Murdoch Books Test Kitchen - The Little Pasta Cookbook

The Little Pasta Cookbook explores the wonderful world
of pasta. From a comforting lasagne on a cold winters
night, a quick bowl of tortellini with nutty herb sauce
after work, or a creamy pasta with prawns to serve up
to friends, this little book will show you how to make
the most of your time and budget. There are over
80 recipes, features on fresh and dried pasta and
simple tips on how to cook perfect pasta
every timewhatever the shape.

C ONTENTS

the I talian word pasta just means paste but paste hardly does justice to the astonishing diversity of pasta.

We have finally discovered a cookery secret the Italians have known for centuries: it is difficult to go wrong with pasta. What could be simpler or more appealing than butter and shavings of parmesan melting over a bowl of fresh tagliatelle? As comfort food, pasta is unbeatable. It is warming, filling and, above all, mouthwateringly delicious.

I t was said that Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy from China in 1295, a rumour that does great disservice to the ancient Italians, who had been tucking in to pasta since the days of Imperial Rome. Cicero himself, so legend has it, was inordinately fond of laganum, the flat, ribbon pasta we now call tagliatelle. And, from the middle ages, Tassos story tells how an innkeeper invented tortellini in the image of Venuss navel. So, if youre enjoying your pasta, youre in good company.

There are good reasons why pasta is such a popular food: its cheap, its quick and easy to prepare, its delicious, its nutritious and, as this book demonstrates, its amazingly versatile. You can dress up pasta for a dinner party with a creamy smoked salmon sauce, or serve it simply, with parmesan or bacon and eggs. You can serve it cold in salads, warm in soups or piping hot from the oven, stuffed with spinach and ricotta. You can serve it for dessert and you can even serve it as a hangover cureaccording to Italians, spaghetti with garlic and chilli oil, eaten before going to sleep, will ward off the after effects of too much vino. You can eat pasta every day of the week (as indeed many Italians do) and never tire of it. Pasta goes well with anything, including breads, vegetables and salads, which is why we have included ideas for these throughout the book.

And of course, there is the traditional accompaniment to some pasta dishes, parmesan. Although small amounts of grated parmesan, or little shavings, do look attractive, resist the temptation to serve it with everything. Avoid it with seafood sauces, in particular, as the flavours do not always mix well.

DRIED OR FRESH

Many people think that fresh pasta must be better than dried. This is not always the casesome sauces are better teamed with fresh pasta and some are best with dried. Fresh pasta works well with rich sauces made from cream, butter and cheese, because its soft texture absorbs the sauce. Alfredo is one of the nicest sauces to serve on fresh home-made pasta, as is a simple topping of butter and grated parmesan. Dried pasta is the one to choose if youre serving a heartier, tomato-based sauce. If your sauce has olives, anchovies, chilli, meat or seafood, youll almost certainly need dried.

Pasta is a combination of flour, water and sometimes eggs and oil. Pasta made with wholewheat flour is darker. If dried pasta is made with durum wheat flour, it is considered to be of superior quality. Other dried pastas that are available include those made from different flours and cereals such as buckwheat, corn, rice and soya beans. Pastas are sometimes flavoured with a pure of herbs, tomato, spinach or other vegetables. Dried pasta will last up to six months, stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. However, dried wholewheat pasta will only last for one month before turning rancid. Fresh pasta can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for five days. If double wrapped, it will last up to four months. Dont thaw before cooking.

WHICH PASTA SHAPE?

There are good reasons for matching one pasta shape with a particular sauce. Apart from the traditional regional preference for a local shape, its ability to hold and support the sauce is all important. Tubular shapes such as penne capture thick sauces, while flat or long pastas are traditionally served with thin, smooth sauces. But there are no hard and fast rules and part of the fun of pasta is trying out all those fabulous colours, flavours and shapes. In this book youll find photographs of some of the many fresh and dried pastas now available.

A lot of information about the pasta contained in the packet can be gleaned from its name. A name ending in -ricce means the pasta has a wavy edge; -nidi indicates that the lengths are formed into nests; -rigate means ridged and -lisce, smooth surfaced. And, if your Italian is up to scratch, you can pretty much visualise your pasta from its name ... although sometimes you may find this a little off putting. If the name of the pasta ends with -oni, this indicates a larger size: for example, conchiglioni are large conchiglie. Likewise, -ini and -ette means smaller versions, as in farfallini. However, before we become too embroiled in the importance of names, let us point out that they do vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and book to book ... one mans tortelloni can be another mans agnolotti. Luckily, if a little commonsense is used, this isnt going to pose problems of life-threatening importance.

HOW MUCH PASTA?

Another highly charged subject as far as pasta aficionados are concerned, is how much pasta each person should be served and, even more controversially, how much sauce should be served on that pasta. As a general guide, use 60 g (2 oz) of fresh pasta per person for a starter, and 125 g (4 oz) for a main dish. You should allow a little bit more if you are using dried (it contains less moisture, so is lighter), about 90 g (3 oz) each for a starter and 150 g (5 oz) per person for a main dish.

How much sauce is obviously a matter of personal taste, but the biggest mistake non-Italian cooks make is to use too much sauce: the pasta should be lightly coated, not drenched. When the pasta and sauce are tossed, there shouldnt be extra sauce swimming around at the bottom.

COOKING YOUR PASTA

Unsalted water will come to the boil faster than salted water, so add the salt once the water is boiling. Use a large pan of water, enough so that the pasta has plenty of room to move around, and only add the pasta when the water has reached a rapid boil. Some people like to add a tablespoon of olive oil to help prevent the water boiling over or the pasta sticking together. After the pasta has been added, cover the pan to help bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible, then remove the lid as soon as the water returns to the boil. Al dente (to the bite) is how Italians describe the texture of well-cooked pasta. Test pasta towards the end of cooking; it should feel slightly elastic and you should feel a little resistance as you bite the pasta (or break it using your thumb); however, it should not be at all chalky in the centre.