Tag: mistakes

Cooking pasta: the 10 most common mistakes – Italian Cuisine

It is easy to say "I prepare a plate of pasta". But do you know how many mistakes can be made? We tell you 10

Pasta is the pride of our country and in the world we are famous for being the best at preparing it and knowing its secrets.
But do you know that in reality every day without knowing it we make many mistakes and what seems to be a perfect pasta actually hides many imperfections?
Well yes. Indeed even the simplest of recipes based on pasta, such as the classic pasta with sauce or garlic oil and chilli pepper, must be performed in a workmanlike manner.

Here, then, the 10 most common mistakes that are committed when preparing pasta.
How many of you recognize yourself at least in one point?

1. One quality is another

It's not absolutely true. There is pasta and pasta and if the price changes there will be a reason. A bronze-drawn pasta, for example, always makes it better and welcomes any seasoning to perfection.

2. A random format

If you want to prepare a good pasta you must combine the seasoning with the most suitable format. Long pasta, for example, is fine with fairly liquid and creamy sauces, striped pasta absorbs seasoning better, short pasta is perfect for ragù and sauces that are not very homogeneous, and spiral pasta is fine with the classic tomato sauce .

3. Little water

The rule says that in a liter of water no more than 100 g of pasta should be cooked. Cooking pasta in a little water is wrong, unless it is the recipe for one pot pasta in which the secret lies precisely in "risottare" the pasta directly in the sauce by adding a little water.

4. Rinse the pasta

Never pass the freshly drained pasta under the tap. Stopping cooking is wrong, even when you need to prepare a cold pasta salad. In this case, for example, let it cool by adding a drizzle of oil to prevent it from sticking.

5. Watch out for the cooking time

If the packet indicates 10 minutes of cooking, do not go further, drain it first and keep the cooking water. Saute it directly in the sauce and let it finish cooking while stirring adding the cooking water.

6. Salt to taste

When adding salt to the water, "just enough" is very wrong. In reality, the exact dose is 7 g per 100 g of pasta and should be thrown into the water as soon as it starts to boil, never before, which would prevent you from boiling the water quickly, nor when cooking the pasta.

7. Remove the lid

Use the lid to cover the pan while waiting for the water to boil. Then, once the pasta has been thrown, do not cover it.

8. Oil is not needed

Some add cooking olive oil to "separate" the pasta especially when it is long or egg. It is useless, really!

9. There is a pot and a pot

Do not cook the long pasta in a pan that is too low and do not fold, or even worse broken, the spaghetti to put them in a low pan. Always choose the right container for cooking.

10. Drain the pasta

As already mentioned, to allow the pasta to mix perfectly with the sauce you have to drain it al dente and sauté it with the sauce for at least one minute on the fire. Use a colander with the handle and do not drain the pasta in the sink. In this way, you will take it out of the pot without throwing away the precious cooking water.

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5 mistakes everyone makes (and maybe you too!) – Italian Cuisine

One of the most popular recipes of all Mediterranean cuisine, spaghetti with seafood is a simple dish to prepare, as long as you follow our advice

The scent of garlic that sizzles in the pot and then that hint of iodine that immediately makes the sea, summer, vacation, time of relaxation. Can a dish arouse so much emotion you say? If it is the spaghetti with seafood, the answer is yes! Clams, mussels and razor clams are the basic ingredients, together with garlic and tomato, to obtain this classic of the Mediterranean tradition, now cooked in every part of Italy and appreciated by all. A dish so well known as to seem very easy to make. But is it really so?

Only shells or even crustaceans?

Seafood purists would turn their noses up just at the thought. but yet the mixture of shells with crustaceans (especially shrimp and scampi) in this dish so marine does not mind at all. So here appear in the various restaurants along the beach sumptuous dishes full of clams, mussels, razor clams and then pinkish crescents with a very sweet taste. A successful combination, no doubt about it.

spaghetti with seafood — Spaghetti with seafood.

Fresh tomatoes? Better than the pass

Being a fresh dish, with little invasive cooking, the fresh cherry tomato it is the most suitable for the preparation of the sauce. In summer, then, they reach the maximum of their flavor and aroma. Choose between datterini or cherry tomatoes, the most suitable, cut them in half and fry them with the garlic for about ten minutes. It is important that they maintain their consistency and that they do not fall apart completely.

The recipe for spaghetti with seafood

Ingredients for 4 people: 400 g of bronze-drawn spaghetti, 1.5 kg of clams, mussels and razor clams, 1 clove of garlic, 500 g of cherry tomatoes, parsley or basil, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper.

Method: drain the razor clams and clams, clean the mussels and cook each shellfish for 5 minutes, in separate pots, to open. Once all the shells are open, remove them from the heat and recover the cooking water from all the shellfish, filter it and keep it aside. In a large pan, brown the garlic in a little oil, and when it is golden, add the cherry tomatoes cut in half and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the shells (partially shelled) and the water released during cooking and cook another 5 minutes. In the meantime, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, toss the spaghetti and cook them for up to 5 minutes before cooking. Drain them (keeping two tablespoons of water) and add the spaghetti with fish sauce. Leave to rise for a few minutes, adding water if necessary. Season with salt, sprinkle with pepper and add the basil or chopped parsley, according to your taste. Serve the spaghetti hot.

Seafood spaghetti: 5 mistakes not to be made

And now, browsing the tutorial, find out if you've always cooked spaghetti with seafood to perfection or if you've committed one of them once 5 mistakes!

Eat at school. Canteens: the 10 most common mistakes – Italian Cuisine

From the experience of Foodinsider, Claudia Paltrinieri analyzes the menus of school canteens in a book and reveals the lights and shadows of the meals offered to Italian children

Eat at school it is a book that was born from the experience of Foodinsider, or a group of parents who joined in 2015 to "transform the school canteen into a health tool for children and for the planet". They are those who actively participate in the so-called "canteen commissions", giving votes, proposing improvements, sometimes fighting to get them. On the other hand, school catering is a phenomenon with significant numbers, if we count that in Italy there are 380 million meals served in canteens every year.
In addition to being a founding member of Food Insider, Claudia Paltrinieri, author of the book, is the creator of the canteen rating, or a grid for judging the meals offered to children. In the book Eat at school has selected the experiences, skills and case histories collected in these five years of work. And there is no lack of critical issues on which parents must watch and, if necessary, intervene.

Protein share too high

An example: pasta with meat sauce, cooked ham and peas, three protein sources in the same meal. Added to this is a tendency to abound with red meats, which however Paltrinieri notes as it is gradually being reduced. Added to this is the use of preserved meats, or cured meats, which are recommended to be totally eliminated from the menus. Also because the same reasoning can be applied to cured meats that Paltrinieri does with regard to cheeses: it is not correct for canteens to offer meals that are not actually cooked internally, such as cold cuts and cheeses, which on the contrary can be save-dinners for parents often in trouble at the end of the day. Add to this the attention that Paltrinieri emphasizes towards "hidden" proteins that are often not counted in the balance of the menu, such as egg in the dough or parmesan on the pasta.

Improper combinations

Another common mistake, adds Paltrinieri, are the improper combinations, which end up unbalancing the children's diet. First course pasta and side potatoes, first course with pasta or rice and pizza or polenta as a second course: in this way children are weighed down with carbohydrates. Conversely, the reverse also occurs, perhaps with a first course of legumes combined with a second one based on eggs or cheese, which involves an excess of protein.

Poor variety of cereals and legumes

"Pasta and rice are dominant on menus with a 4 to 1 ratio." Apart from a few exceptions related to the territorial characteristics, the velvety, the past, the Roman dumplings, the dumplings are almost unknown in the canteens of Italian children. We find barley and spelled only in central Italy and the polenta practically stops in the north and does not exceed the Rubicone. As for the wholemeal versions of pasta and rice, despite being recommended by the WHO guidelines, in Italian canteens they are almost unknown.

Monotony in vegetables

Vegetables are often the weak link in the food chain for children. Yet little is done to make them appreciate, often offering them as unattractive side dishes, including salads, carrots or raw fennel. The result is that the pot ends up being discarded evenly. Already if they were offered as an appetizer, suggests Paltrinieri, it would be possible to take advantage of the pull of the hunger of the children. Or make them become a second course in an intelligent way, perhaps combined with the easiest potatoes, or in strudel, patties or other "smart" dishes for children.

Fish and eggs: too easy if packed

As far as the difficulties of managing large numbers and food safety can be understood, Paltrinieri stresses how often products already pasteurized are used to prepare eggs and fish is almost always breaded and frozen. The result is that children end up eating anything but homemade products and that the menus are too repetitive, with omelettes that make up the lion's share and fish that becomes hopelessly stick-shaped.

End of meal: no to sweets and fruit

That the fruit should be eaten is not in question, but the end of the meal is not the ideal time to offer it to children. Rather, its ideal location, suggests Paltrinieri, is the mid-morning snack. On the contrary, desserts should really be banned from schools, especially if we talk about snacks, puddings and fruit yogurt. Yes instead with white yogurt and, if you really want to gratify the children every now and then, Paltrinieri suggests desserts made internally with a low sugar content.

Underrated bread

"Too often," says the author, "the importance of bread quality is underestimated in the canteen." On the contrary, he adds, this should play a crucial role, since it constitutes a sort of "safe haven" for children that children can count on when they do not like the other proposals on the menu. We hardly speak of a short chain or we know the flours or we propose breads that are perhaps made with wholemeal and organic flours.

Condiments not disclosed

Even if it is not said that there are flaws in this sense in school canteens, the mistake is nevertheless not in informing families about the condiments used. A good quality extra virgin olive oil must be communicated, also to convey to the parents a sense of tranquility on the general quality of the raw materials used in the canteen.

Dried fruit, seeds and olives, these unknown

It is true that in the school catering guidelines, warns Paltrinieri, they are not present, yet it is the WHO that promotes these foods for a number of good reasons: «They educate children on new flavors, they are good for health and should be included in habits even at home . As the author suggests, they can be used as condiments for main courses, or as a "crunchy note" in salads and vegetables.

Organic on the rise, but not everywhere

The increase in attention to organic food is evident, yet a little leopard-like. In the canteens analyzed by Paltrinieri in 27% of cases the use of bio exceeds 70%, but in contrast 19% does not even reach 30%. What the author points out is that, in cities where there is an important organic presence, such as in Bologna, there has been an important intervention by the parents, who actively collaborated in the definition of the specifications.