From Italy, the Truth About Pasta; The Italians know that less is more: a call for a return to basics - most popular italian dishes in restaurants

Nancy Harmon Jenkin Sepp
1997 Americans are Bush in a strict sense.
When it comes to pasta, the per capita consumption is about 26 pounds per year.
Needless to say, Italians are world champions, and every man, woman and child in the country has an average of 60 pounds pasta per year.
The workload for a month is 5 pounds.
Or, according to my informal estimate, at least one large well
There are six days of pasta in seven days a week.
Most of the pasta comes from the box.
There is an ongoing concept in the American kitchen that pasta is to be made well and must be made fresh by hand, preferably by an older grandmother with rolling staff.
The second best is pasta, which is started from a machine that collects dust from the American kitchen, for good reason: except for skilled hands, the pasta that comes out of it is rarely delicious.
Finally, there's a preparation-
Fresh pasta from American stores-
An over-processed extruded paste that often turns into a sticky substance in cooking water.
Only after all this will the pasta be placed in the box.
Not here in Italy.
Apart from some parts of the North, Italians simply don't like the Italian face murals.
Don't get me wrong.
It is glorious to make beautiful pasta murals, but for daily diet, whether in high school
For the price of a Milan restaurant or a humble Tuscan farmhouse, the Italian chef relies on the contents of the box.
They also do not apologize for this.
This is not just because pasta secca represents a cheap, fast, and easy way to match delicious dishes.
Italian chefs, both professional and family chefs, are fully convinced that the dry side of business is a high
Good quality products, every bit like--
Even--pasta fresca.
Italy's most popular dry pasta is Barilla, which has recently become more and more common in the United States.
Like all the dried pasta, it is made of hard and hard grain noodles under strict government control --
Wheat flour is called semola di grano duro in Italian and semolina in English. (Durum-
Wheat flour has a softer bread flour with a higher protein content, which can withstand the harsh test of pasta production and cooking. bread flour is used to make most pasta murals.
However, more picky chefs and pasta lovers in Italy are abandoning this industrial production and looking for some producers of handmade pasta --fashioned way.
There are two important differences in this process: the pasta is extruded through a bronze mold instead of an industrial Teflon, which gives it a rough one
The sauce sticks to the top rather than the sliding textured surface, and the pasta dries slowly at low temperatures so that it retains the nut flavor and aroma of more durum wheat.
Prejudice against fresh food is just one of the misperceptions that we Americans have suffered from in Italy.
In fact, whenever I return to the United States after a few months in Italy, I am impressed by the poor cooking of this simple dish and the frequency of very poor cooking.
The same is true in restaurants (
Italian restaurants in the United States)
Like a family kitchen.
My own real moment happened a few years ago at a bragging restaurant in Aspen, Colorado.
As I faced a huge oval plate, smooth, sticky, overcooked screws shyly peeping from a small lake of highly seasoned, creamy --Thick sauce.
Just a year back from Italy, I backed down.
I realized that the "more always better" creed operating on so many American tables is annoying for the appreciation of Italian cuisine.
According to business trend analysts and market researchers at Commack in New York, Americans eat pasta at a relatively low of 26 pounds a year. Y.
What's wrong with the United States?
Ask Fred Plotkin, who wrote the highly regarded "authentic pasta Book "(
Simon & Schuster, 1995)
Who else has another book, the recipe for Heaven (Little, Brown)
Expired on October.
He did not hesitate to find the problem.
"I always notice three huge ones," Mr. Plotkin said.
"We overcooked the pasta in large portions and then seasoned it. ''Why?
"We are still plagued by the heritage of immigrant Italians who try to avoid hunger by eating a lot of pasta," he said . "
Plotkin, a part of a year of living in the seaside town of Camogli in Liguria.
"You know, they don't do that anymore in southern Italy.
They don't need it.
"In Italy, a simple and easy way is the key to eating pasta.
"I really think it's time to eat some pasta . "Plotkin said.
We Americans need to get back to the basics. 2-3's of pasta.
Just take a box of pasta, some canned tomatoes and some quality extra virgin olive oil and you will make a much better dish than the kind of complex dish we desire.
Advertisementhe thinks there is a tension that reminds him of the way Americans treat sex: "Is this good for you ? "?
Am I doing the right thing?
According to every Italian I know, overcooking is the most common failure in Americans.
However, we all know what pasta means or we think we do.
This is pasta, tender through and through, but still maintains a pleasant, slightly chewy texture.
