La Pasta

Italian pasta ( if not interested SKIP TO THE NEXT POINT:ingredients )

I'm writing here with no intention of teaching anything to anyone, but given that in many countries of the world ignorance is so gross that tagliatelle are mistaken for spaghetti, and the existence of bucatini is ignored.
I would like to give some ideas to my nieces - my daughter's daughters - to quickly prepare some pasta dishes.
My nieces live in Chile where the best-known pasta dish is the Bolognese lasagne. In Chile you eat very fine almost everywhere, but at my daughter's house, until a few years ago rice (el arroz) served in small domes together with a second course of meat or vegetables prevailed.
The 'Orecchiette'-Almost Unknown pasta of Puglia  After pizza, pasta is a myth of the most authentic made in Italy in Europe and in the whole world. Tomato pasta, which is the typical Neapolitan pasta, has even been declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
Pasta is part of the Italian cultural heritage and in Italy you can find it everywhere, obviously together with the particular foods of each locality. Practically the types of pasta that are industrial product or made at home are countless. After all, so are in Italy the winw types, and the local culinary specialties of each region, and even of each city or town. Many of the thousand recipes and ways to prepare pasta are passed down from generation to generation. An example? Neapolitan Spaghetti!

With the right pasta, the right (Italian) virgin olive oil, the right tomato sauce (passata) and the right vegetables for the sauce, almost anyone can make excellent dishes.

Ingredienti

Ingredients in general which I use. If not interested SKIP TO THE NEXT POINT: cooking

Durum Wheat pasta. Some brands: Molisana, Gragnano, Barilla etc.
Non Italians keep in mind that seeing the Italian flag on the pasta package isn't enough, nor nececessary. There are many non-Italian imitators, but few or none of them respect the quality standards of Italian producers. Therefore, check the data and place of origin that should be written on each package. If these data are not there, this pasta is definitely NOT Italian.Vegetables. I always keep the following on hand depending on the menu: fresh carrots

• fresh carrots
    Carrots celery onions garlic
  
• fresh celery
• fresh banked or red onions
• dry garlic
• Preferably fresh basil leaves for seasonal dishes
• fresh turnip greens
• dried chilli flakes or powder
• capers in salt or vinegar
• tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE RUSTIC TOMATO SAUCE, TOMATO PURE, A KEY INGREDIENT THAT MUST NEVER MISS.

Meat or fish

Don't turn up your nose, because here I list only what I need to prepare sauces for pasta. I don't usually make fresh fish soups but use canned or frozen ones. Depending on the daily menu one or more of the following purchased in quantity according to the duration in the fridge, freezer, or room temperature:

• Good quality canned tuna in olive oil.
• sardines or anchovies in oil - those with few bones
• Minced meat of hamburger type or even smaller grain of beef in packs of approximately 1/2 kg
• pork same as above
• mixed beef and pork
• Shelled and frozen mussels.
• Frozen clams, shelled but better in shell
• bacon, chopped or to be chopped

Cheese
 

• Pecorino romano, grated in 100gr package
• Grated Parmigiano reggiano or Grana Padano
• Bechamel sauce
  

Oil and fat
Virgin olive oil - must be strictly Italian due to its particular  flavor and aroma. However, make your own arrangements. Let's keep in mind that in Italy every region and even often every capital has a product suitable for regional dishes. In LIGURIA, 'pesto' is famous, a raw sauce made of oil, basil leaves and shelled local pine nuts or walnuts, mixed by crushing them in a wooden mortar.

Butter in blocks - must be scented, and in Italy that too is a particular regional product I don't usually use any other animal fats other than those found in pancetta or bacon.

La cottura

How to cook Pasta (if not interested in procedure and times SKIP TO THE NEXT POINT, : first example )

When the pasta is good it doesn't overcook, pasta like Molisana or pasta from Campania, for example the famous one from Gragnano, doesn't overcook even if you boil them for 20 minutes. They increase in volume and are equally good. As for the quantity of pasta, I, who don't do much exercise, would not exceed 100 grams per person (about 350 calories - plus those of the sauce), 70 grams if the person suffers from diabetes.

PROCEDURE for 200 grams of pasta

Take a pot approximately 8" high, diameter 8" (approximately 19cm high and the same wide) and fill it with enough water to reach half of a standard piece of spaghetti standing vertically. DO NOT ADD OIL.

• Bring the water to a boil
• add 1 tablespoon of coarse salt and wait for boil
• Add pasta slowly, carefully, and with a special tool, a kind of fork, make sure that they bend and are submerged in the boiling water.
  ATTENTION: spaghetti currently on the market should NOT be broken
• Stir occasionally after the first 3-5 minutes using the fork to separate the spaghetti. Cooking times as indicated by the supplier or more, as needed.

Cooking times for types of durum wheat pasta.
The cooking times indicated on the package are designed to obtain a moderately al dente product. Cook it twice as long if you want to increase the volume and make it tender. Cook it a few minutes less if you want it very hard.

NOTE IF YOU COOK CERTAIN TYPES OF PASTA A LOT, YOU WILL HAVE A SUFFICIENT VOLUME TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF SATIETY. Once cooked, it can be drained in a colander or removed with various tools.

Esempio

A first example of quick pasta for 2: pasta with virgin oil and pecorino cheese. Calorie content is approximately 460 to 520 Kcal per person

• preparation time approximately 20'

• Procedure (click)

Ingredients : here is an example of how to prepare a good dish of tasty pasta for 2 which requires little more than cooking time to prepare it:

The total calories of this preparation are 920 - 1020, i.e. approximately 460 - 520 Calories each person (with an approximation of 50 calories more or less)

Procedure:

• Pour the finely grated cheese into an earthenware or plastic bowl with sufficient capacity to contain the cooked pasta
  
  
• Pour in it the olive oil and then the grated cheese and finely chopped garlic.
  
  
• Mix accurately using a spoon until you obtain a sort of cream. Add Bechamel to prevent the cheese from curdling.
  If it is too liquid, add more cheese or vice versa add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or bechamel.
  

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and COOL IT BRIEFLY UNDER CURRENR WATER, drain again and pour it into the bowl where you prepared the sauce and

MIX CAREFULLY UNTIL THE SEASONING IS DISTRIBUTED EVENLY.

Prepare your 2 dishes and divide into approximately equal quantities, or as you prefer.

Stirring your pasta

For many preparations, but not for all, the pasta can also be treated by 'creaming', i.e. it is put in some cooking water in the pan with sauce and pasta. Mix together and the pasta itself is finished cooking together with the sauce with medium fire.
This operation gives a creamy appearance to macaroni, penne or spaghetti when haven't mixed well with the sauce.

Method

• Place the freshly drained pasta in the pan with the sauce,
• turn the heat to low, add a ladle of cooking water and mix everything together. To accentuate the creaminess of the pasta we can add a fatty element of our choice, such as butter, olive oil, cream or grated cheese.
• Gently mix the pasta in the pan or (for those who know how to do it), make a sauté with the classic fast and decisive movement of the wrist. This operation should last a couple of minutes until the added water evaporates.

Your pasta will finish cooking together with the sauce and will form an excellent and pleasant-tasting cream!