Guide for cooking Italian food (from a real Italian- not TikTok)

Mia Castagnone shares her family secrets. 

With a pot of napoletana sauce simmering on the stove, pasta dough resting on the bench, and a glass of red wine by my side, I thought it’s time to share with the world my tips for Italian cooking. To say the least, I am also tired of seeing TikTok trends butchering Italian cuisine.

Keep it simple

Italian food at its heart is simple and wholesome. When it comes to picking a pasta, go with whatever shape or price point you’re comfortable with. Sure, the expensive brands may have better texture or buying homemade is sure to taste amazing, but the cheaper options can be just as good. Although there is an odd brand here or there that may truly fall apart as it cooks, but you’ll learn as you go and can experiment with different varieties as there is so much on offer at your local supermarket. At least to me, when you cook Italian food, adopt the Italian attitude: be carefree, relaxed and remember adding a bit of wine and parmesan to anything (it will taste better).

Choosing the right sauce

Traditionally, certain pasta shapes are usually paired with certain sauces. Heavier, meatier sauces like a ragu or bolognaise are typically paired with pappardelle- a thick, wide, flat pasta. When I think of penne, spiral shaped pasta or anything tube-like, I think of pasta bakes with rosa sauces- a mix of cream white and tomato sauce. Your creamy white wine sauces or simple combinations such as garlic and oil, go well with spaghetti, fettuccine or angel hair pasta. However, as I said earlier, there is no one rule. Of course, these are only suggestions, but I like to believe that they pair quite nicely especially with an accompanying glass of wine or 3.

Making the perfect sauce

If you’re wondering why your sauce tastes okay, but your Nonna’s sauce tastes nothing short of heavenly, it’s probably because she’s been cooking it all day, or it’s been in her freezer for a month. Yes- age does enhance the flavour. If you have the time, cook your tomato sauce over the stove on a low simmer for as long as possible, stirring occasionally. If you’re not planning on using it that day, leave it in the freezer. Particularly for a bolognaise sauce, at least leave it sit for a day in the fridge and you’ll taste the difference.

When making a simple tomato sauce aka. napoletana, first brown garlic and onion in oil, then add a passata sauce. If you want to know what brand is best, Mutti has long been a standout. But any home brand works too, just enrich the flavour by adding dried oregano, salt and pepper.

 I think a long kept Italian secret is to add in a pinch of sugar when cooking down your tomato sauce, this changes the flavour by cutting the natural acidity of the tomato and brings out the rich tomato flavour your sauce might be missing.

Easy but delicious combinations

My favourite go-to easy spaghetti dish is an aglio oilio aka. garlic and oil. It’s as simple as it sounds. First, fry a generous amount of sliced garlic in a pan with oil, then add in your pasta which should be 2 minutes short of being cooked through. If you are feeling adventurous add some chilli flakes too. Tossing the pasta into the pan with the garlic and oil will activate all the ingredients, set off an explosion of flavour and finish off cooking the pasta. Lastly add in freshly chopped parsley and top with parmesan.

Making pasta from scratch

Homemade pasta is easier than you think but it does take time. The dough is made from plain flour and egg combined together and kneaded. The general rule of thumb is 100g to 1 egg, but this will vary depending on the size of your egg. If your dough feels a bit dry, add some water. Let your dough rest on your bench, wrapped in cling wrap, for at least 30minutes, this will allow the dough to relax and soften.

Pasta machine’s come with several levels to adjust the thinness of your pasta sheets. If I’m making fettuccine, I normally go to the second last thinness level. If I’m making ravioli or tortellini then I want it to be slightly thinner than fettucine so it’s easier to fold.

Don’t:

Don’t put your raw pasta and sauce in one pan. *cries in Italian. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea but seriously, there’s nothing hard about cooking your sauce in one pan, pasta in another and then transferring your sauce onto the pasta. Cooking your pasta in one pot is likely to make your pasta stick together and overcook. It’s not a vibe. Don’t do it.   

Do:

Use nutmeg. It’s the secret spice in Italian cooking that makes everything taste amazing. Add it to your tomato sauces or ravioli or cannelloni filling.

Use parmesan. In everything. When I make ravioli filling, whether its ricotta, pork or pumpkin there’s always parmesan. Again, I’m looking at you TikTok for suggesting using anything other than parmesan or maybe pecorino. The other commonly acceptable cheese is ricotta, but really we only use it for filling.

Finally, eat your pasta in the true Italian style by inviting your friends over. Whether it is a daring pasta recipe or the simple aglio olio, pasta always tastes better with friends.