I am on a quest to experience and enjoy the 1,000 Foods to Eat in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about.
Some of the foods are easy, and some of the food are hard. So.. this one is particularly easy...who hasn't tried pasta?!?!?! My second question is who doesn't love pasta?!?!? Pasta is food #24 on my quest to try each and every one of the foods listed in this awesome book.
What is Pasta?
Dictionary.com defines pasta as: "any of various flour-and-egg food preparations of Italian origin, made of thin, unleavened dough and produced in a variety of forms, usually served with a sauce and sometimes stuffed."
Pasta has two broad categories that it is divided into: fresh and dried. The shapes and varieties of pasta seem to be endless...but actually in my research I found there are approximately 350 different types of pasta, and many many more names for them! For example, what one person calls farfalle, another may call bowtie.
The history of pasta goes back centuries, and although I am not sure how true the legend of Marco Polo bringing the first pasta over from China is, I love the story.
Incredibly Versatile - There is a Pasta for Everyone!
With 350 types of pasta, and seemingly endless varieties of sauces and ingredients, there is definitely a pasta dish for everyone!
Although I do like tomato sauce based pasta dishes, my tasted tend to lean toward pasta dishes that are not tomato based.
I have a few go to pasta dish recipes that I'd love to share, and they are:
Linguine With Pancetta and Peas
Linguine With Delicious Parsley Pesto
5 Star Italian Linguine Alle Vongole (Linguine With Clam Sauce)
Puglian Orecchiette With Broccoli
These pasta dishes are simple, quick, easy, budget friendly, and absolutely 100% delicious. They are heavy on the linguine, but that is just a personal preference. 🙂
The Secret is In the Water
I want to share with you the secret to perfect pasta...other than salting the water when boiling your pasta, be sure to reserve some of the pasta water taken just before you drain your pasta!
Once you combine your choice of ingredients with your pasta, you can add the pasta water, a little at a time, to loosen up the pasta and make it silky smooth. This pertains more to the types of dishes I have here, rather than dishes with tomato based sauces.
Al Dente - To the Toothe
My favorite way to eat pasta is cooking it just until it is "al dente" or "to the toothe." I describe this as pasta cooked so that it is a bit firm and to get the pasta to cook "al dente" boil your pasta using the time on the low end of the range given on your cooking instructions on your pasta. So if your spaghetti packet gives you a range of 9-11 minutes, cook for 9 minutes for "al dente", of course reserving a bit of that water just prior to draining. 🙂
1,000 Foods to Eat Project
Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! For a list of the foods tried so far visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page.
Pasta is #24 on my list of foods to try. 24 down, 976 to go!
If you'd like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
I hope you will try one of these pasta dishes next time you have a craving for pasta! Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or suggestions I would be honored if you would share them below!
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