Pasta Mista

Pasta mista (mixed pasta) is essentially broken bits and misshapes, that might have been collected from the bottom of bins of dried pasta and used as ‘something out of nothing’, just as breadcrumbs present the ultimate economy to homemakers and bakers alike. Pasta mista became popular to the extent that you can now buy purposely made mixed pasta in packets, with no economical advantage over regular shapes. The most traditional recipes call for cooking pasta mista actually in the sauce – broken bits are always accompanied by tinier bits, which might be lost through the colander if the pasta were boiled separately.