Pasta Perfection
With over 200 types of pasta in the world, there are endless possibilities of turning pasta into various dishes. From bolognese to carbonara and pesto to aglio olios, pasta is loved by many and enjoyed on a regular basis.
From the 1700s till today
Hailing from Genova in Liguria, Italy, linguine is usually made of durum wheat semolina and water, and the most popular sauces for this type of pasta are either pesto or seafood unlike the worldwide spaghetti with tomato sauce.
While pasta can be prepared fresh, technology has evolved to enable pasta to be dried and stored for future use. Fresh pasta can be made with eggs, and it is often cooked and eaten right away, ala fresh.
Pasta secca, or rather, dried pasta was available in all regions of Italy after the artificial drying process widespread in 1914. The great development enabled Italian pasta to be exported to a massive record of 70,000 tonnes.
The Industry of Pasta, mainly encompasses the phenomenon whereby importing countries started to produce machinery that can manufacture pasta for their own. These machines, in turn, conquered the world with limitless pasta variations.
A myth surrounding the pasta phenomenon was often quoted back to the 13th-century explorer, Marco Polo. Apparently, a misinterpretation of a passage in Marco Polo’s Travels had brought about the introduction of pasta to Italy from China.
In reality, Polo was mentioning about a tree from which some noodles similar to pasta was made from. The tree was probably a sago palm in which starchy food can be made but not pasta! Polo’s travels to China, encountering a food as such had definitely reminded him of his Venetian roots – pasta.
Pasta booms and thrives in many different parts of the world throughout the course of human civilisations such as the Naples and Sicily and pasta has had its fair share of the limelight in the rich and poor. Till today, you can find pasta literally anywhere!
Linguine ala…
Where there is National Pasta Day, we celebrate the delicate and exquisite linguine with the National Linguine Day on the 15th of September annually!
Linguine [liŋˈɡwiːne], commonly pronounced incorrectly as ‘linguin’ is a form of flat, noodle-like pasta similar to its counterparts Fettuccine and Trenette. While linguine is wider, flatter, thinner and epileptical cross-sectionally as compared to the common household spaghetti, it is less wide than the fettuccine. The term linguine actually derived from an Italian word that means “little tongues” as with its oblong cross-section.
Generally, the linguine is more of an exquisite pasta, which is why, as mentioned above, it is mostly paired with lighter vegetable or seafood sauces. In Liguria, the typical match would be Genovese pesto. Nevertheless, as linguine starts to make its presence in different regions of Italy, we see various forms of seafood pasta recipes too.
Listed below are just some of the unique recipes of linguine pasta are made throughout different Italian regions.
- Linguine al batti batti – Linguine with sea cicadas, anchovies and pine nuts
- Linguine alla Ligure – Linguine with anchovies and basil
- Linguine al vongole – Linguine with clams
- Linguine allo scoglio – Linguine with mussels, clams, calamari and prawns
- Linguine alla Livornese – Linguine with totani (a type of squid), shrimps and tomatoes
- Linguine Serena – Linguine with mussels, pumpkin and creamed salmon
The Iconic Linguine al vongole
The linguine pasta may be able to be paired with literally anything, but one thing is for sure that this recipe stood out among all!
Linguine al vongole, or rather, linguine pasta with clams is one of the most popular pasta perfection tasted. While the clams give a refreshing sweetness of seafood to the dish, it is important to pair them with a pasta that brings out the most of it, and linguine is just the right pair to the clams!
If you ever had a chance to order Linguine al vongole at any restaurants, you would realise many people do it differently. It can go about from spicy to tangy to garlicky!
This National Linguine Day, why not try out a Linguine al vongole recipe that can wow your tastebuds?
Ingredients:
- 500g of clams
- 200g of linguine pasta
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 75g of nduja (a type of Italian salami)
- 1 big garlic clove, finely chopped
- 100g of kale
- 50ml of white wine
- Half a lemon, zested and cut into wedges
- Grated parmesan to serve (optional)
Celebrate the National Linguine Day by whipping up your own Linguine al vongole!
Instructions:
- Firstly, pick over the clams and discard any damaged clams or those that stay open when pressed shut. Proceed to rinse them in cold water. Boil a large pan of water, add in a pinch of salt and add in the linguine. Cook for 1 minute less than the pack instructions.
- Over medium heat, heat the oil in a large, lidded sauté pan. Add in the nduja and cook for 3 minutes. Break up the sausage with the back of the spoon so that the fat melts into the oil. Stir in the finely chopped garlic, cook until fragrant, then turn up to high heat.
- Then, add in the clams and kale and pour in the white wine. Close the lid. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan until the clams open and the kale wilts.
- Remove any clams that are not open, then drain the linguine and toss through the sauce. Stir in the lemon zest and add some black pepper to season. Linguine al vongole is now ready to be served with parmesan and lemon wedges for squeezing!
You can opt to celebrate the National Linguine Day by dining out with some perfecto linguine dishes or get your hands messy in the kitchen for some authentic traditional Italian linguine with clams! It is always best to celebrate occasions like this together with friends and family!
Mangiamo! Let us dig into some linguine al vongole on the National Linguine Day! Find out more about linguine at foodpanda!
