Spaghetti and meatballs.

Life is too short, and I’m Italian.
I’d much rather eat pasta and drink
wine than be a size 0.
Whoever that said, she or he is right, right ?

Warm steaming spaghetti in a rich red sauce, littered with seasoned sausage, black olives, and mushrooms, or a rich Chicken Fettuccine in a creamy garlic white sauce that just absolutely blows your mind. There are over 600 shapes of pasta known to mankind, and their names are descriptive of their shapes. Spaghetti (‘cord’), vermicelli (‘little worms’), rotini (‘spirals’), fusili (‘spindles’), tortellini (‘little cakes’), linguini (‘little tongues’), conchiglie (‘shells’), fettucine (‘small ribbons’), penne (‘quills’) and capellini (‘fine hairs’) are the savoury little goodies that are essential to any pantry.

      Dried Pasta (left) and Fresh Pasta (right) from Family Circle brochure. Click on pics to supersize and read the different pasta names if you don’t know them anyhow.

While Italian food made it famous, it was only a gateway drug of pasta. Chinese Chow Mein and German Spaetzle are just a couple of the ways the world has taken pasta and fallen in love with it all over again.

  Always a favorite Spaghetti Bolognesa.

History of World Pasta Day

World Pasta Day was brought into existence as part of the World Pasta Congress on the 25th of October in 1995. Experts from all over the world came together to discuss the glories of the noodle, with particular emphasis on the importance of spreading knowledge of the world’s panorama of pasta. This organization uses World Pasta Day to promote the eating of pasta, along with its cultural and culinary importance.

Everything from encouraging consumers to try new pasta’s to providing important information to institutions and promotions of this increasingly popular food. Every country is encouraged to celebrate the day in their own way, while sharing the logo of the official organization and participating in the global strategy of World Pasta Day.

   Celebrate with a sun dried tomato pasta salad.

How to Celebrate World Pasta Day

One of the best ways to celebrate World Pasta Day is preparing your favorite dish and enjoying the delicious flavors and textures that come along with your noodley favorite. There’s no way to renew your appreciation than by wolfing down this healthy and nutritious food.

  .. enjoying Pasta.

Or you can go all out, and host a World Pasta day party, where everyone comes together to share their favorite pasta dish, or exchange recipes with others to help the love of the noodle spread. Be sure to be prepared for one momentous night of rich and creamy carbohydrate overload, naps will be mandatory, but stomachs will be full!

Above: Things Italian Women Can Teach Us About Appreciating Food.

For the truly daring, you can enhance the above by having your participants only bring pasta dishes they’ve never tried before. Try new noodle types, or making your own, experiment with sauces and flavors that may be outside your normal pallet. Did you know that Spaetzle was traditionally served with a sour sauce/gravy for Sauerbraten? It’s amazing! Imagine what else could unfold into your culinary world if you take World Pasta Day to broaden your horizons!

Chef Nadia Santini, who was named the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef in 2013, explained what made Italian food and attitude towards cuisine so special in an April 2013 interview for Fine Dining:  „Food overcame the frontiers a long time before politics. Its language is universal, its ethics transparent, if you cook you want to bring joy and health. Italian food is like music: a few notes can create a symphony“.

Look in this blog under recipes and you will find many pasta ideas worth to try. If not here one of our favorites.

Farfalle in tuna, mushroom and cream sauce.

Ingredients

60 g (2 oz) butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
125 g (4oz) button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) cream
450 g ( 14 oz) can tuna in brine, drained and flaked
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
500 g ( 1 lb) farfalle

   Farfalle.

How to do.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and stir over low heat for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is golden and soft.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

   Sliced button mushrooms.

Pour in the cream, bring to the boil, then reduce the hear and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken.
Add the tuna, lemon juice and parsley and stir until heated through. add salt and pepper, to taste.

   Flaked tuna out of the can.

While the sauce is cooking, add the Farfalle to a large pan of rapidly boiling water and cook until „al dente“.
Drain thoroughly, then return to the pan, Add the sauce to the Farfalle and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

   Now get a glass of wine and enjoy !

Tips.

  Use a can of salmon instead of tuna.

In Uruguay we buy the 354 gram tuna cans from Inglesia „Lomos De Atun en Aceite“.
I like to leave the oil and mix it into the tuna flakes when I brake up the can content, otherwise the fish comes out a bit to dry.

Enjoy your „noodles“ on World Pasta Day !!