EPICURIOUS: A Taste of Italy
There is nothing that describes Italy more than Il bel far niente, meaning the beauty of doing nothing or the sweetness of doing nothing. Yes, that’s what Italians know how to accomplish to perfection, as do many cultures of the East.
Sitting under the Tuscan Sun as I ate my pesto pasta overlooking the green hills and the quintessentially Tuscan cypress trees I understood the age-old Italian saying. This has to be the beauty of doing nothing, breathing in the blue sky and living the laid-back country lifestyle. This is how food is meant to be savoured, the bruschetta — pronounced brusketta — bread soaked in olive oil and topped with tomatoes is one of the best ways to enjoy summer. Capture the taste of this Italian classic — a perfect topping of tomato, olive oil, basil, salt and garlic on rustic bread; almost the taste of summer on a toast. I left the city of Siena smiling, and it had to be the taste of pasta. Needless to say there is no better pasta in the world than the one in Italy. Whatever it is we call pasta, beyond the borders of Italy, is a step-cousin to the real thing. The flavour, the simplicity, the organic ingredients cultivated in the Italian soil gives a taste to the Italian pasta that is like a story, or an expression of the race itself.
Get creative with a delicious variety of pasta sauces
Food Blogger Tori Avey, while uncovering the roots of pasta, writes: “While we think of pasta as a culturally Italian food, it is likely the descendent of ancient Asian noodles.” A common belief about pasta is that it travelled to Italy from China with Marco Polo, during the 13th century. How true that is, well, your guess is as good as mine. In Marco Polo’s book, The Travels of Marco Polo, there is a passage that briefly mentions his introduction to a plant that produced flour (possibly a breadfruit tree). The Chinese used this plant to create a meal similar to barley flour. The barley-like meal Polo mentioned was used to make several pasta-like dishes, including one described as lagana (lasagna). Since Polo’s original text no longer exists, the book relies heavily on retellings by various authors and experts. This, combined with the fact that pasta was already gaining popularity in other areas of Italy during the 13th century, makes it very unlikely that Marco Polo was the first to introduce pasta to Italy.