Tuscan Pasta Spice

Tuscan Pasta Spice by Altes Gewürzamt, herbal

Tuscan Pasta Spice from Altes Gewürzamt brings together garlic, tomato flakes, and basil with a wealth of Mediterranean herbs. A touch of chili gives it the spicy kick that distinguishes it from the milder Roman spice, and sprinkled over pasta, pizza, and roasted vegetables, it tastes like the south.

Tuscan Pasta Spice is the robust Mediterranean blend from Altes Gewürzamt for Italian cuisine. Garlic leads the way, followed by sweet paprika, black pepper, and basil, along with celery seed, oregano, coriander, fennel, myrtle, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary. There are fifteen ingredients in total, and their order explains the robust tone.

Herbal, garlic-forward, with a subtle heat

Over hot noodles, this pasta spice smells like summer in the south because basil and oregano meet fruity tomato flakes. The garlic provides strength, fennel and myrtle lay a fine sweet note underneath, and the chili adds its quiet heat on top.

Garlic is at the forefront and thus carries the largest share, followed by sweet paprika and black pepper. The chili, in turn, is the one ingredient that the milder Roman spice does not contain, and it is far enough down the list to remain noticeable without being overpowering.

Celery seed is written in capital letters in the list of ingredients because celery is one of the mandatory allergens. In terms of taste, it is the secret backbone: tiny grains with a savory, almost broth-like depth that give a sauce the length that otherwise only develops after hours on the stove.

With pasta and good olive oil

It is very simple on spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, and some Parmesan; a good pasta evening needs nothing more. A Caprese salad can also handle a pinch of it, and a plate of white beans with olive oil benefits just as much.

You get the most out of it if you give it two or three minutes in warm olive oil before adding the pasta. The essential oils of the herbs are fat-soluble, so the oil distributes the spice evenly over every noodle.

The fat should be warm, not hot, because garlic granules turn bitter in sizzling oil within half a minute. Two teaspoons for four portions is a good start, and a ladle of pasta water then binds the oil, spice, and noodles into a sauce.

Beyond pasta, it belongs on roasted vegetables, in a Tuscan bean soup, on bruschetta, and in focaccia dough. A teaspoon stirred into softened butter makes a herb butter for grilled bread, and over fried zucchini with a little lemon, it shows its light, summery side. The same dish becomes milder with the Roman spice.

Basil, to be added fresh at the very end

Basil is in fourth place and yet is the trickiest part of the blend, as it loses its aroma faster when dried than oregano or thyme. It is all the more worthwhile to add a few fresh leaves on top at the end.

The dried version provides the foundation, the fresh one provides the final flourish, and only together do they create the full note. It is dried gently, mixed in small batches, and the fact that Altes Gewürzamt produces and fills it in Klingenberg am Main is even printed on the label.

Tuscan Pasta Spice is part of the regional cuisines collection from Altes Gewürzamt and likes to sit next to the Mallorcan Herb Garden when the evening should taste of the Balearics instead of Italy.