Paste in the literal translation from Italian means "dough". Her invention (and the first mention of stripes of dough made from flour with water are found even in ancient Roman documents) not only changed the Italian cuisine, but also influenced the gastronomy in general. Long ago, when no machines were invented, the pasta was made simply. The dough was rolled into a thin layer, and then cut into more or less wide strips. So it is, and to this day. But if you have a special device - a machine for making pasta (which also rolls dough into the thinnest layer) or a lapping nozzle on a combine, then it will not be difficult for you to cook any kind of pasta in a short time. By the way, a mechanical machine for pasta is inexpensive, the only drawback is that it is difficult to clean. It only remains to add that the homemade pasta is much tastier than the ready-made pasta, and the process of making the pasta itself and dishes from it can be turned into a family or a friendly party.
According to the rules of the culinary recipes of Italian pasta, it is made from durum wheat, in Italy it is even legislated. In addition, the Italians eat a paste al dente, that is slightly not cooked. It is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber. So we strongly recommend that you take flour from durum wheat for pasta preparation (it is characterized by coarser grinding and yellowish color, which makes it slightly similar to corn).
It is possible to increase the usefulness of pasta, which is usually prepared with the addition of eggs and olive oil, and is called, respectively, pasta all 'uovo, taking wholemeal with bran or soy, and instead of whole eggs - only proteins. This is the main advantage of home cooking: you can change not only the taste of the sauce, but the recipe, and the "format" of the paste itself! The easiest way to influence the taste is to vary the proportion of eggs. Their number can range from 2 pieces per kilogram of flour to 25 yolks for the same amount. In the latter case, it will be a real bright yellow egg paste (which, unfortunately, is so tasty, so high in calories).
You can change the taste and color of the paste, mixing vegetable juice or condiments in the dough. So, spinach juice-mashed potatoes make the paste green, beetroot - purple, carrot juice or saffron - orange, tomato puree - red. In the paste, you can add very finely ground nuts or red hot pepper. In Piedmont, crushed truffles are used as a piquant accent to pasta. It's expensive, but you can save on sauce: this pasta is delicious and does not require any additives.
Size matters
In form and size, the paste is divided into 5 groups:
- Long paste (it is round and flat, narrow and wide);
- Short paste (it includes a variety of feathers, fusilli and rigatoni);
- Soup paste (small paste of various forms);
- Paste of complex shape (farfalle (bows), shells and other "beautiful" pasta, which will not only make tasty, but also decorate salads with pasta);
- Pasta with filling (ravioli, nioki, pansotti, tortellini - "creative dumplings");
- Spagetti (spaghetti) - the most famous long thin paste (about 25 cm in length and 1-2 mm in diameter), is ideal with classic and light tomato sauces;
- Linguine (linguini) - a long, narrow and flat paste with a width of 2 mm. "Flat spaghetti";
- TagliateUe (Tagliatelle) - flat paste 4-6 mm wide. Very good with meat sauces or for baking. Narrower Tagliatelle (3 mm) are called thallolini;
- Fettuccine (fetuchini) - flat tapes with a width of 8-10 mm. Dense creamy or tomato sauces are suitable for it;
- Papparedelle (papardelle) - very wide (up to 15 mm) and a long Tuscan paste. Good for baking and with thick sauces;
- Lasagna (Lasagna) - the widest. The sizes are not regulated, as all cut out lasagna under their forms for baking. Such layers are first boiled, and then sandwiched with meat or cream sauces, vegetables, mushrooms, cheese and minced meat or bechamel sauce and baked;
- Farfalle (farfalle) - "butterflies" or "bows";
- Bucatini (bucatini) - what we call macaroni, thick long tubes. Very popular in Rome;
- Fusilli (fusilli) - spirals of different diameters (3-8 mm). Perfectly hold sauces, suitable for salads. The most common in northern and central Italy;
- Penne - short ribbed slanting cut pipes (feathers). Universal format, perfectly shaped and ideal for baking;
- Rigatoni (rigatoni) - short corrugated straight cut tubes. Thinner rigatoni called tortilloni, very wide (2-3 cm) - cannelloni - used for stuffing;
- Tortellini (tortellini) most resemble our dumplings, the corners of which are joined in a kind of bud. It is best to start them with raw ricotta or spinach, the fillings in them are quite small. There are very small and larger;
- Raviolli (ravioli) - small dumplings in the shape of an ellipse or square. The most popular stuffing is chicken minced with parmesan, parsley and spinach, but you can stuff almost anything. Very often served with pesto sauce. In advance fried well add to the soup.
Wine and pasta
The simplest recipes of dishes and recipes of Italian pasta include only a few ingredients: olive oil, garlic, spinach. They are best suited for light, fragrant white wines, for example, the original Italian brand of pino grigio with a citrus bouquet and spicy notes. Pino grigio perfectly matches with vegetarian pastes with green vegetables and nuts.
White wines are the best addition to salads with pasta. Pasta with seafood is suitable for dry sparkling, for example, prosecco. And to paste pasta with spicy sauce, serve spicy and strong white wine. To classic wide egg noodles, both white wines with citrus notes and red ones (especially they are good for pasta with sage and mushrooms) are suitable.
To the ravioli, the wine is selected based on the filling. For vegetable, light white wines are taken, for cheese and meat - heavy white, for example, soave, or light red (valpolicella). But there are no hard rules. Ravioli with spinach, for example, it is pleasant to wash down with red sparkling lambrusco. Separately it is necessary to say about pasta with tomatoes or pesto sauce. It is combined with red wines, but not too heavy, to feel the sweet taste of the sauce. Chianti or merlot will do. They can also be fed to the carbonara. In the pasta with tomatoes, meat and sausages are often added. Then red wine should be more saturated and strong - from the southern regions. If you cook pasta with cheese, then the choice of wine will depend on the type of cheese. Ravioli with ricotta served with rich white or light red. Sauces based on hard, sharp and blue cheeses, such as Parmesan or Gorgonzola, require powerful, concentrated red wines: Barbaresco, Shiraz. Sicilian wines will be good. They are also perfect for pasta al fenno - baked in the oven.
Cooking dough
First, decide whether you want a lean or egg dough. In the first case, you just need to pour a little water into the flour. You can add a bit soft to hard flour, you can - semolina (in a ratio of 3: 1). For the egg test, you will need olive oil and eggs. Sometimes eggs are not whole eggs, but egg yolks or a mixture of eggs and yolks in a ratio of 1: 3. Then the ready-made pasta gets a more pronounced taste, and the dish becomes more calorific and satisfying.
The technology of kneading the test is the same for both options. Sift the sifted flour with a slide, make a funnel in the center, pour liquid into it. Knead start from the edges to the center. All ingredients should be at room temperature. Stir the dough, periodically stretching it, at least 20 minutes, for which the mass should become uniform, elastic and tight. If you are making a colored paste, mix the supplements with water or eggs. You can entrust the initial stage of preparation of the test to the combine, but we still recommend manually to bring it to "condition". Finished the test, shape the ball, cover with a towel and let "rest" at room temperature for at least 40 minutes. Then roll and cut it with a machine or manually, giving the desired shape. Do not forget to prepare a place for the finished pasta: it should be lightly sprinkled with flour. It is better to use the dough immediately, but the excess can be stored in a sealed container in the freezer (no more than 3 days).