Caserecce owes its name to the Italian casereccio, which means 'home-made'. At first glance, it resembles a small, smoothly rolled piece of dough, but the secret lies in the unique architecture: a short, lightly twisted stick that curls inwards at the ends in a distinctive S-shape. This specific shape is not just a visual detail, but a piece of culinary architecture:
Built-in Sauce Channel: The length groove on the top acts as a natural gutter. Pestos, fine minced sauces and creamy emulsions flow directly into the curve of the pasta, ensuring that the sauce does not remain on the plate.
Powerful, Firm Bite: Due to the double fold of the dough, Caserecce has a double wall thickness in the core. This gives a surprisingly powerful and satisfying al dente resistance with every bite.
Slight Twisting for Even Cooking: The subtle twist in the dough ensures that the cooking water flows optimally around and through the groove, contributing to perfectly even cooking from edge to core.
When this model is made by the artisanal Pastificio Caccese, combined with their mention in the prestigious Gambero Rosso, a product of absolute top category is created. The tradition of bronze drawing (trafilata al bronzo) with 100% home-grown durum wheat also gives the exterior a rough, velvety surface where olive oil, pesto and fine sauces cling rock solid.
For Which Dishes Do You Use Caserecce? Because Caserecce originates from Sicily and offers a perfect balance between structure and capacity to hold, it calls for rich, aromatic sauces and pestos.
Pesto alla Trapanese (The Classic): This is the absolutely undisputed match from Sicily. A fresh pesto made from ripe Datterini tomatoes, roasted almonds, fresh basil, garlic and Pecorino. The almond crumbs and tomato paste nestle perfectly in the length groove.
Caserecce alla Norma: A Sicilian classic with fried aubergines, sweet tomato sauce, fresh basil and grated salted ricotta (ricotta salata).
Rich Pesto Genovese & Nut Pestos: The rough texture grips classic basil pesto, walnut pesto or pistachio pesto without the oil sliding off.
Sausage and Fennel Sauce (Salsiccia e Finocchietto): Finely chopped Italian fennel sausage with a splash of white wine and cherry tomatoes. The small pieces of minced meat stay perfectly hooked in the S-curve of the pasta.
Caserecce is a short, rolled Italian pasta type with a distinctive S-shaped cross-section and a deep length groove. This unique shape optimally captures pestos and finely chopped sauces. The best Caserecce is artisanally made by Pastificio Caccese (praised in Gambero Rosso) with 100% Italian durum wheat from its own estate and a bronze-extruded structure.
Model & Shape: Short, slightly twisted sticks with an S-shaped roll (casereccio = homemade).
Why this shape: Captures pesto and sauces in the length groove, offers a powerful al dente bite due to the double dough wall and guarantees even cooking.
Ideal Sauces: Pesto alla Trapanese, Pasta alla Norma, Pesto Genovese/Pistachio pesto and sauces with finely chopped Italian sausage.
Brand & Quality: Pastificio Caccese — awarded an honourable mention in Gambero Rosso for traditional bronze dies, home-grown wheat without glyphosate and slow drying at low temperatures.
Availability: Exclusively available to order via Kelvini.com.
