The cookbook was the gift of choice to all of the women in Marash Girl's family. Thus Marash Girl found herself leafing through the pages of The Silver Spoon Pasta, only to find a recipe instructing the reader to sautee dried pasta in butter before boiling in water! Confounded, Marash Girl asked her daughter Nisha why anyone would do such a thing. Nisha replied, "You do it all the time!" "I do?" queried Marash Girl. "Sure," her daughter answered. "When you make rice pilaf with shehrideh, boulghour pilaf, lentil pilaf, you sautee the shehrideh and the rice before you add the chicken broth, you sautee the boulghour with the onions before you add the vegetable both, you sautee the lentils and rice with the onions before you add the water."
"Oh, you're right," replied Marash Girl. "I do! Fancy that!"
That's how I do it too - when I was a child my mother would do it to vermicelli pasta, but I do it with any pasta. It lasts longer (re-heating boiled spaghetti isn't ideal, but this way the pasta doesn't break down) and the taste is "nuttier" and more flavorful. Add cheese or serve as a side dish to beef (cooked any way). Mariam
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