The pasta alla italiana

Almost everybody has some kind of inherited feeling of how to make their national food (well except for the Americans who probably just have an inherent feeling of the phone numbers of the takeout places close by). As a Dane, I know which potatoes goes with what and what kinds of things you can put together on top of a piece of brown bread. The Italians have the pasta feeling, which is not easily learned. You can off course try one of the Italian cookbooks and follow them but beware, cause usually they are filled with recipes which an Italian would not even serve for the neighbours dog, even after it bit them.

One of these is the Pasta Napoli, which I am currently (well when I not writing) doing, sounds very authentic, but its takes its basis from a Danish cookbook, so what was I expecting :). Anyway I was proud of my adventures into the Italian gastronomy, and thought I would show off a bit and call my girlfriend to ask if I should maybe substitute the Spaghetti with some Penne. Instead of showing off how ever, Sara could tell me that the one thing that the recipe got right was the Spaghetti, and that the ingredients in the sauce actually not was something any Italian would put together.

"you are not stupid, you are learning" she comforted me.

The pasta was good, but it lacked the Italian feeling, like pizzas in Denmark after you tasted the real thing. Its a shame since the rest of the recipes in the book I have tried was pretty good... But again what did I expect, I once saw a English cookbook of Danish cooking, and the horrors they had done to our proud and good food. So next experiment, is going to be done with backup from Italian cookbook.

Have a nice evening...