Chef Speak

Perfect pasta

Italian chef Marco Giora, chef consultant with Rustichella D'Abruzzo - makers of authentic Italian pasta, was recently in India on an invitation from ITC Hotels for its multi-city pasta festival. He spoke to Neeti Mehra about - what else - preparing the perfect pasta.

Think pasta; think al dente; think Italy. The proliferation of Italy's best export into every self-respecting multi-cuisine restaurant dotting India's landscape has obvious connotations of popularity. Chef Marco Giora, chef consultant with Rustichella D'Abruzzo, believes the secret to perfect pasta is a sum of the methodology and the pasta itself. And with the organic mantra, whole-wheat pasta is easily available. The downside is the price point. But the health benefits exceed the painful pricing.

Pasta preparation

What is critical, Giora says, is the quality of the durum wheat semolina selected, and also the water used to prepare the pasta. The number of hours for which the pasta is left to dry is important as well. Typically, he says, it is dried for six hours, but ideally, it should be dried for a day or two. This little detail keeps its nutrition value intact. Six hours of hot air drying at 100-140 degrees centigrade kills the protein content, apart from altering the pasta colour. Forty to 60 degrees is the ideal temperature. Fresh pasta preparation demonstration is part of his ITC itinerary, to bring a little of Italy to India. "For extrusion, a bronze mould should be used. It generates 100 kgs of pasta, as opposed to one tonne in plastic machines, in the same time," he explains. The benefit being that the bronze mould, rather than plastic, used in the extrusion process gives the pasta special coarseness that helps it to absorb the sauces better. Cooking techniques are also important, and the pasta should be boiled for about 12-15 minutes. The preferred spices include pepper, saffron, and herbs, dissimilar from what is available in India; all this to strive towards Italian perfection.

The Mediterranean kitchen

The Italians too, like their counterparts in the European Union, are moving towards organic food, he opines, including organic pasta, olive oil and wine. "But it's a matter of choice. The menu even offers regular food and guests can opt for either," Giora says.

For him, Italy has the best Mediterranean kitchen. The fashion conscious world is moving away from high caloric food, and use locally available products to prepare meals. "People are moving away from fatty food, to healthy eating, and from big portions to smaller portions," he adds. For wine pairings, he suggests red wine with tomato-based sauces. Giora stresses on the importance of presentation in fine-dining restaurants, with plated meals being de rigueur, except in medium and low-end restaurants.