italian dried pasta

Dried pasta (pasta secca) is the most-eaten pasta in Italy and all over the world. Light and comfortable to digest, it is easier to handle than fresh pasta and can be stored for longer, so you can keep a wide selection of shapes in the pantry tosuit different moods and sauces.

Don’t scrimp when it comes to buying dried pasta. go for quality rather than price, and be sure the pasta is made with proper durum wheat (which allows the pasta to be cooked al dente).

With cheaper pasta, the quality will likely be compromised by the use of inferior wheat and to rapid drying process Your safest option is to buy Italian. the south of italy is where the drum wheat grown and where, over centruries, the art of slow-drying has been perfected.

There is nothing more horrible than overcooked pasta – mushy pasta can spoil the best souces. I beg you to cook dried pasta only until it is al dente , which means «to the tooth» or giving a slight resistance to the bite.

I surgest  boiling the pasta for one or two minute less than the time recommended on the packet, but you should learn your own preffered al dente point by pulling out strands of pasta during the last three or four minutes of the cooking and biting on them to test their readiness.

Always reserve a little of the cooking water before you drain the pasta. You can use it to loosen the souce if it has become too thick and its strarch content will also help the souce cling to the pasta.

Of cource when it comes to combining dried pasta with sauces, the posibilities are almost ifinite, but to get you started here are some of the most populare shapes of dried pasta and their  «perfect match» sauces:

• Ribbon pasta such as spagetti, vermicelli, linguine and bavette goes with light  tomato souces, seafood, butter and oil based souces, pesto and light cream souces.
• Shaped pasta , such as cavatelli, conchiglie, farfalle, fusilli, gemmelli, lumache, and orecchiette, goes well with tomato sauces, meat sauces pesto, chunky sauces and cheese sauces.
• tublar pasta such as rigatoni, tortiglioni, ziti, pacchieri, penne, manicotti, macchereroni and garganelli, goes with thick tomato salsas rich ragus and thick dream sauces

As a footnote, i would surgest that you never serve dried cappelli d’angelo (angel hair) with a souce that strands are much too thin to hold a sauce and are better eaten in a broth.