I am Italian so I am naturally pasta addict.
I want to try with this first post to help you
to tidy your messy pasta cupboard up.
PASTA, which kind?
There are several types of pasta according to
the wheat/raw products, the technology
used and the shapes to manufacture pasta.
It can be dried, namely prepared with semolina
or fresh, usually prepared with eggs. It is possible to find green pasta (with
spinach), red pasta (with red pepper or tomato) and the black pasta (with the
squid ink) or with the addition of different grain (one of the finest is with
the wheat germ).
There are the long (spaghetti, spaghettoni, linguine, bucatini, vermicelli, etc. ), the short (penne, fusilli, tortiglioni, rigatoni, etc.), the soup shapes (tubetti, ditali, ditaloni, pasta mista, etc.)
and the specialities (orecchiette, paccheri, spaghetti alla chitarra, etc.).
PASTA, how to cook it?
Cooking pasta is a ritual so there is no
different way to cook it.
Put a pot with cold water on the stove. When
the water starts boiling, add coarse
salt and pasta. Mix pasta immediately to avoid a bad sticky effect.
The cooking time is usually indicate on the
pasta package. In any case pasta is ready when you cut it with a fork and the
inner white part is no longer visible. Personally I prefer pasta very "al
dente" so I drain it earlier. The thicker the white inner section, the
more "al dente" pasta will be.
If you need to continue the cooking in a frying
pan, your pasta must be drained "al dente".
PASTA, which brand?
Taste is something personal so I can say which
brand I prefer.
I love De Cecco (www.dececco.it/EN) and
Garofalo (www.pastagarofalo.it/us/) that
are very good Italian brands, supplied everywhere.
My big passion is for Vicidomini (www.pastificiovicidomini.com
), Cocco (www.pastacocco.com)
and Pastai Gragnanesi (www.pastaigragnanesi.it), top Italian brands,
hard to find also in Italy unless fine deli shops (they are also pretty expensive).
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