Do You Know Your Pasta?

When you walk down the pasta aisle in the market how do you choose which pasta to buy and which to use for what purpose? There are flat pastas, round pastas, hollow pastas and twisted pastas. There is pasta that is made to look like rice (Italian orzo) and pasta that resembles gnocchi (potato dumplings). There are shells and tubes and then there is pasta that is made into shapes to fit the season.

Do you want to serve your pasta with tomato sauce, Alfredo Sauce (cream sauce), primavera (with lightly grilled spring vegetables? Do you want stuffed pasta and if so, what do you stuff it with? Do you want pasta that is made from semolina, ordinary flour or gluten free such as corn or rice pasta? Do you want squid ink pasta, spinach pasta or tomato pasta or just plain pasta? The more you learn about pasta, the more there is to know and the more bewildered you can get.

The best quality pasta is made from semolina (hard durum wheat) and eggs with maybe a little salt and some olive oil thrown in. There are all manner of pasta and range in price from one dollar a pound on up to $10 a pound or more for hand-made pasta. Before we go too crazy here and make your mind spin with all the red sauce pasta available, let's just get down to basics and explain the differences between the most commonly used pastas, how they are normally used and the types of sauces that go well with them.

We will start out with the flat pastas which include lasagna, linguini, fettuccini, and papparadelle. Dried Lasagna noodles are usually about 2-3" wide and can be purchased in boxes either uncooked or precooked. Domestic lasagna noodles are longer than the imported ones; however, most of the imported ones are of a better quality. You can usually also purchase fresh pasta which can be used for lasagna from your local Italian deli. Lasagna may either be served simply with a Bolognese (meat) sauce with shredded parmesan or more traditionally as a layered casserole. The sauce for lasagna can vary from marinara (tomato) to Bolognese, mushroom, vegetarian or seafood. There will usually be a layer of pasta, a layer of ricotta cheese, a layer of sauce and a layer of mozzarella. Sometimes the pasta and cheese is layered without the sauce and the sauce is added at serving time.

The narrowest of the flat pasta is linguini; linguini is long narrow pasta (about " wide) which can be served with any number of sauces. A favorite that is served with linguini are clams in either a white wine sauce or a spicy red sauce. The next size up is fettuccini which is usually served with an Alfredo sauce (cream or bechamel) made with butter, heavy cream, and parmesan. It is utterly delicious, easy, and simple to make and loaded with calories. Not for those who have to watch their cholesterol intake!

Other than lasagna, pappardelle is the widest at about one inch in width. Pappardelle can be served with almost any kind of sauce. Pappardelle go especially with vegetables primavera as they provide a nice contrast to the vegetable and are substantive enough to provide contrasting texture and flavor to the vegetables.

Probably the most commonly used pasta in the United States is spaghetti. Even with spaghetti, there are different widths which usually are chosen depending on individual preference. There is angel hair or which is the thinnest of the pasta and also the most tricky to cook. Overcooking will turn angel hair to mush and make it very difficult if not impossible to handle. In the past, when one mentioned spaghetti, it was usually served with meatballs. With the advent of the culinary revolution, spaghetti can and is served in many different ways, again depending on the taste of the individuals involved.

Some of the hollow or tubular pasta is elbow macaroni (most often used for macaroni and cheese or macaroni salad. Elbow macaroni usually comes in two sizes. The large size is great for casseroles and the smaller sizes are well used in soup such as minestrone or vegetable. Large width tubular pasta is ziti which again comes in several sizes, penne, rigatoni, and cannelloni. Cannelloni are usually about 3 inches long and are served stuffed with a cheese or meat filling and topped with a marinara or meat sauce.

The twisted pastas include Fusilli, Bucati, Gemeli, Rotelli (Wagon Wheels). The twisted pastas are good for heavy sauces. Their shape will help to retain the sauce whereas with the smooth thin pastas, the heavy sauces will just run off back into the plate. Fusilli are also nice for seafood pasta salads. In order to flavor the twisted pastas for salads, it is good to toss the pasta with the dressing just after draining. If you do this while the pasta is still warm they will absorb the flavor of the dressing and taste better. In addition to the twisted pastas there are shells which come in several sizes. The larger of the shells are great for stuffing with cheese or meat. They then can be served with marinara, Bolognese or seafood sauce. The stuffed shells can also be arranged in a casserole, covered with sauce and some mozzarella cheese and then baked. This type of dish is also great to make ahead, freeze and the cook when needed. To cook a frozen pasta casserole, place the whole thing while still frozen in a cold oven. Once the casserole is in the oven, you can then turn the oven on to 350 degrees and let it cook. While the casserole is cooking you can prepare a salad or any other dish to go with it. The frozen casserole will generally take about an hour to cook when placed in a cold oven. DO NOT PLACE A FROZEN CASSEROLE IN A HOT OVEN! If it is ceramic or glass it will most likely break and even if it isn't, the top portion and sides of the casserole will cook before the inside is heated through and become dried out.

When cooking pasta, use a large pot with at least 3-4 quarts of salted water (depending on how much pasta is to be cooked). The water should be brought to a full boil before adding the pasta. One to two tablespoons of salt should be added to the water. This will not only help to add flavor to the pasta but will increase the heat of the water allowing the pasta to cook at a faster rate. Most manufacturers will put the recommended cooking time on the package. Pasta should always be cooked 'al dente' which literally means to the tooth. You should be able to bite easily into pasta; it should not be hard or dry nor should it be mushy. If using the pasta for casseroles or lasagna, the pasta may be slightly undercooked as more cooking will take place in the oven and the added sauce will be absorbed by the pasta and help to soften it also.

Fresh pastas should be cooked in thesame manner as the dried pastas, but the cooking time will be considerably shorter. Fresh pasta usually cooks in one or two minutes. Always test the pasta by taking out a piece, running it under cold water and tasting it to be sure it is the way you like it.

Take your time and learn a little about each of the types of pasta. Start with one and try different sauces and meat variations with it. Once you have become familiar with one type (this can include different thicknesses) then move on and try another. There is so much variety in pasta that if served with different types of sauces or used in salads, soups or even puddings, you can enjoy it several times a week without making the same dish twice. Pasta can be used for breakfast casseroles, luncheon salads and dinner entrees and even for dessert. Try your hand, experiment and see what you can come up with.