How to cook Spaghetti (Italian: spaˈɡetti)
Originally, spaghetti was notably long, but shorter lengths gained in popularity during the latter half of the 20th century and now it is most commonly available in 25–30 cm (10–12 in) lengths. A variety of pasta dishes are based on it and it is frequently served with tomato sauce or meat or vegetables.
ORIGINATION
The popularity of spaghetti spread throughout Italy after the establishment of spaghetti factories in the 19th century, enabling the mass production of spaghetti for the Italian market.
BASIC INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SPAGHETTI
Spaghetti is made from ground grain (flour) and water. Whole-wheat and multigrain spaghetti are also available.
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SPAGHETTI DISHES
With various tastes of folks, different growth of spices as we travel the world the way of cooking meals varies. In the same way everyone introduced their own style to make spaghetti with a tinge of Italian taste still enriched in it. Here are the variety of delcious spaghetti dishes and ways to make them.
Spaghetti alla puttanesca
Spaghetti alla puttanesca (pronounced [spaˈɡetti alla puttaˈneska]; in Italian) is an Italian pasta dish invented in Naples in the mid-20th century. Its ingredients typically include tomatoes, olive oil, olives, capers, garlic in addition to pasta.
There are a variety of ideas of where this recipe originated, but it is thought to date to the mid-twentieth century. Some say a restaurant in Ischia created the first puttamesca, while the more romatic story is that ladies of the evening in Naples created it because they needed something cheap, quick, that used readily available ingredients. Wherever it originated, it is an easy pasta dish that should be on everyone’s list of easy recipes. The recipe for puttanesca almost always contains tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, chili peppers, and oregano. The version made around Naples omits the anchovies, while other versions skip the chili pepper. Dried oregano is often used to season the sauce, although some chefs use fresh parsley. I include the chili pepper, anchovies, and dried oregano in mine. I also like to add garlic to my sauce, and some fresh chopped parsley just before serving.
HOW TO COOK Spaghetti alla puttanesca
Ingredients
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1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
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1 28.2-ounce can peeled tomatoes in puree with basil.
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1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved, pitted
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3 anchovy fillets, chopped
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1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
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3/4 pound spaghetti
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese.
Preparation
Step 1
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with puree, olives, anchovies, capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Simmer sauce over medium-low heat until thickened, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add sauce and parsley. Toss over low heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Serve with cheese.
Cacio e pepe
Cacio e pepe (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkaːtʃo e ˈpeːpe]) is a pasta dish from modern Roman cuisine. “Cacio e pepe” means “cheese and pepper” in several central Italian dialects. As the name suggests, the ingredients of the dish are: black pepper, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and spaghetti, or traditionally tonnarelli. All the ingredients keep well for a long time, which made the dish practical for shepherds without fixed abode. Rough-surfaced pasta is recommended, to make the sauce adhere well.
The pasta is prepared in boiling salted water as usual; it is then poured into the grated pecorino mixed with black pepper, with a little of the hot, starchy, cooking water. The heat melts the cheese, and the starches in the water help bind the pepper and cheese to the pasta.
While not traditional to cacio e pepe, seafood or bacon may be added, and other shapes of pasta such as rigatoni, always made with a rough surface, may be used.
HOW TO COOK Cacio e pepe
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 6 oz. pasta (such as egg tagliolini, bucatini, or spaghetti)
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed, divided
- 1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
- ¾ cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan
- ⅓ cup finely grated Pecorino
Preparation
Step 1
Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 5-qt. pot. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Drain, reserving ¾ cup pasta cooking water.
Step 2
Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and cook, swirling pan, until toasted, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Add ½ cup reserved pasta water to skillet and bring to a simmer. Add pasta and remaining butter. Reduce heat to low and add Grana Padano, stirring and tossing with tongs until melted. Remove pan from heat; add Pecorino, stirring and tossing until cheese melts, sauce coats the pasta, and pasta is al dente. (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Transfer pasta to warm bowls and serve.
Spaghetti alle vongole
Spaghetti alle vongole (pronounced [spaˈɡetti alle ˈvoŋɡole]), Italian for “spaghetti with clams”, is a dish that is very popular throughout Italy, especially in Campania (where it is part of traditional Neapolitan cuisine).Italians prepare this dish two ways: in bianco, i.e., with oil, garlic, parsley, and sometimes a splash of white wine; and in rosso, like the former but with tomatoes and fresh basil, the addition of tomatoes being more frequent in the south. Traditionally, the bivalves are cooked quickly in hot olive oil to which plenty of garlic has been added. The live clams open during cooking, releasing a liquid that serves as the primary flavoring agent. The clams are then added to the firm pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or vermicelli), along with salt, black pepper (or red pepper), and a handful of finely chopped parsley.
