Italians cannot imagine a meal without pasta. For an Italian, a meal starts with antipasto (cold cuts, marinated vegetables, or –squid or octopus, may be a piece of cheese) followed by a small portion of pasta.

Contrary to the old belief that pasta was brought to Italy by Marco Polo from China, researchers determined that Etruscans were already enjoying lasagna.

During the Roman Empire, pasta was highly regarded, so much so that famous writers like Horace And Pliny the Elder mentio9ned it in their writings. Later Arabs living in Sicily and elsewhere in Italy discovered drying pasta, which prolonged shelf life and changed the distribution totally.

Interestingly enough, Roman nobility was less enthusiastic about pasta, which had become the staple of the poor.

Only in the 19th century during the Risorgimento (Renaissance) that pasta began to rise in status and was relished by the aristocracy. Many pasta innovations appeared during this century, including machinery to create new shapes.

The popularity of the Mediterranean diet in the last 20 – 30 years raised pasta to international success, justified by dietetic rationale.

Pasta has many virtues including easy assimilation by the gastrointestinal tracts, low in calories pending sauce, can be combined with a range of proteins, and modified by countless sauces. It can be cooked to satisfy vegetarians, meaty, poultry and seafood lovers. It can be enriched with cream sauces, or calorie-reduced serving it al olio e aglio (olive oil and garlic).

Regular pasta is made simply by kneading during (hard winter wheat) flour with water. Egg pasta contains egg and tastes richer and more flavourful. It can be fresh or dried, or stuffed and frozen. For Italians, the only pasta that really counts is fresh or dried, cooked to order.

Italian pasta manufacturers barilla, del Verde, de Cecco, Molisana, Poiatti, Iris, Pasta Latina,

Gilda, Sapori di Matera, Viva Italia, Giuditta Pasta, Paradiso import their flour from Canada, and export to many countries all over the world.

Not surprisingly Canadian pasta manufacturers Primo, Catelli, and Italpasta produce fine pasta. Many of their products have been awarded international recognition. They use Prairie durum wheat.

Many other countries France, Germany, Greece, the U S A, Argentina, and the United Kingdom produce pasta but none can compete successfully with those from Italy.
Pasta can be successfully used for almost endless number of recipes, and Italian manufacturers are renowned for their imagination in inventing new shapes.

Pasta comes in an endless variety of shapes and sizes, from standards classics to more unusual. From spaghetti to tagliolini, from rigatini or farfalle, pasta is available in many different shapes. There are more than 300 varieties to suit every mood, need, culinary requirement or cost constraints.

Cooking pasta is simple enough, but requires the mastery of basics, which are plenty of water salted in the last minute and a little oil to prevent sticking, although if there is sufficient water this is unnecessary. Do not cook pasta to mush, it should be al dente (firm to the tooth).

Use flavourful tomato or meat based sauce and sprinkle with genuine Parmegiano-Reggiano.

For seafood pasta, use fresh product when possible.

South of Rome, cooks prefer tubular pastas and tomato-based sauces, and north, flat pasta with cream based sauces.

Below, please fin two recipes from Cooking and 1,001 Recipes

Spinach pasta with salmon and cream sauce

Yield: four portions

300 ml whipping cream
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Parmeginao-Reggiano, grated
2 cups poached salmon (canned salmon can be substituted)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
pinch of nutmeg
1 lb fresh spinach pasta (dried spinach pasta may be a good substituted)
1/3 cup chopped dill
fresh dill for garnish

Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add salt and nutmeg and reduce by one third.

Cook pasta al dente.

Meanwhile stir in grated Parmeggiano, dill, and salmon into the cream
Drain pasta. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to mix well.
Portion, garnish with dill and serve immediately.
Serve additional grated Parmeggiano to sprinkle.

Fettucini alla marinara

Yield: four portions

1 lb. (454 grams) fettucini
4 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 28 oz peeled plum tomatoes (San Marzano recommended)
1/8-cup flat leaf parsley chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a saucepan heat oil and garlic. Sauté until garlic turns golden. Remove.
Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and parsley and simmer on low heat for 20 –30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Boil pasta al dente. Drain well.
Pour sauce over and blend.
Serve with grated Parmeggiano – Reggiano.

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Tags: Italy, Pasta

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 06:00 and is filed under Food & Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.