Mama Mia, it’s pasta!

Jeandre Basson

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta,” according to a famous Italian quote, and that is exactly how pasta is seen by most of us because – let’s be honest – who does not like (rather LOVE) pasta?Pasta, the three-ingredient masterpiece of the culinary world that we as humans have ingested since our first teeth popped right up to our college life... yes, I’m referring to those N$2.50 instant noodles, up to the point where we sit in fancy restaurants as adults to savour the four-cheese ravioli with basil cream sauce.

There is speculation that the idea of pasta came from a voyager who travelled to China and brought it back to Italy, but truth be told, it doesn’t matter because the Italians definitely mastered the craft of making pasta.

Pasta is made with three ingredients: Flour, egg and water, then boiled until soft although it still needs to have a bite to it, which the Italians call ‘al dente’, meaning ‘to the tooth’.

As simple as people think pasta may be, the cheap ingredient we buy just because it is a staple in most households, really is an art and when different shapes of pasta are paired with the right ingredients and sauces, it becomes a combination of euphoric sensations in the mouth. From the thin stuffed pasta pillows called Agnolotti to the cheesy layered pasta dish famously known as lasagne, the list is endless and we love them all.

Pasta is best made fresh by hand and can be rolled thinner by using a rolling pin or easier yet, by using a pasta machine. Fresh pasta keeps well for two to three days in the fridge and two to three months in the freezer if properly stored in an airtight container or zip lock bags.

Fresh pasta can also be dried and stored and will last two to six months.

So, mangiamo (let’s eat)! Get that fresh pasta going or buy premade, and go make yourself a mouth-watering, stomach-satisfying pasta dish for lunch or dinner, or have it for breakfast for all we care!