Foundation Course in Food Production

18.0 PASTA

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

After studying this chapter you should be able to:

 Classify the different types of pasta.

 Discuss the basic materials used for pasta
 Name different shapes of pasta
 Explain how to cook pasta
 Describe the relation of pasta to the sauce.

The cradle of pasta is questionable and full of legends and stories that make it difficult to locate its
origin in a precise form. There is a legend that pasta was introduced to Italy by Marco Polo after one
of his many trips to the East. Italy, in particular Naples, seems to be the cradle of pasta, from where
its consumption has spread worldwide, although the origin of this food is uncertain.
Anyway, pasta is made with semolina or flour from strong wheat, along with water, oil, salt and / or
egg.

Depending on the ingredients and processing, the paste can be classified under:

 Dry pasta
Based on strong wheat semolina, once given its shape it is dried. It is possible that dried pasta
(pasta asciutta) was an intelligent way of preserving, transporting and easily consuming flours
which would be comparatively more vulnerable to humidity, fermentation or infestation. Dried
pasta is marketed in almost every conceivable format.

 Whole wheat pasta

Integral pasta is made with strong whole wheat semolina. It is richer in fibre, vitamins and
minerals then pasta made with refined flour.

 Flavoured pasta
To the traditional formula of pasta other products are added, such as natural dyes, spices,
herbs, vegetables like spinach, tomatoes and beets, mushrooms, and squid ink. In Asia even
tea can be incorporated. The result is to flavour and colour the pasta. It comes in various
forms.

 Stuffed pasta
Pasta sheets are folded and stuffed with different ingredients. Their shapes carry names like
ravioli, tortellini and capeletti pasta. Usually you find them fresh, but there are also some dried
varieties.

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 Fresh pasta (with high moisture content)

This refers to freshly made pasta which should be eaten quickly. It should be kept in the fridge
or even be frozen. Being fresh it requires less cooking time.

The pasta is cooked in plenty of boiling water with salt and must be cooked just al dente, which means
there is a white dot, almost raw, in the middle of the pasta, whatever its shape. If you have to keep
cooked pasta for your mise en place, it should be refreshed with cold water, dried and sprinkled with
a little oil before being stored. But to eat pasta freshly made, you do not even think about refreshing
it, just apply the sauce directly so it absorbs better. The starch of the pasta is much appreciated to
even thicken the sauce like you would do for example for the pasta à la carbonara.

The cooking of fresh pasta is shorter and has a higher weight per ration when raw: a ration of dry
pasta is calculated at around 85 g, while a ration of fresh pasta would be about 125 g per person.
Pasta is very varied in shape and size, and any Italian chef will swear that their variety does not
correspond to fantasy but to function. The shape of the pasta is chosen for matters of physics,
chemistry, adhesion or surface tension to correspond with the suitable sauce.

THE MOST POPULAR FORMS ARE:

Spaghetti
It is probably the best known pasta, shaped in long and thin strings of circular
section. Generally it is marketed dry.

Linguini
As its name "tongues" suggests, its shape is flat, 3 mm wide, long and slippery.

Bucatini
They are similar to spaghetti, although of a slightly larger calibre, and have a thin
central hole that runs longitudinally, therefore absorbing more liquid.

Bucatoni
They are slightly thicker than the bucatini.

Tagliatelle
This refers to elongated, flat pasta of about 8 mm width.

Fettuccine
This refers to long stripes of pasta, 6mm wide.

Pappardelle
Fettuccine shaped but wider, it is a flat band up to 2.5 cm wide.

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Vermicelli
They are similar to spaghetti but thinner. The translation of vermicelli is
"little worms", to give an idea of the difference in size with spaghetti. They
are primarily used for making soups.

Penne
Tube shaped like rigatoni but the end
diagonally cut like a feather, there are some
with parallel striations on the surface (penne
rigate) or smooth (penne lisce).

Rigatoni
They are large pipes 3.5 cm long, slightly curved and with parallel
striations. The grooves help the sauce adhere and infiltrate better.

Macaroni
They are shaped like narrow, slightly curved or straight tubes.

Conciglie or shells
Shell shaped pasta and of different sizes. Generally the smaller ones are
used for soups and the larger ones for pasta dishes.

Spiral or Fusilli
Helically formed and typically four centimetres long. It is almost identical
to the rotini, which are longer and thinner.

Farfalle or butterflies
Butterfly-shaped pasta which presents jagged edges, they are prepared
from a rectangle of dough with serrated edge, pinching the centre to
narrow it as a waist.

