Pasta allo Scarpariello

By John, 17 October, 2026
Region
Italy
Campania
Description
Pasta allo Scarpariello

This is a quick and easy cheesy vegetarian dish that can all be made in the time that it takes to boil the pasta. It's a Neapolitan dish that translates at "shoemaker's pasta" because poor shoemakers couldn't afford expensive ingredients, but tomatoes, cheese, basil, and pasta were readily available to these urban workers. Some say that the shoemakers were sometimes paid with cheese in barter from their equally poor customers.

I like it best with a short tubular pasta for catching the halved cherry tomatoes, but any short dried pasta works well, especially something textured to catch the cheesy sauce. I made this one with Calamarata from the wonderful Pasta Somma di Gragnano; great pasta makes such a difference!

Yield
6 Servings
Preparation time
5 minutes
Cooking time
10 minutes
Total time
15 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb Short Dried Pasta
2 T Olive oil
3 clv Garlic (crushed)
1 Dried Red Chili
1 bn fresh basil leaves (Divided)
1 lb Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)
3 1⁄2 oz Italian cheese (grated finely)
Instructions
  1. Start the pasta water and grate the cheeses.
  2. In a large braiser, sauté gently the garlic (along with the basil stem if you have it) in olive oil until they just begin to brown around the edges. Remove the garlic and stem. Add the dried red chili pepper.
  3. Raise the heat and add the cherry or grape tomatoes, along with a few basil leaves. Sauté over a lively flame for just a few minutes, seasoning with salt as you go. When the tomatoes have softened, turn off the heat.
  4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta of your choice in well salted water until al dente.
  5. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the tomatoes, along with a ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Turn the heat back on and toss the pasta with the tomatoes over a lively flame, until the sauce clings to the pasta.
  6. Turn off the heat and add the grated cheeses and the basil leaves. Toss until the cheese have melted completely and the sauce turns creamy and coats the pasta.
  7. Serve immediately, topped with a few more basil leaves if you like.
     
Notes

Most recipes list equal parts Pecorino Romano and Parmigiana-Reggiano, but really many firm or hard Italian cheeses work - think like a poor cobbler!

Source

Adapted slightly from https://memoriediangelina.com/2024/09/21/pasta-allo-scarpariello-shoemakers-pasta/