Recently I seem to have a lot of encounter with Italian food, homemade amaretti, mozzarelline allo zafferano, best ravioli and cappelletti in Basel (see below)

I was told that Paste Ines has the best pasta in town, Paste Ines supplies pasta, ravioli, etc, to top Italian restaurants in Basel,  Chez Donati is one of them which is the best Italian restaurant in Basel.

I have tried their ravioli (spinach and veal fillings) at my friend’s place two weeks ago, the ravioli are so thin that they are almost transparent when cooked. They are so easy to prepare, Albert told us to boil the water and turn down the heat a bit and put the ravioli into the water at 80ºC and let them cook for 8 mins and no more. You can simply serve by drizzling a good quality of olive oil and some grated parmesan cheese on top.  Alternatively, my friend, Barbara has prepared a brown butter sage sauce which is also lovely. It was a very lovely evening, girls chat, nice food and great companies.

That day I have bought some cappelletti (veal filling) out of curiousity, I had ravioli and tortellini but never had cappelletti before. Sourced from about.com:

The word cappelletto means “little hat,” which is what this pasta should resemble; they’re from Modena. They are traditionally served in broth, as are their cousins, tortellini (the difference lies in the stuffing); indeed, the traditional North Italian Christmas dinner starts with cappelletti in capon broth.

Albert was very nice and taught me how to cook them. The best thing is that they can be kept in the freezer until I feel like having them and tonight the time has come. They were so good that at first I cooked a small portion to try out and in the end I had second and finished them all. The pack is supposed to be for one person anyway. I have to revisit to stock up some ravioli and cappelletti at home. It is great to be able to enjoy some five star restaurant food without the need to visit expensive restaurants, especially in this snowy weather, it is far much more relax and enjoyable at home. Whatsmore I admire Albert’s passion and attitude to is business. He strives for excellency in his pasta, he ensures his customers to be able to enjoy his pasta at home by giving detailed instructions and this is the attitude 

that he can be so proud of himself and does not need to worry a bit of his business at all even during the current global economic crisis.

How to prepare Albert Pfefferli’s Cappelletti:

1. In a pan, cook water until boiling.
2. Put the cappelletti into the boiling water and cook for 12 mins. Stir once to avoid them sticking together.
3. Discard the water.
4. You can serve the cappelletti in a broth (like Chinese dumplings). I served with pesto alla genovese (fresh pesto sauce), or simply drizzle some extra virgin oil, grated parmesan cheese, fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

Paste Ines, Albert Pfefferli

Hegenheimerstrasse 128

CH-4055, Basel

Tel: +41 61 381 4917

Opening time:

Tues-Fri: 0900-1200 & 1500-1830

Sat: 0900-1400

Closed on Monday

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