Egg-free homemade pasta dough, in Calabria dialect: Pasta i' Manu
( Pasta di casa “Pasta i'manu” )

Homemade pasta, or "Pasta i' manu" according to Calabria dialect, is a traditional recipe of Mammola but well known in Calabria and Italy too! The pasta dough made in Mammola is typical for its ingredients, durum wheat and rye: the rye is known as "jermano" variety. Both they are ground in a water-powered mill. The good-quality pasta dough derives from the correct proportion of the two kinds of flour. Besides you have to know women in Mammola obtain the right shape you can see in the photo rolling up the dough cut into pieces according to an old procedure that is handed on from generation to generation.
This kind of pasta is tossed with a spicy sauce (ragout) whose main ingredient is tomato. The other ingredients depend on the personal taste: goat or pork meat and/or pork meatballs too, stockfish (dried cod) and/or streaky stockfish (“trippiceji” in Mammola dialect). Stockfish of Mammola is another good-quality product of Calabria. At last, just before serving, every pasta dish is sprinkled with grated seasoned cheese or smoked ricotta cheese. Both these cheeses are made with goat milk and are typical products of Mammola.
Nowadays the Mammola cooking is still well known for it is based on the tradition and plenty of good-quality products. It can offer a lot of dishes that are handed on from generation to generation.

Durum wheat and rye (jermano variety) are ground in a water-powered mill as we have just told you.
Every woman measures out the durum wheat and rye flour according to the taste of her family. Then olive oil and water are added. It's difficult to say how much water is enough. The quantity can vary every time. It depends on the flour, on the temperature and on other variables. The following step is kneading the dough on the floured work surface for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and there is no trace of the dough on the fingers. The dough is then covered with a napkin and rests for at least half an hour. At this point it is cut into little pieces. Every piece is rolled out on a lightly floured surface by hand to the shape of spaghetti or bucatini. Women can use reed stems ("junchi" in Mammola dialect) too. Every piece is then put on floured towels, well separated from the other pieces, to rest and dry.
Cooking and tossing this pasta is very easy. It's necessary to boil the pasta in abundant salt water (read our instructions), drain it very well and pour directly in the pan with the sauce or again in the pan where it has been just cooked. In the last case the sauce must be added in. In every case it is necessary to stir very well and wait for some minutes before serving.
Serve this dish as main course.

Old recipe of Mammola (Calabria - Italy) written by Gino Larosa and translated by the Italian Taste team