Pastificio Gentile was founded in 1876 in the town of Gragnano, and has been run by the Zampino family since the 1980s. It is one of the historic artisan factories that have made the city of Gragnano famous for its pasta. We love their pasta for the commitment to the artisanal production methods that give this pasta such fantastic flavor.
Gentile believes in starting with high-quality inputs–that means rigorously Italian certified organic semolina wheat. The Zampino family traveled to Southern Italy for years to find the perfect varieties of durum wheat to use in their products. They finally found a great partner with Selezione Casillo to harvest and mill the high-quality wheat that is used in all traditional and wholemeal formats.
Walking the streets of Gragnano you can see how the architects designed everything to favor the production phases, in particular, drying pasta in the streets by the light of the sun and the breeze from the Gulf of Naples. Today, Gentile uses a process to mimic this history, using heaters and powerful fans to slowly dry the pasta. It ensures an incredibly flavorful product.
The Long and the Short of Gentile’s Pasta Shapes
photo courtesy of Gentile
Gnocchi Napoletani:Little dumpling-shaped scoop pasta that’s perfect in soups, sauces, mac and cheese, salads… just about anything really!
Vesuvio:Named because of the volcano-style shape, this extra-twisty pasta is great with any sauce and boasts big texture and an eruption of flavor.
Paccheri: Jumbo tube pasta that’s equally at home in cream sauces and baked dishes. (Proof that sometimes bigger really is better.)
Spaghetti: This classic spaghetti shape is made using 100% Italian Senatore Cappelli wheat and would be great in any pasta dish.
Bucatini: A thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center. Classically served with buttered or pancetta-based sauces.
Dinner Tonight
Be ready to whip up a satisfying meal at a moment’s notice with our Napoletana Pasta Kit, which includes Gentile Gnocchi Napoletani, a jar of semi-dried tomatoes in olive oil, and a bottle of Roi olive oil.
The next time you have spaghetti leftovers, give Ari’s recipe for Spaghetti Toast a whirl. He says, “Since we cook so much pasta, leftovers are common at our house, and spaghetti toast is a good way to turn them into something that’s tasty, easy, and fun to make.”
Special thanks to Rogers Collection, an exceptional importer of extraordinary foods, for helping us bring this delicious Italian pasta to our shelves and for their generous support of this message. And to Pastificio Gentile for allowing us to share their beautiful photos.
