Busiate Trapanesi is a type of pasta typical of the Trapani area, a durum wheat semolina pasta.
In shape, this type of pasta is influenced by the Arab influence, in fact it has a harmonious outline made of thin tubes twisted on themselves, to obtain a kind of macaroni.
The real secret of Fratelli Giacalone’s pasta lies in the basic raw material, which is Sicilian durum wheat semolina drawn through bronze and dried slowly (20 to 30 hours of drying) at low temperature (at 35/43 degrees centigrade): this is how Busiata Trapanese is born.
Busiata Trapanese is a type of long macaroni, a type of pasta that takes its name from the term busa, a Sicilian word for the stem of the plant ampelodesmos mauritanicus, a herb that grows in the area; this stem was anciently used to prepare this pasta, to give it its typical helical shape. Therefore, Busiata is traditionally produced by diagonally wrapping a strand of pasta around a twig of ampelodesmos mauritanicus.
The pasta produced is, as per tradition should preferably be served with Trapanese pesto (which is another typical excellence of the area): a sauce made with almonds, tomatoes, garlic and basil.