Orzo
Its shape reminds one of grains of rice but slightly larger. Generally it is
used in soups.

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Orecchiette
Its shape is like small ears, traditionally shaped by pressing the dough with
the thumb on the palm.

Cannelloni
There are two varieties: either they are rectangular sheets of dough
which after cooking will be stuffed and rolled up, or they already come as
very fat pipes where the filling will be stuffed in.

Lasagne
These are large sheets of pasta stacked alternating with layers of stuffing.
They are used to prepare the dish of the same name.

STUFFED PASTA

Stuffed pasta is found in almost all countries of the world and with very different fillings, pastry and
names. Stuffing can be meat, fish or vegetables with a not too firm or too liquid consistency. Usually
you have to think about the cooking time of the pasta in relation to the cooking time of the filling.

 Tortellini
They are shaped like a roll filled with the stuffing and tied together to
form a ring.

 Tortelloni
They are similar to but larger than tortellini.

 Ravioli
They are square folded and stuffed pasta. The filling can be anything.

 Agnolotti
Like ravioli, but with rounded edges.

 Panzerotti
Like ravioli with crescent shaped.

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INTEGRAL PASTA

Most integral pasta is made with whole grain flour, so its colour is darker and its fibre richer. The whole
wheat pasta is made from different flours such as buckwheat, barley, quinoa, etc. The shapes are
indistinguishable from those of white flour.

ASIAN PASTA

Oriental pasta uses other ingredients, from wheat flour to starch of mung beans.

Rice noodles
Pasta made from rice flour, low soft consistency and transparent colour.

Pasta mee
Chinese wheat flour noodles. It is an instant pasta, often sold with
sachets of flavours and sauces.

Green Tea Pasta

It is Japanese wheat flour pasta, enriched with green tea.

Buckwheat Pasta
It is Japanese pasta made of buckwheat flour, of soft consistency.

Chinese pasta
Like linguine, of wheat flour.

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Mung noodles
Noodles made of mung bean flour. Its appearance is transparent after
cooking and white and swollen after frying.

The dough of pasta is easy to make, but it requires much kneading and a good while of rest, otherwise
at the time of extending it does shrink back too much.
In order to prepare pasta with flavours and colours you can use powders, purees of vegetables,
spices, herbs or even ink of squids. The amount of added product depends on the intensity of flavour
and colour that each ingredient contributes, and of the colour and flavour that you want to obtain. The
important thing of these dyestuffs is to directly mix them with the eggs and the water before adding
the flour. To prevent fresh pasta from sticking together, fine semolina is used. Semolina does not
absorb as much water as flour.
Once the pasta is prepared you can freeze, dry or cook it.

DIFFERENT HANDMADE FORMS OF PASTA

 Tagliatelle
Roll out a big and very fine sheet of pasta. Dust fine semolina and coil it to a roll and cut in
strips of the desired thickness.

 Farfalle:
Roll out the dough to a fine sheet, but not as fine as the one that you use for tagliatelle. Cut to
rectangles of 5 x 2.5 cm. Clamp the central part to form the farfalle.

 Ravioli
Roll out the dough into a big rectangle and place the filling in small separated portions in a
symmetrical and regular grid. Cover everything with another sheet of dough, and press around
the filling, so that it is nicely sealed before cutting to separate them.

 Tortellini
Roll out the dough into a fine sheet and cut squares of 6 x 6 cm. Put the filling in the centre of
each square and fold to a triangular form, tightening the edges. Now it is necessary to curve
that triangle throughout the axis of the base and form a ring shape.

 Orecchiette
Form a fine roll with the dough and cut into fine slices. Press each slice with your thumb into
the palm of your hand forming ear-shaped pasta.

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Pasta basic recipe

Ingredients:
300 g Wheat flour
3 Egg yolks
10 ml Oil
5 g Salt
Water as necessary

Preparation:
Pass the flour through a sieve forming a volcano. Place the egg yolks, salt and oil in the crater. Slightly
beat the ingredients inside this cavity, and slowly work the mixture, from the outside towards the
interior. Now knead nicely until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest during half an hour.

CONCEPT REVIEW QUESTIONS:

 Name three types of pasta we can make by hand.

 What are the ingredients for pasta?
 Why would you prefer semolina to flour to dust the pasta?
 What does al dente mean?
 Explain the difference between smooth pasta and the one with striations.

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