Fresh pasta

Enjoying an espresso with grappa after a seven course meal in Venice, Italy

In the summer of 2000, I lived and worked at a museum in Venice, Italy on a fellowship. I came to Italy to experience the art and culture, eager to see up close the magnificent David that Michelangelo had sculpted and all the other wonderful masterpieces that I had fervently studied in art history. I didn’t anticipate leaving Italy twenty four pounds heavier (and I’m not talking about my luggage), rich in so many experiences. I met friends from all types of backgrounds and we had a blast sharing our histories and passions in life, and of course all of these over dinner parties and food.

My flat mates were Italians, and I picked up a few cooking tips that I use quite often nowadays when I’m cooking pastas. One of these tips includes incorporating anchovies in my pastas, and the other tip, although rather quite surprising and odd, is adding soy sauce. Hmmm…who would have thought that I had to travel to Italy to discover that the secret ingredient is one that already exists in my kitchen?

This fresh pasta recipe is a great summer dish because it is light and refreshing. Although it looks like a gourmet dish that took hours to make, it is actually quite simple and easy to cook. The key is using fresh quality ingredients. Using fresh pasta (especially if you can make it yourself, but if not, it can be found in any grocery store) and ripe plum tomatoes will give this dish a clean and hearty taste. Try this recipe if you want to be adventurous for a change.

INGREDIENTS: 4-6 servings

fresh linguine pasta (2 packages, choose one egg pasta, one spinach pasta)
ground beef (one package, 90% lean)
6 medium plum tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
6 strips of bacon, chopped into small pieces
2 carrots, finely shredded
1 medium zucchini, finely diced
1 teaspoon or more dried oregano
3 tablespoon or more soy sauce
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional, for extra tang in flavor)
sugar
salt
black pepper
handful of fresh basil, coarsely chopped
olive oil



DIRECTIONS:

1) Cooking the pasta:
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. While you are waiting, start the tomato sauce (step 2). Once the water boils, add in a pinch of salt, olive oil, and cook the pasta until desired taste (it is best to follow the package instructions). Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water.

2) Cooking the tomato sauce:
In a medium pan, add olive oil and saute half the amount of onion and garlic until they are slightly golden. Put in the tablespoon of tomato paste and stir. Then add in the tomatoes and saute on high heat for a few minutes. Season the sauce with a pinch of salt, sugar, and oregano. Let the sauce simmer on low heat, continuously adding small amounts of pasta water so as to not let the tomatoes burn.

3) Cooking the meat:
In another pan, add olive oil and saute the bacon until golden. Then add the rest of the onion and garlic, saute until they are slightly golden, add in the ground beef and stir until the meat is brown. Add in the carrots and zucchini, stirring until the vegetables soften. Season with salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, basil, and soy sauce, adding the amount according to taste.

4) Putting it all together:
Place the pasta on plate, put tomato sauce, then top with the sauteed ground meat. Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy.