Pasta

PASTA, the staple of Italian cuisine, pasta is as versatile as it is delicious. The better known types of pasta are spaghetti, lasagna, fettuccini, lo mein… Lo mein? Lo mein. It’s not Italian, but it’s still pasta, as in noodles; right?

We say chicken noodle soup, but why don’t we say chicken with rotini? Or chicken soup with pasta. Are noodles and pasta the same thing? Is it always long, thin, and stringy or is it any type of pasta thrown into soup? What is the actual difference between pasta and noodles? Let’s take a look at how pasta came to be in this installment of History Kitchen.

In 1271 Marco Polo went to China and brought pasta making back to Italy. There you go. End of story.

Actually, not really. That was the story up until 2011 when researchers found evidence of pasta making in Sicily before Marco Polo in 1154. What kind of pasta was being made back in 1154? It was slightly different in the idea that it was thicker and fried (as written by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, a Roman writer/ poet). Pasta predates most modern cuisines, but in my opinion the creation of pasta is a step humanity took towards a sophisticated culinary effort. What does that mean? It means pasta is born!

Yes, noodles did exist in other parts of the world at this time, however I will be focusing on Italian pasta because spaghetti.

Now, let’s step forward a bit. Although pasta was being made in Italy and around the world, it was not all that popular in the United States. Not until our third president, Thomas Jefferson, raved about a dish that was prepared for him in France, macaroni and cheese. He popularized pasta in the United States. Keep in mind that at this time, the United States only consisted of 16 states and some territories. So when the president talked about something, it was big news. The popularity of the dish actually led to creation of slang, similar to how people say cool, they said something was macaroni. This is why the song goes,

Yankee doodle went to town

A-riding on a pony.

Put a feather in his cap and called it macaroni.

So let’s answer the question, is spaghetti and meatballs Italian? Yes, and no. It really depends on how you look at it. If you think of spaghetti as a standalone, Italian spaghetti noodles and sauce, then bam, you have an Italian dish. However, spaghetti and meatballs isn’t necessarily Italian. I don’t want to say it is Americanized food, the reason why is because it has its roots in the United States of America, but it is a dish that was created in the United States from Italian ingredients. In my opinion, Americanized means for a country to accommodate the American palate, did this happen? Not really. So yes, and no. Spaghetti and meatballs is not traditional Italian food. However, the pasta that carries it, is.

That’s the important part, right? The pasta. Most people buy dried pasta at the supermarket; from artisanal shops or even their local Italian deli. However, there is a large misconception, that you need the right machinery to pull off a nice dinner. Not. At. All. However, pasta is one heck of a vessel.

There are tons of different pasta types, as mentioned above. Bowtie, squid ink, ravioli, spaghetti, etc. The simplest type you can make at home is tagliatelle, without any machinery, just some flour, eggs, and a rolling pin.

Now, the recipe requires a few more things and time. You will need the following;

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup semolina flour

3 eggs

1 tbs oil

Pinch of salt

Some water (approx. ¼ cup)

Plastic wrap or a thick cloth.

I like to use my countertop for this recipe. Place your flours together and make a small opening at the top of your pile.

In this opening, crack in your eggs, oil, salt and water. Mix it all together and knead for about 10 minutes until your dough comes together and becomes smooth.

At this time, place your pasta in plastic wrap or a thick cloth and let it rest.

What does resting mean? Well, when you are kneading dough, it is basically exercising. The gluten in the dough relaxes and becomes stronger. The gluten in the dough holds everything together and allows you to cook your pasta without it falling apart or becoming crumbly.

Now, I must say that I did take this recipe from the amazing Dulce Delight, if you are not following her, please do! She has some great videos, recipes; girl can throw it down in her kitchen.

If you have the real-estate on your countertop or table, I believe this works best. However, it is not necessary. You can always use a large bowl but it is always best to work with your hands, in my opinion. If you feel like you absolutely need to, you can also use a mixer on the lowest setting because this mixture is incredibly THICC! (ha, see what I did there? Moving on.) You don’t want to break anything.

Just like all vacations, they come to an end. Your pasta is back from holidays and ready to get to work! It has had the time to relax and grow the necessary bonds from the gluten in the semolina flour.

Take a good chunk out of your pasta ball and roll it out with your pin. It is incredible how easy your pasta is to work with. At this point, you can make it as thin or thick as you want it. I like to get my pasta thin enough to where you can actually see through it. You don’t need to get it this thin but it’s all in personal preference.

As you roll out the pasta, toss some flour under your work space that way it does not stick to the countertop. Once you have your pasta rolled out to your preferred thickness, cut it.

It is easiest if you use a pizza cutter by cutting from the top of your pasta down towards you. I feel like I have always had the best control over my cuts that way.

Once you have your pasta, hang it up to dry or ball it up into serving sizes to store for later.

Or, you can also just cook it straight away in boiling water and serve.

Tagliatelle pasta is just one type of pasta, but I find it to be the easiest to make at home without a machine because it’s just that simple. Tagliare is the Italian verb, “to cut.” which makes sense seeing how all one must do is cut the pasta into strips and boil them. Does that make this type of pasta a noodle? Actually, yes. Defining noodles and pasta is simple. You can Google search the difference and be caught up in a whirlwind of complicated definitions with rules, exceptions, and a complete set of terms & conditions. Simply put, noodle comes form the Germanic word nudel which is a long, thin piece of dough. Whereas pasta comes from the ancient Greek word pastos. So why do we make a distinction, actually – we don’t. Although, we’d like to make a clear cut definition and distinction between the two; they have been used synonymously and will continue to be. Pasta is a noodle and a noodle is pasta, same/ same but different. I suppose that if you would like to dedicate your tongue to defining the two, by all means but there is no difference between the two. We’ll have to chalk this one up to “I suppose it depends on who you ask.”

Back to our pasta; when you boil your pasta, you don’t need to add oil. It does add some flavor to your dish but not entirely necessary. Here are some instructions on making a quick go-to pasta dish with your freshly made pasta.

Boil one serving of pasta, drain and place in a bowl with 2 tbs olive oil; mix in a pinch of dried oregano, parsley, and pepper. Top with salt, and cherry tomatoes. As always, cheese is good too.

That is how you make pasta, in its simplest form. What I love about pasta is that it is extremely versatile as a vessel food. Meaning, it can be included into pretty much anything. It can be prepared in a variety of different ways, it can be colored, sweetened, savory, heck you can even fry it. We’re all comfortable with what we’re most familiar with, next time try to mix it up. Order something new, try the squid ink pasta. You might like it! Who knows what you’ll find.

-          Richie

Serventi, Silvano, and Françoise Sabban. Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Print.

Downes, John. "Dough Needs a Rest - How to Bake | Shipton Mill - Home of Organic Flour." Dough Needs a Rest - How to Bake | Shipton Mill - Home of Organic Flour. Shipton Mill, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://www.shipton-mill.com/baking/how-to-bake/dough-needs-a-rest.htm>.

Hess, Karen. "The Polo Pasta Myth." NY Times. New York Times, 07 Dec. 1998. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/07/garden/l-the-polo-pasta-myth-906888.html>.

Costa, Raiza. "Fresh Pasta." Dulce Delight:. Dulce Delight, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://www.delightdulce.com/2012/03/fresh-pasta.html>.

Gonger, Cristen. "Did Marco Polo Bring Pasta from China?" HowStuffWorks. How Stuff Works, 02 Feb. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/marco-polo-pasta.htm>.

Useful links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semolina

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pasta

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=noodle