Pasta is the quintessential Italian food, the cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, it has conquered the entire world and therefore deserves to have a day that celebrates it for everything. Now let’s know all about it International Pasta Day: when is it, how was it born, where is it celebrated and the best recipes to celebrate it.
International Pasta Day: when is it
Italy has been one of the great countries when thinking about art (we can remember great artists like Michelangelo and great eras like the cinquecento), but Italy is also the cradle of gastronomy and especially pasta, which is a versatile dish. , nutritious and tasty: the only food that makes everyone agree, young and old and that is why years ago the world pasta day which was established for celebrate it on October 25 .
International Pasta Day: how it was born
As we already know then, World Pasta Day is celebrated every year on October 25, being an event organized by the Italian Food Union and the IPO (International Pasta Organization).
This year reaches its 22nd edition, the event wants to celebrate the symbolic food of Italian cuisine but also of that Mediterranean diet, considered among the healthiest and most balanced since this is also the Day of the Mediterranean Diet as established in 2010 when UNESCO recognized this diet as a World Heritage Site
International Pasta Day: where is it celebrated?
The theme of the day is practicality, conviviality and, of course, the goodness of pasta. In addition, this year the third edition of Al Dente is proposed again, the initiative that for a week brings a pasta dish inspired by the #VivoMediterraneo movement to the menus of 130 restaurants not only in Italy but around the world, in a way that it is evident that International Pasta Day is a global day that is celebrated in all countries that so wish.
International Pasta Day: the best recipes to celebrate it
At home, we can celebrate International Pasta Day and what better way to do it than with some pasta recipes that everyone will surely like, like the ones we are proposing.
Pasta with bolognese sauce
Obviously, we could not start with another recipe other than pasta bolognese
These are the ingredients:
- 800 grams of spaghetti (we count 100 grams per person)
- 500g 5% ground beef
- 200g ground pork or sausage
- 50g pancetta or bacon (optional)
- 700 g of peeled tomatoes or 3 cans of canned tomato
- 1 carrot
- 2 pink garlic cloves
- 1 stalk of celery (optional)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 shallot
- 1 glass of white wine
- 1 pinch of sugar
- A bit of milk
- Salt, Pepper, Laurel, Basil
These are the steps:
Start by preparing what is called the sofrito, which is the base of all or almost all Italian tomato-based sauces. It is a mixture of very finely chopped vegetables and herbs, which are sautéed in olive oil before adding the tomato, and this is what gives the sauce its flavor. So start by chopping very finely, as finely as possible the garlic, onion, shallot, celery and carrot. In very small dice! Gently brown in a large saucepan with a little olive oil for a few minutes, while the aromas begin to emerge.
Then we will add the meats to brown them a little. Raise the heat a little, then add the bacon cut into very small dice, to give it color. Do the same with your sausage meat, then the minced meat and let the meat cook for a few moments. At this point, you can leave the heat high enough (but not too high) to caramelize the cooking juices. Next, deglaze with the white wine and let it reduce: the wine will remove the cooking juices and give the Bolognese sauce even more flavour. Add a little milk: this will break the acidity of the tomato and add sweetness to the sauce.
Then it’s time to add the tomato pulp. There you have two options: either you make your pulp yourself. Simply take the tomatoes, remove the skin and mash the pulp removing the seeds. Second solution, you use cans of already prepared crushed tomato: very useful when it is not the tomato season. A word of advice: avoid large, slightly industrial brand sauces that are often full of unnecessary additives and choose real canned goods (metal can) that contain 100% fresh crushed tomato, So add this tomato, mix well and fry it with a bay leaf.
You must cook everything over low heat so that nothing burns. The liquid will be reduced and concentrated, and all the fat from the food will melt into the juices to give a gorgeous, creamy sauce and, above all, perfectly tender meat. Don’t forget another essential step: seasoning. Salt, pepper and a little sugar if it’s too acidic.
Once we have the sauce, there is only one crucial step left before tasting: cooking the pasta! This does not require a large volume of water: ideally 1 liter for every 100 g of pasta. A pinch of salt and you’re done. No oil as Italians consider putting oil on pasta to be sacrilege. In fact, it is not only useless, but it is also counterproductive, especially in the case of pasta Bolognese. Since the oil will sit on top of the pasta, it will coat the pasta and prevent the sauce from soaking into the pasta. The sauce will drain off the pasta instead of being well mixed in the end, the absolute mistake if you want to celebrate International Pasta Day with a good plate of spaghetti bolognese.
Spaghetti with garlic and fresh chili
An incredible and simple recipe with pasta to also celebrate this day without spending half a day in the kitchen.
These are the ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Garlic
- fresh chili
- extra virgin olive oil
These are the steps:
Boil the water, add salt and throw the spaghetti; meanwhile, in a frying pan brown two crushed garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil; add a sliced fresh chilli and let them season (adding a saucepan of cooking water). For the success of this dish it is essential to cook the pasta, which must be strictly al dente. Sauté in a pan with your herbs, remove the garlic and serve immediately!