Thursday, October 18, 2007

A Great Presto Pasta Article from the New York Times


I know, I should be writing my own articles, especially for Presto Pasta Nights....but this one was too good to resist. Mark Bittman, great chef and cookbook author, had some interesting things to say yesterday in the NY Times about the sauce vs pasta proportions. Which was very interesting since lately - it is Fall after all - I've been making lots of soups and many of them have pasta in them like this Moroccan Chickpea, Lentil & Orzo Soup I made a couple of days ago - very tasty, indeed, especially with the lemon juice and fresh mint added just before serving. But I digress - as is my usual way.

So, back to the topic...should we reverse the traditional way of serving pasta, which is more pasta than sauce (the exception being soups like Minestrone)? By cutting back on the pasta, we cut down on the carbs...healthier choice, but...I know when I eat my Auntie Shelley's Spaghetti with Meat Sauce...I prefer tons of sauce topping a little bit of pasta.


Then again, when I made those cute little Potato Leek Sacchetini ..the sauce was minimal.

Tonight I'll be making the NY Times recipe of Chickpea & Chorizo Pasta with Breadcrumbs. I'm not sure which category it falls in, but it sounds awesome. I'll let you know tomorrow in the roundup.

So where do you stand - lots of sauce, minimal pasta or lots of pasta, minimal sauce or like I usually do...lots of sauce, lots of pasta?

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's Bittman against Batali and I'm on Batali's side! I say pasta is the focus, not the sauce. :)

Deborah said...

For me I think it depends on the pasta. I love pasta dressed with a simple well-seasoned olive oil with a little garlic and parmesan cheese. But I also am devoted to lots of sauce left in the bottom of my bowl to give me something to dip my bread into.

Anh said...

I agree with Deborah on this. It depends on the dish itself. In some dishes pasta is the key, and in other, the sauce is better than anything. But again, it is the harmony that we aim for.

Just want to have a quick check with you... Did you receive my entry for this week? My mail just went to a lot of people's trash box lately so I just want to confirm with you. :)

Ruth Daniels said...

Deborah, Anh - I'm with you...it all depends on the dish.

Hillary, I like to think of the Mounds/Almond Joy comercial..."sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't"

Anh, I did get your entry for Presto Pasta Night. I'm just a little slow this week. The roundup should be ready in a couple of hours.

Sarah R said...

I just popped over here from the PPN site, I have to say I'm on Bittman's side this time - I'm all saucey! I actually prefer the big, holey, chunky noodles JUST because they hold all the gooey pillows of sauce! Mind you I only like the good, herby, spicy sauces though... not the olios, pestos or alfredoey-creamy ones. I'm picky, what can I say!