Page 8 - Italian American Herald - March 2022

8 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MARCH2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD FROM THE COVER
lasagne.” However, it is thought that lasagne at the time were made with flour and water and were very very thin. It is a short evolu- tionary step from that to full lasagna sheets.
Finally, in the 1800s, pasta was formed into numerous cuts by forcing it to flow through a shaped opening in a bronze die. Extruded material emerged as an elongated piece with the same profile as the die opening. Shapes such as spaghetti, fusilli, and rigatoni along with other shaped pastas are considered by Italians as a more “recent” development in the evolution of pasta.
Various kinds of pasta come from very distinct regions of Italy. Consequently, unlike here in the U.S. where spaghetti and macaroni products are “Italian,” in each region of Italy certain cuts may or may not be stocked on store shelves.
In Abruzzo spaghetti alla chitarra is spag- hetti but square shaped instead of cylindrical. Chitarra means “guitar” in Italian and this pasta is so named because it is made by pushing the dough through fine strings, like those of a guitar. This pasta is best served with smooth cream or oil-based sauces.
Orecchiette, or “little ears,” comes from Puglia in southeastern Italy. Orecchiette is often served with broccoli rabe, chili, and garlic because broccoli rabe is grown in Puglia.
Ziti is Sicily’s version of penne. Ziti often has ridges, making it great for thick, meaty sauces. Ziti lends itself well to pasta bakes because of its sturdy structure and hollow center. Each bite of baked ziti oozes with melted cheese and sauce.
In the north of Italy, farfalle,
otherwise known as “bowties” in
the United States, are a standard
pasta. They are a popular cut of the northwest region of Lombardy. The
name of Lombardy’s pasta comes
from the word “farfalla,” which
means butterfly. The simple, yet
fun-shaped pasta is a favorite of
American kids and is often dyed
assorted colors with vegetables
such as beets, carrots, and spinach.
Bowties should be paired with
smooth sauces because there are no crevices to hold any meats or vegetables like in a ragù.
Gigli is a pasta in the cute shape of the lily flower, hence the name gigli or lily. The Gigli is popular in Tuscany in central Italy. The ruffled edges make the pasta best for thick, creamy sauces.
It is estimated that there are more than 350
diverse types of pasta. This is partly because some cuts may have a different name in various regions due to the diverse dialects. Pasta names often end in the masculine plural suffixes of -ini, -elli, -illi, -etti or the feminine plurals -ine, -elle. These endings express the sense of “little”; or if ending with -oni, -one, the sense of large. In Italian, all pasta type names are plural. Pasta ending in “ini” may
be a smaller version of a particular shape, and pasta ending in “oni” the larger one.
For example, spaghettini means smallest, spaghetti refers to regular and spaghettoni to the largest cut.
Whatever your preference, there is no denying that pasta is not just a beloved food staple in Italy but across the globe. Buon appetito! IAH
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