Timilia wheat (a.k.a. tumminia, timminia, trimminia in Sicilian dialects) has its origins in Sicily, where it was widely cultivated during ancient Greek times, and called trimenaios, meaning wheat with a three-month growing cycle. This ancient variety of durum wheat grows very tall, sometimes reaching close to 5 feet tall (1.80 m), making it quite resistant to drought and pests.
Like many ancient grains, Timilia is very nutritious and easier to digest than classic durum wheat. To make their pasta, Rustichella stone-grinds Timilia wheat’s dark, glassy grains into semolato (semi-whole wheat flour) and mixes the flour with pure spring water. Rustichella d’Abruzzo Timilia pasta has a rustic, nutty flavor reminiscent of Sicilian bread.
Busiate is a classic twisted shape from Sicily. It takes its name from “buso,” a particular knitting needle usually used to work fabrics such as wool and cotton. Busiate is typically paired with pesto trapanese (pesto with tomatoes, almonds, and basil) as well as with seafood.
1.1 lb.
Rustichella d’Abruzzo
In 1924, Gaetano Sergiacomo started making rustic pasta using the whole wheat flour produced at his family’s stone mill in the small town of Penne in Abruzzo, Italy. In 1981, his daughter, Nicolina Peduzzi, decided to revive the pastificio (pasta factory), naming the new product line Rustichella d’Abruzzo. More family members joined the business, which quickly grew to offer one of the most extensive artisanal pasta lines in Italy.
Rustichella d’Abruzzo starts with the finest quality grains, blends them with pure Apennine mountain spring water, extrudes the pasta through bronze dies and slowly air-dries it for a rustic texture that holds sauce beautifully.
Nicolina, the matriarch, remains the keeper of the company’s artisan core values, which she demonstrates personally at every incredible meal she cooks for the family—and lucky friends (in fact, in the Peduzzi family, many important business decisions are made over a heaping dish of spaghetti!). The family passion for quality is evident in every choice they make.