Pre-reading questions:
- What Italian food is famous in your country?
- Do you like Italian food?
- Do you know how to cook any Italian dish?
The rarest pasta in the world is at risk of becoming extinct. Su filindeu’s recipe is well kept in the Abraini family and is passed down from generation to generation. At present, only 3 women from the clan know how to make it. The preparation is so difficult that in the last 200 years, the dish has only been served to people who finish a 33km-pilgrimage in their area for the Feast of San Francesco. Semolina wheat, water and salt are the ingredients to making su filindeu.
Making su filindeu takes a lot of time and effort because of the kneading of the dough back and forth, and the pulling and folding of the semolina dough into 256 perfectly even strands with your hands. The experience required to understanding the perfect semolina dough to create su filindeu discouraged many students. The time, precision and effort needed to making the perfect pasta threads made many give up learning how to make su filindiu altogether.
Vocabulary:
extinct [adjective] – no longer in existence
pass down [phrasal verb] – to give something to someone who is younger, less important, or at a lower level than you
pilgrimage [noun] – a sacred or holy journey
semolina [noun] – a powder made from wheat; used for making pasta, sweet dishes, and breakfast food
knead [verb] – to work in uniform mixture by pressing, folding and stretching
dough [noun] – mixture of flour and water or milk, used for making bread, pastry, etc
precision [noun] accuracy, exactness
Comprehension Questions:
- Where can we find the rarest pasta in the world?
- How many people now can make su filindeu?
- These days, who can eat su filindeu?
- What are the ingredients for making su filindeu?
- Why does it take a lot of time and effort to make su filindeu?
Express Your Opinion:
- I like to try different kinds of food.
- Eating is a necessity and cooking is an art.
- Cooking has no gender.