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Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes
When you think of Italian food, you think of pasta,
pizza, mozzarella - and tomatoes. The tomato,
'pomodoro' in Italian, is one of the most important
components of Italian cuisine. It is also beneficial
to health and low in calories. Incidentally, the
word 'pomodoro' means 'golden apple', since, when
the tomato was brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadores
in the sixteenth century, it was still yellow.
The 'pizza margherita', in the colours of the
Italian national flag - red, white and green -
was invented by a pizza chef from Naples in 1889
for King Umberto's consort, Queen Margherita.
Pasta all'amatriciana
Ingredients (Serves 4):
4 tbsp olive oil
200 g unsmoked pancetta or streaky bacon
1 small chilli
water or stock
1 onion
1 tin tomatoes (400 g) or 500 g fresh tomatoes
(skinned and finely chopped)
salt and black pepper
500 g pasta (spaghetti, linguine, penne or rigatoni)
4 tbsp freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
Method:
- Cut the pancetta or bacon into strips ½
cm wide.
- De-seed the chilli and chop finely.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the
chilli and the pancetta and crisp for 5 minutes
over a medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add a little water or stock and boil to reduce
by half.
- Finely chop the onion, add to the mixture
and sauté, stirring, for 10 minutes,
until soft and golden.
- Increase the heat a little, add the tomatoes
to the pan and thicken. Season with salt and
black pepper.
- Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and serve
with the sauce and freshly grated cheese.
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