Pasta, one of Italian cuisines

When we hear the term Italian cuisine, the first name that comes in our mind is pasta. Though it was originated in Italy, it is famous worldwide. Pasta is like noodles, made from certain grain flours with water and/or eggs mixtures. Among the different shapes and forms of pasta there are string shaped pasta called spaghetti and vermicelli. There are also ribbon shaped fettuccine and linguine, short tube shaped elbow macaroni and penne, tiny shapes like couscous and orzo and large shapes like lasagna. There are hollow pastas also like ravioli, manicotti and tortellini.

You can have them stuffed with fillings. The paste is kneaded to give different shapes and forms. Pasta can also be the dishes where pasta is an important ingredient and served with sauce or different seasonings. Gnocchi is one of these pasta dishes. But here different ingredients are used and cooking process is also different.

You can also find frozen pasta all over the world. More varieties of pastas are mainly found in the places where the Italians and their culture have deep impact. There are companies that produce packed pastas that can be fresh for 7 weeks. According to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of US, half cup of cooked pasta per day helps a person to meet the necessary folate level per day with an extra amount of 220 micrograms or more folate. Boiling pasta is the basic of recipes of all the pasta dishes. The sauces and the other ingredients make all the differences. There are obviously some exceptions like soups, gnocchi, lasagna and manicotti. But, as you know, exceptions cannot be the examples. There are some secrets for cooking pasta like cooking in salted water, adding the paste after the water starts boiling, stirring occasionally and fast draining and serving. Pastas do not need undercooking or overcooking. If there is any assistance that you need, always remember our website is only a click away.

Dave Fooder runs a premiere exchange recipes network online. Visit his site http://www.cookscentral.com for Fast Free & Easy Cooking Collections and enjoy exchanging recipes.

Read More......

Pasta Shapes Chart

Source: CNN.Com

PASTA SHAPES & SIZES
Long, straight pasta noodles
TYPE:	SHAPE:	BEST USED:	SERVED:
Capellini (Angel hair)	Long, rounded, very thin	Hot	With light sauces, or tossed with olive oil and fresh steamed vegetables
Vermicelli	Long, rounded, thinner than spaghetti	Hot, can be used cold	With light sauces, or tossed in pasta salads
Linguine	Long, flat, narrow	Hot	Large enough to hold slightly thicker sauces, for example a marinara sauce
Spaghetti	Long, rounded, average thickness	Hot	With tomato-based sauces or baked in casseroles
Fettuccine	Long, flat, wider than linguine	Hot	Thick sauces, especially creamy sauces
Lasagna	Long, very wide, may be flat-edged or have curled edges	Hot	Baked, in lasagna and other casserole-type dishes
Curly pastas
TYPE:	SHAPE:	BEST USED:	SERVED:
Rotini (Spirals)	Fairly short spirals	Hot or cold	With thick/chunky sauces or in pasta salads
Fusilli	Long, corkscrew-shaped spaghetti	Hot or cold	Very versatile, good with most sauces, in soup or in pasta salad,
Tagliatelle (Egg noodles)	Same width as fettuccine or linguine, but not flattened	Hot	Baked dishes, soups, stroganoff
Tubular pastas
TYPE:	SHAPE:	BEST USED:	SERVED:
Ditalini	Small, very short tubes	Hot or cold	Soups or pasta salads
Elbow macaroni	Curved tubes	Hot or cold	Baked dishes, or in pasta salad
Perciatelli (Long macaroni)	Long, thin, straight tubes	Hot	Use in place of spaghetti
Ziti	Slightly curved tubes, wider and longer than elbow macaroni	Hot or cold	Baked, in pasta salads, with thick sauces
Penne	Straight, medium-length tubes, often ridged instead of smooth, cut on diagonal	Hot	In soups, baked, with a wide variety of sauces
Rigatoni	Straight, short tubes, wider than penne, also ridged	Hot	Variety of sauces; ridges hold thick or creamy sauces well
Cannelloni	Large, long tubes	Hot	Stuffed
Manicotti	Longer and wider than penne, may be ridged	Hot	Stuffed
Other shapes
TYPE:	SHAPE:	BEST USED:	SERVED:
Alphabets	Letters of the alphabet	Hot	In soups
Anelli (rings)	Small, O-shaped	Hot	In soups
Bow Tie Pasta	Squares pinched in the middle to form bow-ties	Hot	In soups and with grains, like buckwheat, in side dishes
Conchiglie (Shells)	Shells with one long, narrow opening	Hot or cold	In soups, baked, in pasta salads
Conchiglioni (Jumbo shells)	Like regular shells, but much larger	Hot	Stuffed
Orzo	Size and shape of grains or cooked rice	Hot	As side dish
Radiatore (Radiators)	Ruffled and ridged, like a radiator	Hot; can be used cold	With thick or creamy sauces, in soups, in salad
Ruote (Wheels)	Wagon wheels	Hot	In soups, casseroles, with thick sauces
Filled pastas
TYPE:	SHAPE:	BEST USED:	SERVED:
Agnolotti	Small, crescent-shaped, may be filled with a variety of meats or cheeses	Hot	With variety of sauces
Gnocchi	Dumplings, may have cheese, potatoes or spinach in dough	Hot	As side dish
Tortellini	Small, filled, ring-shaped pasta	Hot	Good with a variety of thick or creamy sauces
Ravioli	Usually round, with cheese or beef filling	Hot	Baked or boiled, with thick sauces

