Pasta is a lifesaver in my book.  Kids will always eat it, you can dress it up or dress it down however you please, and whatever mood you’re in, there’s always an appropriate variety for the occasion.  Of course it deserves its own category on thegutenappetit.com!  And regardless of its traditional Italian origins back in the 1100s, pasta today is a food available to ALL, EVERYWHERE, ANYTIME.  It comes in a number of shapes & sizes, including forms like long shapes, short shapes, tubes, flat shapes & sheets, minute soup shapes, filled or stuffed, and specialty or decorative shapes.  And because of the vast selection available at the pasta aisle, I usually grab one or two different sorts for the week, trying out new recipes & involving the girls in their shape exploration & selection.

This week was our first time trying trulli.  Although I didn’t find much info online about this particular kind of pasta and what special magical recipe best goes with it, I did find it in a small index of short pasta in the insalatonde (or salad pasta) category.  They’re basically small round noodles that are spiral in form, among the favorites for pasta salads since they can be easily eaten with a spoon – Trullisalat!  Their name, however, does have a more interesting story.  They’re named after the traditional Apulian dry stone huts with a conical roof – also called trulli – found in the Italian region of Apulia.  The architect in me must share this particular bit of information, as these interesting & unique structures can still be seen today in the town of Alberobello, in the province of Bari, in districts that contain concentrations of these temporary field shelters turned permanent dwellings.  Will keep them in mind next time I travel south!

Since I couldn’t find any magnificent recipe to prepare them with, I decided to make a simple white yogurt sauce for the kids this time.  Uncomplicated, but rich & healthy, they gobbled them down like good ole mac ‘n cheese!  The best part of this pasta dressed in yogurt sauce is that it tastes so yummy served warm, but put it in the fridge and it turns into an amazing cold-serve pasta salad!  Perfect as leftovers for the next day!

For the Yogurt-Dressed Trulli

• 1 package (500g) of trulli pasta
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup of dried parsley
• Salt & black pepper to taste
• 2 cups (500g) of Greek yogurt

Cook the trulli pasta in enough boiling salted water until done.  Drain & set aside.  Add the butter & olive oil to the pot and toast the garlic for a bit, without letting it roast or burn!  Add the pasta back into the pot and coat with the butter & olive oil, if you feel the need to add more butter or olive oil in order for your pasta not to dry up and break, go ahead, it really doesn’t hurt – too much does, though, so don’t push it!  The yogurt will all make it better.  Turn the heat off.

Add the parsley and salt & pepper to taste and stir enough to combine well, but not so much as to break the trulli.  Add the yogurt and give it a couple of turns to coat well.  The consistency should be somewhat of a light mac ‘n cheese, and the rich flavors should fare well with grilled chicken or fish!