Mia Teal
Marketing Coordinator, Paid Media
Where are all our pasta lovers out there? Pasta, the beloved staple of Italian cuisine, has a remarkable ability to bring people together through its delightful simplicity and diverse flavors. Whether you’re twirling spaghetti with a rich tomato sauce, savoring the delicate layers of lasagna, or relishing the bite-sized wonders of ravioli, pasta is a universal comfort food that has woven itself into our busy lives.
So, how well do you know your pasta? Let’s take a deep dive into the wonderful varieties pasta has to offer. Price Chopper and Market 32 offer a wide array of different pastas for your next Sunday dinner! Be sure to check out our PICS pasta collection below.
Spaghetti: Spaghetti is a long, thin pasta that pairs well with meatballs or chicken. The term “spaghetti” originates from the Italian word “Spago,” which can be translated into English as “string” or “twine.”
Price Chopper Recipe: Chicken Saltimbocca
Angel Hair: A lot of people may wonder what the difference is between spaghetti and angel hair pasta since they look the same. Angel hair pasta is finer and is commonly paired with seafood as shown below.
Price Chopper Recipe: Rachel Ray’s Scallops Fra Diavolo
Rigatoni: Rigatoni pasta is wide in diameter and has a cylinder shape. This pasta pairs well with chunks or meat, like beef or chicken with a thicker sauce, such as alfredo.
Price Chopper Recipe: Rigatoni Pie
Penne: Penne is similar to rigatoni, but has a smaller diameter and is cut at an angle. Like rigatoni, penne pasta pairs well with a thick sauce.
Price Chopper Recipe: Penne with Vodka Sauce & Turkey Bacon
Farfalle (Bowtie): Bowtie pastas resemble their name – Bowties! This light pasta pairs wonderfully with butter, olive oil, or a heavy cream sauce.
Price Chopper Recipe: Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
Lasagna: “Lasagna” can refer to the type of pasta or the hearty dish, traditionally made with sauce, ricotta cheese, sausage and beef. The pasta itself is long, wide and flat with little indents along the sides.
Price Chopper Recipe: Skillet Lasagna
Don’t forget to browse our PICS Pasta for those delicious recipes above!
Life is Short - Eat the Spaghetti!
Mia Teal
E-Commerce Marketing Department
Pasta makes the world go round! Let’s face it – pasta can be paired with almost any meal, or be a meal of its own. At Price Chopper and Market 32, our focus today is specifically on spaghetti, because January 4th is National Spaghetti Day. Be sure to join us in celebrating today by trying some of our delicious recipes below. You can find a variety of pasta recipes on our Price Chopper Website and our Price Chopper Ready Website.
Did you know?
- The average Italian consumes about 62 pounds of pasta per year. That is the same weight as a female Golden Retriever!
- Sicilians created the first modern spaghetti noodles in the 12th century.
- Spaghetti today is about 10-12 inches long, but it was much longer when it was first invented.
- Spaghetti and meatballs are an American dish, not Italian.
- Spaghetti has evolved over the years. Today, you can find different varieties including gluten free, whole grain, protein, and veggie spaghetti.
Try some new recipes!
Anchovy Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti with Fried Capers: While this dish is drastically different from your traditional pasta and meatballs, you will not be disappointed. The fresh taste of olive oil, parmesan cheese, lemon, and crushed red peppers are sure to be nothing short of delicious!
Chicken Teriyaki Noodles: Quick, easy, filling, and tastes like a Hibachi restaurant!
Slow Cooker Spaghetti with Italian Sausage: Dinner ready in 16 minutes? Say less! Pair this meal with some fresh bread from our bakery.
Happy National Spaghetti Day!
Introducing Barilla Al Bronzo: Pasta With Extraordinary Sauce Grip
New from Barilla is Al Bronzo pasta, a line of premium pasta made with a reserve batch of non-GMO durum wheat and expertly crafted using innovative micro-engraved bronze dies for a robust texture and extraordinary sauce grip. You can find Al Bronzo in the pasta aisle in 6 delicious shapes: Spaghetti, Bucatini, Linguine, Mezzi Rigatoni, Penne, and Fusilli.
Try Al Bronzo in these two delicious recipes. Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni with Tuscan Ragout is a hearty recipe made with three kinds of meat that will leave you and your family craving more. The homemade pasta sauce features beef, pork and lamb simmered with fresh plum tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and sage. The wide opening of the Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni is the ideal shape for capturing the meat sauce. Al Bronzo Bucatini with Lemon, Ginger, Parmigiano & Thai Basil features an amazing combination of ingredients where the fresh lemon and ginger are balanced by the Parmigiano cheese and the Thai Basil leaves. Served over Al Bronzo Bucatini, this recipe is the perfect weeknight meal.
Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni with Tuscan Ragout
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 box Barilla®
- Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni pasta 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 white onion chopped
- 2 leaves fresh sage
- 1 sprig
- fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic gently pressed
- ¼ pound ground beef
- ¼ pound ground pork
- ¼ pound ground lamb
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 fresh plum tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Romano cheese to taste grated
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet; add onion, sage, rosemary and garlic; allow the onion to sweat for 10 minutes over low heat.
