Friday 14 June 2013

Pasta - A Gastronomic Icon Of Italy



Almost every region of Italy has its own theory about the origins of pasta. The Ligurians believe the Genoese merchants saw the recipe of the nomadic people of Mongolia, Venetians, on the other hand, believe that Marco Polo bought the recipe back from China, despite the misgivings voiced by certain historians. No one really knows when, or if, pasta actually arrived to Italy, in Rome they claim ancients emperor's and senators ate pasta at banquets, Sicilians claim pasta arrived on the island with either the ancient Greeks or the Arabs but in Naples they believe that Greek and Arab pasta consisted of nothing more than rough pieces of dough and it was the inventive Neapolitan cooks that began making different shapes. These arguments have gone on over the centuries and made pasta what it is today: a passion all over Italy. 

Regardless of how it got there, it is a fact that there are over 300 different shapes of pasta available in Italy, and throughout the world, today. There are two different varieties of pasta - Pasta Secca, pasta made from Durum semolina and water, which is sold dried and rarely made at home.  Then there is Pasta Fresca or Pasta Fatta in Casa, which means the fresh, homemade pasta made from flour egg and possibly a splash of water or white wine. There are however homemade pasta Fresca that don't contain eggs. 

Pasta Secca is a manufactured product which, as a result of its impeccable tradition, is now preferred in many households worldwide to fresh pasta. Even proud Italian housewives and chefs now use pasta secca, but many are still fussy about the brand of pasta secca they purchase. I myself prefer to spend a little more on dried pasta to use brands such as De Cecco, Barilla, Garofano or Molissana rather than generic supermarket pasta brands. Pasta Secca itself can be further split into to different types - Pasta Lunga and Pasta Corta. Pasta Lunga, as it's name suggests means long pasta and included all pasta shapes over four inches long, such as spaghetti, buccatini or tagliatelle. Shorter pasta shapes, such as penne, farfalle or cavatelli, are known as Pasta Corta . Pasta Secca is generally distinguished by its tenuta di cottura which means that the pasta holds together well while cooking and does not fall into pieces in boiling water. Although most manufacturers state the exact cooking times for their pasta on the packaging, a good tenuta di cottura will become apparent if pasta is inadvertently cooked to long as it should not become mushy or soft, but still keep a firm consistency even when over-cooked by a few minutes. 

In contrast to most industrially manufactured Pasta Secca, Pasta Fresca is a personal, individual creation. There are countless tricks to making pasta dough particularly smooth and ways of rolling it out especially thin, but despite all the versatility in its preparation, the basic recipe for pasta dough is almost always the same. For every 100 grams flour, you need 1 egg and a pinch of salt. Pasta Fresca comes a strice, in strips cut from smooth dough, or ripiena, that is stuffed or filled. The fillings a as varied as the shape of pasta itself - from pumpkin or squash, ricotta, nettles, fish and meat, virtually anything can find its way into a stuffed pasta shape. 

In many parts of Italy, fresh pasta dough is coloured and flavoured to make Pasta Colorata. These coloured pasta's include pasta nera (squid ink), pasta verde (puréed spinach), pasta marone (chocolate) or pasta rosso ( beetroot or tomato purée). In Sardinia, saffron is used to colour malloreddus and give it a golden yellow sheen. More often than not industrially produced Pasta Colorata are made using dyes rather than natural colourings but some more artisanal companies use the traditional natural colourings. 
 
 

Know Your Pasta 

There are many names you may see on a packet of pasta, we have already looked at Pasta Secca, Pasta Fresca, Pasta Lunga, Pasta Corta and Pasta Colorata, but in addition to these there are a few more terms that may be worth while knowing about.
 

Pasta Di Semola Di Grano Duro Secca
 
This dried pasta is made from durum semolina and water and keeps for a very long time, if stored correctly.


Pastina or Pasta Corta Mista
 
These small shapes ae made of durum wheat which are very good for consommé and soups.


Pasta Glutinata
 
A durum wheat pasta with added gluten often used for children's meals.


Pasta Corta or Pasta Tagliata
 
This category includes almost all medium-sized durum wheat pasta  which can be eaten Pasta Asciuta (fresh), dried of Colorata, with a touch of tomato sauce added.


Pasta Lunga
 
Long durum wheat pasta, such as spaghetti, bucatini, linguine or tagliatelle.


Pasta di Semola Fresca
 
Not dried pasta, but freshly made from durum wheat and water, this kind of pasta is a speciality of southern regions of Italy such as Sardinia.


Pasta all' uovo Secca
This dried pasta is made with durum wheat and egg and is often produced as Pasta Lunga or Pasta Fresca ripiena, such as ravioli or tortellini, but often not as tasty as homemade.


Pasta all' novo Fresca
 
Homemade pasta of wheat flour and egg which does not keep very long, and therefore should b aten as soon as possible.


Pasta Speciale
 
This category includes Pasta Colorata and other varieties of flavoured pastas or pasta made with dough made from different flours, such as whilemeal, chestnut, or buckwheat.



Which Sauce Goes With Which Pasta ?

The combination of pasta and sauce is almost like a sconce. Every cook in italy would have his, or her, own combination of which shape goes with which sauce. Despite many of these choices being both regional and personal, there are a few simple rules to think about when they choose which shape to use with which sauce.

Filled pasta such as ravioli, pansoti, cappelletti or tortellini, have so much flavour already they are best served with a subtle sauce such as sage butter or a very light tomato sauce. In northern Italy they are often served with a cream sauce.

Thin pasta fresca such as taglioni, fettuccine or trenette, should not be overwhelmed by a powerful sauce. A few shavings of truffles, a little butter or a spoon of grated Parmesan is enough.