Read More......

Introduction to pasta

Pasta originates from the Italian word for paste. Pasta is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates. Pasta made of whole wheat contains more dietary fiber. Most commercially made pastas available on the shelves of stores are prepared from semolina paste. Pasta is an affordable and nutritious base for a good meal - combine it with vegetables, meat, nuts or legumes and you have a great dish going. You can make the pasta dish even more nutritious by adding spinach or asparagus and beans. Italian pasta is a wonderful source of complex carbohydrates.

Type of pasta
Here is a complete guide to choosing between different types of pasta. Find out the difference between fresh and dried pasta. Dried pasta that is commercially available is available in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Dried pasta is convenient since it keeps for a long time if stored correctly and holds it shape better than fresh pasta. This makes it ideal for heavy sauces. Fresh pasta, as the name suggests, is more tender and chewy since it is not completely dried. Fresh pasta is generally available as ribbons and can be stored for about 5 days in the refrigerator. Fresh pasta goes best with light and delicate sauces since it is highly absorbent.

Pasta comes in various shapes, some of which are a specialty of a particular region or town of Italy. Some fancy pasta makers come up with special shapes. Dried pasta is either made with durum wheat flour (di semola di grano duro) or eggs, flour and salt (pasta all'uovo). Exotically shaped pasta is extruded through dies that give them a unique shape. A popular type of pasta is the long strand variety. You can opt for Spagettti or Spaghetteni or Bucatini. Cylinder shaped pasta is often used in soups and baked dishes. Strips of pasta such as Fettuccine, Tagliatelle and Linguine are used along with tasty sauces made of tomato-mackerel or smoked salmon or creamy mascarpone sauce. Sheet pasta is used in baked dishes. You can get them as lasagna sheets or cannelloni. Snail shell and spiral shaped pasta can help add an extra zing your salad or pasta pot dish. You can go in for tiny bits of pasta to garnish your soup - tiny stars, teddy bear shapes, little seed shapes. Hot peppers, mushrooms, saffron, lemon, garlic and other herbs or spices are popularly used to lend flavors to pasta. Pasta made with eggs has more flavor and is brighter yellow in color.

Tips on selecting good pasta

• Good quality pasta does not stick together. It must have a consistent look with a bright amber color. Pasta that clumps together is not right for your dish.
  
• A subtle nutty flavor is a hallmark of good quality pasta.
  
• Pasta that is not limp but has a bouncy springy feel to it is good pasta that will blend well with various sauces.

Source: Targetwoman.com

Read More......