In contemporary restaurants across Italy, some chefs are doing away with pasta all together, replacing it with ingredients that behave a little like it. Similar to the recent trend for courgetti – ‘spaghetti’ made from spiralized courgette – squid and cuttlefish can be cut into very fine ribbons and served with sauce. Mario Uliassi does this for his Tagliatelle of cuttlefish with nori pesto and fried quinoa while Francesco Sposito uses squid for his alternative tagliatelle which he serves with dehydrated squid ink. Other possible ingredients for spiralizing are carrots, beetroot, celeriac, cucumber, sweet potatoes and kohlrabi. Similarly, vegetables and fruit that can be cut very finely while still retaining their shape can be used to make ravioli. You could try using turnip, kohlrabi, beetroot, mango or pineapple to make little parcels filled with complementary flavours. For a very sophisticated sweet version have a look at Aurora Mazzucchelli’s Pineapple ravioli with ricotta which is served with coffee caviar, raisins, pine nuts and edible flowers – it’s as pretty as it is delicious and no pasta in sight.
