L'amore Italian Restaurant

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When Should You use Gnocchi Instead of Pasta?

There are plenty of people who are in love with Italian food, and many closely associate pasta with Italy. Of course, if you are looking for a carbohydrate to go with your meal, pasta is not the only option. You might have heard of gnocchi as well, but when should you go with gnocchi instead of pasta? 

An Overview of Gnocchi

Potato gnocchi comes from Italy, and it has since spread all over the world. It is best described as a potato dumpling, and it looks like small lumps when it is cooked. It is made using a combination of potatoes, flour, and eggs. There are some situations where cheese might be added to the dumpling itself.

Typically, potato gnocchi is made with grooves in the dumpling which make it easier to scoop up sauce. Because many Italian flavors come from the sauce used to prepare the food, you don’t want to leave any behind. Potato gnocchi is one of the best options for ensuring you soak up as much sauce as possible. 

When Should You Use Gnocchi?

Even though there are a lot of similarities between pasta and gnocchi, there are a few differences. For example, if you are looking for a gluten-free option to replace pasta, potato gnocchi could be one of the best choices. While potato gnocchi also does a great job of soaking up sauce, there are certain types of pasta, such as rigatoni, that also do well. There are also some texture differences between pasta and potato gnocchi that people might notice. If you want to try something different, or if you are looking for a gluten-free option, consider using potato gnocchi. 

Come and Experience the Delicious Flavors of Gnocchi for Yourself

If you have never tried potato gnocchi before, now is the perfect opportunity to do so! There are plenty of entrees and sauces that will go well with potato gnocchi, and we invite you to come and experience it for yourself. When cooked using authentic Italian styles, potato gnocchi can create a symphony of flavors that you will fall in love with! 

 

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Pesto Sauce: What It Pairs Best With

There are many delicious Italian pasta sauces, and one of the most iconic examples is pesto. Pesto is a bright green sauce, and it is impossible for people to overlook. There are a handful of ingredients that go into a delicious pesto sauce, including fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic cloves, and extra virgin olive oil. While pesto sauce will go well with just about any pasta, what else should you serve pesto with? 

Pesto As An Appetizer

Pesto sauce works very well as an appetizer. For example, you can mix pesto with Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and even sour cream. Then, you have a delicious dip that just about everyone will love. If you really want to get fancy, you can serve pesto with some baked brie and crudites, which is the perfect way to get people ready for a delicious meal. 

Pesto On Pizza

You may even want to add pesto to your pizza. While many people associate Italian pizza with tomato sauce, you can replace the tomato sauce with pesto sauce instead. Keep in mind that pesto is a very rich sauce, so you do not want to overwhelm any of the other toppings on the pizza. A little bit of pesto will go a long way. 

Pesto Sauce On Meat

Even though you can certainly add pesto to your pasta, you can even add pesto directly to your meat. If you are looking for a delicious topping for some steak tips, pour on the pesto. If you need a sauce to go on top of some pork chops, pesto is probably going to work well. You can even add pesto directly to some fish, straight out of the oven. You don’t have to worry about adding spices or marinade to your meat, as pesto sauce will do the trick. 

Try Italian Pesto Sauce For Yourself

It can take a bit of practice to get pesto sauce right, but if you really want to see what it tastes like, you need to go to a traditional Italian restaurant. Pesto is a versatile sauce with an endless array of possibilities, and you might get some ideas for yourself by swinging by a traditional restaurant. 

 

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What Is The Best Pasta For Grabbing Sauce With Every Bite?

There are many people who love Italian cuisine, particularly because of the quality of the pasta. At the same time, a lot of the flavor of the dish comes from the sauce. Therefore, when you bite into pasta, you want to get plenty of sauce as well. The shape of the pasta plays a tremendous role in the amount of sauce you can capture. There are several factors to consider if you want to grab as much pasta sauce as possible with every bite.

Tubular Pasta With Ridges Is The Best Option

If you want to grab as much sauce as possible, you should go with tubular pasta with ridges. Two of the most common examples include penne pasta and ziti. The sauce can fill the tubular shape, allowing you to capture a tremendous amount of sauce with each bite. Then, you can grab additional sauce with the ridges on the outside, which will give you an extra flavor boost. If you are interested in saucy pasta, you should select a tubular pasta with ridges.

Long, Flat Noodles Are Also A Great Option

If your pasta has a cream sauce, you might also be interested in long, flat noodles. The longer and wider than noodles are, the more sauce you will be able to capture. Creamy sauce tends to be sticky, so it should stick to the pasta well. One of the best options is pappardelle. It is a great way to stop up all of the sauce in the dish. If the noodle is too thin, you won’t be able to get a lot of pasta sauce, and there could be a lot of sauce left over in the dish when you are done.

Choose The Pasta Carefully And Get As Much Sauce As Possible

If you want an authentic Italian experience, you must enjoy the sauce as well. The shape of the pasta can have a tremendous impact on the amount of sauce you can scoop up with each bite. No matter how perfect the pasta is, there will probably be some sauce leftover. Therefore, you may want to grab some fresh Italian bread to soak up anything that might have been left behind. 

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The Advantages Of Rigatoni Pasta: What To Know

If you go to the grocery store to buy pasta, you will quickly realize there are numerous options available. You might be looking at rigatoni, penne, spaghetti, and linguine, wondering which pasta to choose. Even though the ingredients used to make most types of pasta are similar, the shapes matter. What are some of the top advantages of using rigatoni pasta? 

Rigatoni Pasta Holds Up To Heat

One of the first benefits of rigatoni pasta is that it will hold up well to heat. Because the shape is large, hearty, and thick, rigatoni noodles will heat evenly. You do not have to worry about biting into rigatoni pasta only to realize some parts are chewy and other parts are crunchy. If you cook rigatoni noodles to an al dente texture, the noodles will be consistent. 

Rigatoni Pasta Holds The Sauce Well

Another significant advantage of rigatoni pasta is that it will hold the sauce well. If you have ever lifted up pasta only to be disappointed when all of the sauce falls back into the dish, you should not have to worry about this issue with rigatoni. Because it has thick ridges in it, the sauce should stick to it well. It will get inside the individual crevices, and you should be able to taste the sauce with every bite.

Rigatoni Pasta Traps Ingredients In the Noodle

Finally, because rigatoni pasta has a large opening in the middle, there is plenty of room for ingredients to get stuck inside. It may feel like the individual noodles have been stuffed with something delicious! This creates an amazing journey when you eat Italian pasta that has been made using rigatoni noodles. 

Experience Authentic Rigatoni At An Italian Restaurant

Even though you can purchase rigatoni noodles from your grocery store, the best way to experience this pasta is to go to an authentic restaurant. An Italian restaurant understands which type of pasta to use for specific dishes. That way, when you order an Italian pasta dish that has been made using rigatoni, you know the noodles will make all the difference in the world. Consider experiencing authentic Italian cuisine for yourself by ordering rigatoni pasta at a local restaurant.

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3159 E Lincoln Dr
Phoenix , AZ 85016
Phone: 602.381.3159

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Credit for most photos: Kay W. Eskridge: Images By Kay

Our Hours

Lunch
TBD.
Dinner
Mon – Sat: 4pm–9pm
Saturday Dinner: 4pm–9pm

Sunday Closed

Happy Hour
Mon – Fri: 4:00pm–6:00pm
No happy hour on Saturdays

Holiday Closures: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, sometimes Christmas Eve (call to check), Christmas Day

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