Carlo Latini, who produces pasta at a small company in the Marche area of the Adriatic Seafashioned, low-
The temperature, from the manual method of planting wheat to his own specifications, is very precise to it: when you cut into a string of cooked spaghetti, except for the white ghost, it will look familiar to a very small place. quite-
Rawness in the center of strand. Mr.
Latini called it the soul of the pasta.
The only way to know when pasta will be done is to test. And test again.
At the moment the pasta is ready, it has to be drained, cooked and supplied.
So, as soon as the water is boiled, it is important to prepare the colander, sauce and hot dishes.
In al dente, good pasta chefs learn to trust their intuition.
Don't quit when the pasta is al dente.
Throw it in the colander right away and remember that the waste heat will cook it a little more.
In fact, I was persuaded that one of the more common but related errors was that there was too little water used, and that error resulted in stewed pasta instead of cooked pasta-
The stewed pasta is always overcooked with paste. A one-
A box of pasta, or six portions enough, must be cooked in at least five quarts of strongly boiling salt water, and more may be better.
This is not earth-
However, the suggestion that seems to be almost unconvincing is shocking news.
We Americans insist on putting a pound of pasta in two. and-a-half-
Hopefully no one noticed the quart pot.
But if you don't cheat and have plenty of water, you can bring it to a boil, add two tablespoons of salt, then add the pasta and stir it vigorously and dip all the pasta in the water as soon as possible, this--
Because that's enough. -
It will boil soon.
When the pasta is ready-
About five to six minutes later.
More pasta, less pasta or Angel noodleshair pasta)--
Take it out and put it in a large colander, but not too thorough, as a little water stuck to the filament helps keep the pasta moist.
Turn it into a large bowl, heated with a few scoops of boiling pasta water before.
Then serve immediately.
Sauce is another source of serious misconceptions.
As simple as chopped garlic and dry red pepper stewed in olive oil;
Actually, I have nothing to know.
But if it's complicated, it's still neat in a sense.
For example, a variety of meats that can be stewed with tomatoes and aromatic compounds for hours can be used to make ragu in the South.
However, the meat will be removed and eaten separately as a second dish, while the meat-
Pasta is seasoned with a sauce.
The point of this dish is not the sauce, but the pasta.
Like the butter on the bread, the sauce is just a counterpoint.
There should be enough sauce to apply gently to every string of pasta, and no more ---
There is no sauce puddle condensed at the bottom of the dish, and there is no oil-like emulsion on the pasta bottle stopper.
In Italian, the word sauce "salsa" is rarely used with pasta.
Instead, the Italians are talking about the condiment "condition" of the decorative dishes ".
Pasta sauce, as a condiment, is served about once a quartercup a serving.
A common restaurant trick is to cook pasta until it is drained within a minute or two after it is made and put it into the chili sauce, then let it finish cooking in the sauce on the stove.
This is the pasta of Padra in Italy.
Its purpose is to let the pasta absorb the taste of the sauce. Mr.
Latini's wife, Carla, is the marketing director of the family company. it's no surprise that she is still
Pasta chefs say the technology brings a full combination between pasta and its conditions. At the beach-
We had delicious Latini pasta together and she pointed out that the pasta had been cooked with very light tomato sauce.
At the last minute, steamed shrimp, mussels and clams in the shell were stirred in.
Concise and perfect. Cheese?
If you like, but the Italians use a lot less cheese than many of us think.
For most dishes, it is enough to have a very small teaspoon of food, and of course, it is freshly ground, either by bashigiano Reggiano or by Grana
Cheese with goat milk).
Of course, not all pasta can benefit from the addition of cheese.
The general view is that there is no need to add cheese to dishes with garlic flavor.
But the United States bans cheese in seafood. -
The last misconception-
Often despised in Italy.
The Italian American is immersed in the beautiful pasta of the first course in Italy, and may marvel at the Magic brought by the Italian chef.
This is not true magic, though.
It's a simple and balanced art, and it's recognized that, like most things in the kitchen, it's rarely better than more.
The key to good pasta is that most pasta sold in the US market is at least enough.
The best thing, however, comes from a handful of small families --
Produce pasta companies using traditional hand methods.
At least four of these products exported to the United States are:
Benidato carvaleri in The Apria region;
Martelli from Tuscany and Latini from the Marche region.
These companies make pasta by mixing the dough at low temperatures and then squeezing the dough through a bronze mold.
The mold gives a slight roughness to the surface of the pasta, which makes the combination with the sauce more perfect, and the sauce sticks together instead of slipping.
The most important factor in advertising delicious pasta is drying.
Traditionally, pasta is dried for a long time at a low temperature of about 104 degrees. -
The spaghetti is only 30 hours and the more complex shape is longer.
