over-cooked and mushy. Remember that the pasta continues to cook when you drain it, so when cooking at home, your timing is important. Italians prefer al dente because the minimal amount of cooking preserves the flavors of the pasta. Over-cooked pasta contains more water, which dilutes the flavor of the pasta and the sauce.

We make ravioli, pappardelle, campanelle and rigatoni in house. After making the fresh pasta, we slowly air dry the noodles for flavor and texture, just as it has been done for centuries by artisanal pastaficios in Italy.

Fun Facts: Italians consume so much pasta, that much of the flour is imported from the U.S. and Canada. In 2017 63% of Italians said they eat pasta daily. The U.S. is the largest market for pasta, consuming 2.7 million tons a year, but we are not the #1 country for annual per capita consumption. Italians consume 51 pounds annually, followed by Tunisia (37 lb.), Venezuela (26 lb.), Greece (24 lb.), Chile (20.6 lb.). The U.S. is #6 with each person eating nearly 20 pounds a year. We look forward to your visit and together we can become #5!

Five Pork Bolognese with Rigatoni at M'tucci's Italian

Capicola Carbonara with Spaghettini at M'tucci's Twenty-Five

Eggplant Parmesan with Cacio e Pesto Fettucine at M'tucci's Moderno

Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

8 oz Hand Cut Filet Mignon - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Cherry Balsamic Reduction $29

Pan-Seared California Halibut - Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Cream Sauce $27

Ravioli - Red Chile Three Cheese Ravioli, Roasted Butternut Squash, Sun Dried Tomato, Haricot Vert, Caramelized Onion, Brown Butter Sauce $21

Rotisserie - Herb Rubbed Roasted Half Chicken, Roasted Spaghetti Squash, Creamy Mushroom Risotto $25

House Made Sorbetto - Prickly Pear Sorbetto with a Lemon Ricotta Cookie $7

Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27

New Mexico Prickly Pears

A team collaboration created a new beverage and dessert, only at M’tucci’s Italian this weekend. Asst. Manager Arcy and Pastry Chef Michelle picked a lot of local prickly pears near one of the restaurants, added sweet basil from Partner Austin’s garden added a few secret ingredients and let them stew for a couple of weeks. Tonight try a Prickly Pear Shrub Cocktail with Tequila and a Prickly Pear Sorbet with a Lemon Ricotta Cookie.

Prickly Pear Sorbetto & Lemon Ricotta Cookie - only at M’tucci’s Italian this weekend.

Pair the Prickly Pair Sorbetto with our new Prickly Pear Sweet Basil Shrub made with Tequila and locally sourced fruit and herbs. Only at M’tucci’s Italian

M’tucci’s Moderno

6 oz Hand Cut Filet Mignon, Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Italian Salsa Verde $27

Pan-Seared Scallops - Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Cream Sauce $29

Herb Roasted Pork Loin - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Lemon Butter Sauce $19

Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Pan-Seared Rockfish, Grilled Escarole, Prosciutto Powder, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Seared Artichokes, Topped with Prosciutto Powder, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $22