English spaghetti

Really? Excuse me while I google..

I can't find anything about the pasta itself, but I bet we send them some of our sauces.

Haven't I read somewhere that we in Britain export pasta products to Italy?

I just can't do octopussy things .... all too rubbery and blobby!

Maybe I should send a few supermarkets links to this thread!

I eat anything. Squidlets especially. Any exotic seafood and I am there. But I suspect they would be thought of as a single course in a several-course meal. Baby octopus are my favourite. We spent a lot of time in the mediterranean when I was young, so blame my parents please when I tell you that one of my favourite dishes when we lived in Mallorca was stuffed sparrows and rice.

When broke cheap is great so although it may be great to have a food product grown in certain soils, have certain water etc food that can be afforded is what counts. Grow the stuff her.

We are always hearing about our supposed opinions - but no one ever asked me? I've always equated pasta with economy not drama. It,s like when you ask why something is no longer for sale in the supermarket only to be told there is no call for it. Hello? I,m calling!

Deedaa you could try the Marshall's pasta I mentioned.

I think the Italians will tell you that it isn't just the flour that matters, the water is important too. The best dried pasta is supposed to come from Campania because of the volcanic water.
Yes people in England tend to use far too much sauce on their pasta. My friend from Verona makes a tiny quantity of sauce in a small pan and expects it to last for several meals as a very thin coating on the pasta.
The best pasta is passed through bronze dies which gives it a "Tooth" which holds the sauce. A cheap pasta will tend to leave some of the sauce in the bottom of the bowl because it's all slid off the smooth surface.
I think British pasta is a great idea, but it needs to be a good one. There's no point doing it just to be cheap.

I do like calamari but not too sure about stuffed squidlets. I would however be willing to taste most foods just for the experience.

You saw right through me there Jess [Grin]. My DM was a very traditional cook and not one for experimenting, her not much younger sister, the same but my eldest aunt, now 92 , is a wonderful cook and has made it herself since. She always has been a tear away, possibly who I get it from!

Oh well, at least two of us liked it

And inexpensive.

Love Lidl & aldi pasta !
No frills, no fuss , suits me to T

agus that was a bit mischievous wasn't it?
I once ordered calamari in su tinto in a Basque restaurant. In the evening Spanish restaurants often serve rather... sparse food. 5 matching squidlets, carefully stuffed with their own tentacles, sitting in a bowl of tarry black ink. Nothing else.
My DH sat and watched in horror and awe as I consumed this offering.

I had an italian friend who lived over here and she was really quite horrified. She said we put far too much sauce on our pasta, which was not always the correct shape for the dish. She said that different sauces needed different shapes of pasta to hold the sauces in the right quantities, which affected the overall flavours of the dish. I can't say it has made any difference to my way of doing it but it was interesting.

The same with spaghetti carbonara absent it's never made covered in sauce in Italy.

It is interesting how "spag bol" has become an English staple. No Italian, especially one from Bologna, would dream of eating a ragú with spaghetti; it's always served with tagliatelle.

Probably not everyone's taste but I thought I was being quite exotic

Not only the different shapes Jess. DM and 2 aunts were coming to me for lunch years ago and I decided to make something a bit different. Black (dyed with squid ink) spaghetti topped with a seafood sauce and chunks of salmon and prawns. DM and her sister ate it just to be polite but the elder sister who was 80 thought it was delicious and always ready to try new things.

Isn't it interesting that the different shapes work differently well in different dishes.
My MIL is a tad conservative in her tastes. She will eat: spaghetti bolognese (no red peppers mind you) and lasagne. Offer her pasta in any other shape or form and she makes a disgusted face.

Yes, pastas do vary, and the value ones often need a longer cooking time, but still they are perfectly edible and for anyone feeding a family, especially someone like me with a teen boy, the thought of paying waitrose prices is horrific. Occasionally I splurge on weird and wonderful pastas for special occasions, for for everyday use the value stuff is fine. We occasionally make our own linguine and tagliatelle from bread flour and that is delicious. I do feel quite cross that we aren't growing something here that could make quite a big difference to our farmers when they are struggling.

Panorama on April 1 some time in the 1960s, I think.

I am reminded of that wonderful TV programme where Richard Dimbleby (I think) was reporting on the spaghetti harvest in front of trees festooned with it.

I've used Marshall's Macaroni made in Scotland for years now whenever I am making macaroni cheese. I buy De Cecco linguini or penne for other pasta dishes. I've tried various fresh and dried pastas over the years but these two are my preference.

Anyone tried Lidl's pasta? Tastes good and really cheap too

Because I can't remember what make i buy. I just recognise the packet when i'm shopping.