We discovered a new fresh pasta, it tastes like olives but maintains all the characteristics of a beautiful artisanal pasta in both aroma and texture. It's the latest creation of Paride Vagnoni, a visionary and pragmatic entrepreneur, deeply passionate about Ascolan gastronomic traditions, who wanted to propel them into the future through industrial production based on processing protocols that preserve the principles and flavors of his grandmother's dishes.
Paride is the driving force behind Ascolive, a company of which he holds 60% ownership, which has been the ground for investment for the remaining 40% by an English fund that has sensed and appreciated its capabilities and possibilities. However, Paride is also the entrepreneur who, at the end of the 1990s, revived the historic Caffè Meletti, the jewel that opens onto the central square of Ascoli Piceno. "On weekends, there was a queue to eat there - he smiles at his stand at the Sol in Verona Fiere - We prepared 5-6 thousand pasta dishes between Saturday and Sunday. Today, they'll probably make about ten!"
After five years of management, he decided to leave that adventure and dedicate himself to the Ascolive project, giving new impetus for the growth and improvement of products. "I wanted to bring the flavor and culture of fried Ascolan olives made by my grandmother to the world," explains Paride. "The braised meat for the filling is the same as what we eat, only the best beef and a bit of pork. However, the olives are Greek: not because they are better, but because Ascolan olives wouldn't be available if I only wanted to use those in production. In any case, the flavor is the same as my grandmother's."
The new pasta is made from ingredients linked to oil and olives. He doesn't want to spoil the recipe yet, "I'm registering it and I prefer to wait until everything is final. As soon as the administrative procedure is closed, I'll make the recipe and ingredients public." We've tasted it and we hypothesize that there are olive leaves inside, which bring flavor and fiber and probably also help to maintain a perfect bite that remains al dente (which is not obvious and not easy for fresh pasta) as well as ensuring a very long finish in the mouth leaving a pleasantly clean and fresh palate thanks to a slight bitter note linked to the olive polyphenols.
A pleasant surprise discovered among the stands at the Sol at Vinitaly, which is not exactly the place where you would expect to find such novelties. And it also becomes fun (as well as absolutely delicious) if declined in the stuffed format under the name "ravioli all'ascolana" precisely to relaunch the idea of Ascolan olives, keeping the vegetable part in the casing and the braised filling inside. A real gem, to be enjoyed with a simple drizzle of oil or - as Paride suggests and we can't blame him - dressed with butter and Parmesan.
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