How to Cook Authentic Italian Pasta

Ok, so we are still stuck blogging our last summer's vacation, even though it's really Christmas vacation. But I have to just insert this one post into the continuity of the vacation just because it is needed for all of you to whom we sent gifts of Pasta. You all have to cook it in the correct manner otherwise it defeats the purpose of sending over all the authentic ingredients. So the following blog is for all those who are ready for a cooking lesson from Italy.

(Dawnae's new ceramics, and pasta and salsa for Kristin and Deanna)

Italian food is always eaten in courses, even at home. At a restaurant you might order an anti-pasta first (in Napoli they have lots of seafood and also crusty bread with bruscheta and various other finger food). The next course would be your pasta (which is usually the beginning of a meal at home.) Often you might then have a side dish of pepperoni (sweet bell peppers cooked in olive oil-not spicey red meat). Next would come your meat, (lots of different kinds, usually all fried) followed by fruit and dolce or sweets. Meals usually end with coffee. At fancy restaurants you may have several plates of each separate course effectively making your meal into as many courses as you can eat! Your host will keep offering you more and more food until you insist that it is enough. Our elders just returned from Christmas lunch at a members home and they said they lost track of how many courses they had eaten, but it was between 10 and 15!!

Italians categorize their food into two groups: sweet and salty and they do not mix the two. Usually sweet is reserved for breakfast and for desert and everything else is salty, so sweet and sour is not a favorite dish in Italy! Pasta is served at every meal since it is the main staple, and sometimes a simple meal is only pasta. Also a typical meal on the go is leftover pasta fried into a round cake type meal. The breakfast is very light as is dinner, and the big meal of the day is served around 2:00 in the afternoon. All the stores shut down during the afternoon for the families to gather for their meal. Extended families and friends often meet for their midday meals.

There are so many different types of pasta it is impossible to list them all. Each area of Italy has their own specialty of pasta. Pasta makers usually go back generations. Italy has “pasta universities” which specialize in teaching the very best pasta making. Italian pasta is different than our American versions in that it has a lighter and usually thinner texture. The salsa is also different with a lighter tomato flavor. Pasta is served with all kinds of different salsas also. Basically anything you have laying around can be cooked and pureed into salsa for your pasta so there are almost as many variations of salsa as there are pastas.

Instructions on making authentic Italian pasta:
Heat up your pre-made sauce to simmer first so that you can add it to the pasta at just the right time. You can also put some fresh basil into it if you desire. Just keep the sauce hot, since it is already perfectly prepared and doesn’t need to simmer for hours like traditional fresh made salsa.

Italians use about 100 g of uncooked pasta per person (this is fairly generous). Look at the outside of your pasta package. You will notice the words “Cottura” 13 min. (or another number.) This is the key to know how long to cook your pasta. Do not cook it until it is tender as is the usual practice in America. Italians like their pasta “al dente” and it’s important to cook it this way so that it will absorb the flavor of the sauce. Also notice on the back of the package a diagram of how much water to add. I never thought that this was important before, but it makes a big difference if you don’t want sticky pasta. Add the amount of water in the diagram keeping in mind that 2 Liters equals about 8 cups. So 6 L = a little more than 6 quarts. It’s a lot more water then I used to use for pasta, which explains the need for a huge stock pot. Bring the water to a boil first and add salt if you desire. Add the pasta and begin timing the cooking when it starts boiling again. When cooked, the pasta should be firm but not crunchy. It may feel just slightly sticky, but not too much. Drain pasta in a colander but don’t rinse. Immediately, while the pasta is still very hot, put it into a serving dish and add the sauce. The hot “al dente” pasta will absorb a lot of the sauce and soften up even more in the serving bowl. Italian pasta has a lot less sauce then what we are used to. It never swims in the sauce like American spaghetti is proportioned. You need just enough sauce to be absorbed into the pasta so that it isn’t sticky. If you didn’t use enough water to cook the pasta it will be too sticky and you can add a little olive oil to the pasta before adding the sauce, but this keeps the pasta from absorbing as much of the sauce, so just make sure to add enough water. Eat hot with a little fresh parmigiana cheese sprinkled over the top. (Standard for every kind of pasta and very very yummy!) Serve and eat as soon as it is cool enough to not burn your tongue for the best taste. Bon appetito! Merry Christmas!