The pasta originates from Italy back in the early 1100s. The general characterization of pasta is a food product derived from a dough substance. The dough itself is made from wheat, flour, water, and eggs. It is then shaped into various forms thus becoming pasta. There are two types of pasta and they are called dry and fresh pasta. Dry pasta can be bought in supermarkets or local stores and the ones that are usually hard. You need to boil them in water first so that they become firm and edible. Fresh pasta is made by hand and from flour thus boiling them to be firm may no longer be needed depending on how you cook them. There are literally hundreds of types of pasta dishes but only a few of them make their mark and become memorable with either their taste or appearance.
1. Lasagna
The lasagna is one common pasta dish that is loved by many. For starters, the pasta part is only the layers of quadrilateral divisions around the dish. The pasta is simply formed to look like a rectangle and is always layered off first as the base. Then it is followed by a filling of goodness. The fillings may vary from meats, vegetables, and sauces. The most common filling would be ground beef along with some cheeses, onions, tomato sauce, and others. The lasagna could come in different variations to cater to various eaters.
Vegetarians get a kick with eggplant lasagnas or anything else in between. Once the filling is done the process will repeat. It goes from layer to filling to layer to filling until a desirable height is obtained. There is no limit to how many layers a lasagna can have as long as it doesn’t look messy. Then the top is covered with cheese which will then melt once it’s baked in the oven.
2. Carbonara
The pasta used in a carbonara dish may vary. There are those that prefer to use the standard spaghetti pasta but it would look too plain. In order to add a little finesse into the carbonara, one should use fettuccine, bucatini, rigatoni, or tagliatelle. The main components that make the carbonara noticeable and give it its identity are the ingredients and the sauce. The sauce of the carbonara is a white cream sauce. It doesn’t use any type of tomato sauce whatsoever.
The white cream sauce is made up of cream, milk, salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic but not the chunky ones. The other components would be the toppings of the carbonara. Bacon or pancetta is used as a traditional ingredient to top off the carbonara. Carbonaras in the modern day have been made with various toppings such as mushrooms, peas, and any other type of food item.
3. Ravioli
The ravioli is a very distinct and unique pasta dish as the pasta is used merely as a covering or as a case. The concept of ravioli is that it’s a dish that is filled with various fillings. The ravioli doesn’t have a distinct design but two of its most common casing designs are the simple round circle and the boxed pie. One would say that ravioli look like the pocket or desert pies in fast food places.
The filling of the ravioli can be anything from meats, seafood, and vegetables. Just don’t stuff it with something sweet because the cooking process will kill it. The ravioli can be simply boiled or mixed with a choice of sauce. The ravioli can also be deep-fried giving it a crisp and cooked flavor.
4. Macaroni
The macaroni also called the elbow macaroni is a very versatile pasta dish. It can be good for main courses and entrees. The dish that’s popular with that is usually the baked macaroni and cheese. This is where the macaroni is mixed with a melted cheese sauce and then baked until golden brown. It can also be similar to traditional pasta dishes served with tomato sauces.
Macaronis can also be served as a salad drenched in mayonnaise, oil, vegetables, meats, and spices. Then it can also be served as a dessert as a sweet macaroni fruit salad giving it that sweet flavor mixed with fruits and additives.
5. Spaghetti
There is no doubt that spaghetti is the most common and popular pasta dish. One thing is that it’s very easy and affordable to buy at the local market. It’s also very easy to cook that people at home don’t need to be food specialists to do so. The sauces and toppings are also up to the consumer as to what they want to mix on it.
There are special kinds of spaghetti elevated by the high-end and fine dining restaurants. These exquisite sauces may range from being Marinara, Putanesca, Bolognese, Milanese, and others. Then again anyone can enjoy it with just regular hot dog slices or leftover meatballs.
Pasta is one of the very few dishes that have so much variation to them. There are literally hundreds of them and it’s hard to memorize and distinguish them apart. They are identifiable by their size, shape, form, and structure, and not all of them have a dried-up or instant version that can be bought at the local store.