World Pasta Day

October 25th is World Pasta Day.

Pasta is a food commonly associated with Italian cuisine but has definitely spread to other countries. It is made from an unleavened dough that is mixed with water or eggs, that is then formed into sheets or other shapes. It is in the other shapes that pasta comes into its own, for there are over 310 specific forms called by over 1,300 names. Pasta is often served with a sauce, and this sauce may be an important part of the dish. Many types of pasta are stuffed with a wide range of foods; vegetables, meat and cheese being common. Pasta normally comes in two primary varieties, dry and fresh. Dry pasta is a useful staple food as it keeps a long time.

Image: David Adam Kess / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

National Pasta Month

David Adam Kess [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

October is National Pasta Month in the United States.

Pasta is a dish intimately associated with Italy and is made from an unleavened dough of durum wheat flour that is mixed with water or eggs. This is then formed into sheets or shapes, and other elements may be substituted for the wheat flour for such as different tastes, textures and gluten-free recipes.

Pasta comes in two primary types, dried and fresh. Dried pasta is, naturally, dried - spaghetti is one that many will be familiar with - whilst fresh pasta is not, being still moist. Dried pasta will keep in a cupboard for a substantial amount of time whilst fresh pasta needs refrigerating and eating quickly, or alternatively freezing. Pasta can be served with causes in different dishes, stuffed with different foods or served in such as lasagne, where the pasta is in layers. It can even be added to soup dishes. Many pasta dishes also incorporate cheese in them and some are baked in an oven.

Pasta is a versatile food, with a huge range of types and many different things that can be done with it. One thing that is usually not done is serving pasta plain, because without some other ingredients, it makes a rather boring dish.

National Linguine Day

September 15th is National Linguine Day in the United States.

Linguine means "little tongues" in Italian, and this is a type of pasta that originated in the region of Genoa in Italy,

Pasta is a traditional Italian dish made from unleavened dough. Although the precise ingredients can vary, it is commonly made from flour and water.

Linguine is made from white flour or whole wheat and is a type of long, thin pasta about 4mm wide with an elliptical cross section.

This pasta is traditionally used in seafood and pesto dishes; pesto is a sauce made from garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, basil and Parmigian Reggiano cheese.

Like most pastas, this can be made at home if desired, but it is usally bought pre-made, either fresh or dried. Fresh pasta is more likely to be made locally, whilst dried is almost certainly machine made.

National Lasagna Day

In the United States, July 29th is National Lasgana Day.

Lasagne (which is the plural form of lasagna) are wide, flat sheets of pasta, and the name is also used to refer to the dish that is made with them.

It is not known how old the dish is, as it could date back to Roman times, or even further back to Ancient Greece, as there are similar names in both languages. There is even a 14th century English dish that is similar to lasagna.

Modern lasagna did not come about until tomatoes were brought back from the Americas, as they are an integral part in most lasagna recipes. The first modern recipe is credited with being created and published in Bologna, Italy.

The dish is made from sheets of lasagne which are then interleaved with layers of sauce. The traditional lasagna dish is made from ragù, bechamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but there are many variants,. with other cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella being used, and various different meats and vegetables being added. Flavourings such as wine, onion, garlic and oregano are also common ingredients, and the dish is oven baked to cook it.

Lasagna is a versatile and filling dish, with it being possible to make a recipe to appeal to most people's tastes. It is also the favourite food of the cartoon cat Garfield.

National Ravioli Day

National Ravioli Day is on March 20th in the United States.

Ravioli is another traditional Italian pasta dish, and one that is traditionally made at home, although most (certainly, outside of Italy or not of Italian origin) would probably purchase it pre-made. This one is considered to be a type of dumpling.

Ravioli is a filled pasta. The filling, of which there can be many different types, is placed in the centre of a small square of pasta. Another square of the same size is paced on top and the edges crimped together. Other shapes are also used, such as circles, and one rectangular piece of pasta may be used, with the filling placed at one end and the pasta folded over.

Ravioli may be served in a broth, but is also commonly served in sauces. Heinz make a popular tinned ravioli that comes in a tomato sauce.

