How Do You Like Your Pasta? Al Dente! (Plus a pasta recipe!)

Our entire family LOVES pasta so when I got an invite to attend an event by Dona Elena Al Dente Pasta of course I said “yes”! Dona Elena Al Dente pasta invited a lot of bloggers to help them celebrate National Pasta Month this October at The Blackboard, Podium Mall last October 25.

Before anything else let me tell you some important stuff about the brand.

Doña Elena Al Dente is the only Artisan Quality Italian Pasta. It is made using high quality, 100% durum wheat semolina or hard wheat. ONLY pasta made from Durum Wheat can be considered al dente. Doña Elena Al Dente was made through the artisan way of making pasta – slow drying process and not subjected to high heat. It uses special bronze dies which leaves a rough surface that create ridges on the pasta. These ridges help sauces stick to the pasta better, making every bite simply delicious. Unlike other pasta with only 6% protein content, Doña Elena Al Dente has 13% protein, a result of the slow-cooking process which preserves its nutrients. Doña Elena Al Dente is also GMO-free, 100% certified all natural.

I learned so many things about pasta during the event. For instance, do you know what “Al Dente” means? It means “firm to the bite”, which is exactly what pasta should be like, not mushy or soggy. It was definitely surprising to find out that not all kinds of pasta can be al dente, only those made from Durum Wheat.

Want to test the quality of your pasta? Don’t put oil on it while boiling. Dona Elena Al Dente pasta don’t need oil because they don’t stick together. That’s al dente for you!

Here are the types of pasta that Dona Elena Al Dente has to offer.

These are the Spaghetti (500g), Fettuccine (500g), Lasagna (500g), Penne Rigate (500g and 250g) and Fusilli (500g and 250g).

There were several talks that day from pasta experts from Fly Ace Corporation (the distributor of Dona Elena Al Dente), as well as  nutritionist, Professor Luchie Collanta, who talked about the nutritional benefits of pasta.

I also learned that the kind of pasta you should use depends on the type of sauce you’re going to use. The chunkier sauces work best with penne rigate and fusili because the shape of the pasta helps the sauce to cling to it. The lighter sauces are more often used with spaghetti and fettuccine. Some pasta recipes were shared with us c/o The Blackboard’s chef, Chef Michel Cottabaren, who’s here in this photo with RJ Ledesma, who also came to share about his pasta experience.

Just look at the food that Chef Michel prepared for us. It was pasta heaven! I was seriously so full by the end of the event.

There were some fun contests too just like this cook off participated by some of the mommy bloggers.

It was truly a fun event! Now let me share with you this pasta recipe from Dona Elena Al Dente. Doesn’t this look absolutely delish?

This is called the Shrimp Pasta Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing with Dona Elena Al Dente Fusilli. Here’s how it’s made.

Ingredients:
500g Doña Elena AL DENTE Fusilli, cooked according to package instructions
9 pcs prawns, deveined, peeled and blanched
9 pcs cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves
150g assorted lettuce, sliced into bite size pieces
sesame seeds, for garnish

For the dressing:
½ cup Japanese mayonnaise
½ cup teriyaki sauce
4 tbsp Good Life Sesame Oil
1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted and chopped
To taste ground black pepper

Procedure:
1. Combine all the dressing ingredients. Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator.
2. Place the cooked Doña Elena AL DENTE Fusilli noodles in a bowl together with the sliced lettuce then drizzle some of the dressing until all the ingredients are well coated.
3. Arrange the prawns and tomatoes on top of the salad and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
4. Serve chilled.

I love that it’s so easy to make and it looks so colorful and appetizing too. I want to cook this as part of our Noche Buena meal this Christmas! I hope you guys also get to try this recipe.

For more info about Dona Elena Al Dente, like them on Facebook or visit their website at http://www.flyacecorp.com/.