Pasta La Vista

 

        Pasta is often considered a prime example of "fine dining". The epiphany of fancy food. Surely, food held in such high regard is worth the 20-30 dollars each dish typically costs at an Italian restaurant.

But..is it really worth it? 

    First off, we should start off with pasta's origin. According to the Italian food company Delallo, pasta's roots could be traced back to 1700-1100 BCE in China. Pasta was also featured as a part of the Greek diet and had a variation in Africa as well. Several hundred years later in 400 BCE, pasta was introduced to Italy. 

    The dish's popularity continued to grow over the centuries, becoming a part of Italian culture, Like other foods in Italian cuisine, pasta became an art form. Its decadence and abundance would give it the status it has now during the 19th century.

But is that really all there is to it? The ingredients to make pasta have stayed consistent over the centuries; water, flour, and eggs. Is that really enough to justify that expensive price?

I'm not going to sit here and pretend to hate pasta. It's delicious! There are so many different types of noodles and sauces that pair well with them. My problem is that there's just not enough going on to justify that absurd price. So why is it so? The answer is Quality.

    colosseodoncaster.com states that Italian restaurants price their pasta so high because their ingredients are fresh and made entirely within the restaurants. They make their own sauces, use fresh high-quality ingredients, and of course, knead their own pasta. The effort and time that goes into pasta tends to be reflected in the taste of the dish. Of course, with the reputation it holds, restaurant owners maintain the high price because there's clearly an expectation and demand for it. 

    So..okay, I get why it's so expensive now. A lot of work goes into it. It's an art form that's been worked on for centuries. It's clearly a dish built on passion.

But what if I want pasta at home? I don't want to pay all that for just a little bit of Carbonara. Fortunately, making pasta at home really isn't that difficult..as long as you don't mind some shortcuts.

You may not be able to get the freshness of authentic restaurant-made pasta, but you can make something very similar that will definitely scratch that itch. Recipetineats.com has a fantastic recipe for one of my favorite pasta dishes: Carbonara. In summary, It's a pasta dish that uses cheese and egg to create a creamy, luxurious sauce. It's quick but requires your attention. 

    A quick rundown of the recipe: Cook your pasta in boiling salted water until your desired done-ness. Beat some eggs in a bowl, then add cheese and black pepper. If you have guanciale, cook that in the pan on medium-high heat for a few minutes and let the fat render out. Bacon is also a perfectly good substitute, you just need some sort of fat to coat the pasta in. Toss in the pasta so it's coated in the fat, then turn off the heat and pour in the sauce. The residual heat from the pan will cook the sauce. KEEP STIRRING! Don't let the eggs in the sauce develop curds, or else you'll end up with a loose, lumpy sauce. Once the pasta looks creamy, plate up and enjoy.

    Of course, Carbonara isn't the only pasta out there. There are countless recipes that I'm sure you'll enjoy. What I'm trying to say is that, yes, pasta tastes great, but you're better off making it at home than buying it at a restaurant. The differences won't be much as long as you pay attention. It's a delicate process, yes, but in the end, it's a lot more worth it than paying 30 dollars. 

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