Life is a combination of magic and pasta. Federico Fellini
There is without a doubt no other dish in any cuisine quite as captivating as pasta. The Chinese and Japanese do it, Germans use it, and even the French sometimes use it, but the Italians do it the best. Although it is such a simple dish of kneaded flour and egg, it has tremendous versatility in its uses. Pasta can be filled to make ravioli or tortellini. Small pasta forms such as orzo or orecchiette can be added to soups and stews. Pasta can be rolled into sheets to make classics like lasagna or cannelloni. Pasta sheets can be cut into strips to make fettuccini or linguini. Most if not all of these types of pastas can be dressed with numerous meat, vegetable, or dairy based sauces. Selecting the appropriate match of pasta and sauce, judging doneness, and tossing purposefully are a few of things that will be discussed. Additionally, I will provide several simple pasta recipes all of you can attempt. And if all these actions are followed correctly you too will enjoy your life at the dining table with a source of pleasure that has no equal.
In general, the two broad pasta categories are home made pasta (hand made with wheat flour and eggs) and industrial made pasta (produced with semolina — hard wheat flour and water). Home made pasta includes fettuccine, pappardelle (my Fathers favorite) and stuffed pasta’s such as ravioli and tortellini. When made correctly it is almost translucent; its surface is porous which is perfect for butter-cream or tomato based sauces. The pasta does not just embrace the sauce; it absorbs it thus increasing its depth of flavor. I fondly remember spending hours and hours in the kitchen with my father making sheet after sheet of semi-transparent pasta for our home made raviolis. I thought to myself that this was true cooking. When cooked the dough was like nothing I had ever eaten. It was soft, smooth, very light, and full of fresh flavor. Then there is the industrial made pasta which refers to the solid shape pasta such as spaghetti and farfalle (bow ties) and the hollow pastas such as penne and rigatoni. Due to its ingredients of hard wheat flour and water, this type of pasta has a hard and almost impenetrable surface that does not absorb most cream or tomato based sauces. Instead it carries olive oil based sauces without becoming saturated and still delivering a fresh taste.
Everyone has heard the phrase ‘al dente” which when translated means “to the bite”. Essentially this means that pasta should be pulled from the water when there is still slightly some resistance to the tooth. The reason is that when tossed with your sauce the pasta will still cook. If you were to pull the pasta when fully done, it would over cook and then become too gummy when ultimately tossed with the sauce. Tossing the pasta is also important and should be done only when the sauce is done. Then, cook the pasta and once al dente toss the pasta into the pan with the sauce making sure the pasta gets dressed appropriately. Once coated through, transfer to the serving dish or plate and sprinkle with fresh Italian parsley and/or freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese.
I recently made three completely different pasta dishes just to give you an idea of the versatility it provides. The first was a gnocchi dish that I love.
Brown butter and Sage gnocchi’s
- Cook gnocchi’s according to the package directions or until they start to float
- Place 2 tbs of good rich butter (French/Danish preferably) in a pan on med-high heat
- After a few minutes, put in several sage leaves to cook in the butter
- Then place the gnocchi’s in the pan and sauté
- Cook until the butter turns an amber color and takes on a nutty taste
- Serve and enjoy with a nice Pinot Griggio
The second dish was also gnocchi’s but with basil oil very similar to pesto but without the garlic…
Gnocchi’s with basil and pine nuts
- Cook gnocchi’s according to the package directions or until they start to float
- Place 2-3 tbs of the basil oil in a pan on med-high heat
- After a minute, put in the gnocchi’s, pine nuts and sauté
- Cook until the gnocchi’s are coated well and plate
- Top with basil leaves, freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and enjoy!
The third dish was linguini served with a simple cherry tomato sauce and Prosciutto…
Linguini with crispy Prosciutto
- Cook the linguini according to the package directions or al dente – “to the bite”
- Place 2-3 slices of Prosciutto in a sauté pan and cook until the pork renders its fat and the Prosciutto gets very crispy – roughly 5-10 minutes
- Take the Prosciutto out and place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil
- Use the same pan to cook the garlic and cherry tomatoes for 5-6 minutes
- At the last minute place the linguini into the pan with the garlic and tomatoes and sauté for a minute or so and then plate
- Tear pieces of the crispy Prosciutto over the pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and enjoy!
As you can see pasta in all it shapes, sizes, and forms has tremendous versatility. Knowing more about matching sauces with certain types of pasta, knowing how to cook pasta and understanding how and when to toss the pasta will only make you a better chef and ultimately the whole process more enjoyable. So, grab your favorite pasta (or make it from scratch if you are feeling up to it), cook your favorite sauce and make an attempt to cook with an ingredient that has no match. Start by making it for your family. You can trust that they will be honest in judging whether it is good or not. Then, you can recreate these dishes for your friends and loved ones. Trust me; they will thank you for it in many ways.
