One of the world’s favorite dishes, spaghetti, is more than deserving of its own little holiday. And because it is both simple and delicious, spaghetti is the perfect dish to make, to bring out your inner chef, even if you don’t have all that much cooking experience!

The History of Spaghetti Day.

Many people don’t know that the first historical reference to boiled noodles suggests that the Arabs invented the dish thousands of years ago, long before it became a staple of Italian cuisine.

   Pasta making school, by Bartolomeo Scappi, Italy 1570. Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500 – 13 April 1577) was a famous Renaissance chef.

  Scappi acquired fame in 1570 when his monumental cookbook „Opera del la arte del cucinare“ was published. He lists approximately 1000 recipes of the Renaissance cuisine.
The Opera dell’arte del cucinare was partially translated in Spanish (Libro de cozina, 1599, by Diego Granado Maldonado) and Dutch (Koocboec oft familieren keukenboec, 1612, by Antonius Magirus).

Let’s start at the first references to pasta in Europe: the ancient Romans served „lagana“ (some fine sheets of dough) or strip pasta, which appears to have been close to lasagna or tagliatelle. In 300 B.C., the Greek dramatist Aristophanes refers to a wheat pasta that seems close to ravioli. Four hundred years later, Galen mentions pasta in his books on medicine and health, listing it among other starches that may cause kidney stones and flatulence if it is not properly kneaded, salted, or baked.

    Drying spaghetti in Italy around 1900.

What’s especially remarkable about this is that historical records actually refer to dried noodles being purchased from a street vendor, which means that pasta has been sold in stores since at least the 4th century A.D.!

     Spaghetti manufacturer in Naples, Italy 1905.

Of course, today we associate pasta with the Italians, who revolutionized the dish and invented a wide variety of pasta shapes. The first Western pasta was likely long, thin forms made in Sicily around the 12th century. Till this day, spaghetti is the most common round-rod type of pasta.

    Spaghetti vendor in Naples, Italy 1908.

In Italian, “spaghetti” means “little lines.” However, the popularity of pasta only spread across the whole country of Italy after the establishment of pasta factories in the early 19th century, substantially shortening the time needed for making dishes like spaghetti and enabling the mass production of pasta for the Italian market.

    One of the first US spaghetti vendors 1912.

The steady flow of Italian immigrants to the United States brought traditional Italian dishes with it, and spaghetti was offered in restaurants as early as the 19th century. Spaghetti then gained popularity all over the world.

What are spaghetti ?

Spaghetti, Italian pronunciation: spaˈɡetti, is a long, thin, cylindrical, solid pasta. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat and water.
Italian spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but elsewhere it may be made with other kinds of flour. It is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine.

                  Home made spaghetti with a special pasta extruder. Different insets produce different pasta. Great machine.

When we were kids and asked our mother „how they make spaghetti“, I’ll never forget her answer:  „Spaghetti are the inside of the macaroni“ !!! Ha, Ha !!!

    Ja,ja, some kids had their spaghetti experience.

How to Celebrate Spaghetti Day ?

There are many ways to celebrate. Just cook yourself a spaghetti meal or throw a spaghetti party or have some in a restaurant or … or… . Just play a bit with your fantasy.

    A Hollywood fantasy of „Dolce Italia“.

There are hundred’s and hundred’s of spaghetti recipes. Everywhere in the internet, in every cookbook one will find spaghetti recipes. That’s why I give you here one basic idea only and leave then everything to you. You also find some already in this blog under recipes, especially my posts „A Fork Full of Joy, August 2016“ and „World Pasta Day, October 2016“.

    Italian spaghetti, „less is more“ recipe.

Ingredients.

1/2 medium white onion
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 big garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
200g tin chopped tomatoes
20g fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
200g dried spaghetti (roughly half of a 500g pack)
100g ball mozzarella
a few pinches of salt and a bit of oil for the pasta
(this recipe is for 2 persons)

How to do.

Peel the onion and the garlic and chop both finely.
Set a large frying pan over medium heat and when hot, pour in the oil then add the onion.
Cook the onion for about 4-5 mins, or until it softens, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, cook 2 mins more until fragrant.
Then, add the tomatoes and half the basil.
Leave to gently bubble for 15 mins or so, stirring occasionally–the sauce should become thick and pulpy.
Break up any large clumps of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.

        Left: Spaghetti with shrimps, tomato and basil. Right: with tomatoes, basil, olives and a fine Valpolicella.

Pour water ¾ of the way up your largest pot.
Heat over a high heat and add several large pinches of salt and a spoon or so of oil.
When water has reached a rolling boil, put the spaghetti in it.
Giving it a stir every now ad then stir to separate the pasta, cook it according to pack instructions, usually about 10 mins.
Before you finish cooking it, taste a strand of the pasta. It should be just soft, but not mushy. In Italian „aldente“.

    Spaghetti with fresh crab meat and basil.

Scoop out a cup of water before draining and set aside (this will help to loosen your sauce).
Put the drained pasta back into its cooking pan, then pour in the tomato sauce. Give everything a good stir.
The sauce should just coat the pasta, but if it is thick and looks dry, stir in a few spoons of the pasta water you set aside before.
If it is watery, cook over a low heat for 2-3 mins or until evaporated, stirring often.
Use your hands to break the mozzarella into chunky pieces and stir through the pasta along with the remaining basil leaves. Serve straight away.

   Isn’t that something mouthwatering ? Spaghetti with soft meat balls in a spicy tomato puree plus a Gabbiano Classico.  I can have spaghetti much more often.

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest.

On April 1, 1957 the British news show Panorama broadcast a three-minute segment about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The success of the crop was attributed both to an unusually mild winter and to the „virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil“.

         The „Swiss Spaghetti Harvest“ .  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU . Watch it on YouTube !

The audience heard Richard Dimbleby, the show’s highly respected anchor, discussing the details of the spaghetti crop as they watched video footage of a Swiss family pulling pasta off spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets. The segment concluded with the assurance that, „For those who love this dish, there’s nothing like real, home-grown spaghetti.“ After the show hundred’s of people called BBC and wanted to know how they can grow spaghetti at home !!!                                                Don’t forget to click on pics – most will supersize !

  Spaghetti made since 1820 in Gragnano, Italy.

Finally.

One absolute delicious spaghetti dish we make from time to time here in Uruguay.

   This is a feast, no more words needed !!

Spaghetti cooked as usual and then tossed in „basil pesto“ (available in little jars). Topped with „Cherry Tomatoes“ (which were very quick sauteed in Chilli-Garlic oil) and finally garnished with „Goat Cream Cheese Balls pickled in Olive Oil“. We buy the pickled goat cheese balls in jars from the Cheese Farm in Maldonado.   Enjoy your Spaghetti Day !