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Fresh pasta according to the Scoiattolo pasta factory – Italian Cuisine

What we tell you is a story of fresh pasta and passion for good food, but also for a lucky family. It is not often that grandparents, parents and grandchildren share the same dream, but to those of the Squirrel pasta factory it happened and the results are all to be savored. They invited us to meet them in their factory in Lonate Ceppino (Varese): 12 thousand square meters equipped with cutting-edge machinery now in the process of double up. Guided by Massimiliano and Matteo Di Caro, the youngest protagonists of this story, respectively general manager and sales manager for abroad. Together with their cousin Valentina Guerra, who deals with human resources, parents and uncles, they have led the company in recent years, with exceptional results.

Squirrel's story, however, begins a long time before
And the 1983 when, in the province of Varese, Umberto Belletti (grandfather Tino) and his wife Ebe, a native of Emilia, set up an artisan fresh pasta workshop. In the 90s it was up to the daughters Annamaria and Giancarla, together with their husbands, the task of expanding the family business. The right opportunity comes in 1999, thanks to a contract with the most important Dutch supermarket: the success is such, the orders are so numerous, that an immediate reorganization is required. From that moment the growth will be unstoppable, to the point of bringing to the current pasta factory, with the best robotic technologies. Today from Squirrel you walk among double-deck kneading machines, kilometers of dough that sway thinner and thinner between the rollers of the machines, electronic fettuccine cutters. There are filling injectors, ovens that pasteurize and even metal detectors that check every single tortello, yet it is especially an exquisite scent that strikes us.

Where Squirrel fillings are born
It tastes of eggs and flour, browned meats, mushrooms and truffles that ignite the appetite and leave no doubt about the goodness of the ingredients. Modern yes, but with passion and the heart of artisans it is still Squirrel's way of making pasta. "Our recipes are born at the table, during family lunches, with our grandparents", Confesses Massimiliano. Currently the kitchens prepare 250 fillings and 30 pasta shapes for a total of 70 tons of products every 24 hours. About 25 tons remain in Italy, with the Scoiattolo brand or with those of the best commercial chains. A choice that the two brothers strongly support: “Thanks to our partners”, says Matteo, “we have experimented with many recipes that would be unthinkable with a single brand”.

Competitive without sacrifices
Today Squirrel signs one twenty products: in addition to the specialties of Nonna Ebe, there are those resulting from the experience of recent years, such as i granpanzerotti with prawns and crab meat (Matteo's favorites) and those with ricotta, spinach and Sicilian lemon zest (loved by Massimiliano), the parmesan beads aged 24 months or i medallions with basil and pine nuts. The cheeses are DOP, the freshly processed vegetables, the fillings cooked in a pot, dedicating the necessary time to them, but above all there is a choice that characterizes the company's pasta. “It is made with Italian durum wheat semolina”, says Massimiliano. “A courageous decision, with high costs, but which we care a lot about. Durum wheat is healthier, less processed, richer in nutrients than 00 flour. And it holds the filling better ”, he continues. “It is not part of tradition because it would be impossible to work it by hand, but the machines allow us to pull very thin sheets, adding value and flavor to an already very good preparation ". There is no shortage of a line vegan it's a without gluten. Because even trends and nutritional needs continually inspire new projects. Just like environmental protection, a cornerstone of many decisions. "Today Squirrel adopts paper, cardboard and a high percentage of recycled plastics", they proudly explain. And that's not all: the new company headquarters under construction will use a futuristic building material capable of purifying the surrounding air. These young Squirrels are really good and passionate.

Between ravioli and sustainability
The Scoiattolo pasta labels are obtained recycling the silicone film to which they were glued. The transformation is made possible by a Finnish company which, at the end of the year, draws up the report of the ecological objectives achieved. The pasta factory also uses the 70% recycled plastic but for the future it is aiming for even higher percentages. Finally, the commitment to the environment concerns the construction of new corporate spaces designed with criteria of bioarchitecture: in particular the use of biodynamic cement capable of absorbing smog. Some outdoor work spaces will be designed for the well-being of employees.

November 2021
by Daniela Falsitta; photo by Michele Tabozzi

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The 70 of the Muzzarelli pasta factory. A family for pasta – Italian Cuisine

In 1949 the tortillas of the Muzzarelli family arrived in Turin bringing a product that was little known at the time to Piedmont. After 70 years, and several generations, the pasta factory still keeps the recipes of the past, but also looks at the present with vegetarian and Muslim versions

It was 1949 when Alda Casini and Giuseppe Muzzarelli found themselves without anything after the war. So they decided to leave Modena and join a small relative in Turin with Achille, unaware that they would change the history of fresh pasta in Piedmont. After 70 years, that of Pastificio Muzzarelli seems more like a story to tell than a real story. But instead things went just like that.

