Pasta Bella – Great Italian Food

Italian pasta recipes vary according to regional cuisine. Recipes from the north, for example, from the Piemonte, Calabria and Liguria regions include readily available cheeses, cured hams and bacon, a kind of smoked bacon. The most notable of these recipes is pasta carbonara.

Carbonara pasta
This Italian pasta recipe calls for 3-4 strips of bacon or bacon, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of cream, and a grated aged cheese. Now, the variations of this Italian pasta recipe are enhanced with a fresh pasta or spaghetti. Cook pasta until desired doneness and drain. Meanwhile, sauté the bacon for about 5 minutes or until crisp if you prefer. Crush a clove of garlic until it is flattened and rub the inside of the bowl for more flavor. Beat the egg and cream. Place the drained pasta in a bowl greased with garlic. For egg and cream on pasta. Stir briefly to coat. Add the bacon and cheese. Toss to evenly coat the pasta. Serve with curls of Parmesan or Romano cheese. For an extra touch, try a local cheese like Fontina. Garnish lightly with freshly ground pepper.

The Central Region
Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Umbria and Marche, including the central Italian region. Here, Italian pasta recipes are simple, yet elegant and always delicious to the palate. Parmiggiano Reggiano, olives, coppa and fish enhance the flair of central Italian pasta dishes. The ingredients used here are from “Una cucina povera”, the kitchen of the poor. At Tuscano, you’ll dine on eel, rabbit, beef, and chicken accented with fennel, tarragon, sage, rosemary, and chili. A puttanesca sauce recipe is complex only in flavor.

For this, use 28 oz of peeled tomatoes, lightly blanched until the skin is easily removed. 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 cans of anchovies, finely chopped, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 cup of pitted olives (green, black or marinated, whichever you prefer), 2 tablespoons of drained capers, 1/2 teaspoon of dry red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of each oregano and salt. 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley. Drain the tomatoes and process in a food processor until the tomatoes are finely crushed.

In a small skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic, oregano, anchovies, olives, capers, pepper flakes, and salt. Sauté 3 minutes until garlic is tender. For this on boiled and drained pasta. Toss with Italian parsley.

The South Region
The southern region of Italy, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania, Puglia, Molise and Basilicata offers a wide variety of robust peasant cuisine. Ingredients likely include mozzarella, pecorino, goat cheese, lentils, and peppermint, along with swordfish, tuna, olives, and citrus fruits.

A traditional Italian pasta recipe uses olive oil, lemon, basil, 1 crushed garlic clove, and pine nuts. For the pasta, use orcchetti. In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from one lemon. Set aside the lemon peel. Chop 1/2 cup of fresh basil. Rub the bowl with the garlic clove. Finely chop the rest of the clove. Place the drained orcchetti in a bowl. Mix with basil, minced garlic and olive oil until the pasta is well coated. Add lemon juice and pine nuts. Mix well. Using the reserved lemon zest, finely grate and add lightly to the pasta layer.

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