Corzetti (sometimes called croxetti or curzetti) are round pasta discs stamped with ornate designs, which both serve as decorative patterns and help the sauce coat the pasta. They’re typical of the Riviera di Levante, the Ligurian coast east of Genova, and originated in the XIII century, probably inspired by a medieval coin called a corzetto. The Romagnoli family has been making wooden corzetti stamps since the early 1900’s, when wealthy Genoese families often travelled to Florence to commission works from Florentine master wood carvers.
Ligurian “stamped croxetti” should not be confused with Piedmontese crosets, another form of corzetti, made with the same ingredients as the Ligurian ones but in a shape similar to orecchiette.
Corzetti stampati are usually prepared as pastasciutta, but can also be served in broth, mainly minestrones.