At temperatures of 140 to 194 degrees or even higher, industrial pasta may dry quickly. Low-
The temperature drying maintains the aroma and flavor of wheat, as well as some nutritional values including wheat protein.
Carlo Latini said that at a temperature of 140 degrees, the starch molecules in wheat were opened, and the Melad reaction began, which was the chemical term for toast.
The deep yellow color produced by this toast in the traditional made pasta is an easy way to distinguish this product from the traditional made pasta, which has a light cream tone.
Another way is the price: imported handmade pasta is much higher than the price of traditional brands, about $3. 50 to $5. 99 a pound.
The traditional pasta in Manhattan has the following features --
Food stores that also accept mail orders: Balducci's, 424 Americas Avenue (Ninth Street), (800)225-3822;
Dean & De Luca, 560 Broadway (Prince Street), (212)226-6800;
Grace market, 1237 Third Avenue (71st Street), (212)737-0600;
Tordaro brothers Hotel, 555 Second Avenue (31st Street), (212)679-
7766 Broadway and 2245 Zabar's (80th Street), (212)787-
2000 or outside Manhattan (800)697-6301).
Other mail order sources include Vivande Porta Via, 2125 Fillmore Street, San Francisco (415)346-
Mail order for 4430 and Zingerman, 422 Ann Arbor Detroit Street, Michigan. , (313)769-1625. Williams-
Benidato cabalari pasta is in Sonoma's shop, but it is not mail order.
Nancy Harmon JENKINSTRENETTE, fagiolini e roasted potato base (
Pasta, green beans and potatoes (with garlic sauce)
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The most elegant pasta invented by Italian chefs is very simple to make, especially now, garlic sauce is made with a food processor instead of mortar and stle.
Advertise 2 cups of tender little basil leaves 1/4 cups of loose nuts1 teaspoon salt2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with a flat blade with a 1/2 cup knife
Freshly squeezed olive oil or more, sample 1/2 cups of freshly ground Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or more, sample 1/2 lbs of small potatoes, peeled and sliced
Inch thick 1/4 pound tender green beans, cut into 1-
1 pound of pasta in inches or other long thin pasta. 1.
Garlic Sauce: add basil, pine kernel, salt and garlic to the food processor bowl.
Pulse until the mixture gets rough and rough.
With the operation of the motor, oil is added to the slow, stable water flow. Add cheese;
The process of mixing enough.
Add some oil if the sauce is too dry. Taste;
Add more cheese or salt if needed. 2.
Boil for 6 quarts of dehydration.
Add at least 2 tablespoons of salt and potato chips.
Cook for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes start to soften but not cooked.
Add green beans and cook for another 5 minutes. 3.
Add pasta and stir.
Start testing pasta in 5 minutes.
When the potatoes and beans soften, put the pasta and vegetables in the warm-up bowl immediately.
Add garlic and mix well.
Serve immediately.
Output: 8 copies.
General nutritional analysis of each food: 405 calories, 20 grams of fat, 4 mg of cholesterol, 310 mg of sodium (before salting)
11 grams of protein, 50 grams of carbohydrates.
Ortolano (
Penne with garden vegetables)
Total time: you can replace the vegetables in this recipe with 30 minutes of seasonal vegetables.
Lightly steamed green beans, broccoli or cauliflower are broken into small pieces, which works well instead of zucchini;
Spinach or other vegetables can replace eggplant.
Advertising 1 medium sweet pepper, red or yellow 1 small eggplant 1 clove garlic, plus 1/2 cups
Freshly squeezed olive oil 2 small or 1 medium zucchini3 tbsp chopped fresh green herbs as flat
A combination of leaf parsley, basil, leeks or sea salt to taste 1 pound penne, or other short pasta3/4 to 1 cup of tomato sauce (
Like the recipe above, no basil added and no good
Canned tomato sauce). 1.
Core and seed pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips.
Cut the eggplant into 1/2-Inches or smaller. 2.
Stir-fry garlic and pepper in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan
Low heat until very soft.
Take it out and put it in a medium bowl.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high.
Quickly add eggplant and brown, remove it on the brown cube, and add it to the pepper. 3.
When the vegetables are cooked, cut the zucchini in half vertically and then cut into about 1/2-inch thick.
Add the zucchini slices to the pan, quickly turn brown on both sides, and add to the eggplant and pepper. 4.
Remove the pan from the fire and immediately Stir the chopped herbs into hot oil.
Water the vegetables and keep them warm. 5.
Boil water from 5 to 6 quarts.
