Had another worthwhile entrant today. Alberto Lombardi’s Taverna on 2nd St in Austin.
I’d never really had good garganelli before, and, as was the case with the gramigna, I felt the pasta played a key role in setting off the sauce. As far as I could make out, there were two differences between garganelli and penne: one, the ends are parallel-cut for penne; and two, the fluting on the pasta tube is gentler on the garganelli.
Anyway, great sauce. Gentle, rich in flavour; a lingering aftertaste of good liver, grainy yet moist, sliding smoothly over the ridges on the pasta; light and easy, I could scrape the plate clean, no tell-tale oiliness remaining. And of course tending towards the golden yellow I like, rather than the common tomato-dominated red. I like my pomodoro on the side, not in the sauce.
JP,
the difference is actually easier: Garganelli are (1) fresh egg pasta (2) cut in squares then rolled up into a tube, while penne are (1) just flour and water dried pasta dough (2) extruded through a circular die and then cut (hence the parallel cut). The picture looks great, even though the parsley on top doesn’t quite enter into meat sauce pasta!
Hey thanks Gianugo, I love this way of learning. I get to eat at the same time, and to hear from experts. Rgds
OK, photos are good. Recipes are better!