Perfect Pasta

If there is one food that is quintessentially Italian, it's pasta. They eat it at lunch and dinner, usually every day, and with a variety of pasta shapes, sauces, and toppings. So you are probably saying, "You live in Italy, so why haven't you talked about pasta yet?"

Making good, interesting pasta is actually rather easy. For seasonings, I pretty much use garlic salt, peppercinis (the red pepper flakes that you find at Pizza Hut), onion powder, and basil (both fresh and dried). Start with an appropriate pasta base: penne or rigatoni for a meat sauce, spaghetti for chicken and/or vegetables. Then decide what kind of sauce you want. Tomato sauce is the heartiest, and with hamburger it makes a good meal in itself. An alfredo sauce is a little lighter and gives pasta a nice coating if you're topping it with chicken or vegetables. Another excellent option is olive oil with garlic salt, basil, peppercinis, onion powder, and pepper. I like flavoring my sauces: putting peppercinis and garlic salt in the tomato sauce and pesto or sauteed onions in the alfredo sauce.

Now for what to put on top. There's always the very traditional meat sauce with hamburger and onions in tomato sauce. Chicken also makes a good topper. Here are some chicken options: coated with bbq sauce and grilled, then sliced; breaded in flour and seasonings and cooked on the stove; and cooked in seasonings. Vegetables can be cooked or not, sliced big or small. Usually I use onions, green or red peppers, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, and mushrooms. Use what you have and be creative with the colors and sizes. That way, your food can be pretty, as well as tasty.  Pasta is always better with cheese on top, no matter what else is on it. Parmesan, shredded cheese, or (if you want to be really Italian) mozzerella cut into chunks. Try different combinations, seasonings, and sauces; you never know what you might come up with!

Here is a pasta that we made at our Neopolitan cooking class:
Pasta of the 7 P's
Penne - 1 lb
Pomodoro (tomatoes) - 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
Pancetta (bacon) - 4 oz
Pepperoncino (red pepper flakes) - to taste
Panna (cream) - 1 cup
Prezzemelo (parsley) - a handful
Parmigiano (paremsan cheese)
Olive oil
Salt

In a pan, saute the bacon and pepper flakes in the olive oil until the bacon is cooked. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 15 min. Add the cream and parsley. Cook the pasta, drain, and add to the sauce. Serve with parmesan on top.

Buon appetito!