During the Middle Ages, pasta gained popularity and gradually became a course of its own. This growing interest is evident from several literary references.
In his The Decameron, Boccaccio recounts the fancy town of Bengodi, with its mountain of Parmesan where people prepared macaroni and ravioli. Indeed, cheese has long been the main seasoning for pasta, although there was no shortage of more daring and imaginative combinations on wealthy tables.
Back then, a pasta dish looked and tasted very different from what we are used to nowadays. First of all, the cooking times were notably longer, taking up to an hour. The concept of ‘al dente’ would only become popular from the 19th century onwards. Furthermore, the combinations were quite unexpected and usually featured a blend of sweet and spicy flavors.
Pasta was undoubtedly considered suitable for the lavish banquets of the nobility. For instance, the recipes created in the 1500s by Bartolomeo Scappi, a cook in the Vatican kitchens, were renowned for their richness and originality.
His macaroni alla romanesca were prepared from a unique mixture of flour, breadcrumbs, goat’s milk and egg yolk. The dough thus obtained was cut, boiled for half an hour, covered with grated cheese, butter, sugar, cinnamon and provatura (a Roman cheese) and lastly baked in the oven with rose water.
As you can see, the range of flavours and ingredients was extraordinarily varied and unusual. Over the centuries, sugar has been abandoned, and the Italian “national dish” gradually took on the look and taste recognisable to a contemporary diner.
However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the perfect marriage between pasta and its most famous condiment was finally celebrated: the first recipe of spaghetti in tomato dates back to 1837, marking a significant moment in culinary history.
Dining and Cooking