Cooking for a large gathering? Feeding a family? Planning warmable left-overs for an up-coming busy week? A large pot of sphagetti can be just the thing. It is easy to prepare in large quantities, is fairly inexpensive, and warms up nicely in the microwave.
Dried pasta is a part of the cuisine of several cultures-particularly those which rely upon grain crops as a primary staple. In its varying forms, it travels well, yet is easy and relatively quick to cook. Sphaghetti is traditionally considered an Italian food, but it may have been brought to Southern Italy by immigrating Muslims. It was probably served with a cheese, meat or cream sauce, since tomatoes were brought from the Americas by Cortez in 1519. Although tomatoes had been eaten by native peoples in Mexico, Europeans believed it was poisonous. This is usually considered to be because the tomato is a member of the nightshade family. However, as I was doing a little research for this article, I found it suggested that the reason was because most of the “gentry” used pewter table-ware. Pewter has a high lead content. The acid in tomatoes would have leached the lead from the utensils, causing lead poisoning. The general populace, using primarily wooden implements, would not have had such a problem.
Whatever the reason for the tomato's status, by the 1800's tomatoes had made their way into European cooking. The tomato adapts well to open-air gardening and to being grown in hot-houses, cold-frames or other season extenders. One plant will usually produce a lot of fruit, making it economical for small gardens.
Sphagetti is relatively easy to prepare. There are, however, a few little secrets for true success:
The pasta:
- Bring the water to a rolling boil before adding the noodles
- Put a small amount of cooking oil or butter in the water before adding the noodles
These two steps will keep the noodles from sticking together, creating hard lumps or gluey masses.
- Once the noodles are moderately soft, reduce the heat under the pot so that the contents will simmer without sticking. Avoid stirring often; stirring causes small bits of pasta to separate from the strands, creating a gravy-like effect.
- Conventional cooking methods are to drain excess water; if you have the patience and skill to do so, cooking the water away is a better method. The trick is to get the water to evaporate properly without the sphagetti sticking or scorching.
- If you are not that skilled, use a large colander or sieve to drain the noodles
The Sauce:
1. Old-fashioned, traditional sauces begin with simmering tomatoes, spices, and perhaps green-peppers and onions till they cook together into a homogenous mass. (Hopefully, a tasty one.) This is a delicious approach, and allows tailoring your meal to suit personal tastes and dietary needs
2. For the less patient, a variety of yummy sauces by several different companies are available at most grocery stores.
Hamburger can be browned in a frying pan and added to the sauce for increased flavor and nutrition. Stir fry vegetables are also tasty when added toward the end of the cooking cycle.
While we usually think of sphagetti as being served hot with a sauce, it can also be served alone, lightly buttered and salted as an alternative side dish.
