Sublime

Lumache, literally snails but actually their shells, are one of many pastas named after animals, or animal parts: mouse tails, chicken gullets, cocks’ crests. They have a home-made ancestor formed by pressing and rolling a nugget of dough against a comb, to form a rigid curl. Its geometry means that like its seashell sister, a lumaca doesn’t just c

2 pounds mussels, cleaned and debearded

the life of ankleted people as a fragile shell. “It’s thinner than a fingernail,” he had said, “but a shell can last a long time, as long as there’s a certain balance of pressure. Lose that”—he fluttered his fingers—“and everything is dust.”