100% Durum Semolina Pasta

It’s been said that to Italians, pasta is as necessary to life as water and air. At Michael Angelo’s, we take our pasta very seriously. So seriously that we built our own pasta facility and hired perhaps the finest pasta maker in the nation.

All our pasta – spaghetti, penne, lasagna, manicotti, fettuccini, linguini, ravioli, shells, farfelle and tortellini – are made only with 100% durum wheat semolina, the finest pasta grain in the world.

Each batch is mixed by hand to ensure perfect moisture and consistency. We use genuine bronze dyes to form our pasta shapes, giving it the signature rough texture that holds the sauce. Then the pasta is air-dried at low temperature to maintain its delicious flavor. Finally, we cook it as they do in the Old Country -- to a perfect al dente – before adding it to Sara’s special recipes.

Multi-grain Organic Pasta

The grains used in our organic multi-grain pasta (durum semolina, flax, spelt and Kamut) are all grown using only all-natural fertilizers and without the use of pesticides or chemicals. They also contain many healthy benefits and are a good source of high quality protein, fiber, healthy antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids as well as many healthy vitamins and minerals.

The Pasta Whisperer

“ Semolina is a temperamental grain. Anything can affect its quality, from the amount of sun and rain it receives to the soil it’s grown in.
“ Years ago, we contracted with a master pasta maker, Charlie, who’d made pasta since he was nine years old back in Sicily. Charlie knew semolina that way some people know their children. He could take some grain in his hand and blow on it and tell you the quality. He knew the grain size, the moisture content -- all of it. And the scientists at the factory where he worked at the time would take their samples and do all their testing just to come back and tell him he was right.
“ Finally, we moved Charlie to Austin and built a new factory here so he could make all our pasta.” -- Sara

Semolina: A coarsely ground grain, usually wheat, with particles mostly between 0.25 and 0.75 mm in diameter. Semolina used for pasta or gnocchi (dumplings) is coarsely ground from either durum wheat (as with Michael Angelo’s) or another hard wheat, usually the latter because it costs less to grow. In Tuscany, spaghetti made with semolina is called pici.