Tuesday, February 21, 2012

All the Italian Pasta
The word Pasta, in Italian, means dough. Pasta is made from flour, semolina, flour, water, and
eggs. First, cook the pasta in salted water, or bake it, and serve or fill with flavored sauces.

Despite the clear identification of pasta with Italy, the fact is now known that the Chinese
created pasta. According to legend, pasta came to Italy on the Silk Road with the famous
Italian explorer, Marco Polo. Pasta production tools were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii.
Apparently, pasta was imported to Italy from China during the Roman era. In Italy, the custom
was to make pasta by hand. When Italian immigrants brought pasta to the United States they
were the first to create a pasta factory, founded in New York in 1848.
Pasta dough can be shaped into various forms, each of which has a picturesque Italian name.
There are many proper ways to prepare pasta with different, suitable sauces. Each region in Italy
has a type of pasta. More than one hundred eighty different kinds of pasta exist:
Macaroni - long, thin strands of pasta
Fettuccini - tracks long flat pasta made from wheat or eggs
penne pasta - pasta tubes like macaroni but wider and shorter
Pasta Lasagna - pasta sheets flat and wide designed for baking
Fusilli Pasta - pasta curly screws , sometimes varied with the green or red spinach with
tomatoes.
Rotini Pasta - wider and thicker than fusilli.
Pasta Farfalle - bow-tie pasta.
Pasta Kokopelli – shell shaped pasta.
Pasta Brutali - pasta shaped as a wheel.
Pasta Cannelloni - designed hollow cylindrical pasta.
Several types of pasta are not noodles. For example, tortellini is a smaller pasta folded
dumplings, and are ring-shaped. Tortellini originated in Bologna, and is intended to be filled
with meat and served in soup. Each district in Italy it is customary to prepare them for the size
and the filling of beef and vegetables to cheeses. Secondly, gnocchi is a dumpling made with
potatoes, and prepared in different ways all across Italy. The gnocchi is usually served with
tomato or butter sauce and cheese. In Tuscany, Italy, gnocchi are made from spinach and ricotta.
Cooking pasta is a very simple process; however, preparing pasta comes with strict orders. In
most cases, only a minute can separate properly cooked pasta from a tasteless pulp. Al dente
is a way of preparing pasta, in which the pasta has to be carefully watched while cooking the
pasta. To properly cook pasta, fill a pot with water, add a tablespoon of salt and heat until
boiling. Next, add the pasta to the boiling water and stir until they boil again, then lower heat and
simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking, and taste until you feel the pasta is Al dente
.
After cooking, drain the pasta in a colander the return to the pot. Add olive oil to prevent
sticking and stir well. Lastly, add the sauce and enjoy.