Tips and Tricks from the Professionals
Italian
Making a pound of this pretty pasta can take an entire day. Sardinian Lorighittas are large, braided loops of semolina-based dough, often served with tomato sauces, pesto, or seafood. The pasta originates from Morgongiori, a small mountain town with a population of just 800 residents, surrounded by jagged cliffs on the Italian island. Lorighittas noodles must be …
You’ve heard about how you need to add sugar to tame the acidity of your pasta sauce? Use baking soda to tame the acidity and sugar to balance acidity while maintaining it.
Pasta is the universal ingredient, playing the starring role just as perfectly in a quick bowl of bachelor chow as it does in a time-intensive gourmet recipe. Regardless of how you like to serve it, there’s really just one way to boil it — and that’s without any oil. Slip Slidin’ Away When most people …
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Add Oil to Your Pasta Water Read More »
Both dried and fresh pasta come in a number of shapes and varieties, with 310 specific forms known variably by over 1300 names having been documented.[6] In Italy the names of specific pasta shapes or types often vary with locale. For example, the form cavatelli is known by 28 different names depending on region and …
youtube.com In an interview with the Food Network, Nancy Silverton of Osteria Mozza said, “Invest in a bottle of high-quality olive oil. Just a small drizzle can really bring out the flavor of pizza, mozzarella, pasta, fish, and meat.”
youtube.com Chef Alex Pilas of Eataly explains that heating pasta in its sauce during the last few minutes of cooking gives the noodles an opportunity to absorb even more flavor “so the sauce and the pasta become one.” See the full video here.
Away from its famed cerulean seas, Sardinia’s craggy interior is a twisting maze of deep chasms and impenetrable massifs that shelter some of Europe’s most ancient traditions. Residents here still speak Sardo, the closest living form of Latin. Grandmothers gaze warily at outsiders from under embroidered veils. And, in a modest apartment in the town …
While you might have seen carbonara in Italian restaurants, the real deal is nothing like the one you get there. In a pan render some bacon (you can also use pancetta or guanciale) until very crispy at low heat. Strain the bacon fat off and reserve. Cook your spaghetti as usual but stop short of …
“Learn how and when to use salt. When a box of pasta tells you to put one teaspoon of salt in for a gallon of water, no! It has to be salted like the ocean, because when you drain it, you want the salt to adhere to the pasta. I use a quarter to a …
Wet or dry dough If your dough is too dry, don’t add another egg, instead add a little water to help bring it together. Add a little flour to dough that is too wet. Sticky dough If the dough sticks to the pasta machine and tears, it needs more flour. Turn the handle of the …
The longer and finer the pasta, the lighter the sauce should be. The thicker the sauce, the shorter the pasta – a chunky sauce needs a short chunky pasta.
Happily, if heretically, there’s a less labour-intensive way to get the job done. It’s a method I was taught by Andrew Carmellini, a wonderful New York chef and restaurateur with an Italian background.
What’s happening inside your pizza as it cooks? Food scientists have gone to surprising lengths to find out, says Veronique Greenwood. And in the video above, BBC Future peers inside a restaurant oven to show why not all mozzarella cheese is the same. When you bake a batch of brownies from a box or pop …
A tip to the perfect pasta is cooking it two minutes less than the packet calls for. Then, remove the pasta using a pair of tongs and add to your sauce along with a ladle of pasta water. “Toss well so the starch from the pasta thickens the sauce. Check the seasoning and serve nice …
Dried pasta is shaped in a variety of ways to fit various types of sauces. Thin and long pasta suits oily, more liquid sauces, and more complicated shapes are better for thicker, chunkier sauces. Julia
Worldwide, pasta has become synonymous with Italian cuisine. Italian immigrants themselves brought pasta everywhere they went. While it is true that the most famous varieties and recipes of cooking pasta really do come from Italy, surprisingly, the actual origin of pasta lies elsewhere! So how did pasta make its way to Italy? One of the …
Pizza has become such a staple of the modern diet that certain people, often found in Computer Science labs at 2 a.m. the world over, practically consider it one of the basic food groups. For such a popular food, its origins are difficult to pinpoint, as it all depends on your definition of what pizza …
After you drain pasta, while it’s still hot, grate some fresh Parmesan on top before tossing it with your sauce. This way, the sauce has something to stick to. Giada De Laurentiis
If you want a soft, slippery mouth-feel use pasta all’uovo (fresh egg pasta). It’s great for simple dishes such as tagliatelle with butter and parmesan. Dried pastas are good for soups or when paired with robust sauces with ingredients like capers and anchovies. Dried pasta takes longer than fresh pasta to cook. When you strain …