Add at least 2 tablespoons of salt and then pasta. 6.
When cooking pasta, heat the tomato sauce in a separate pan. Advertisement7.
Start testing pasta in 6 minutes.
After the pasta is ready, drain it and put it in the warm-up bowl immediately.
Mix quickly with hot tomato sauce. (
Or drain the pasta when it's not done well and cook it in sauce. )
When the sauce is fully mixed, add the fried vegetables and mix them gently.
Serve immediately.
Output: 6 copies.
General nutritional analysis of each food: 480 calories, 20 grams of fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 205 mg of sodium (before salting)
11 grams of protein, 65 grams of carbohydrates.
E basilico (wild pork mushrooms and delicacies (
Appetizing pasta with tomatoes and basil)
Total time: 30 minutes simple tomato sauce, made of fresh or canned tomatoes, is the basis for a lot of dishes, but it is also very good in itself.
This recipe has twice the amount of sauce needed for this dish.
The rest can be refrigerated or frozen.
Use fresh tomatoes but must be ripe, sweet and delicious;
About 2 pounds people will do so.
Before adding them to the pan, Peel, sow and chop them up.
A small amount of sugar helps to increase the natural sweetness.
Fresh tomatoes are cooked for about 10 minutes than cans.
1 yellow onion, 1 garlic, 1/4 cups
Parsley leaves, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 28-
An ounce can be used with juicesSalt whole tomatoes to taste 1 pound of fresh basil leaves with a sliding cup of fusilli1/4-1/2optional). 1.
In a medium heavy pan
Stir-fry the onion, garlic and parsley gently with olive oil.
When onions and garlic soften but do not start to turn yellow, add tomatoes with liquid and break them with wooden spoons. 2.
Raise the heat to medium-high.
Cook quickly and stir frequently until the tomato liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens for about 20 minutes.
Place the sauce into a food processing plant if needed, or process it with a food processor or an immersion mixer.
3 cups of sauce, twice as necessary;
Half in the fridge or freezer.
Return the remaining sauce to low heat and keep it warm. 3.
Boil water from 5 to 6 quarts quickly.
Add at least 2 tablespoons of salt and then pasta. 4.
Start testing pasta in 5 to 6 minutes.
After the pasta is ready, drain it and put it in the warm-up bowl immediately.
Add basil to the hot tomato sauce. Advertisement5.
Three down-
Sauce on the pasta.
Stir well and then add the remaining sauce and ground cheese. (
Or when the pasta is not doing well, finish cooking with tomato sauce and add grated cheese to it).
Serve immediately.
Output: 6 copies.
General nutritional analysis of each food: 395 calories, 11 grams of fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 225 mg of sodium (before salting)
11 grams of protein, 65 grams of carbohydrates. Spaghetti
Oreo peperoxino (
Pasta with garlic, oil and red pepper)
Total time: 15 minutes. This is a simple and quick dish that Italians often eat together after a meal.
Party at night, or when the spirit is weak and needs to be injected with food.
Other types of long, thin pasta, such as vermicelli, pasta, or pasta, may be replaced.
If anchovies are omitted, adjust the salt in the sauce.
4 to 6 full garlic cloves 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil Sea salt taste 1 pound pasta 3 to 4 anchovies fillet chopped (optional)
1 small dry red pepper, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more, sample 1/2 cups of chopped flat pepperleaf parsley. 1.
Boil water from 5 to 6 quarts. 2.
Peel garlic cloves, remove the green buds in the middle when necessary, and chop them up.
In a large enough pot, put all the drained pasta together and cook garlic very gently with oil at medium temperatureslow heat.
Cook until the garlic softens and starts to turn yellow. Do not brown. 3.
Add at least 2 tablespoons of salt in the boiling water.
Stir with pasta. 4.
If you use anchovies, you can add oil and garlic.
Simple Cooking, grind the anchovies into oil with a fork.
Add pepper and half parsley and carefully add a bag of pasta to boil water.
At the end of the pasta cooking, let the sim, a little less. 5.
After cooking for 4 minutes, the pasta was tested.
When it's still a bit chewy in the center, drain and add in the sauce.
Slightly heated, mix the pasta with the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes or until the pasta tastes.
Place the pasta in a preheated bowl, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Advertising volume: 6 copies.
Approximate nutritional analysis of each food: 445 calories, 20 grams of fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 9 mg of sodium (before salting)
10 grams of protein, 60 grams of carbohydrates.
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A version of this article was printed on the national F00001 page on September 17, 1997, with the title: Truth from Italy, Italy;
Italians know that less is more: calling for a return to basic life.