Right from early age pasta has always been a firm favourite with my children and, as a busy working mother, very quick and versatile evening supper. We often get into the habit of just grabbing a bag off the shop’s shelf without contemplating that there are over 600 pasta shapes to choose from. So next time you are out shopping pick up something different to try. We have created a recipe in this blog and there are some pasta facts for you to enlighten your children with:

1.     The Chinese were tucking into to pasta as early as 5,000 BC; however, according to Larousse Gastronomique (the bible of French cooking) the first reference to pasta can be traced back to Sicily in the Middle Ages.

2.     Almost every country has added a particular twist to the pasta family, for the instance it’s noodles in the Far East, in Greece it’s Hilopites, Germany Spaetzle and there are Jewish Kreplach dumplings.

3.     There are tons of naturally coloured pastas:

Green pasta = Spinach

Black pasta = Squid ink

Pink pasta = Beetroot

Red pasta = Tomato

Orange pasta = Carrot

4.    The best pasta is made from Durum wheat, refined to make semolina – anyone remember semolina pudding at school? Making pasta out of it is a much better idea!

5.     Basic white pasta, other than supplying pure energy, is really empty carbs. Whilst the finest (and expensive!) pasta can contain essential minerals and brown whole-wheat pasta is a slow-releasing energy carb with loads more vitamins and minerals, in order to make the bog standard off the shelf white pasta a useful cooking commodity we need to add value by creating a dish containing fibre, minerals, proteins and vitamins. We can do this by jazzing it up with a mixture of rainbow coloured vegetables and protein, then we are able to say we have a Healthy Pasta dish!