Pasta tai is a very tasty Marchegian dish. The Marches live on the eastern side of central Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the high Apennine mountains.
Marches are known for their simple, but unique and tasty cuisine; however, they have been known to add rabbit, squirrel, and other little critters to their Polentas, so you would be well advised to hide your cats whenever a Marche is around since it was rumored that Polenta Gatta was served at the Marchegian Club. (My father-in-law recalled that, years ago in New Britain, cats were rarely seen in the neighborhoods where Marchegians lived.)
As a child, my husband would visit the Marchegian Club in New Britain, Connecticut since two of his uncles were born in that region of Italy. The Marchegian Club was a popular hall for wedding receptions during the 1950s and 1960s. Children--the Brighentis, Lepitos, Giannotos, Camoscis, Rios, Zenobis, Aiudis, Bartoluccis, et al--would be seen jumping off the back roof of the one-storied building in the rear, getting grass stains on their Sunday suits.
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There the Marchegians would customarily feature a serving of Passatelli (or what they would colloquially call pasta tai) with the meals served at the weddings, get togethers, and other family gatherings. Mary Bessoni of the Bessoni Brothers, a construction firm located in New Britain, and Barbara Armentano, my husband’s cousin, were kind enough to give my husband this recipe. It is truly a family heirloom.
Passatelli is a peppery lemon soup of noodles made from bread crumbs. My husband’s mother used to make it, and he always asks me at Thanksgiving and Christmas time to make it. My husband's brother used to call pasta tai “worm soup” because his mother would run the mixture through a meat grater and make long “noodles' having the appearance of segments or ridges.
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The noodles are surprising tasty: in fact, my husband eats them raw as soon as I make them, because he loves their taste so much. The lemons are the key ingredient to their deliciousness.
If you enjoy Italian food, and want absolutely the tastiest Italian soup in the world, then you must try pasta tai. For a detailed recipe, please visit Intense Flavors: trust me, you'll love it.
L’uomo è ciò che mangia!
