Spaccatella
spah-kah-TEL-lah
Also known as spaccatelle, margherita.
What it is
A curved short tube split open along one side, so the piece reads as a C in cross section. It is a Sicilian format, well known on the island and uncommon elsewhere in Italy. By tradition it was once called margherita before spaccatelle became the usual Sicilian name. It is extruded from durum semolina and made today by both Sicilian makers such as Poiatti and large national pastifici including De Cecco, which catalogues it as n.171.
From the Italian verb spaccare, to split or cleave (from Lombardic spahhan, to cleave), via spaccatura, the split that runs along one side of the shape.
What sauce it wants, and why
The curved body cups sauce on the outside while the open split traps smaller bits and liquid along its channel. That makes it at home with Sicilian vegetable and seafood dressings as well as fuller tomato sauces. It holds chunky condiments without losing the lighter coatings.
Classic plates: spaccatelle alla Norma, spaccatelle con pesto alla trapanese.
No spaccatella? Use these
Closest swaps by sauce behavior, not by looks. The ones most easily confused with spaccatella, and how they read.
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