National Tortellini Day

National Tortellini Day is on February 13th in the United States.

Another national day celebrating another type of pasta. This dish, like most pasta dishes, comes from Italy, believed to be the old region of Emilia in northern Italy, which is part of today's Emilia-Romagna.

Rather than a flat or noodle pasta of some type, tortellini are instead ring-shaped stuffed pasta. A similar type of pasta is tortelloni, which is identical but for size.

The pasta can be stuffed with many things. Meat is popular, as is cheese, but there are also vegetarian variants of it. Really, there is no limit to what you can use to stuff the pasta with, as long as it will cook that way. Tortellini is often served in a broth, typically beef or chicken, rather than being served with a pasta sauce, but there's no reason why a sauce couldn't be used instead.

National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

National Fettuccine Alfredo Day is on February 7th in the United States.

Fettuccine is a type of pasta whose name means little ribbons, for that's what it is - flat ribbons of pasta.

Fettuccine Alfredo is a dish based around this pasta. Fettuccine Alfredo is really a very simple dish to make. The pasta is cooked and then tossed with Parmesan (also known as Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and butter. The cheese is melted and and emulsified by the pasta.

This dish is named after, and by, Alfredo di Lelio in the early 20th century, although versions of the dish date back to the 15th century.

There are variations on this simple dish, especially in America. Ingredients may be substituted and the cheese may be thickened. Other ingredients may be added, to make it more of a single dish, rather than a side, such as chicken, shrimp and broccoli. Cream and egg can be added to make it richer.

National Spaghetti Day

January 4th is National Spaghetti Day in the United States.

Spaghetti is a type of pasta that is believed to have originated in 12th century Sicily. It is a long, thin and cylindrical pasta that is made from flour and water. The Italian type is made from durum wheat semolina but other kinds of flour can also be used.

Spaghetti is cooked by boiling it in water. Fresh spaghetti is the best, but it needs to be cooked quickly to enjoy at its best, so commonly people will buy dried spaghetti and then cook it as needed.

In Italy, spaghetti is usually served with tomato sauce, usually with herbs added, and Bolognese, which is a meat-based sauce, is also very popular, both in and outside of Italy.

As well as fresh and dried spaghetti, it can also be bought in tins already in a tomato based sauce, such as Heinz Spaghetti. In the US, it is also served quite commonly with chilli con carne.

National Noodle Ring Day

National Noodle Ring Day is on December 11th in the United States.

Noodle rings are pretty much what they sound like. Pretty much, as there are two possible interpretations for the name. The first, inaccurate, one is it being noodles in the shape of a ring. The second, accurate, one is noodles cooked in the shape of a ring.

Noodles, or other similar foods such as pasta, are mixed with cheese and eggs and then baked in a ring mould. Other ingredients can also be used. The finished dish is in a torus or doughnut shape, with a hole in the centre of it. This hole can then be filled with other foods, making it an interesting and different way of serving pasta.

Before being placed in the ring, the noodles or pasta generally need cooking first - if they aren't, they may not cook properly in the oven.

National Pasta Day

National Pasta Day is on October 17th in the United States.

What is pasta? Well, this dish is intimately associated with Italian cuisine and, indeed, the first reference to pasta dates back to 12th century Sicily. However, the dish itself is probably older, as there are references to similar dishes dating back to the first century BC. Pasta being older is not surprising, because it is such a simple dish.

Pasta is actually a type of noodle, a dish which dates back over 4,000 years. Like noodles, pasta is made from an unleavened dough (being unleavened it tends not to rise when cooked) made from flour. Durum wheat is a common type of flour, but there are other cereals, grains and even eggs which can be used.

The dough is made into different shapes. There are currently 310 different types of pasta known, which are called by over 1,300 different names. Pasta can come in different colours, too. Some pasta comes in sheets (such as that which makes lasagne), but tubes, shapes and stuffed types are also common.

Pasta is an incredibly versatile dish. It's not so much what the pasta is, but what other things you can cook with it - which is pretty much anything.