Spaghetti

Hello everyone welcome to my series of pasta blog so today i am going to share my views and some information on spaghetti 

History of Spaghetti and Pasta

Pasta and especially spaghetti have managed to infiltrate our modern culture, cuisine pop culture, and become immensely famous not because they instantly gave us the means to replenish our bodies with healthy and nutritious food, but also because they gave our cuisine a new sense of fashion, invention, freedom and ability to experiment. This was possible not only because their basic recipe gave us the ability to change the appearance of the final meal as we wish to, but also because we were given the opportunity to truly experiment with ingredients, toppings, spices and fillings of countless shapes, sizes and origins.

Brief History

With history that reaches all the way back to 1st century BC, meals made from pasta managed to evolve in its homeland of Ancient Rome and later Italy and Sicilia, slowly becoming more and more popular with newer and better recipes. Meals like lasagna, pizza and spaghetti are today synonyms for the Italian and Sicilian cuisine, but their rise to popularity beyond the borders of those sunny Mediterranean countries was not as easy as you may think. But lets start from the beginning.

History of pasta meals had deep origins in the eastern Mediterranean countries such as Greece and several territories of Middle East and Arabian Peninsula. There, meals made form dough were different in many ways to the food that was used on daily basis in Ancient Roman Empire. As historian records can tell us, the direct origin of the Italian pasta came from the Arab meal called “itriyya” that was often described by the Greeks as “dry pasta”. This durable and long lasting meal was one of the main sources of nutrition for Arab traders who traveled all across then-known world outside of Europe. Because of their nomadic nature and military conquest, the first European contact with itriyya was recorded sometimes during 7th century AD when Arabs managed to occupy Sicily. There were rumors about Marco Polo bringing Chinese recipe of pasta to the Italy, but his travels happened more than 500 years later.

 

Spaghetti with Bacon, Pecorino, and Fried Egg

Serves 4

Recipe by Rebekah Peppler

INGREDIENTS

1 lb spaghetti

1 lb thick cut smoked bacon

½ cup grated pecorino

4 eggs

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

Cook spaghetti according to package  directions, until al dente. Drain through a colander, reserving about a cup of the pasta water.In a large skillet over medium heat, fry half of the bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the skillet, and repeat with the remaining bacon. Pour half of the bacon fat out of the pan and reserve it.

Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet with the remaining bacon fat, sprinkle with pecorino and add about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat, and crumble the cooked bacon into the pasta. Transfer pasta to serving bowls, and wipe out the skillet.

Add the reserved bacon fat to the skillet, and fry 4 eggs (2 at a time) over medium heat, cooking until whites are set but yolks are runny. Serve one egg on top of each bowl of pasta.