Pasta has been the pride and glory of Italy throughout much of the Mediterranean country’s history.
Luckily, wherever Italians emigrated they brought their pasta with them, so it found its way into all our lives, a universal comfort food. Economical, readily available and versatile, pasta is a staple of any modern kitchen.
But the original pasta was not Italian. The Chinese were eating their version of the food – noodles – as early as 3,000BC.The first record of noodles being cooked in boiling water is in the Jerusalem Talmud, written in Arabic in the 5th century.
The word used for noodles was itriyah. In Arabic this word stands for dried noodles purchased from a vendor, rather than home-made noodles, which would have been fresh.
Marco Polo brought this dried food back from China in 1295 and, by the end of the 13th century pasta was being produced by artisans in Sicilian towns such as Palermo.
The first recorded pasta recipe appears in the 15th century cookbook, De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli). The popularity of pasta grew steadily, and by the 17th century it had become part of Italy’s daily diet.
It is one of my dreams to be invited to a traditional Italian family home to see pasta being made. Although I am still waiting, I learnt how to make my own pasta from an Italian chef many years ago, and later, when I was in Singapore, I had the pleasure to see noodles been made by a master.
This is my basic pasta recipe which we make in the restaurant daily. You can also make this recipe with 100 per cent durum wheat, but it needs to be a bit more moist as it is a little more difficult to work with.
Basic pasta recipe
200g durum wheat
300g strong white flour
7g sea salt
12 good quality, medium-sized egg yolks
1 good quality, medium whole egg
1g olive oil
50g strong white flour or durum wheat for rolling the pasta
1 egg yolk for egg wash
To dress the pasta you will need your best olive oil, sea salt, freshly milled black pepper, fresh basil leaves and some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Method
1. On a marble slab mix the flour, durum wheat and sea salt. This can also be done in a stainless steel bowl.
2. Make a well and pour in the egg yolks and whole egg. Add the flour and mix well. It is important to bind all the dough and knead it for approx 10 minutes.
3. When the dough is made, cover it with a bowl and rest for 15 minutes.
4. Knead the pasta one more time – the more you knead it the better it is.
5. Cut the pasta in four and sprinkle with a little flour and roll thinly with a rolling pin. Pasta has to be thin to enable it to go through the pasta machine without breaking it.
6. Set up the pasta machine. Dust the dough lightly and roll it through the machine using the numbers on the machine, starting off at 6 and finishing at 1. By the time you get to no 2 the pasta will have doubled in length, and it will double again on the last roll. Sprinkle with flour.
7. If you are using the pasta for linguini, spaghetti or any other thin cuts, it is important to semi-dry it before cutting. This can be done in two different ways: one is to hang it on a broom hanger for a few minutes, the other is to dust it with flour and semi dry it on the table, turning it every two minutes so that it doesn’t stick to the table.
8. Add the cutting attachment to the machine and insert the pasta which will come out in strands. Alternatively roll it up and cut it with a sharp knife into thin strips.
Cooking
1. Heat a pot of water, add a pinch of sea salt and a drop of olive oil. When the water starts to boil add the pasta and cook for four minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and strain off the water. Return the pasta to the pot, season with salt, fresh milled black pepper and a few drops of olive oil. Mix well and serve with torn basil and fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com
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