Something that is made up with as simple ingredients as pasta can end up being an incredible dish. Pasta is basically flour, water, and eggs. You can additional ingredients, such as spices and different flours and other things to flavor, however at its essence it is really a very simple dish. And yet, that simple dish can end up being pretty spectacular based on how it’s made. On our San Francisco Food Tour of North Beach\Little Italy and Chinatown, it’s interesting how different neighborhoods approach this dish. North Beach\Little Italy mostly uses wheat flour, while Chinatown usually uses rice flour. It’s interesting that different type of flour can make a difference in the taste. Wheat pasta stands up to sauces, while the rice flour seems to show more in soups.
On our San Francisco Food Tours, it’s also interesting to see what pasta gets paired with. Many people used to sauces, however, when asparagus is in season, as it is now, tossing it with just olive oil, some blanched or grilled asparagus and few spices, and finishing it with some fresh basil makes for a great dish. Or having rice flour pasta tossed with a stir fry dish. Each neighborhood takes this simple dish pasta and turns it into a great dish. It is an interesting thing to explore, how pasta is used, it’s also really delicious.
