Cook pasta like an Italian!

I have spent a lot of time in Italy since 2009 and every time I return home, I think the same thing - “we have so many rules in Australia”. Italy doesn’t have a lot of rules and many of those are broken, BUT when it comes to food there are rules. Really important rules.

In the motherland of pasta, there are ‘pasta rules’ that will help you avoid being ignorant, insulting or totally oblivious to having made a grosso errore - big mistake.

This is a land with over 350 types of pasta with a mind boggling variety of shapes and complimentary sauces to choose from. Each type of pasta is designed to best express the flavours and peculiarities of a particular sauce.

Many types of pasta corta (short pasta), including fusilli (corkscrew shaped pasta), rigatoni (hollow cylindrical pasta) and maccheroni are generally served with fairly dense sauces, as the shape is better to scoop up all the goodness of the sauce.

On the other hand, pasta lunga (long pasta) like spaghetti, vermicelli (slightly thicker than spaghetti) and linguine are generally served with lighter sauces, including tomato and pesto sauces, as the swirling motion traps the sauce between the noodles.

With a daunting selection of pasta Italians do have some favourites. According to Unione Italiana Food, spaghetti is number one as the best loved Italian pasta type, with penne rigate and fusilli claiming the second and third spots respectively.

Ten golden rules for cooking pasta like an Italian

Do not upset an Italian by disagreeing with the tried and trusted Italian ways of cooking pasta. Many foreigners don’t even realise their technique is unorthodox.

Food writer and artisan pasta writer, Silvana Lanzetta, shares her golden rules for perfect pasta to ensure it is cooked to al dente perfection.

• Never add oil to your water. The oil separates and floats on top of the water and won’t keep your pasta from sticking together. Also, when you drain the pasta, the oil will prevent the sauce from sticking to it. Use a lot of water, one litre for every 100 grams of dry pasta.

• Bring the water to the boil. If you want al dente, then boiling the water is essential, as the pasta has to be in contact with the water as little as possible.

• Add the salt once the water is boiling. If you add salt to cold water, it will delay the time it takes for the water to reach boiling point.

• Never simmer. Keep the temperature high on boiling. It will cook the pasta quicker and it’s the only way to achieve pasta al dente. If you simmer, you’ll get mushy pasta.

• Never break spaghetti or any long pasta. Length is important. When you wind the spaghetti around the fork, it will help you catch the sauce more efficiently.

• The only way to check is to bite. The pasta should be soft enough to bite without feeling a crunch, but still quite hard. If you want the pasta al dente, look at the section that you bit. In the middle, you should be able to see a thin segment that is paler than the rest. That is called the punto verde (green point) in Italian and indicates that the pasta is al dente.

• Don’t rinse. Before you drain the pasta, you might want to reserve some of the cooking water in case your sauce is too dense.

• Have your large pot of sauce ready. Put the pasta into your cooked sauce and saute for a couple of minutes.

• Serve immediately. Pasta is best served hot and freshly cooked.

• Make a new dish out of leftovers. Don’t reheat leftover pasta in the microwave or pan because it will taste awful. Instead, make another dish out of it. In Italy, leftover pasta is usually baked with other ingredients, such as cured meat, mozzarella, boiled eggs and vegetables to make what is called a pasticcio (literally meaning ‘a mess’).

Follow these rules and you will make Italians proud.

Five misconceptions

Spaghetti Bolognese

I’m sorry, this dish doesn’t actually exist in Italy. The same goes for fettucine alfredo, marinara sauce and - even garlic bread. The closest thing Italians have to spaghetti bolognese is the ragu alla bolognese loved in the region of Emilia Romagna. It is a sauce of minced beef and pork with carrots, onion and celery in tomato sugo and is not usually served with spaghetti, but tagliatelle or pappardelle.

Spaghetti Carbonara. Never with cream

Traditional Roman Carbonara is made with just four basic ingredients: guanciale (cured pork jowl), eggs, pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. No cream. Ever. The raw egg and cheese mixture gives the dish its creamy texture.

Cheese please

Requesting parmesan (parmigiano) for pasta is a sin. If not offered, don’t ask. Seriously, if cheese isn’t brought to the table, your pasta is not meant to have cheese. For pasta with fish, seafood or truffles, it’s an unimaginable culinary tragedy.

Spaghetti and meatballs isn’t a thing

Of course Italians eat meatballs, but they are part of secondi, the second course, and not served with pasta. Meatballs in Italy are called polpette and are served with a delicious sauce.

Never cut your pasta with a knife. Ever.

Also, Italians never eat pasta with a spoon and fork, just a fork.

With twenty regions in Italy and more provinces within those regions than you can imagine, a gastronomic map of Italy is an extraordinary selection of culinary specialties and ingredients. Most regions proudly produce their own style of pasta and accompanying sauce. Eat in a traditional trattoria, select the region’s specialty and you will be in pasta heaven.

My one big rule!

Avoid eating in places advertising tourist menus and menus with pictures. Truly authentic places do not need to show pictures on their menus.

Buon appetito!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb