Pasta was originally a southern Italian dish, with the first past industry located in Naples to take advantage of its pure water, local grain and abundant sunshine.
It was Mussolini who encouraged the cultivation of wheat , and therefore pasta to other areas of Italy, and emigrating Italians who made it famous throughout the world.
Nowadays the South specializes in dried durum wheat semolina pasta made without eggs (pasta secca) .
The hard durum wheat is needed to form the pasta into shapes and to mantain its 'al dente' consistency.
The average suggested cooking time should be around seven minuts .
Different shapes are crafted to complement certain sauces.
Pasta is often available as 'liscia' (smooth) and 'rigata' (ridged) and should be served with just enough sauce to coat them. If too thick , the drained cooking water from the pasta can be added to the sauce.
Pasta was originally a southern Italian dish, with the first past industry located in Naples to take advantage of its pure water, local grain and abundant sunshine.