NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

March 18, 1999

Prairie Fare: Pasta Taking Shape, Oddly, on the Internet

I did some Web surfing the other day and discovered there are quite a few companies selling pasta on the Internet. Well, some pasta purists may question how these businesses are defining pasta. Are noodles shaped like artichokes or tennis rackets really pasta?

One company on the Internet offers collegiate pasta shapes—shapes of school letters, that is—ranging from Auburn to Vanderbilt. Sorry, but there's nothing for North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota or any other North Dakota schools.

By my count, there are more than 25 authentic pasta shapes. By authentic, I mean shapes with Italian names. We can debate about where the best durum comes from, North Dakota or Italy. But let's face it, the Italians were well versed in the culinary art of preparing acini di peppe (peppercorn-shaped pasta) long before most of us knew that life could be more than a bowlful of elbow macaroni.

One of my favorite pasta shapes is angel hair, or capelli as the Italians say. Delicate and quick-cooking, angel hair paired with red clam sauce can be improved upon only by second helpings. But like all pasta, cooked angel hair must be al dente, an Italian phrase that means "to the tooth." To me, al dente means that the cooked pasta should still have a hint of crunchiness left in it. At the very least, properly cooked pasta should be firm.

Because North Dakota wheat producers raise so much of the nation's durum, maybe NDSU should be renamed Penne State. It's just a thought. If you want to find out more about the various pasta shapes, there are several well-illustrated cookbooks available, or if you have Internet access, you can begin there.

The following recipe features ziti, a long tube-shaped pasta. The original version came from National Pasta Association and called for cooked chicken and peas, which I've swapped for ham and lima beans, or fava beans if you can find them. My primary reason for the substitutions are time and color. You don't have to bother cooking the ham, and the limas won't discolor from the acid in the lemon juice like peas will.

Speedy Ziti
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 10-ounce package frozen lima beans
1 pound ziti pasta, uncooked
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, preheated
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
12 ounces chopped, cooked ham (preferably prosciutto)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:
Prepare the lima beans according to package directions and set aside. As the pasta begins cooking, melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for three minutes. Stir in the mustard and flour, mix well and increase heat to medium-high. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and bring it quickly to a boil before stirring in the lemon juice, limas, parsley and ham. Toss pasta with the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve.

What's Your Take on This, Julie?

If your day leaves you frazzled but your checkbook recommends that you stay home, it's time to simplify your cooking style. Taking a little time to plan ahead can save both money and effort in the long run. Keep different types of pasta in your cupboard to simplify your meal planning.

Planning home-cooked meals should take into account family, leisure and business commitments. Try using your calendar or day planner to plan menus, or plan around store specials to save some dollars. Engage other members of the family as helpers or rotate the job of head chef. You might even want to use a computer to help you plan; there are programs available that generate shopping lists from recipes.

To streamline your recipes and menus, first evaluate your recipes. Can any ingredients be changed to save preparation time? Can any preparation steps be combined or eliminated? Try focusing your preparation efforts on one portion of the meal. If the main course is time-consuming, fix a simple vegetable or salad.

Always gather equipment, cooking utensils and ingredients before you start, and consider using time-savers such as crockpots and microwave ovens. Or try using the one-pot method, which cuts time by adding vegetables to pasta that is cooking.

There are dozens of grocery items that allow you to have a nutritious meal on the table in short order. Keep in mind that the convenience usually adds to the price tag, but it's still less costly than eating out. A USDA survey found that nearly half of our food dollar is spent on food eaten away from home. Most restaurant managers triple—at least—the cost of their food ingredients when deciding on menu prices.

Some speedy ingredients include pre-cut vegetables and salads, frozen pasta with vegetables, spaghetti sauce, boneless skinless chicken breasts or pre-sliced stir-fry meats, frozen bread dough, and shredded cheese.

Pasta is a great "speed scratch" item and even works as a "planned-over." You could cook a box of pasta, use part in your main meal and refrigerate the rest to use in a side dish or pasta salad the next day. Or prepare a roast and use your planned-overs in a stir-fry the next day.

Speedy Ziti makes a quick and easy one-dish meal, but your substitutions did significantly increase the fat and calorie content, Dean. One hearty serving (one-fourth of the recipe) contains 750 calories and 14 grams of fat, along with about 40 percent of the recommended daily iron and 30 percent of the recommended daily vitamin C. If you're watching your waistline, you can pare down the recipe by using chicken and green peas in place of the ham and lima beans. Roasted ham contains about 750 calories and 38 grams of fat per 12 ounces, while roasted chicken contains about 550 calories and 12 grams of fat per 12 ounces.

So, try some of the speedy from-scratch items, use your planned-overs, divide up kitchen duties and ring the dinner bell in short order.

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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136 Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187

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