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Pasta! Pasta! Pasta! It seems to be just about everyone's favorite dish. The information you will find here has been provided by our co-founder Hallie Du Preez, taken from her favorite pasta cookbook, The Australian Women's Weekly Pasta Cookbook; 1995; ISBN 0 949128 35 X. Pasta Shapes Making Fresh Pasta Fresh Pasta Variations At the end of this information you will find some outstanding and different pasta recipes, taken from the same source. Click on the Menu button on the right. And, if you would like to have the information and recipes at your fingertips, you can have it all in MasterCook format by pressing the Download Button on the right.   Pasta Shapes Pastas are generally named according to their shapes and what they resemble. Want to see some pictures? Click here! Acini di pepe are tiny little pastas that get their name from the peppercorns they resemble; mainly used in soup. Bean threads or cellophane noodles are made from mung beans; turn translucent when boiled; can be deep-fried. Farfalle (butterflies); bows; bow ties come in small, medium and large sizes. Cannelloni (large reeds) are 4- to 6-inch flat pasta rolled around a filling. Capelini (fine hairs); fideo or fidelini. Used in soup or with sauce. Usually sold coiled. Capelli d'angeli (angel hair); finer than capelini. Cappelletti (little hats). Can be made fresh and stuffed or purchased dried and unstuffed. Use as macaroni. Chuka soba are very fast cooking wheat flour noodles from Japan. They are thin and crinkled. Use in soups or salads. Conchiglie (conch shells) or marruze; several sizes. Use small ones in soup and stuff the larger ones. Ditali rigati (thimbles); short tubular ridged pastas. Used with sauces, in salads or baked. Elbow macaroni are short curved tubes; come in many colors and sizes; use in soups and casseroles. Fettuccine (little ribbons) are strips about 1/4-inch wide. Funghini (mushrooms); tiny pastas for soup. Fusilli are long strands like spaghetti that look like they have been twisted. Gemelli (twins); strands of spaghetti that have been twisted together (twinned) like embroidery thread; about 3 inches long; use the same way as spaghetti. Gnocchi (lumps); they look like dumplings; made with mashed potatoes, cornmeal, ricotta cheese or semolina. Kreplach; a Jewish won ton or ravioli-type pasta that is fried or cooked in broth. Lasagna are 1- to 2 1/2-inch-wide pasta ribbons. Linguine (little tongues); oval shaped; use as spaghetti. Mafalde are long noodles about 3/4 inch wide with rippled edges. Use as spaghetti. Manicotti (little muffs); a large tube pasta which can be stuffed. Orzo (barley) or Risoni (rice); small grain-shaped pastas used in soups and sometimes used in place of rice. Ravioli; square pastas stuffed with various materials. Rotelle (little wheels); they look like corkscrews or spirals. Use as macaroni. Ruote (wheels); look like wheels with spokes; use as macaroni. Semi di melone (melon seeds); use in soup. Soba are Japanese buckwheat noodles; look like spaghetti; use in soup. Somen are Japanese wheat noodles; look like very thin straight spaghetti; use in soup. Spaetzle are little bits of egg pasta made by passing the batter through a colander or special spaetzle- maker into water or soup. Spaghetti (little strands); come thick or thin. Tagliatelle (little cut noodles); interchangeable with fettuccini. Tortellini (little twists); filled pastas; served with sauce or in soups. Udon are fresh Japanese wheat noodles. Use in soups. Vermicelli (little worms); fine strands of spaghetti; come coiled or straight. Ziti (bridegrooms); larger tubular macaroni;use with good robust sauces. Top of Page Making Fresh Pasta Basic Ingredients   2 cups all-purpose flour   3 eggs By Hand: Sift the flour into a bowl or onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the center and put the eggs into the well. With your fingers, gradually mix the flour into the eggs until incorporated. Form the mixture into a ball. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to the desired thickness with a rolling pin. To make fettuccini or tagliatelle, roll up sheets of dough quite tightly and firmly then but the roll into slices of the desired width. Unroll the slices into strips. By Machine: Combine the ingredients in a food process and process until a ball is formed. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cut in half and run each half through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Fold in half and pass through the machine again. Repeat this folding and rolling process several times until the dough is very smooth and elastic. Dust the dough with a little flour when necessary. Keep passing the dough through the machine, adjusting the thickness each time until the desired thickness is reached. For fettuccini, pass the dough through the machine with the fettuccini attachment in place. Top of Page Fresh Pasta Variations Your Selections Wholemeal Pasta Chilli Pasta Spinach Pasta Pepper Pasta Herbed Pasta Tomato Pasta Red Bell Pepper Pasta Chocolate Pasta Wholemeal Pasta (Whole-wheat) 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour; 3 eggs Use the same method as for plain pasta. Chilli Pasta 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon chilli powder; 3 eggs Use the same method as for plain pasta but mix the chilli powder with the flour. Spinach Pasta 1/4 cup chopped cooked spinach; 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 eggs Squeeze moisture out of spinach and add with the eggs; carry on as for plain pasta. Pepper Pasta 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned pepper; 1 teaspoon, paprika; 3 eggs Mix the seasonings with the flour and make the same as plain pasta. Herbed Pasta 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or other herbs of choice; 3 eggs Use the same method as for plain pasta but add the fresh herbs with the eggs. Tomato Pasta 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 80 gram packet of tomato soup mix; 3 eggs Stir the soup mix into the flour and use the same method as for plain pasta. Red Bell Pepper Pasta 2 pounds red bell peppers; 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 large egg Bake the peppers in a 500°F oven until the skins are blackened. You will need to turn them occasionally. This will take about 40 to 50 minutes. Cover with foil and let them cool for about half an hour. Remove the skins, seeds and stems. Puree the flesh; place into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to about half a cup. Cool. Add to the flour with the egg and proceed as for plain pasta. This makes about 1 pound of uncooked pasta. Chocolate Pasta 1 cup all-purpose flour; 2 lightly beaten eggs; 60 grams dark chocolate, melted; 2 tablespoons cocoa powder; 1 tablespoon powdered confectioners' or icing sugar Mix dry ingredients together; add liquids and proceed in same manner as for plain pasta. Hallie's comments: These are a few suggestions found in the book but I can think of lots more that could be used following the same general method. Chopped cooked broccoli florets would be good or chopped cooked Swiss chard could be used in place of spinach. Lots of spice and dried herb combinations could be used. Also, what about some finely chopped soft fruit? Or even not-so-soft as long as it could be rolled. REMEMBER! Different Pasta shapes absorb sauces differently! Cooked Pasta should be drained immediately; pots with colander inserts make the job easier! Make sure you drain all the excess moisture so you don't make your sauce runny. How much to cook? For a 1 cup serving of long pasta, use 2 ounces of uncooked (or 1/2 inch in diameter.) For short pasta, use 1/2 cup of uncooked pasta for 1 cup of cooked. From the Australian Women's Weekly Pasta Cookbook; 1995; ISBN 0 949128 35 X and other sources. Top of Page Now For Some Great Pasta Recipes Three Cheese and Mushroom Lasagne Noodles and Vegetables with Satay Dressing Creamed Mushroom and Pastrami Pasta Deep-Dish Eggplant and Pasta Torte Salmon and Risoni Bonbons Coconut Cannelloni Snaps with Kiwi Fruit Sauce Marzipan Ravioli with Mocha Sauce Sweet Pink Pasta with White Chocolate Sauce Great Pasta Recipes | Sauces | Pasta Information

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