At the beginning, pasta was consumed mainly boiled and seasoned to taste, or, sometimes, sprinkled with grated hard cheese, yet no one had had the idea of adding sauce to it until the almighty tomato appeared on the culinary scene and its fateful influence changed the taste of a favorite food forever…

It is known that the tomato was brought to Europe in the 17th century

by Spanish conquistadors in America who at first considered it to be a beautiful, yet highly poisonous, plant. Its other qualities were discovered as late as 1778 by Vincenzo Corrado in his book “Il Cuoco Galante” (The Gentleman’s Chef) in which the author explained the culinary benefits of tomatoes to Europeans.

The idea of combining tomato with pasta,

however, came later, with the first reliable information about this dating from 1839, when the Duke Of Buonvicino, Ipolite Cavalcante, wrote down a recipe for “thin spaghetti with tomato sauce”. The combination ot pasta, tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese conquered the whole of Italy and changed the table etiquette, since pasta could no longer be eaten with bare hands (as it was customary until then), but a fork was needed. Thus, pasta made a true cultural revolution.

Of course, pasta can be eaten without sauce but why do it, when we have such a wide and delicious choice:

  • Bolognese sauce is prepared from tomatoes, beef mince and wine. The original recipe uses finely chopped meat and the sauce should simmer for 4 hours – until the meat almost melts into the sauce. The home of this sauce is Bologna, yet Spaghetti Bolognese are not an Italian invention. The inhabitants of the Apennine are wary of the spaghetti with meat combinations as the latter tends to remain at the bottom of the plate. The connoisseurs from Bologna prepare their famous sauce with tagliatelle or short hollow maccaroni.
  • Marinara is a much-loved tomato sauce which can not go without ham, onions, garlic, basil, salt, olive oil and various herbs. Its Italian name (alla marinara) means The Sailor’s Way – a proper testament to its biggest fans. It is made from peeled tomatoes, mixed with some cut ham, onions, salt, olive oil, basil and other spices. The mixture is brought to a boil and then left to simmer with a clove of garlic.
  • Alfredo sauce – a white sauce of whole cream, butter, parsley and ground garlic is the most regular accompaniment of fettuccine. It was created in the 1920s in Roma by Alfredo Di Lelio, an owner of a local restaurant. His fettuccine with white sauce became so popular that Hollywood stars of the era, like Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, were regulars at the restaurant. Today, chicken is also added to the “Alfredo” sauce.
  • In turn, Carbonara sauce gets the addition of bacon (unsmoked) as well as cream (or milk), eggs, black pepper, cheese, parsley and bacon. It is suitable for both spaghetti and fettuccine. Its name derives from the Italian word for “coal”, as it is believed by some that it was invented by Italian coal-miners. Others think that’s because initially it was prepared on a coal grill. Whatever its origins, the “Carbonara” sauce became very popular during WWII, first because the Italians were getting lots of bacon and eggs as humanitarian aid and also, because the American soldiers on the Apennine liked it for containing their favourite ingredients.
  • The Pesto is green in color and is prepared with olives, basil, garlic and pine nuts. Its origins are in Liguria, Genoa specifically, and therefore it’s also known as “Pesto Genovese”. It is suitable for spaghetti and straight pasta.