Ready For A Unique Take On Pasta – With Salami Matchsticks?
I like to try new things all the time – especially when I am given a unique product to cook with – like this!
Mixed Berries Salami!
Yes this is Dry Aged Mixed Berries Salami, which infuses traditional savory pork salami with fruity notes of blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and cherry.
It’s just one of the great offerings from Mama DePandi!
Bill and Giuliana Rancic have launched a new series of Italian foods with Giuliana’s Mom – hence the name – and they are terrific!
I have cooked with them a number of times already, so I wanted to try something a bit different this time…
While the pasta, lemon olive oil and sauce are obvious for making a delicious bowl of pasta, I discovered something I needed to share: there was a “mixed berries salami” included – and I discord that making “fried matchstick salami” is perfect for pasta – because it turns crispy and adds a rich, savory, and salty punch – much like pancetta or bacon!
Why It Works:
- Texture: Cutting the salami into matchsticks and frying it renders out the fat, making the edges ultra-crispy while keeping a meaty chew.
- Flavor: The rendered salami fat is packed with garlic, pepper, and cured pork flavors, making an incredible base to coat noodles or sauté garlic and onions.
- Convenience: Salami keeps longer in the fridge than fresh cured meats like pancetta or guanciale, making it a great pantry-staple substitute.
Let’s get cooking!
I had two different Mama DePandi pastas, so this time I used the Bucatini.
- 6 oz Mama DePandi Bucatini pasta
- 1 jar Mama DePandi’s sauce – I used Vodka di Mama!
- 3-5 oz Mama DePandi Mixed Berries Salami cut into thin matchsticks
- 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced – or a dozen if you’re me!
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2 oz shave parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup Fresh basil leaves, or dried
- To taste Freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes
Let’s start with the most enjoyable part of the recipe: filling your kitchen with the terrific smell of sizzling salami!
Here is a video showing how I sliced the salami, then turned it into matchsticks and fried it up in the Mama DePandi lemon-infused olive oil – normally I’d never cook with such a great olive oil, but I’m using it in the final dish so all good..here we go:
With that intoxicating smell of mixed berries salami fried up nicely and soaking in the lemon olive oil, I set them aside (OK, I nibbled one or two, they are also delicious this way) and it was time to make some pasta!
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente according to package instructions.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and onion, plus pepper and red pepper flakes if using. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until soft and fragrant, ensuring the garlic does not burn.
Add the pasta sauce and stir over low seat for about ten minutes. The last part was easy: combine the ingredients, which I did…but boy, looking at this video, what a messy presentation I came up with! Check it out:
Sorry Mama DePandi!
Wow, there was some REALLY SLOPPING PLATING going on here!
Grated parmesan was flying everywhere, and dumping so much basil on top was a bit of an eyesore, huh?
As I was preparing this dish, I wanted to highlight the fried matchstick mixed berries salad, but why didn’t I put the parmesan on after?
That said, it was delicious! The mixed berries salami has some nice sweetness to go with the crunchy, salty flavor…really nice!
OK, I decided to do a bonus version as well: instead of the red sauce, the next bowl would have Mama DePandi’s delicious lemon olive oil as the dressing – here we go:
And…almost the same sloppiness on display, but it was also delicious! The hint of lemon in the oil is refreshing…to go with that smoky sweet fried salami – no matter how messy, this is a very satisfying dish – now imagine if I had plated it better!
As delicious as both dishes tasted, I’m glad Giuliana and Bill have a sense of humor: as for Mama DePandi, I think these presentations would have landed me “out behind the woodshed” as they used to say!
I have cooked with Mama DePandi before: check out how I made a really good looking dish that tasted great as well!
I love pasta noodles…and I love “zoodles” too!
I made “Spaghetti alla Nerano” with some added “Zoodles” as well – click here for this amazingly delicious recipe!
And finally, remember when this happened? My friend David helped me flip over a heavy platter while my wife Alex screamed and filmed it all!
Yep, I attempted to make the legendary “Timpano” – a dish that Stanley Tucci makes and so I did as well! See the result here!
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Bravo to Bill, Giuliana and Mama Depandi for great products that I can make into delicious dishes – sometimes in the most amateurish way – but hey, it’s still fun!
Thank you for following along on my culinary journey. If you like the story, share it with friends on social media! Thanks!
Categories: Bacon, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Pictures, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
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