It’s Noodle Time: A Pasta Playlist
By Angela Choe
It’s always a great time for pasta! From Rigatoni to Parpadelle, the possibilities are endless. In this podcast playlist, tune into discussions on the origins of pasta, get instructions for perfect al-dente noodles, meet iconic pasta chefs, and more!
Cooking in Mexican From A to Z Episode 30: Pasta, The Other Pilaf: Hosts Aarón Sánchez and Zarela Martínez are joined by Cristina Potters to talk about pasta in Mexican cooking. Cristina has lived in Mexico for over 40 years, and shares her knowledge of Mexican home cooking through her work as an author and tour guide. Together they cover food history, Aarón and Cristina point out ties between Mexican dishes and their European and Arabic influences, and Cristina discusses the spread of ramen noodles in Mexican since the late 80's. They also each share several recipes: Cristina and Zarela swap their recipes for Caldillo and Caldo de Fideo, and Aaron and Cristinna swap ideas for creating American pasta dishes with Mexican flare.
The Shameless Chef Episode 23: Culinary Techniques: From Pan Broiling to the Perfect Pasta: Never commit the crime of overcooking your food again with some timeless tips from The Shameless Chef. No matter what sauce they’re serving with spaghetti, they have to boil the pasta first and Michael had a secret to get al dente noodles without fail. Plus, he’ll walk you through how to sear a steak (hint: you’re going to want two pans). Finally, never again worry about destroying a hard boiled egg. Follow a few easy steps, let yourself and the egg rest for 20 minutes, have some ice water ready, and enjoy.
Speaking Broadly Episode 119: Why Pasta Owes Everything to Women: Evan Funke: The exquisite variety of pasta today is because of the ingenuity of women in Italy who experimented with semolina and water every day, according to Evan Funke, renowned chef-owner of Felix and author of American Sfoglino. Listen in to hear how this master learned from a meastra in Bologna and found his life’s work rolling dough and preserving centuries of tradition.
A Taste of the Past Episode 360: Pasta's Past, One Dish at a Time: Historian and author Karima Moyer-Nocchi has been exploring and sharing information about the history and origins of Italian cooking through her books and also with photos and videos on her Instagram feed, @HistoricalItalianFood. In this episode, she shares the process of learning about pasta's past and other historical dishes.
Time from Lunch Episode 40: Pasta!: Maccheroni, penne, orecchiette, lā miàn…we can’t get enough noodles! On this episode of Time For Lunch - HRN's podcast for kids - Hannah and Harry dive into a big bowl of spaghetti. They’ll hear from Scott Ketchum of Sfoglini about the wonderful world of Italian pasta and fellow food podcaster Dan Pashman from The Sporkful tells us about his adventures into designing the perfect pasta shape. Plus, their friends at Mystery Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen share a very special segment that, as always, features the voices of some of their favorite foods.
The Feedfeed Episode 17: Join the Pasta Social Club: Meryl Feinstein of Pasta Social Club joins them to chat about building up a pasta-loving community celebrated from food publications everywhere and how she continues to learn more about this classic comfort food!
A Taste of the Past Episode 345: Pasta Grannies: Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks: Whoever thought a video series about watching old Italian grandmothers making pasta would become a hugely successful YouTube channel? Food writer Vicky Bennison saw something special and spent over five years filming and interviewing the women who became Pasta Grannies. Traditional regional recipes and techniques will be preserved thanks to her foresight and work. And now there's a companion cookbook that shares not only the recipes but also the extraordinary stories of these endearing women. And Vicky shares the behind-the-scenes tales.
Life’s a Banquet Episode 34: "Don't be a wet NOODLE!" The NOODLE episode: Spaghetti, Udon, Lo Mein, those things that old people grip onto in the pool. What do they all have in common? They are all noodles of course! Tune in for some bad noodle jokes, some noodle trivia, plus the surprising history of Lasagna in Ethiopia! Pasta is obvious people!
Eat Your Words Episode 251: The Four Seasons of Pasta: Host Cathy Erway welcomes chef and author Sara Jenkins to the studio chatting highlights from the book (co-authored with her mother, Nancy Jenkins), The Four Seasons of Pasta. Notably, there are few ingredients in a cook’s pantry that beat out pasta—for tastiness, for ease of preparation, for versatility, and for sheer delight. It’s irresistible to all and perfect for every occasion. Sara and her mom draw on their own background in Italy, where they’ve lived, cooked, studied, and worked in Rome and Florence, and on a Tuscan olive farm for many years. Presently the accomplished chef and owner of Porsena and Porchetta, two restaurants in New York’s East Village, Sara and Cathy round out the show discussing the inspiration for the book as well as the importance of improvising while you cook. Tune in for a wonderful show!
