National Spaghetti Day

January 4 is National Spaghetti Day.

Though most Americans use spaghetti as a kind of synonym for any sort of pasta, spaghetti (the plural of spaghetto, a diminutive of the Italian word for twine, spago) is actually a particular kind of noodle, a long, thin, round one (though not quite as thin as capellini). Many sources maintain that spaghetti made it’s way to Italy from China in the days of traders, such as Marco Polo.

A few others say that the long, rolled noodle came from the Saracens of North Africa. Wherever it originated, it found a home with the Italian people, who adorned it with the bounty of the countryside–black olives, tomatoes, hard cheese, and pine nuts.

Char, from b5’s Weary Parent blog, shares her favorite spaghetti recipe, for Greek Spaghetti:

Cook spaghetti as directed and drain. In a saute pan, saute garlic and toasted pine nuts in olive oil. Add spaghetti to saute pan and continue to saute a few minutes. Transfer to plate and sprinkle greek olives and crumbled feta cheese over top.

^{(photo credit: istockphoto)}