Pasta is a food made from wheat flour and water, mixed into an unleavened door and boiled (or sometimes baked). For fresh pasta eggs are also added to the dough. Pasta is a carbohydrate, with some fibre and protein, and whilst thought of as an Italian food (Italy is where most pasta recipes originate) it is likely descended from Asian noodles brought to Europe from China in the 13th century.
1. Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti bolognaise is a pasta dish consisting of spaghetti (long, thin cylindrical pasta) and a sauce made of minced beef, tomatoes, onion, bacon and herbs. It is commonly served with parmesan cheese. The dish is one of Italy’s most popular exports, and thought to have originated in Imola, a northern Italian city west of Bologna some time around the late 1800s - when the first reference to the dish’s ragu sauce was recorded. There are several ways you can ensure your bolognese is bursting with flavour. A small amount of sugar and lemon juice added to your tomatoes before cooking will make them pop, and a splash of worcestershire sauce to your ragu will add depth and body.
2. Lasagne
Lasagne is a type of pasta that comes in flat, wide sheets but when people refer to lasagne they usually mean the dish - which layers the pasta with various fillings. The most common lasagne layers are ragu (beef and tomato with seasonings) and bechamel sauce with a topping of parmesan cheese, but some recipes include vegetables, mushrooms or other kinds of meat and cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella. Lasagne is cooked in a square or rectangular casserole dish and cut into slices to serve. Lasagne comes from the Italian city of Naples, though the first references to what we now think of as the dish came in a 14th century English cookbook. Want beautiful lasagne slices? Partially cook your lasagne and then allow to cool before cooking to serve, this will make the lasagne hold its shapes and stop the layers bleeding into each other and turning to mush.
3. Fettuccine Alfredo
Also known as fettuccine al burro (fettuccine with butter), fettuccine alfredo is a simple pasta dish consisting of fettuccine (flat pasta ribbons) tossed with parmesan cheese and butter. The process emulsifies the ingredients for a rich, silky finish. The Alfredo part of the name refers to Alfredo di Lelio, who made great ceremony of having the dish prepared table-side at his Rome restaurant in the mid-20th century. Many American recipes for Fettuccine Alfredo add cream and other ingredients - most Italians see this as a bastardisation of fettuccine al burro, a rustic national favourite and these additions should never be included in credible versions of the dish. Add a ladle of the water the pasta was cooked in (which should be ‘saltier than the Mediterranean') to the butter and parmesan when tossing with pasta. The water will act like glue between the pasta and sauce, so the dish is fully combined.
4. Pasta Carbonara
Pasta Carbonara is a dish combining a pasta variety such as penne or spaghetti with a cream-based sauce with ham or pancetta. The traditional Roman carbonara sauce contains eggs, a hard cheese such as pecorino or parmesan, cured pork, and black pepper and can be traced to the region of Lazio. Make sure your eggs are room temperature before cooking with them - if your eggs are too cold it can lead to lumps in your sauce and the only lumps should be cured pork.
