What are these Italians - inventors! They not only invented dozens of types of pasta, but also hundreds of dishes from them. Only how can it sometimes be difficult to understand all these varieties. Spaghetti, fettuccini, cannelloni, penne - what does this all mean? In fact, for strange Italian words are hidden quite a lot of familiar dishes. So, for example, penne - it's just a short tube with slices diagonally. And their name they received from the Italian word "penna" ("pen") for the external resemblance to it.
But these "feathers" are different. The most popular among them - penne rigate with a ribbed surface and smooth penne lishe. Which of them is better, even the Italians themselves will not be able to answer. Rigate better absorb the sauce, but the more delicate have a more delicate taste. Therefore, ribbed penne is used mainly for second courses and salads, and smooth go to the preparation of casseroles. But whichever penne was chosen, recipes with their use are always simple. No wonder this is the most popular pasta in Italy.
But before you start cooking with them, you need to learn how to choose and prepare the pasta. Any pasta should be prepared only from durum wheat. There is no exception for penne. What does this mean when preparing dishes? Macaroni is not boiled and does not stick together after cooking. It is also very important to prepare them properly. For every 100 g dry "feathers" you need to take 1 liter of water and 10 grams of salt. Italian chefs also recommend during cooking to add a little vegetable oil to the water, so that the penne simply could not slip. And, of course, you need to follow the instructions on the pack and cook only according to it.
After the pasta is ready, you can start creating dishes from it. Most often "feathers" are cooked with various sauces, they are used in salads and casseroles. One popular recipe is a penne with mushrooms and onions. To do this, you first need to boil 350 g of paste to the state of "al dente", recline on a sieve and drain water. In the meantime, heat a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan and put the leek and the chopped garlic. Cook 3 minutes. Separately, reheat 25 g of butter and put 350 g of mushrooms, cut into plates. Fry them for 5 minutes and add the previously fried onions with garlic, 250 g of cream cheese, a couple of tablespoons of white wine, half a lemon peel, 50 g of grated Parmesan and season to taste. All mix well and fade for 2 more minutes. Combine the cooked sauce and penne.
That this dish from this pasta is not the only one, of course, is known not only to the Italians. Probably, it is the most popular kind of macaroni not only in the homeland, but also all over the world. Sometimes culinary fantasies of cooks can surprise or even cause bewilderment. With the addition of "feathers", even sweet desserts and cakes are cooked. But do not be afraid of such dishes from penne. What this is done by the best chefs around the world is no secret. This should convince anyone of the correctness of choosing this particular pasta for cooking. Just need to follow the recipe, and then even the most amazing dishes will not be worse than restaurant delicacies.