Thomas Kelley - Pasta Recipes Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to Making Healthy Pasta and Pasta by Hand

Pasta Recipes Cookbook

The Ultimate Guide to Making Healthy Pasta and Pasta by Hand

Thomas Kelley

Introduction

Cooking up pasta is not a science, it is an art form. From the sauce that you make to the pasta that you choose to use, it all comes down to being an art. Of course, it can be much simpler than that, only requiring you to simply toss a plate of cooked spaghetti with your sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, but that simply wont do if you want to make a delicious gourmet meal out of it.

In this book you will learn how to do just that. In this book you will learn a variety of things from the different kinds of pasta that you can use to make the most delicious recipes you have ever tasted to how to make the perfect kind of pasta each and every time. But that is not at all. You will also be given over 25 of the most delicious Italian style recipes you have ever laid your eyes on so you can impress your friends and family the next time you prepare dinner.

So, what are you waiting for? Lets get cooking!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One: Types of Pasta

The Many Shapes of Pasta

You would be surprised by how many shapes and sizes of pasta there truly are. While you can find a comprehensive list of these types of pasta in an encyclopedia, there are just way too many shapes out there for you to use in your lifetime. What is more is that many times the same name is often given to the same types of pasta when they come in a variety of different shapes. Of course, this all depends on where you are from. This is especially true in the Italian capital of the world: Italy.

The many types of pasta shapes that you can find today are not only fanciful as many different pasta sauce will only complement certain shapes of pasta. For example whenever you make a pasta sauce that is smooth in consistency and with no meat or vegetables added into it, you will want to use long shaped pastas such as spaghetti or linguine to complement the sauce. If you are making a sauce that contains a lot of chunks, then it is best if you use tubular shaped pastas such as rigatoni, penne and ziti.

In this chapter you will find a list of the different kinds of pasta that you can use in a variety of different Italian dishes today. You will find that these kinds of pastas fall into one of two main categories: Egg Pastas and Basic Water and Flour Pastas.

Basic Flour and Water Pastas

1. Spaghetti

This is perhaps one of the most popular types of pastas shapes that are available today and it is considered to be one of the best inventions known to man. This pasta is sturdy in texture, which makes it the perfect vehicle to go along with a variety of different sauces. However, this type of pasta is not usually sued with any sauces containing large chunks or meat.

2. Spaghatini

This tiny pastas name literally means tiny spaghetti. If you are going to use this for one of your Italian style recipes, I highly recommend that you use the highest quality brand that you can find and to make sure that you do not overcook this pasta. This type of pasta is great when paired with simple sauces, but nothing too heavy.

3. Linguine

The word linguine literally means, Little tongues, and if you were to travel to Italy, you would find this type of pasta primary in the southern part of the amazing country. This pasta is exceptional when paired with sauces that require the pasta to have more surface room. This pasta is much sturdier than spaghetti and does not break under the weight of the sauce so easily.

4. Bucatini

This pasta is often called Perciatelli by those who manufacture this kind of pasta. It is hollow and often used when preparing rather robost pasta sauce. In Italy you can primarily find this type of pasta being prepared in the south to central part of the country.

5. Fusilli

This is a rather fun shape of pasta to use in any of your Italian style recipes. It kind of resembles a coiled phone cord in shape or can look similar to a corkscrew. This type of pasta is exceptional when paired with sauce that contain chunky bits as the chunky bits will cling to the pasta very well, allowing you to savor the dish that much more.

6. Penne

If there is any type of tubular pasta that is used the most today, it is this kind of pasta. You can find these types of pasta in a variety of different sizes and with a variety of different ridges available. Penne goes extremely well with a variety of tomato pasta sauces, sauces that contain small chunks and even heavy cheese sauces.

7. Maccheroni

This type of pasta has deep roots in Italian history. It first made an appearance in the courts of an aristocratic and ancient Italian society. Now however, this pasta is mostly known for its tubular and straight edged shape, similar to that of penne. Similar to penne, this type of pasta will either have a smooth texture or be covered in tiny ridges. Many of the sauces that pair exceptionally well with penne will pair exceptionally well with this type of pasta as well.

8. Rigatoni

These large sized and chewy types of pasta are one of the most popular and most renowned types of pasta used in Italy today. These pastas are usually served with many traditional pasta sauces that contain meat or chunky vegetables. Once you try this type of pasta, you will never want to use any other type of pasta again.

9. Cavatappi

The name of this pasta literally means corkscrew. However, unlike the short type of pasta Fusilli, these pastas are hollow on the inside, though they do resembled a large and long fusilli noodle. These types of pastas are twisted in shape, making them ideal for pasta sauces that are packed full of vegetables or just great tasting hearty pasta sauces.

10. Orecchiette

This type of pasta is particularly popular in a region of Italy known as Apulia. There these kinds of pasta are typically served with a sauce that incorporates broccoli. The name of this particular pasta literally means, little ears and they are usually crafter by hand using a pasta dough made out of flour and water then pressed in between the thumb and palm of a hand. They are incredibly tasty pastas to enjoy with virtually any kind of pasta sauce, but goes well with pasta made with broccoli.

11. Farfalle

The name Farfelle means bowtie in Italian and this name is how this pasta got its shape. This type of pasta is perfect for Italian recipes that use chunky meat sauces of chunky vegetable recipes.

12. Conchiglie

The name of this type of pasta literally means, shells. This type of pasta can be found in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The smallest of this type of pasta is the one that is most commonly found in many popular Italian style soup recipes while the larger types of this kind of pasta can be found when paired with many tasty Italian sauces.

One of the best dishes or sauces to pair this pasta shell with is anything that contains butter or cheese. I highly recommend this simply because this type of pasta contains a large surface area that gives the sauce a perfect amount of space to thickly coat the pasta.

13. Ruote

This type of pasta is also known as ruote di carro which literally means, cartwheels in Italian. This type of pasta pairs exceptionally well with any kind of vegetable pasta sauce, meat pasta sauce or any other type of sauce that pairs well with Rigatoni.