The invention of the dischi volanti (meaning flying saucer in English) pasta shape is recent, dating back to the early post-war years, to what is considered to be the first UFO sighting of the modern era.
On 24 June 1947, on board his plane, the private American pilot Kenneth Arnold stated that he had seen a series of nine unidentified flying objects flying over Mount Rainier, Washington in the United States. It was highly publicised in the international press, leading to the popularisation of the term “flying saucer” to describe the phenomenon. Shortly afterwards, the pasta factories began to create dies for the production of the now indispensable pasta shape.
This sighting was followed by another one on 27 October 1954 in Florence, above the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the municipal stadium during the friendly match between Fiorentina and Pistoiese.
Just four months later, Renzo Fabbri (third generation and owner of the company) acquired his own die from the company Garibaldo Ricciarelli, which still allows us to make our dischi volanti pasta today.
Ideal with
The round and twisted shape of the dischi volanti, which open slightly during cooking, allows them to hold a great amount of sauce and make it an ideal shape for creamy condiments. For example, they pair wonderfully with butter and sage, with pesto (either Genoese or its Tuscan variant with lacinato kale) or even with broccoli rabe.
