Long, perforated roses

Rose lunghi bucati. Long, tightly twisted spirals made from Italian durum wheat semolina.

Rose lunghi bucati is a long, tightly wound spiral pasta made from pure durum wheat semolina, crafted in Italy for Greenomic Delikatessen. No short fusilli spiral, no egg pasta dough, no smooth tubular pasta.

Rose lunghi bucati is a long spiral pasta from Greenomic Delikatessen that remains tightly wound along its entire length instead of ending after a few centimetres. In the box, the strands lie close together, framing a woman’s face like a drawn lock of curly hair. When you open the package for the first time, you can’t help but reach in, as the spirals spring back like freshly combed hair. This springiness is preserved on the plate. It is the reason this shape does not collapse after draining.

Firm twists that retain their shape when cooked

The spiral is tightly wound and surprisingly sturdy because the pasta strand remains dense throughout. Raw, a handful sounds and feels light, almost like thin wood. Once cooked, it retains a noticeably firmer bite than short fusilli, which have far more cut edges in proportion to their length.

The flavour is pure durum wheat: slightly nutty, with that subtle cereal sweetness that only becomes apparent when you try a pasta without sauce. No egg, no additives, no seasoning. The surface is matte and absorbs sauce well without becoming starchy.

In the pot, the picture changes visibly. The spirals stretch slightly in the first few minutes before drawing back together. If you leave the lid off and watch, you can easily tell when they are done: as soon as the twists stop moving, the pasta is ready.

If you prefer a very soft, yielding pasta, you will find this shape too firm. The dense strand cooks from the outside in, and even when well cooked, it retains a noticeable resistance. This is intentional. It is precisely this resistance that keeps the spiral together when tossed in the pan.

The sauce must have substance, otherwise it will slide off

The shape calls for sauces with body. A slow-cooked ragù with beef and tomatoes coats every twist. A cream sauce with guanciale and peas clings between the spirals. A Sicilian-style eggplant sauce also works, as the cubes catch in the gaps.

For a midweek meal, little is needed: 500 g of pasta, a jar of Sugo da Mamma and two ladles of cooking water. Then add 60 g of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, tossing everything together in the hot pan. Allow 125 g per portion, as the shape takes up considerable space on the plate.

For something slightly more ambitious, try roasted vegetables. Roast peppers, courgettes and cherry tomatoes at 200 °C until the edges are charred. Then fold the vegetables into the hot pasta with a spoonful of ricotta. The ricotta binds the dish together, while the roasted flavour clings to the twists.

The shape also works as pasta al forno, but with one caveat. Cook the spirals for only six minutes beforehand, otherwise they will fall apart under the béchamel. The dense strand continues to absorb moisture and cook in the oven.

Our tip: Use a tall, wide pot with four litres of water and 40 g of salt. Stir carefully during the first 30 seconds so that the spirals can swim freely. Allow eight to nine minutes and start tasting from the seventh minute. Before draining, reserve a cup of cooking water.

The shape is unsuitable for pasta salad or children’s plates. When cold, the spirals lose their spring, and short forks cannot manage their length. It is also poorly suited to very thin sauces, as nothing clings to the smooth twists.

From the knitting needle trick to the long spiral

The technique behind this pasta predates every machine. In southern Italy, women wound a strip of dough around a thin iron rod, the ferretto, and rolled it out on a board. Then they pulled the rod out again, leaving the spiral behind.

The word itself comes from this hand movement. Fusillo derives from fuso, the spindle used for spinning. Anyone who has seen the technique will immediately understand the connection: it is the same twisting motion that turns wool into thread.

Long spiral shapes have disappeared from most shelves because they are more difficult to handle than short fusilli. They require more space to dry, more care when filling, and a longer box. That is precisely why the shape is now more likely to be found in specialty packages than in standard ranges.

Greenomic Delikatessen has the Rose lunghi bucati made in Italy using this method and sources the durum wheat semolina from Umbria, one of the classic regions for growing durum wheat. The drying process is then crucial. The slower and cooler a twisted shape dries, the fewer stress cracks form on the inner edges of the twists. That is where poorly dried spiral pasta breaks when cooked.

The lack of breakage in the package is therefore no coincidence. It is the most visible sign of quality, and you can check it yourself through the viewing window before buying. Hold the box at an angle: if the strands remain uniform in length and shape, they have been dried properly.

By the way, the name Rose does not refer to a flower, but to the pink colour of the box. The Good Hair Day series consistently plays on this image, as each pasta shape in the range represents a hairstyle. The short cavatappi becomes a short, curly style, the fettuccine a sleek cut, and the long spirals a mane of curls.

A pasta you unpack rather than tear open

This pasta differs from the package on the supermarket shelf in two ways. It has a shape that has become rare, and it comes in packaging that shows the contents rather than hiding them. The viewing window is not a decorative feature, but the main argument.

This makes the Rose lunghi bucati an ideal dinner gift or addition to a pasta gift hamper with sauce and cheese. It is also perfect for anyone who enjoys cooking but has rarely had a long spiral in their hands. It will be finished in one evening, but the impression will last longer.

For your own pantry, it is worth choosing as a conscious alternative to standard packaging. Two or three shapes in the cupboard are enough for most dishes, and one of them can be the one that catches your guests’ attention first at the table. Stored in a cool, dark, sealed place, durum wheat pasta retains its quality for years.

A shape you should know before reaching for short fusilli again.

Please note: our primary focus is on providing excellent food. Even if the packaging is beautiful, the contents are what matter. A slightly dented package, which cannot always be avoided when transported by a courier, will not be accepted as a complaint provided the contents have not lost their purpose: a good meal. The packaging is merely a secondary feature.