How to prepare Italian pasta, instructions for inexperienced
by Paolo Zaffi I4EWH - N8FK
Prepare the pasta is easy, here are some simple instructions.
Note: There are two main types of pasta: with or without eggs. This chapter is dedicated to the second type, it is simpler but requires two types of flour: durum wheat semolina and wheat flour.
For three hungry people (or 4 people on a diet) we can start preparing by putting on a clean, flat surface 380 grams of durum wheat semolina. Must kneading flour adding about a glass of water, at the end of processing we will have obtained a ball that does not have to be sticky, if needed add a little bit of flour.
From now on we will use the wheat flour. Put the ball on a floured wooden board and cover it with a little flour and a sheet of plastic for storing food, this helps to keep it from drying out. Let it rest for half an hour, in the meantime you can start preparing the sauce.
We put in a large frying pan 250 grams (300 grams also are fine) of tomato sauce and a quarter cup of olive oil. Add salt and a clove of garlic if you like (not all like garlic). I also add a little hot pepper, and two or three basil leaves cut into thin strips with scissors at the end of cooking. Now we can lower the flame and work with pasta. The sauce should be cooked for about twenty minutes, then we can put out the fire.
With the ball of pasta prepare a kind of sausage that need to divide into segments about an inch long. Each of these must become thick two or three millimeters.
We begin with a well sharpened knife to divide the pasta into strips half an inch wide, it should be done by spreading flour over and under the dough to keep it from sticking to wood or knife.
The strips should be sprinkled with flour and lay in a dish or two, and you have to mix them occasionally to prevent them from tackiness.
Put on the fire a saucepan with salted water and when the water boils, put the pasta slowly into the water. The pasta tends to sink, so we have to mix immediately to avoid sticking the pasta on the bottom.
After a few minutes the dough will begin to float, this is the time to pick it up slowly with a colander and put it in the pan with the sauce. We must rekindle the fire under this pan and stir gently for about five minutes, during this time the pasta absorbs the sauce and swells slightly. We say that the dough falls in love with the sauce.
This is the final result.
We can add grated cheese, usually Parmesan, but be careful, most of the italian cheese sold in the United States is produced in Argentina. Read the label carefully and hope!
Choice of wines: during the winter I prefer a sparkling red wine like Lambrusco served at room temperature. In the summer a light white wine served cold or a beer is preferred.
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