PASTISSIMA! Pasta The Italian Way

There are encyclopedias devoted to pasta cookery. Today, my biggest challenge is how to squeeze such a vast library of knowledge into one modest blog. First, I will provide a series of basic pasta shapes and second, a series of basic sauces to serve with them. By combining sauces and pasta in different ways, you will be able to create a deliciously wide variety of dishes.
History tells us that pasta dates back to Etruscan times, before the Romans and the Greeks. After The King of Sicily , Roger II, received a book on how to precisely dry and preserve fresh pasta,  the Sicilains, wasting no time, let the mainlanders in on the secret.  In Naples, Amalfi, Genoa and many other port towns, the manufacture and sale of pasta became a roaring trade.

The number and variety of pasta shapes is overwhelming. There have been so many new shapes invented over the years, where any special occasion or holiday gives cause to invent more. All dried pasta can be devided into long or short shapes. The longer ones should be served with oil based sauces that cling to their shapes. Many of the short pastas are good with chunkier sauces that can be scooped with a fork. The following is a very easy recipe and takes about 15 minutes to prepare.
"SALSA AL POMODORO CON SPAGHETTI"
simple tomato sauce with Spaghetti   serves 6

4 cloves garlic,finely chopped(and a few for garnish)
6 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
3 TBSP. torn fresh basil leaves
5 CUPS peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
Salt and freshly gorund pepper to taste
1 1/4 lbs. dried Spaghetti

Put the garlic and oil in a heavy bottomed skillet and saute over med. heat until garlic is golden brown. Add the basil and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes and the oil separates from the tomato. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, adding 1 TBSP. salt to water after it starts boiling. When pasta is al dente, drain well and transfer to a heated dish. Top with the sauce and serve at once.
Of course, a little vino with that is nice too.  May I suggest a light, young red "Vino Novello"  (N.V.).....BUON APPETITO!

So there is my first BIT about pasta with much much more to come.

Hope you enjoyed my BITS and BITES!   ciao.