“Fusillo Felittese” - The true Italian recipe

Tradition tells us that the women of Felitto learned first to make fusilli and after to walk. Perhaps this is not the case, but it is certainly true that the art of hand-making  the renowned pasta in Cilento and in particular in the village of Felitto is a craft learned by women from an early age.

But what is the Italian recipe for this special type of pasta?

First of all, the fusillo felittese is a particular type of fresh pasta, a long yellow, cylindrical, hollow pasta. It is made with flour, eggs, salt, water and locally produced olive oil. These ingredients are vigorously mixed to create a dough that is left to rest for about one hour.

Aged women of Cilento place the flour on the so called “scannaturu”, a pastry board in wooden and form a kind of fountain with eggs, salt and incorporate the flour. The secret lies in the kneading, in modeling homogeneously and forming a nice dough to let stand a few hours.

After it is possible to cut the dough in little cylindrical slices.

To make fusilli it is necessary to use a particular ferretto, a thin cylindrical tool. This work is done completely by hand but it is not as easy as it looks because this kind of pasta is holed inside and it is very difficult to remove it from the wire without breaking or damaging fusillo.

Once dry, the fusillo is ready to be cooked in salted water!

What are the sauces used to season the traditional fusillo?

The traditional sauce is the “castrato” sauce with meat of goat or mutton  but there are also other imaginative variant with vegetables: zucchini, eggplant, courgette flowers, red and yellow tomatoes, peppers, but also with fish, shrimp, salmon or swordfish.

In any way you choose to taste it, it is fun to try to replicate the preparation of the fusillo with friends or family. Feel a perfect Cilento chef for a day. For a kilo of fusilli, you only need: six eggs, salt, a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, water and imagination! …um…and the ferretto!

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Also, do you know that..

• ..In August in the old town center of Felitto takes place the famous Fusillo Festival dedicated to discover and taste this characteristic recipe
• ..You can take part in an extraordinary pasta making workshop and learn how to prepare fusilli
• ..You can taste typical dishes with fusilli and Cilento food
• ..You can visit the old town centre with a buddy or local guide or take part in an interesting tour to Calore Gorges or other charming places near Felitto where you can do trekking, canyoning, river walking, rafting and much more.