WHAT IS ANGEL HAIR?
Dating back to the Renaissance, this pasta is very thin so cooks extremely fast. Capelli d’Angelo is dried in “nests” or balls since they are so fragile. As with other cuts, the more fragile the pasta the lighter the sauce used. And few are more ethereal then the hair of an Angel. It is difficult to make by hand, so save this fresh pasta request for people you really don’t like. When cooking dried capelli d’angelo, put the pasta standing up in a large pot of boiling water. Then almost immediately flip the pasta in the water (or turn it on its’ side). Again, capelli cooks VERY rapidly. So if you want an al dente dish, you need to treat it like a bank robbery. Pay attention, don’t take your eyes off the pasta hostages and get (the pasta) in and out as quickly as possible!
WHERE IS ANGEL HAIR MADE?
It was supposedly invented in either the 14th or 19th century in northern Italy. But for all the accurate historical evidence available, capelli d’angelo could just as easily been invented by a balding angel.
WHY DID ANGEL HAIR PASTA RECENTLY BECOME SO POPULAR?
It is easy to cook. So the most obvious answer is that people are lazy! Or perhaps that people today have a shorter attention span then a goldfish? While these explanations might involve the fewest assumptions, Occam’s razor isn’t always right. For example, people today work longer hours then ever before, right? Wrong. It actually turns out that at the turn of the 20th century people were averaging 60 hour work weeks. And this was a big improvement over the 70 hour work weeks a century before. By 1988 this average in the States had dropped to under 40 hours a week. As technology has continued to increase efficiency, less labor was needed to maintain higher levels of output. So why is it that your partner and you never have any free time, and even a “30 minute meal” is tough to coordinate? One argument is that some Americans deliberately work more because building wealth is the closest thing they have to fun. Another theory is that we do have more free, time, but you’re wasting time reading articles like this one! Whatever the answer is, angel hair pasta cooks the fastest and if you’re starving and short on time, it is gets the job done.
WHAT SAUCES GO WELL WITH THIS PASTA?
Light soups or very light sauces are pretty much your only choice with this cut. It is ideal for someone who needs to whip up a quick meal. But have all your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking! If you’d like to see one of our recipes using Capelli d’Angelo check out Grana Padano sauce recipe!
