Dantes Pizzeria… for Pasta? I SIT AT A WOODEN TABLE, DRINK IN HAND, AMIDST THE HUSTLE OF PONSONBY CENTRAL. THE RUSTIC SURROUNDINGS AND BUZZ OF THE AREA, COMBINED WITH THE WAFTING SMELLS OF WOOD FIRED PIZZA AND TOMATOES TAKE ME TO A EUROPEAN MARKETPLACE.
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f course, I am at Dante’s Pizzeria, the popular eatery that has become infamous for it’s delicious and authentic Southern Italian cuisine. However, I am not here for pizza. What has brought me here is the lure of their new pasta menu, with favourites from Naples and Southern Italy. Since it’s launch 12 years ago, Dante’s has moved from its original Kumeu location to settle in Ponsonby Central and Takapuna’s Fortieth & Hurstmere. Both modern market lanes, they reflect the philosophy that Dante’s Founder & Co-Owner Kevin Morris hopes to bring to New Zealanders. The pizzas are all made using a mix of family recipes and traditional Napoli traditions, and have resulted in a cult following for the Italian restaurant. And so, for Dante’s to veer into pasta, Kevin and the team wanted to ensure that each dish could be served with as much care, and attention to detail. “The time and care we take into making our pizzas, is the same route we take with our pasta. The flour, the tomatoes, and many of the recipes come from a similar region in Naples, Southern Italy,” says Kevin. “We make our egg pasta daily - it’s that fresh. By using a very unique Italian pasta flour we found when we were experimenting, using our special pasta machine, which was custom-made in Modena Italy, it mixes the dough in a certain way to ensure the gluten isn’t overly developed, giving us that perfect Italian bite.” “No one at a street-food level is producing pasta to this quality. It is usually the bigger restaurants and five star hotels that put this much effort in, to produce this texture, colour and flavour because there are so many variables needed to produce pasta to this level.” I was lucky enough to try the delicious Pappardelle Salsiccia. A signature dish of Southern Italy, it was a sumptuous slow cooked ragu of pork and fennel sausage mince, chili, and red wine in a San Marzano tomato sauce. Bellissimo! “We are known for being the leaders for our pizza Napoletana. Now, we want to be the leaders for our fresh pasta. And I believe currently we are,” Kevin says proudly.
dantespizzeria.co.nz
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