Longview – When it comes to finding fine food options the northeast corner of the Lone Star State, regional recipes like Italian food don’t come to mind, but The Tuscan Pig in Longview is changing all of that.
“The only handmade lasagna in East Texas, I guarantee you that,” said owner Rudolfo Stefano Chiappetta.
Rudolfo, known as Rudy, started this restaurant with his wife Miram back in 2013 after a career of catering around the country for a nationwide food service company. “Definitely an opportunity to improve the Italian food scene, so we decided to stay,” said Rudy.
Before diving into the big bold flavors at the Tuscan Pig, Rudy reminisced about his life as an Italian immigrant. “Born in Italy, provincia di Caserta,” said Rudy. “Caserta is in the Campania region, 50 miles above Naples, more inland. 1973, we immigrated to the United States and of all the exotic places in the world, we ended up in New Jersey. So, that lasted for about 23 years. My family repatriated back to Italy in the mid-80s. I decided to stay. Once you live in America, it’s hard to live anywhere else. This is the best country in the world, and this is where we wanted to be.”
The recipes here all stem from Rudy’s Italian roots. “I started learning how to cook when I was six years old,” said Rudy. “When we immigrated to the United States, we were in New Jersey. Mom’s making pasta, and learning, making the well with the flour and how many eggs and this and that, and to keep your kid busy before internet and tablets and cell phones, we only had four channels on television and you were the remote. So mom, to keep you busy, she’d say, ‘Help me cook, help me make pasta.’”
Rudy remembers these times growing up and cooking with his mother as fond family memories, rather than an intentional launchpad for his current profession. “Little things that stuck with you for the rest of your life,” said Rudy. “Never thinking that I was going to go into the restaurant business.”
Of course, this is Texas, and Rudy is a wise guy in good a way so he made sure his dishes had a Texas touch. “What we did is we took classic Italian dishes and Longview-ized them, Texas-ized them if you will, in size number one,” said Rudy. “The portion that we serve is three times the size of an Italian portion if you go to Italy. My family fell off their chairs when they saw the size of the dishes that we were putting out. Like, ‘Are you kidding me? How are you going to eat all that?’ But you have to give a value for the dollar, if you will.”
“Italian, but also Texan,” said Miriam Chiappetta.
Miriam wanted to put together two of their most popular dishes. The lasagna of course and the gnocchi covered in pesto and Tuscan style pork. “Some pesto in the pan. Boiling water,” said Miriam. “Some cherry tomatoes with seasoning and olive oil.”
As everything sears up, the gnocchi boil like pasta. “So I’m waiting for them to start to float,” said Miriam.
Once finished, they go straight into the pesto, along with the tomatoes and the specialty Tuscan pork. “It’s been cooked for at least eight hours,” said Miriam. I made the ragu which is our number one sauce, and I cooked the pork meat in it.”
“That’s where we get our name,” said Rudy. “It’s shoulder meat, pork shoulder that’s cooked in tomato sauce for 10 hours. Okay. It’s not barbecue, it’s not brisket.”
It certainly isn’t barbeque or brisket, but this pork is something that any meat-loving Texan can surely get on board with. As everything comes together, there’s just a couple finishing touches that make this gnocchi dish complete. “A little bit of bacon. That’s the Texan part,” said Miriam. And the pork too. Some fresh crème, and it’s ready to eat.”
Now it’s time to move on to the lasagna, which features that same slow cooked Tuscan pork. The freshly made lasagna is put into a bowl with pasta sauce and cheese. “On the first layer is Tuscan pork, which is this one right here,” said Miriam. “Second layer is our of bolognese sauce, ground beef with carrots, celery, onion, garlic. And on the third layer is bechamel, which is flour, butter, milk, nutmeg. And we top it off with cheese and spices.”
With the dishes complete, it’s time to get out first taste of East Texas Italian. Starting with the gnocchi, it has a soft, pillowy texture that works great with that delicious pesto. The pulled pork has fantastic flavor and is very tender, making for an incredible dish all around.
“I think it’s a pretty well-balanced dish,” said one customer. “The pesto pairs well with gnocchi, cherry tomatoes with some crema just works really well altogether.”
On to the country lasagna. The same Tuscan pork is in this, but it looks like lasagna, and it smells like lasagna. The noodles are soft and delicious. The sauce is sensational. The Tuscan pork has a nice little saltiness to it, and it’s not overbearing. There’s not a whole lot of cheese you got to pull away from or anything like that. It is just right on.
“It’s just different,” said another customer. “It’s different than regular lasagna.”
Well, an unexpected find in East Texas, Italian food that’s actually really good. Coming to the Tuscan Pig is definitely well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List. “I think if you wake up every day, you pray hard and you work hard, you’re going to meet somewhere in the middle,” said Rudy. “We feed 11 families; we have 11 employees. With the grace of God therefore, we go.”