A Fresh Bowl of Pasta

There is just nothing better, tastier, or simpler than whipping up some pasta and tomato sauce. It irks me to see bottled sauce lining the shelves at the grocery store when making your own is so easy. Got a can of crushed tomatoes, good olive oil, basil, garlic, and some salt and pepper? Great, you got yourself a fine Marinara. Whiz it in the food processor, heat it up, and you’re done.

What’s great about a tomato sauce is it’s a foundation. Start with those ingredients, but pitch in a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Or, add other herbs like oregano and thyme. Parsley is good, too. Throw in some anchovies, capers, and olives and call it a Puttanesca. Put in some truffle oil with that and it’s known as Umbria. Ground meat in tomato sauce makes it Bolognese. Bacon, onion, and Pecorino elevates the dish to the well-loved Amatriciana.

Pasta dough has always eluded me, though. While I’ve made it successfully a number of times, I frequently get a knot in my stomach that *this* is the time I will completely screw it up. Because I have. Too sticky. Too dry. Too loose. But when it works, it really works.

There has long been a debate as to whether pasta was first invented by the Italians or the Chinese. While there are documented references to Marco Polo bringing noodles back from his trips to the Far East, there are also a numerous references to a type of pasta (“lagana,” thought to be the original lasagna) in the Roman Empire before Christ.

Isn’t it possible that separate cultures made the same thing at the same time because it was easy to make with simple ingredients? At least, that’s the version I’d prefer.

Mangia!