Pasta is a pretty standard dish. You can find it just about anywhere, and it's a perennial favorite because it's easy to make. It can be dressed up or down, and the possibilities are endless.
So it's no surprise that people have loved it forever in the Mediterranean region (that legend about Marco Polo bringing it back from China is only a legend, although China has its own rich noodle tradition), and even today, chefs love experimenting with pasta.
They've used everything from vegetables to squid ink to change up the color and flavor, and the results are usually nothing short of delicious.
But when the majoroity of our pasta comes in a box, one master pasta-maker wants us to take a moment and remember the skill and inventiveness that really goes into creating all those little shapes.
His name is Luca Donofrio, and while today he oversees the pasta production at New York City's Eataly, his beginnings are actually in fine art.
Even though he started out pursuing oil painting, Luca found that pasta-making is actually just as creatively fulfilling as painting. "There are hundreds of kinds of shapes and options," he explains, "you can do anything with it."
And he certainly does. His kitchen is a nonstop experiment in color, form, flavor, and filling. Check out some of his creations below and find a new appreciation for pasta.
[H/T: My Modern Met, Instagram Blog]
You're probably familiar with a few pasta shapes from your local grocery store, but Luca Donofrio wants to open up a whole new world of pasta and show just how amazing this basic food really is.
Creating pastas also lets Luca get creative. After studying painting, he found that turning it into a career was difficult, so he turned to the culinary world instead.
He started out as a sales associate in celebrity chef Mario Batali's restaurant, Eataly, and eventually worked his way up to become manager of pasta production.
Painting to pasta-making might seem like a strange career choice, but Luca sees it as simply transferring his creativity from one medium to another.
"It's become my number one passion in life," he says. "To me, it's just another form of artistic expression."
Each week, he oversees the production of some 5,000 pounds of pasta. He also started snapping photos of his department's creations and collecting them on Instagram.
And not only is the handmade pasta absolutely gorgeous, but the descriptions are enough to get anyone's mouth watering, too.
These are filled with speck, ricotta, and radicchio.
And his half-moon-shaped tortelli contain a mixture of wild boar, juniper, and parsnips seasoned with red wine and rosemary.
Creating the shapes also takes a lot of practice. While some are formed via machine (think a giant-size version of a Play-Doh squeezer), many are created entirely by hand, like these folded triangles.
But Luca is honest, too — and he describes these as "a nightmare to make."
Different regions of Italy also have their own shapes and styles of pasta. These cute little ravioli come from Sardinia.
There's also a lot of surprising history to some kinds of pasta. These disc shapes, called corzetti, have hand-stamped designs. During the Renaissance, rich families would stamp them with their coat of arms.
And of course the fillings are endless.
As are the shapes.
But that's not all! Luca also experiments with adding ingredients to the pasta dough that create different colors and flavors. This pink pasta was created by adding hibiscus flowers to the dough.
And this bright green dough, seen here being rolled out by machine, gets its color from spinach.
Beets give pasta a rich maroon color.
Of course, a little less beet means more of a pink than a dark red. Traditionally, though, Luca says, this style of pasta, served with meat sauce, would have been colored red using pig's blood.
This deep green pasta was made using nettles, which sting! The finished pasta doesn't sting, though, and has a flavor similar to spinach pasta.
Black pasta is made using squid ink, which also adds a seafood flavor.
And pasta isn't just a dinner food. By adding sweeter ingredients, Luca has also made dessert pasta. This espresso dough pairs with a mascarpone filling for a sweet take on tortellini!
And this fettuccine, made with cacao, has a rich earthy flavor that pairs with meats, too.
We bet you didn't know this much could go into pasta-making! You can see more of Luca's mouth-watering creations on his Instagram, and maybe you'll even get inspired to switch up your pasta dishes at home!
SHARE these incredible creations with anyone who thinks creativity and food are a match made in heaven — or anyone who unabashedly loves their carbs!