HOW TO COOK Spaghetti alle vongole
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 pounds ■■■■■■■■ Manila clams, or littlenecks scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf
- parsley
Preparation
Step1
Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 5 quart pot. Season lightly with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
Step2
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling pan often, until just golden. Add red pepper flakes and continue cooking 15 more seconds. Add wine, then clams; increase heat to high. Cover skillet and cook until clams open and release their juices, 3-6 minutes, depending on size of clams. As clams open, use tongs to transfer them to a bowl.
Step3
Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to skillet; bring to a boil. Add pasta to pan. Cook over high heat, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and has soaked up some of the sauce from the pan. Add clams and any juices from bowl to pan, along with parsley, and toss to combine. (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Transfer pasta to warm bowls and drizzle with remaining oil.
SIDE NOTE
All salt is not created equal. In a side-by-side taste test, dip your finger in plain salt and again in iodized salt and you will toss out iodized salt unless of course you like adding the taste of iodine. Some imported “gourmet, exotic & expensive sea salt is harvested from seawater by evaporating our the water by spreading the saltwater out in usually third-world island sun. Impurities tint the color. Birds fly over, critters walk through it as do the the people that rake the salt to dry it out. You get fancy salt and the snob appeal that comes with a fancy descripture. Go with good old fashioned pure, unadulterated kosher salt.
Spaghetti and meatballs
THE MOST POPULAR ONE!! spaghetti with meatballs is an Italian-American dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs. The secret to getting uber tender meatballs is bread; yes, bread. And the secret to getting uber flavorful meatballs is in the combination of meats – I’m talking about lean ground beef with sweet Italian sausage.
You’ll finish these up by simmering them in the super yummy and easy home-made marinara sauce. This are seriously the best spaghetti meatball recipe I’ve ever tried.
Ingredients for Meatballs (makes 22-23 meatballs):
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White bread is best but you can use whole wheat or other soft sliced bread
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Use lean ground beef – 7% to 15% fat content
If you aren’t able to find Italian sausage meat only, use sausages and remove casings -
Use freshly grated parmesan or finely shredded pre-packaged
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Do not skimp on the garlic in the meatballs or the sauce
Ingredients for Marinara Sauce:
- It seems like alot of chopped yellow onion but it shrinks considerably
- If you use “Crushed tomatoes with basil” you can omit the fresh basil if desired
- Bay leaves are nice, but optional if you don’t have them on hand
How to Make the Best Italian Meatballs:
1. Combine diced crustless bread pieces with 2/3 cup water and set aside for 5 minutes then mash together with a fork.
2. In a large mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid mixer to do the work), add: 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb sausage, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 egg and the mashed moist bread crumbs. Mix until well combined.
3. Form into 1 1/2″ meatballs (about a flat ice cream scoop’s worth of meat). Dredge/roll meatballs in flour. Heat a deep, large, heavy skillet or a Dutch oven over medium heat with about 3 Tbsp oil. Add meatballs in batches so you don’t crowd the pan and saute until browned on all sides (6 min total or 2 min per side). Remove meatballs to a separate dish and set aside (don’t worry about cooking through at this point).
How to Make Marinara Sauce:
1. In the same skillet over medium heat, add more oil if needed and saute 1 cup chopped onion stirring often until soft and golden (5 min). Add 4 cloves minced garlic and stir 1 minute.
2. Stir in 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Bring to a light boil (stir to make sure it’s actually boiling and hot and not just letting bubbles to the surface).
3. Add meatballs back into the pan with tomato sauce, partially cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 30 min, turning the meatballs occasionally. Meatballs will be tender and sauce will be thickened. 5 minutes before your sauce is done, stir in chopped fresh basil and add salt and pepper to taste.
Prepartions
1. Cook pasta according to package instructions until aldente or softer if your family loves it that way! Truth be told, I love slightly overcooked pasta. Drain pasta and return to the empty pot.
2.Pour sauce and meatballs over spaghetti and toss gently to combine. To serve family-style, transfer to a large platter, garnish with more parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves if desired and serve hot.
Conclusion
There are many yummiest full of cheese, spices and rich gradient pasta spaghetti recipes but I could only list these with my full cookbook information. I hope it helps you all. Try these with only the simplest home available ingredients!!