Spaghetti – Durum Wheat Pasta

Spaghetti, thin, round, and made from pure durum wheat

Spaghetti from La Campofilone is classic Italian durum wheat pasta, made only from durum wheat semolina and water, without eggs. It is “al bronzo”—drawn through bronze dies—so that the surface remains rough, allowing every sauce to cling to it.

Spaghetti translates to "threads" or "cords," from spago, meaning string—a fitting name for this thin, round long pasta, classically 1.6 millimeters thick and about 26 centimeters long. Unlike the egg pasta from the same manufacturer, this pasta at La Campofilone is made from just two ingredients: durum wheat semolina and water, slowly kneaded and drawn “al bronzo.”

Drawn “al bronzo” so the sauce sticks

The dough is first allowed to rest and is then pressed through bronze dies rather than smooth Teflon: this process is called trafilatura al bronzo and leaves the surface of the long pasta finely textured instead of shiny and smooth. The difference is clear on the plate, as bold, spicy, and hearty sauces adhere much better to the rough noodle than to industrially produced, smooth pasta, from which the sauce simply slides off.

After being shaped, the pasta is dried slowly for 20 to 36 hours at a low, controlled temperature, ensuring that its structure and firm bite are preserved rather than lost through high-heat drying. This slow drying is exactly what distinguishes artisanal pasta from industrial goods, which are often dried in just a few hours and lose their bite in the process.

Tomato sugo, Aglio e Olio, or Carbonara

This long noodle is the quintessential Italian classic: it goes perfectly with savory tomato sugo, Carbonara with egg and guanciale, or simply with Aglio e Olio—garlic sautéed in good olive oil. Whether served with shellfish in white wine, alla Vongole, or simply with butter and Parmesan, the rough surface makes any sauce a success.

For a classic dish, a jar of Sugo all'Arrabbiata, briefly heated and tossed with the hot pasta, is all you need. If you prefer a simpler version, use a high-quality olive oil from Le Marche—the same region where the durum wheat is grown—instead of butter, and toss the pasta in it with plenty of garlic and a pinch of chili.

Enzo Rossi and wheat from his own fields

La Campofilone is named after the small coastal village where pasta has been produced since 1912, and since 1998 under the direction of Enzo Rossi, who runs the business today with his wife and daughters, Maria Vittoria and Federica. For these shapes, one ingredient counts above all else, as Enzo Rossi himself emphasizes: robust durum wheat from his own fields in the provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Macerata, GMO-free, harvested in the summer, and ground into semolina at a local mill.

The semolina is processed with water into a firm dough that must rest before being drawn through the bronze dies, allowing the gluten to set so that the pasta retains its shape later on. In the full range from La Campofilone, you will find other durum wheat shapes from the same workshop alongside this long pasta, from fusilli to rigatoni.

It binds better than any ready-made sauce

Boil the spaghetti in plenty of salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, tasting regularly until the bite is just right. Toss in a pan with a little cooking water, olive oil, and plenty of Parmesan; this binds better than any ready-made sauce. A pinch of coarse sea salt at the end makes the difference between good and truly great, and if you like, fold in some freshly chopped parsley at the end to add an extra layer of freshness to your finished plate of spaghetti.