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Common Pasta Types
The following are just a few of the many pastas (and their uses)
available in your local supermarket:
Anelli / aniline: small rings used for soup
Bucatini: Long medium tubes used for basic pasta dishes
Cannelloni: Large, thick round pasta tubes
Capelli di angelo: Thin strands of angel hair very similar to spaghetti
Cochiglie: Ridged tiny shells the size of lentils.
Cresti di gallo: curved shape, brown in colour.
Ditali/ ditalini: Short tubes similar to macaroni
Eliche: Loose spirals.
Farfalle: Bows used as an interesting shape for pasta and sauce dishes.
Fettuccine: Medium ribbons
Fusilli: Long twists often used in desserts and sweet dishes.
Gemelli: Two pieces wrapped together to look like twins
Lasagne: Sheets of flat rectangular pasta
Linguini: Long flat ribbons similar to fettuccini.
Lumache: Snail-shaped shells
Lumaconi: Big shells often used for fillings
Macaroni: Long or short cut tubes, a favourite with cheese sauce.
Orecchiette: Ear-shaped
Penne: Quill shaped small pasta
Rigatoni: Thick ridged tubes
Spaghetti: Fine or medium rods
Tagliarini: Thin ribbons
Tagliatelle: broad ribbons
Vermicelli: Fine pasta, usually folded into skeins and stuffed/filled.For suggestions of the type of Pasta Shape - Click Here - They have pictures
Eating Spaghetti and fine pasta -
It may look difficult, but it is easy to eat spaghetti with a fork and place spoon. The place spoon serves as a base of operation. Place a forkful of spaghetti strands, not too much, into the bowl of the place spoon. Then twirl it around until the strands are firmly wrapped around the fork in a bite size portion. It is also acceptable to use the fork and cut the-spaghetti into bite size portions. A sterling silver macaroni server or pasta server are ideal to serve any type of pasta. A gravy ladle, large casserole spoon or tablespoon can be used to serve different types of sauces.
How to Cook Pasta
1.Fill a large stockpot with water. The more the better - pasta only sticks when cooked in too little water.
2.Add salt. Salt makes pasta taste better, and won't appreciably increase the sodium level of your recipes. Use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. At that level, 2 ounces of uncooked pasta (1 cup cooked), the FDA serving size, absorbs about 20 mg of sodium which is about 1% of the recommended daily sodium intake. That's nothing.
3.Bring the water to a rolling boil. This means a boil you can't stop by stirring.
4.Measure the pasta you need. Pasta generally doubles in size when cooked, so 1 cup uncooked = 2 cups cooked. Refer to the recipe if necessary.
5.Slowly add the pasta to the boiling water. Ideally, the water shouldn't stop boiling, but if that happens, it's ok.
6.Stir and stir some more! Pasta will stick together if it isn't stirred during the crucial first moments of cooking. Don't add oil, because that will make the pasta slippery and the sauce won't stick to it when it's done.
7.Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Most pastas cook in 8-12 minutes. Check the package directions!
8.You can regulate the heat so the pasta/water mixture doesn't foam up and over the pot sides. Lower it the tiniest bit, and everything should be under control.
9.Really the only way to tell if the pasta is correctly cooked is to taste it. It should be 'al dente' - firm, yet tender, with a tiny core in the middle.
10.You can also cut into a piece you've fished out of the pot. There shouldn't be any solid white in the center of the pasta - just a shading to more opaque cream color.
11.Now drain the pasta into a colander placed into your kitchen sink. Lift the colander and shake off excess water.
12.Don't rinse if you're serving a hot dish. That removes the starch that helps hold the sauce. If you are making a cold salad, rinse so the salad isn't sticky. On the other hand, I never rinse my pasta for cold main dish salads, simply because I like how the hot pasta absorbs the dressing. It's up to you!
13.Use the pasta in the recipe. Toss it into simmering sauce, mix it with a cold sauce, add to salads or use in frittatas.
Tips:
1.By covering the pot when you bring water to a boil, you are lowering the air pressure directly over the water, making it easier to boil.
2.Never mix pasta types in one pot. They all have different cooking times.
3.Watch the cooking process carefully. Pasta can overcook very quickly.
4.If the pasta is to be used in a casserole, undercook it slightly. It will finish cooking to perfection while in the oven or skillet.
What You Need
•stock pot
•water
•pasta
•salt
•long handled spoon
•kitchen timerBack to Sunday Dinner Selections
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