In an Italian grocery store we noticed a great variety of pastes in
boxes arranged along the counter and began counting them. The proprietor
noticed us and, with a characteristic shrug of his shoulders, said:
"That is but a few of them. We have not room to show them all." In
response to our inquiry regarding the number of kinds of paste made by
Italians he said there were more than seventy-five. Ordinarily we think
of one--spaghetti--or possibly two, including macaroni. If our
knowledge goes a little farther we think also of tagliarini, which is
the Italian equivalent of noodles, as it is made with eggs.
In New York we were much impressed with the stress they laid on the
serving of spaghetti, and one restaurant went so far as to advertise
dinners given "under the spaghetti vine." It appears that this is the
only paste they know anything about.
After one eats tagliarini or ravioli one feels like paraphrasing the
darkey and saying, "go way spaghetti, yo done los' yo tase."
Then comes tortelini which, like ravioli, combines paste with meat and
spinach. These may be considered the most prominent of the pastes, the
others being variants in the making and cutting, each serving a special
purpose in cooking, some being for soups, others for sauces and others
for dressing for meats. It is more than probable that the great variety
comes from individual tastes in cutting or rolling.
All Italian restaurants serve the paste as a releve rather than as an
entree, which it usually follows, preceding the roast in the dinner. As
a separate and distinct dish it can well be made to serve as a full
meal, especially when tagliarini is prepared after the following recipe: