Shells or no Shells?

I am still asked, when preparing spaghetti con le cozze (spaghetti with mussels), should one leave the shells on the mussels? I covered this nicely in my book The Food of Southern Italy:

“When I left Puglia, the battle was still raging between two old men I had met in a restaurant there about whether it is necessary to remove the shells from the mussels of spaghetti con le cozze or not. One felt the shell look unsightly on the plate, and no host or hostess who wanted to make a bella figura (“look good”) would do such a thing. The other man maintained you get more flavor with the shells left on, and if your hosts were really considerate, they would let you pick them up and suck on them to get every last drop of sauce. It really depends on the host and guests, whether to shell the mussels or not. Me? I never take the shells off!”

by Carlo Middione from The Food of Southern Italy, William Morrow, 1987

That should settle it!

Ciao,
Carlo

More Pasta Calorie Counting

I was leaving Vivande Porta Via heading to Yoshi's on Fillmore the other day, when I overheard Carlo talking about preparing pasta.

This reminds me again of the major differences between Italian pasta and American pasta. One can make you heavy and fat, the other fulfilled and full of energy.

In Italy, pasta is central to the sauce. The Italian "sauce" is a favourite vegetable from the garden, or fresh shellfish, maybe a light dose of a delicate olive oil as a finish and a drop of wine with fresh herbs.

In America, the pasta dishes usually take their name from the sauce, too often a rich concoction that overpowers the pasta. It results in less attention on the pasta itself.

So let's stay focused on the pasta and cook it al dente so the energy is released gradually. Nutritionists have measured hundreds of calories difference between the same pasta prepared and eaten in Italy as opposed to the U.S.

Watching Those Pasta Carbs & Calories

Carlo recently wrote about pasta in a recent blog. He noted that the Italians eat much more pasta on average than Americans. Yet somehow the Italians aren't as chubby as Americans. There's great news here if you are watching your diet.

The secret -- as Carlo pointed out -- is not to overcook your pasta! Pasta should be chewy. It simply tastes better when cooked "al dente." But there are health benefits to eating al dente pasta, especially for the millions of Americans who are susceptible to Type II diabetes or trying to lose weight. Al dente pasta releases its energy gradually because the starches are broken down naturally over a longer period of time. Inversely, when pasta is overcooked, the starches quickly turn into simple sugars. This is not good for those watching their carbohydrates or trying to curb their appetites.

Overcooked pasta is like eating a Snickers Bar. It's satisfying, but the satisfaction quickly wears off after the "carb rush," and sure enough you are soon hungry again.

The good news is that pasta can be part of every diet. Prepare pasta "al dente" and you have less concern about both carbs and calories.