- Add beef, pork and lamb; cook until the meat begins to stick to the bottom of the pan; deglaze with red wine and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced well; discard the rosemary, sage and garlic.
- Meanwhile, blanch and peel tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the pulp in dices; add to the meat sauce along with chicken stock; simmer until the liquid is evaporated; season with salt and pepper.
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and toss with the sauce.
- Finish with cheese and remaining olive oil.
Al Bronzo Bucatini with Lemon, Ginger, Parmigiano & Thai Basil
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 box Barilla® Al Bronzo™ Bucatini pasta
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- ½ lemon, zested
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
- ½ cup Thai basil leaves, julienne
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cook pasta three minutes less than package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet sauté garlic and ginger in 2 tablespoons olive oil for a minute, add lemon juice and 1 cup pasta cooking water, bring to a simmer.
- Drain pasta and toss with lemon juice mixture over high heat, add pasta and more pasta cooking water as needed.
- Turn off heat, finish with remaining olive oil, cheese, lemon zests and black pepper. Top with basil before serving.
For more recipe inspiration, please visit https://www.barilla.com/en-us/al-bronzo.
What Makes A Noodle A Noodle?
It’s National Noodle Day and we’ve set out to answer one very complicated question, what makes a noodle a noodle? The answer is more complicated than you may expect. However, the story of how a simple noodle grew into such great variety, becoming the base of an endless amount of our favorite dishes today is extraordinary.
It’s highly debated whether noodles were first invented in China or Italy. Many scientists and food historians say both, and due to lack of evidence, it’s pointless to argue otherwise. In 2005, Chinese scientists discovered a 4000-year-old bowl of pasta at an archaeological site in Lajia, China. Noodle enthusiasts everywhere were jumping for joy, as it seemed to be the earliest example of a noodle in history. Scientists believe that the noodles were made of two kinds of millet, which are similar to the wheat grains that Chinese noodles and European pasta are made from today. However, scientists said it was not enough to confidently credit China with inventing the noodle.
On a quest for some answers, American food writer Jen Lin-Liu set out on a six-month trip in 2010-2011, researching noodles from Beijing to Rome, traveling along the Silk Road. She determined that noodles were documented in China earlier than anywhere in the western world. In China the earliest documentation appeared around 300-200 BC, while in the west early documentation came around 500-600 AD. Len-Liu says because of this the Chinese probably were the first to eat noodles, but that doesn’t mean they “invented” the noodle, or the pasta we enjoy today.
Barbara Santich, a professor at the University of Adelaide backs Lin-Liu, claiming there is a lack of historical evidence as to who can officially claim the noodle. She also says that Chinese noodles were made with soft wheat back then, so there is no way they could have begun making the dried pasta we enjoy today. Therefore, she adds, “Chinese noodles did not develop into what is now known as Mediterranean pasta, and pasta did not make its way from China to Italy.”
According to Santich, European pasta dates back to Greek literature, from the word “itri” or “itria” meaning a flour and water dough that’s rolled into thin sheets and cut into strips. Noting that Syria was at one time a Greek colony, these mentions transferred to Arabic. Also, the Arabs conquered Sicily and southern Italy, so it’s possible the Arabs brought pasta to Italy, exported it around Europe, and that exportation led to the various styles we have today, such as macaroni, tortellini, and ravioli.
This all becomes fuzzy because of the vagueness of the word “noodle.” A “noodle” is defined as a long, stringy substance, but the word was evolved by the western world, making it seem synonymous, or closely related to the word “pasta.” So, long story short, Asians have been eating noodles, that probably first came from China, for many, many years, while Europeans enjoy pasta that was developed in the western world many, many years ago.
At Price Chopper & Market 32, we’re big fans of noodles and pasta, including our NEW Market 32 premium fresh pastas. We offer four great varieties including Four Cheese Tortelloni, featured in this delicious recipe for Sheet-Pan Butternut Squash, Bacon, & Brussels Sprouts Tortelloni. Pick up a package at your local store!
Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2016/07/29/who-invented-noodle-italy-or-china
BOTTICELLI FROZEN RAVIOLI
There are four varieties of Premium Ravioli produced and imported from Italy: Botticelli Buffalo Milk Mozzarella and Pecorino Romano Cheese Ravioli – Girasoli Botticelli Porcini Mushroom and Truffle Ravioli Grand Girasoli Botticelli Ricotta Spinach Ravioli Botticelli Porcini Mushroom Ravioli The Girasoli Ravioli are shaped like Sunflowers – thus the name Girasoli. The cheeses Botticelli products use are all natural, never dehydrated and are in abundance in each Ravioli.
As with all Botticelli products, all of their Ravioli are Non GMO, all natural with no additives. Botticelli Ravioli will make any pasta occasion a festive occasion pampering you with authentic Italian home cooking. Serve with their all natural Botticelli Sauces.
Look for all Botticelli Premium Frozen Pasta in the Frozen aisle in all Price Chopper/Market32 stores. Written by Jane N. Golub
Director In-Store Marketing Programs
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