Olive oil has a wonderful quality which allows it to carry the flavor of other foods, herbs and spices while providing a pleasurable and satisfying sensation of flavor and texture in the mouth. Making pasta with olive oil will provide a satisfying level of robust, flavor-boosting qualities. It can be drizzled onto cooked pasta or pasta salad to enhance and deepen the flavors, herbs, spices, vegetables and meat in the pasta dish. To make a flavorful pasta with olive oil, take the hot pasta directly from the pot using a ladle-type strainer and drizzle olive oil, some pepper flakes, and garlic on it while still hot. Let the hot pasta sit and absorb the ingredients for a minute or two before serving.
The types of flour for making pasta are unbleached white flour and seminola flour, a traditional pasta flour with a coarser grain than unbleached white flour. This seminola flour contains a lot of gluten which makes it durable and elastic, able to hold many different shapes of pasta. Seminola flour makes a very stiff textured flour that is more difficult to work with. To make pasta, one can combine one part seminola flour with four parts unbleached flour and use a pasta machine. Then one can add a tablespoon (about 15 ml) of olive oil to the mix for extra flavor.
One of the best tips for making the best pasta with olive oil is proper preparation. Always use a generous amount of boiling water, about 4 to 5 quarts (3.8 to 4.7 liters) in a large pot. The large pot allows for the complete immersion of long pasta like spaghetti. The large amount of water washes away extra starch coming from the pasta as it boils. Add about 1 to 2 teaspoons (about 5 to 10 ml) of sea salt Remember to stir the pasta for the first two or three minutes or the pasta will stick together and form clumps of stuck-together pasta.
Do not add olive oil to the water in which the pasta is boiling. Some folks believe this will keep the pasta from sticking together. Doing this will also make the pasta oily on the outside and keep other ingredients like sauces, spices and herbs from sticking to the surface of the pasta. Adding olive oil to pasta while cooking yields a pan full of flavorless pasta. Instead, add extra virgin olive oil to any pasta dish just before serving it for a last minute burst of flavor.
Pasta with olive oil is a healthy alternative to foods prepared using unhealthy saturated and trans fats. Even though it may be high in fat, the healthy fats found in olive oil are monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and are actually healthy when used in moderation. MUFAs normalize blood clotting, benefit insulin levels, provide blood sugar control, and lower overall total cholesterol levels as well as bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.
