Massimo Montanari Also debunks a well-established myth in Italy: not to put Parmesan on tomato spaghetti.
in reality, The cheese is placed on top of the pasta before the tomato sauce. The hard cheeses associated with pasta, even represent the basis of Italian pasta for this historic. “By the end of the Middle Ages, even Italy described pasta recipes piled high with sugar, cheese, and spices.” specific Carlo DePascal.
Tomatoes come much later on Italian pasta plates. Period recipe books, it’s even called ‘Spanish Sauce’. Italian tomato sauce is actually inspired by Spain because it first appeared as a gazpacho, containing vinegar. It will take decades to remove the vinegar.
Another belief traditionally associated with Italy that is broken by Montanari: olive oil, imported from the Near East for several millennia in the Mediterranean basin, is rarely used with pasta. Good olive oil was indeed very expensive at the time. Instead, families use lard or butter as fat.
Basil also made his way late in Italy. We like thyme or marjoram.
This study thus proves that spaghetti with tomato is a modern dish that is the result of a long fusional culinary tail.