Pasta is one of the most versatile and beloved dishes in the world, and has been a staple of Italian cuisine for centuries. Pasta dishes have enjoyed incredible popularity in recent decades, with pasta regularly appearing on restaurant menus and chefs experimenting with new ingredients, flavors and shapes to create unique and exciting dishes.
Trends
In 2023, we can expect to see even more innovative pasta dishes appearing on restaurant and cafe menus around the world.
In recent years, for example, several dishes have made a splash in the culinary world:
- Сacio e pepe with squid ink spaghetti from chef Evan Funke at Felix Trattoria in Los Angeles.
- Spaghetti carbonara with uni and Dungeness crab from Chef Kim Alter at Nightbird in San Francisco.
- Lasagna Bolognese with duck ragu from chef Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy. This dish has been famous and popular since 1995, but the chef's latest twist has especially inspired critics.
Types of pasta
There are many different types of pasta, each with its own unique shape and texture. The most popular include spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, penne, rigatoni, farfalle and gnocchi. Let's look at the most famous and popular types of pasta and take a closer look at them.
Spaghetti: Spaghetti is a long thin noodle made from wheat flour and water and takes about 8-10 minutes to cook. Thanks to its round shape, spaghetti holds sauce well and is ideal for dishes such as carbonara and marinara.
Penne: Made from durum wheat flour and water, penne is a tube-shaped pasta with ridges on the outside. Their shape helps hold the sauce and takes about 11-12 minutes to cook. Penne is often used in baked pasta dishes.
Farfalle: Farfalle is also known as butterfly pasta and is made from durum wheat flour and water. They are shaped like a butterfly or bow tie and take about 8-10 minutes to prepare. Farfalle is often used in pasta salads and creamy dishes.
Gnocchi: Made from potatoes, flour and eggs, gnocchi are small dumplings that are boiled and then often fried. They take about 2-3 minutes to cook and are perfect with stews or pesto.
Making pasta at home is a fun and rewarding activity that allows you to create your own unique dishes using fresh ingredients. One easy way to make homemade pasta is to mix flour and eggs to form a dough, then roll it out and cut it into the desired shape.
To take homemade pasta to the next level, you can experiment with different flavors and ingredients. For example, you can add spinach or tomato puree to the batter to create a colorful and flavorful paste, or add herbs and spices for a more complex flavor.
Recipe for spaghetti with vongole (spaghetti with clams) from the popular Italian blogger Giallo Zafferano
Ingredients
- 400 g spaghetti;
- 1 kg of shellfish;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 1/2 red chili pepper;
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil;
- 1/2 cup dry white wine;
- parsley;
- salt.
Cooking method
- First, rinse the clams under running water and place them in a bowl of salted water for 1 hour to free them from sand and grains.
- Cook the spaghetti in a pan of salted boiling water until done.
- In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and chilli for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add the clams to the pan and add the white wine. Cover the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the clams open.
- Remove the pan from the heat and discard any clams that have not opened.
- Drain the spaghetti and add it to the pan with the clams. Stir everything together until the spaghetti is coated with sauce. Serve the dish hot, sprinkling parsley on top.
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