Pasta Month

So for the whole of April I have declared pasta month. I will show how easy it is to make at home, give some delicious recipes and end with the unveiling of my Finnish inspired pasta dish.

A Venetian Pasta Shop.
source: Wikipedia 

Pasta originates in Italy and is a staple in the Italian diet. Traditionally it is just durum wheat flour mixed with water and then formed into the desired shape. Durum wheat is a hard wheat (Durum is latin for hard) and high in gluten. It is milled into semolina, a coarser type of flour. Today fresh eggs are the main liquid component and other flours can be used.

There is 310 specific forms of pasta known by over 1300 names. These names are usually regional. I am focusing on Italian style pasta as pasta is made throughout the world in some form or other. A similar version to Tagliatelle is made in many European countries and filled pastas similar to Tortellini are popular in Eastern Europe.

Fresh pasta drying out

A popular myth is that 14th century Venetian explorer, Marco Polo, brought pasta into Italy from China. However, the first known reference to Italy based pasta can be traced to Sicily in 1154, from a geographical text by Muhammad al-Idrisi for the Norman King of Sicily, Roger II. In his text, Muhammad describes how itriyya was manufactured in Sicily and exported throughout the known world.

Pasta has become such a popular product that it is seen throughout the world. Finns love to use macaroni for simple meat based dishes like Macaroni Casserole. Britain loves its Lasagne and often a Pub wouldn't be seen without this on its menu. It is a great, easy fast food with so many variations that no one can every become bored of it.

Pasta dishes are generally simple in execution. There is a general rule in choosing your pasta dish, simple sauces like pesto, butter etc. are great for long, thin pastas while heavier sauces like tomato are ideal for thicker strands of pasta.Thicker, chunkier sauces are better for pastas with holes, tubes or twists as it clings into the shape. Another important rule is not to be too excessive with the sauce as you need to taste the pasta.