How do you make your pasta?

Some pasta dishes, like carbonara, use pasta water as an integral part of the sauce.

As far as creaminess, a lot of recipes and even some restaurants cheat with a roux to make a sauce creamy. It's easier, less expensive in labor and materials, and the sauce is less likely to break when held for an extended period.

I've gotten to where I ask how they make it if I order something like an Alfredo out. I've also noticed at sone of the higher end places, that they've started stating on the menu that their Alfredo is made with butter, cheese, and a touch of cream (cream because most american butter doesn't have as much cream/fat in it as Italian butter ).
 
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A lot of this came from some of the basic pasta recipes like Cachio e pepe. I use the pasta water technique a lot of times. I have a two stage process. I like to cook it until just before al dente, then transfer it to the pan with the a la carte sauce to finish it for two or three minutes so the pasta can absorb some of the flavours. If I notice that the pasta is absorbing too much moisture and becoming dry I’ll add a ladle of pasta water and continue to flip/stir. I also add a scant bit of fresh parmesan to help make the sauce richer.

And, a lot of these basic pasta recipes rely on a good quality pasta as they are certainly not all created equally. A few years ago I’d never spend 6-7 bucks for a pack of imported spaghetti, but now that I have, I’ll never go back.

It’s just a preference.
 
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If you want to see some cool 15-20 minute videos on Youtube of Italian chefs making small batch pasta dishes, search out Aden Films. They have a lot of videos of authentic Trattorias throughout Italy. Interesting to see some of the techniques. I have adopted a few and my pasta dishes are much better because of it
 
Timenspace said:
Are there noodle soups that can forego spiciness?
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Oooh there are loads of them! There are also a good number where you could effectively leave out the spice (I assume you refer to hot chile peppers) or cut it down to a minimum.
Indonesian chicken and vegetable soup with rice noodles, or beef soup with rice noodles. Laksa (just don't add the chiles), Chinese ham and chicken, Cambodian fish and rice noodle soup, vietnamese Pho, Japanese Udon noodle soup, the list goes on. Even though most SE Asian cuisines rely on lots of chile, there's no reason why you shouldn't try them without.
 
Timenspace said:
Are there noodle soups that can forego spiciness? Maybe a title and I can google recipes...
The most I can take is a pinch of chilli powder, 2 pinches of black.pepper, and that is it...
But I love exploring layering the herbs and vegetables in interesting combinations...
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karadekoolaid beat me to a lot of them :)
Vietnamese is not nearly as hot as Thai, Malay and Indonesian and they use lot and lots of herbs.
Then coconut based ones like laksa, they are a bit milder, Tom kai gai as well (whereas Tom Yum is hot).
In general just severely reduce the chili & peppers the first time you make it.
Then taste and maybe use a bit more next time.
Have a bowl of yoghurt on stand by. Just in case :)

Oh, and buy some curry paste from john west or Thai table or so.
Forego mae ploy and maesri.
The last 2 are much better but pack a punch.

Actually no, buy small pack maesri or may ploy.
Use a little little bit and add lots of herbs and spices that are not hot.
 
Timenspace said:
Are there noodle soups that can forego spiciness? Maybe a title and I can google recipes...
The most I can take is a pinch of chilli powder, 2 pinches of black.pepper, and that is it...
But I love exploring layering the herbs and vegetables in interesting combinations...
Click to expand...
I will sometimes use spaghetti noodles in basic, unspicy chicken noodle soup with a few vegetables. The thing I have noticed though, is when I make the soup I only make noodles for the amount we are going to eat and I don't add the noodles to the large batch because they absorb too much liquid and get soggy. I generally will scoop out the amount of soup base we are going to eat for a meal and add the noodles only to that pot, then I refrigerate/freeze the rest.

It's weird to think it's going to be soup weather in just a few months.
 
badjak said:
Isn't it always soup weather?
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A lot of us in the USA would say no. I know your climate is much hotter than ours, but I don't love soup in hot weather. I think TastyReuben and MrsT do, but I would say when it gets cold (like -4C to -12C), nothing hits the spot like a bowl of hot soup!

Yeah so technically January and February are the best soup months...
 
For the noodle soups I got in asia:
They had a big pot of broth going
You could choose some ingredients and they would go in a little basket thingy in the broth.
Same for a seperate one with fresh noodles.
Then all in your bowl, broth added and fish sauce, sugar, chile and crushed peanuts on the table.

Obviously I had to buy those type of basket thingies and I haven't used them yet as I never have something like 5 litre broth on the go.
But I had to have them :)
 
JAS_OH1 said:
A lot of us in the USA would say no. I know your climate is much hotter than ours, but I don't love soup in hot weather. I think TastyReuben and MrsT do, but I would say when it gets cold (like -4C to -12C), nothing hits the spot like a bowl of hot soup!
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I eat sauerkraut at 40 oC weather, so don't use me as a role model :) :)
 
Most of continental Northern Europe will eat sauerkraut only in winter.
Traditionally, it is mashed in with boiled potatoes.
And of course traditionally it was made in late fall, early winter when the cabbages where ready
 
badjak said:
Most of continental Northern Europe will eat sauerkraut only in winter.
Traditionally, it is mashed in with boiled potatoes.
And of course traditionally it was made in late fall, early winter when the cabbages where ready
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Well of course. Sauerkraut was one of the food items that replaced fresh vegetables, which obviously weren't available in winter.
 
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