The birth of Pastificio Muzzarelli

When Alda and Giuseppe arrived in Turin, the first idea was: "Let's try to do what we do best". And what if not the tortelli from emiliani doc? These were times when a Frecciarossa did not make cities like Bologna and Turin so close, so a world flowed between these two realities, there was no frequent, let alone gastronomic, exchange. So Alda began to prepare the cappelletti according to Giulia's original recipe, mother of Giuseppe (from which the cappelletti of grandma Giulia you find today) and to sell them around, from house to house, door to door. Soon the requests increased so much that Alda was forced to take girls to work with her, who all sat around a big table to learn the trade. Then Alda weighed the tortellini that each had prepared and gave her pocket money. It is here that Giuseppe decided to buy a car, in order to produce more pasta and satisfy the growing demand, perhaps the result of that enthusiasm for a product that was not known in Piedmont. So it was the offer that created the demand, not vice versa as often happens today. And in 1949 they opened the Pastificio Muzzarelli, using the first cappelletti of the area. But if it is true that things done by hand still make the difference, Alda and Giuseppe have managed to find a way to produce more quantities with the use of the machine, but not betraying the original recipes of the grandmother: drawn pasta pure egg of free-range hens, mixture of special flour, passage with hand cylinders and perfect porosity.

Dried pasta becomes fresh

His son Achilles was only 8 years old when he arrived in Turin. Grown in the midst of fresh pasta, he studied for a while, then the call of the tortelli was stronger. After having followed the market trend well, he had a brilliant intuition, which would have changed the history of the pasta factory: to make the pasta that previously only existed dry in the fresh version, thus giving an express alternative of better quality. "Everything you think we do in fresh, from orecchiette to garganelli, penne, scialatiello, with short cooking times and assured quality", explains Cristina, daughter of Achille. For this reason their products are very appreciated also by the restaurant, where they are more and more present in kitchens even stellate like that of Marcello Trentini of Magorabin, as well as to Milan, Brussels or Grenoble, while I am totally absent from supermarkets and in general from large retailers. Much attention is given to the choice of flours, of the best mills in Italy, also in gluten free version, as well as over time have expanded the range up to 100 types of pasta. But it is still pasta, as another cornerstone of the Muzzarelli is not to give in to diversification, choosing and believing in the importance of specification, and therefore continuing to produce only exclusively pasta. "This is a pasta factory where you only produce and buy pasta, filled and not," continues Cristina.

For vegetarians and Muslims

Pastificio Muzzarelli has also thought of vegetarians with a line of products based on seasonal vegetables. In winter, for example, there are those with pumpkin, artichoke or ricotta and spinach; in summer those with zucchini and so on with seasonal and local products, such as the Piedmont hazelnut. Throughout the year they have a supply contract with a company in Liguria that allows them to produce agnolini with borage and plin with nettle and marjoram all year round. And then they work a lot with cheeses: they absolutely must be tried fondue and truffle plin, as well as the half moons with Valdostan fontina or, again, the round agnolotti with buffalo mozzarella and smoked scamorza. In short, infinity. All products where the ancient Emilian tradition of fresh pasta is combined with other formats and ingredients that are always well tested. The last one was also to think of a version for Muslims, and then to fresh stuffed pasta without any trace of pork.

Achilles' reverse tortello

Today the Muzzarelli pasta factory has turned 70 and has reached the third generation with Cristina, Laura and Elena, the three daughters of Achilles. "We grew up among agnolotti and tortellini, inside the pasta factory, but always with the freedom to choose alternative routes". This is how Elena studied photography, Cristina economics, Laura marketing, but in the end Elena takes care of the image of the pasta factory, Cristina of the relationship with customers and Laura of production planning. So their personal paths, with different times and methods, only have them brought back "at home", always under the gaze of a father as proud, as severe, when there is to be so. "Even today he comes and scolds us when we do something wrong, as in all families. The solution is to leave the grandchildren, so he takes them and leaves. Their great joy was that of having brought to retirement those who had lulled them by small, that is, some employees who had been hired still very young by Alda and Giuseppe. With such an important history behind them, to celebrate this anniversary of the company they wanted to create a product dedicated to Achilles and his family 80 years old; something surprising, that was really special. Thus was born the reverse Achilles tortello with ragù in the filling: the pasta is exactly that of grandmother Giulia, with soft wheat flour, durum wheat semolina and eggs; the filling, on the other hand, is with minced Fassona Piedmontese meat, wheat, celery, carrots, onion, bread, peeled tomatoes, white wine, oil and salt. In short, all the ingredients of the classic Modena ragù that Achille prepared for his daughters and that is for them the scent of home. Its consumption is recommended in total purity, with a drizzle of butter or oil depending on the creeds; alternatively, Cristina prepared them with a cream of Parmesan cheese. But this tortello is so special that it is not sold to restaurants, but given only to loyal and private customers, or even simply interested ones.

In short, yet another demonstration of a family that from generation to generation continues to show great creativity, churning out continuous pastries. It is only to be hoped that they will never stop and that fresh pasta will always be.

The 70 of the Muzzarelli pasta factory. A family for pasta – Italian Cuisine

In 1949 the tortillas of the Muzzarelli family arrived in Turin bringing a product that was little known at the time to Piedmont. After 70 years, and several generations, the pasta factory still keeps the recipes of the past, but also looks at the present with vegetarian and Muslim versions