Mezze Maniche – Durum Wheat Pasta

Mezze Maniche with a rough bronze-drawn surface from the Marche

Azienda Guerrieri's Mezze Maniche are crafted from durum wheat grown exclusively on their own hills in the Marche region. Extruded through bronze dies (al bronzo) and dried slowly, they feature a rough surface that allows sauces to cling perfectly. No outsourced grain, but rather a consistent harvest from their own fields.

Mezze Maniche – Durum Wheat Pasta by Azienda Guerrieri is a short, tubular noodle made from pure durum wheat semolina, grown on the Guerrieri family's 200 hectares along the banks of the Metauro river in the Marche. The family has been cultivating these hills since around 1800, and today it is run by the 6th generation: Luca Guerrieri, his father Alberto, and his sister Maria Giulia. The 500g package contains only 2 ingredients: durum wheat semolina and water.

Rough enough to hold any sauce

Thanks to bronze dies – the "al bronzo" process – the Mezze Maniche gain a fine-pored, rough surface that holds sauces and oil significantly better than smoothly extruded industrial pasta. It holds onto what other pasta lets slip away.

Slow-dried, it preserves the structure of the starch – color, aroma, and bite are retained, and the pasta remains firm, nutty, and with a light wheat flavor. After Puglia and Sicily, the Marche is Italy's third-largest durum wheat growing region, an advantage you can taste in your cooking: short cooking time, firm bite, and no sticking in the pot.

You cook them al dente in 9 minutes, and even if you forget them in the pot for a minute longer, they don't immediately lose their bite – a small consolation for hectic kitchen evenings.

The durum wheat is harvested, cleaned, and brought to the mill on the farm itself, without any external grain mixing in. This gives the Guerrieri family full control over the ripeness and protein content of the grain – and thus over the bite that ultimately ends up on the plate.

Hearty sauces find a home here

The short, tubular shape of the Mezze Maniche catches hearty, chunky sauces – ragù, sausage sugo, or roasted vegetables nestle into the grooves and stay there until the fork comes along.

Dressed simply with Guerrieri ORO olive oil and freshly grated Pecorino, that's often all you need. They are also at home with tomato sugo with olives or a savory Ragù alla Marchigiana. Pair it with a glass of Colli Pesaresi Sangiovese from the same estate – a well-rounded Marche menu where everything comes from the same farm.

If you prefer something milder, reach for the Guerrieri VERDE olive oil and a little lemon zest – the Mezze Maniche pair just as well with both oil profiles.

Sixth generation on the banks of the Metauro

The Guerrieri family has been farming their hills near Piagge in the municipality of Terre Roveresche for around 1800 years, now in the 6th generation.

"We are, above all, true farmers – not just winemakers, olive growers, or grain producers," says Luca Guerrieri, who runs the farm together with his father Alberto and his sister Maria Giulia. This philosophy is also evident in the pasta: the durum wheat grows on the same 200 hectares where the family’s vines and olive trees stand – full control from the field to the package.

In the fields, the family relies on natural methods to combat pests rather than heavy chemicals, in addition to solar power for the farm buildings and gentle harvesting methods. The origin is therefore not just a claim on the package, but a path that can be traced from sowing to the finished pasta.

Those who wish to discover the full range of the estate will also find a version made from heirloom Senatore Cappelli wheat in the pasta selection from Azienda Guerrieri, an old grain variety that was widespread throughout Italy before the industrialization of agriculture. Honest pasta – that's all you need.