KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 16 — Social media can sometimes lead you to great finds. That’s how I discovered Paolo Mauceri’s fresh pasta available via his brand, Mauceri (IG:@mauceri_kl).
A Sicilian native, he had worked around London as a chef prior to moving here with his wife.
His home business offers nourishing soups and fresh pasta, delivered right up to your doorstep.
As a pasta addict, I have an equal love for store bought pasta and freshly made ones.
When eaten at home with family or maybe just in front of your Netflix pick, one can get creative with different sauces.
Once it’s ready to eat, which doesn’t take long, slurping down pasta just makes one happy.
Some days it’s the easy convenience of dried pasta. On occasion, fresh pasta when available is like a joyful treat, hence my excitement at discovering Mauceri.
Who can resist their plump Spinach and Cheese Agnolotti (RM25 for 250 grammes portion) naturally tinged green from Popeye’s favourite ingredient, spinach.
Inside each pillow was a generous filling of homemade cheese sauce mixed with chopped spinach.
It’s prepped ahead in small batches and delivered frozen.
Just pop them in their frozen state in boiling water which has been salted and wait for them to float to the top.
For this, I decided to pair it with a nutty flavoured brown butter sauce with crispy sage leaves, allowing one to enjoy the mild, creamy cheese filling.
Other stuffed pastas offered include a Tortelli alla Milanese using slow cooked beef, tomatoes and vegetables, and a vegetarian Ravioli Aubergine alla Parmigiana.
Mauceri’s pasta uses kampung eggs and Italian wheat flour, giving it that golden hue with a softer, silkier texture.
There are three different sizes to suit your needs, from Tagliolini, Tagliatele to the wider Pappardelle All’uovo.
The order also comes with suggested sauces for each type. For instance, the thinner Tagliolini is best enjoyed with a butter sauce or broth.
Once delivered, enjoy it straightaway to get the best texture.
Pappardelle All’uovo are silky ribbons cooked with Bolognese sauce from Mauceri. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Pappardelle All’uovo (RM25 for 250 grammes) was my choice with the ribbons of egg pasta, paired with their Bolognese sauce (RM30) where minced beef is cooked with their homemade tomato sauce.
The same tomato sauce made with cherry tomatoes and basil is also available for sale. It’s RM22 for 300 grammes.
On its own, the Bolognese sauce is a little dry. My mistake was probably not adding more pasta water to create a silkier sauce, but the flavours were good with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
The texture for the pasta was on point with its silkiness.
Gnocchetti Sardi (left) may look like sago worms with their ridges, but they offer a toothsome bite when paired with a creamy brown butter Parmigiano Reggiano sauce (right). — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Gnocchetti Sardi (RM30) may look like sago worms but actually, this tiny pasta is made with durum wheat flour and water.
Its interesting ridged shape comes from rolling rope-shaped dough on a ridge shaped gnocchi board.
You get a toothsome bite with this shape.
I probably should have paired it with tomato sauce, but I decided to make a creamy brown butter Parmigiano Reggiano sauce, which clung onto the ridges.
The pasta portions can easily feed two people. There’s also wholesale pasta for order too.
Complement your meal at home with a dose of their nourishing soups.
There are five different flavours from cauliflower, green (spinach, peas, herbs), squash (pumpkin, red kuri squash, ginger), carrots with coriander seed and beetroot.
A bundle of five soups is RM100 and the individual soups are RM22 each.
Antioxidant rich Beetroot Soup will be the perfect good-for-you booster to start a meal at home. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Currently the soups are on offer, where the bundle is RM90 and the individual flavours is RM19.
Wholemeal and sea salt crackers are also found on their online shop to pair with the soups.
The Beetroot with toasted cumin seeds was a smooth good-for-you soup, where the earthiness of the red beetroots was skillfully reined in, leaving a naturally sweet taste on the tongue.
Word has slowly got out about Mauceri’s handmade pastas, as collaborations have popped up too.
For those who managed to book the sold out Manisan Dessert Club’s pop-up on April 18 and 19, Mauceri will be there to showcase their work.
Or you can register for a cooking class at Malaysia Cooking Academy (IG:@malaysiacookingacademy) where Paolo Mauceri will be making cannoli, an Italian classic dessert.
Mauceri
Whatsapp at Tel:+6012-6334524 for the catalogue.
Instagram @mauceri_kl
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
