Pasta Is Not Unhealthful, If Prepared And Eaten Properly

The 85-year-old owner of an Italian restaurant on California’s coast does not believe pasta is an unhealthy element of the American diet. Its glycemic index is only 25 to 45, much less than bread’s 75 and potatoes’ 80. But she does wish that Americans knew how to cook and eat pasta – real pasta, that is, made from the unleavened dough of durum wheat, not the newfangled gluten-free stuff made from quinoa, chickpeas, brown rice, lentils or edamame. The proper way to cook pasta involves liberal salting and boiling of the cooking water in a large pot (with no oil added); cooking to “al dente” without rinsing; and serving a simple sauce: crushed tomatoes, garlic, herbs, capers, a little olive oil, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.