Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
espresso
English translation:
cooked to order
Added to glossary by
Oliver Lawrence
Jan 14, 2010 08:27
14 yrs ago
Italian term
Italy
Texts with zest by a Chartered Linguist
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK)
Works in: Italian to English, English
spaghetto espresso
Italian to English
Other
Cooking / Culinary
"Chi lavora in cucina non ha tempo da perdere, nello stesso istante deve coordinare e gestire più cose, dal finissage allo spaghetto espresso, dalla creme brulée ai venti coperti che non aveva previsto."
...
Is this just "a quick spaghetti". TIA :)
...
Is this just "a quick spaghetti". TIA :)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +10 | cooked to order spaghetti |
Giles Watson
|
| 5 | quick spaghetti |
Joel Schaefer
|
| 4 | making spaghetti |
Lydia Cleary
|
| 3 | rush spahetti |
Lucia Lia Pittau
|
| 3 | speedy spaghetti |
Fran Cesca
|
| 2 | EXPRESS-SPAGHETTI |
Ingrid Valentin (X)
|
Proposed translations
+10
30 mins
Selected
cooked to order spaghetti
Hi Oliver,
This is the same meaning of "espresso" as in caffè espresso (made-to-order). It means that the spaghetti is prepared to order and not pre-cooked. You can generally tell by the way the pasta sits on the plate!
Giles
This is the same meaning of "espresso" as in caffè espresso (made-to-order). It means that the spaghetti is prepared to order and not pre-cooked. You can generally tell by the way the pasta sits on the plate!
Giles
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Stefano Costa (X)
9 mins
|
| agree |
Dana Rinaldi
26 mins
|
| agree |
Valeria Faber
: That's it!
58 mins
|
| agree |
Kate Chaffer
: piatto espresso - dish made to order (from il Ragazzini)
1 hr
|
| agree |
Barbara Carrara
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Peter Cox
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Cedric Randolph
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Cedric. You're a gentleman!
|
|
| agree |
Giuseppe Bellone
: Perhaps "cooked-to-order spaghetti? With hyphens? I think you're right. And thuth to tell , all spaghetti and pasta in general should be cooked "to order" and not "pre-cooked", as any simple, decent spaghetti eater perfectly knows !!! :)
4 hrs
|
|
You're quite right about the pasta but "espresso" here probably refers to sauces prepared to order in the kitchen, as well as to the spaghetti. Buon appetito!
|
|
| agree |
potra
: Yes
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Sarah Jane Webb
: absolutely
1 day 2 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks Giles"
8 mins
EXPRESS-SPAGHETTI
I guess you're right and it's humour referring to "non ha tempo da perdere", so they call it a 'express-spaghetti', to mean it has to be ready very quickly.
12 mins
Joel Schaefer
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
natural English for all purposes
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Italian to English, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
quick spaghetti
Ingrid is right about the humor but seems better. Un solo spaghetto mi fa ridere :)
22 mins
Lucia Lia Pittau
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
Specializes in field
Italy
Puntualità e accuratezza
Native in: French 
, Italian
Works in: English to Italian, Italian to French, Italian to English, and 5 more.
rush spahetti
.
42 mins
making spaghetti
Giles is absolutely right- this is not "quick spaghetti" but spaghetti made from scratch as opposed to being prepared in advance- however, given the context the above may be a simple way of saying the same thing.
1 hr
Fran Cesca
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
Italy
20 ys medical and marketing research
Native in: Italian
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, Catalan to Italian, and 3 more.
speedy spaghetti
Mi ricordo di un vecchio surgelato che si chiamava 'Speedy pizza' e se vuoi mantenere un tono 'easy' :)
Discussion
I still think it is best translated as "spaghetti" for textual reasons, though. Like creme brulée (or rather "crème brûlée"), "spaghetto espresso" is clearly a specific example of what the chef might be engaged in at any one time. It is not a generic reference to pasta.
I'd keep "spaghetti", not least because you can successfully part-cook "pasta corta" like penne in advance. That's why it's better to opt for penne than spaghetti in a canteen or at a country fair ;-)