| Pasta has existed since the days of the | | | | agnolotti. Best of all is to make fresh |
| Roman Empire and remains one of the most | | | | pasta at home. It takes little time, but |
| versatile cooking ingredients, as no | | | | is quite easy and well worth the effort. |
| storage room or cupboard should be | | | | You can mix the dough by hand or prepare |
| without it. It can be combined with | | | | it in a food processor. Pasta may be |
| meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, or even a | | | | colored and flavored with extra |
| simple herb sauce to create a | | | | ingredients that are usually added with |
| mouthwatering and nutritious meal within | | | | the beaten egg. |
| minutes. | | | | To cook pasta, first bring a large pan |
| Most pasta is made from durum wheat | | | | of lightly salted water to a boil. Add |
| flour and contains protein and | | | | the pasta and one tablespoon of olive |
| carbohydrates. It is a good source of | | | | oil, but do not cover the pot or the |
| slow-release energy and has the | | | | water will boil over. Quickly bring the |
| additional advantage of being value for | | | | water back to a rolling boil and avoid |
| money. | | | | overcooking. When the pasta is tender, |
| There are as many as 200 different pasta | | | | but still firm to the bite, drain and |
| shapes and about three times as many | | | | toss with butter, olive oil, or your |
| names for them. New shapes are being | | | | prepared sauce. The cooking times |
| designed and named allt the time and the | | | | provided here are guidelines only: |
| same shape might be called a different | | | | - Fresh unfilled pasta: 2-3 minutes |
| name in different regions in Itally. | | | | - Fresh filled pasta: 8-10 minutes |
| Some types of pasta are the agnolotti, | | | | - Dried unfilled pasta: 10-12 minutes |
| anelli, bucatini, cannelloni, | | | | - Dried filled pasta: 15-20 minutes |
| capalletti, ditali, elicje, farfalle, | | | | Pasta can be used to make anything, from |
| fettuccine, fusilli, lasagne, linguini, | | | | soups to more substantial pasta-based |
| macaroni, penne, ravioli, rigatoni, | | | | meals, which are as delicious and |
| spaghetti and tagliatelle. Many can be | | | | unusual starter, or as a quick and easy |
| found in both dried and fresh forms, but | | | | lunch or light supper. Others are subtle |
| unless you have access to a good, | | | | and delicate. Combining vegetables, |
| Italian delicatessen, it is probably not | | | | meat, fish and cheese with every type of |
| worth buying fresh unfilled pasta, even | | | | pasta, from linguine to lumache, one can |
| from supermarkets that sell high-quality | | | | enjoy a nutritional and delicious meal |
| tortellini, capalletti, ravioli, and | | | | from start to finish. |