Heavy pasta fresca such as tagliatelle, on the other hand, are best served with strong sauces such as mushrooms, cheese, cream, ham, or even fish. 

When it comes to dried pasta, the choice of combinations becomes much wider. Because dried pasta, pasta secca, does not have a strong taste, it is much more dependant on the sauce than fresh pasta.  A simple rule to stick to is the bigger the space inside the pasta, the more sauce it can absorb, therefore a shape such as bavette which has less surface area for a sauce to cling to will require a thicker sauce, and a shape such as penne where the sauce can cover both the outside and inside of the pasta can be used with thinner, lighter sauces.

The Campanian pasta maker Voiello commissioned the car designer Giorgetto Guigiaro to "construct" a pasta shape that could take the maximum amount of sauce. The result was the designer pasta shape Marilla, which tastes fantastic with tomato sauce and Parmesan.
 
 


A to Z Of Pasta Shapes

As I said earlier there are some 300 plus pasta shapes but below is a list of some of the most popular and most interstitial shapes. 
 
 

Pasta Lunga
 
 
 
Bavette
 
 
Bigoli
 
 
 
Bucatini
 
 
 
Capelli D'Angelo
 
 
 
 
Canelloni
 
 
 
Capellini
 
 
 
 
 
Ciriole
 
 
 
 
Creoli
 
 
 
Faresine
 
 
 
 
Fazzolleti
 
 
 
 
Fedelini
 
 
 
 
Fettuccelle
 
 
 
 
Fettucine
 
 
 
 
Fresine
 
 
 
 
Fusilli Lunghi
 
 
 
Lagane
 
 
 
 
Lasagne
 
 
 
 
Lasagne Ricce
 
 
 
 
Lasagne Festonate
 
 
 
 
Lasagnette
 
 
 
 
Linguine
 
 
 
 
Lingue di Passero






Maccheroncini
 
 
 
 
Maccheroni





Maccheroni Alla Chitarra
 
 
 
 
Maccheroni Inferrati
 
 
 
 
Maccheroncelli
 
 
 
 
 
Mafaldine
 
 
 
 
 
Mafalde
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Minuicchi
 
 
 
 
Pappardelle
 
 
 
 
Passatelli
 
 
 
 
Pici
 
 
 
 
Pizzoccheri
 
 
 
 
 
Reignette
 
 
 
 
Riccioli
 
 
 
 
Ruvida
 
 
 
 
Spaghetti
 
 
 
 
 
Spaghettini
 
 
 
 
 
Strangolapretti
 
 
 
 
 
Tagliatelle
 
 

 
 
Tagliolini




 
Taglierini



 
Tajarin




 
Tortiglioni




 
Trenette



 
Vermicelli





 
Ziti



Pasta Corta
 

 

 
Abissina Rigate





 
Amorini





 
Ballerine





 
Bombolotti




 
Bucati





 
Busiati





 
Campanelle



 
Canestrini



 
Capunti




 
Casarece





 
Cavatappi





 
Cavatelli





 
Cavatelluci


 
Chifferi Rigati




 

 
Conchiglie




 
Conchigilie Rigate



 
Corzetti




 
Creste di Gallo




 
Croxette



 
Dischi Volanti




 
Eliche




 
Elicoidali


 
Farfalle



 
Fenescecchie



 
Fusilli



 
Fusilli Pugliesi




 
Garganelli





 
Gemelli



 
Gnocchetti





 
Gnocchetti Sardi

 
Gobbetti


 
Gomiti



 
Lancette




 
Lumache




 
Lumache Rigate Grandi




 
Lumaconi



 
 
 
Malloreddus



 
Maltagliati



 
Maniche



 
Manicotti



 
Mezze Penne




 
Orecchiette




 
Paccheri





 
Pasta Mista
 


 
Penne



 
Penne Mezzane


Pennette




 
Pennoni Rigati



 
Perciatelli



 
Quadretti



 
Radiatori


 
 
Rigatoni

 
Riscossa




 
Ruote



 
Rotelline



 
Schiaffoni




 
Sedanini



 
Spaccatelle



 
Spirelli



 
Strascinati Tricolore




 
Strozzopreti




 
Taccheroni




 
Torchio




 
Tortiglioni


 
Trofie





Pasta Ripiena
 
 
 
Agnolotti
 
 
 
 
Agnolotti Dal Plin
 
 
 
 
Cappallacci
 
 
 
 
 
Cappelletti
 
 
 
 
Caramelle
 
 
 
 
Casoncelli
 
 
 
 
 
Cialzons
 
Ofelle
 
 
 
 
Pansotti
 
 
 
 
 
Panzerroti
 
 
 
 
 
Ravioli
 
 
 
 
Timau
 
 
 
 
Tortelli
 
 
Tortellini
 
 
 
 
Tortelloni
 
 
 
 
Triangoli






Pastina

 
 
 
Alfabeto
 
 
 
 
Anelli
 
 
 
 
 
Anelletti
 
 
 
 
Avemarie
 
 
 
 
Chiocciole
 
 
 
 
Cinesini
 
 
 
 
 
Ditali
 
 
 
 
Ditali Regati
 
 
 
 
 
Ditalini
 
 
 
 
Fregola
 
 
Gramigne
 
 
 
 
Occhi Di Pernice
 
 
 
 
 
Perline
 
 
 
 
Quadrettini
 
 
 
 
Risoni
 
 
 
 
Stelline
 
 
 
 
Stellette
 
 
 
 
 
Tubettini
 
 
 
 
Vermicellini




 
 

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