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Serving linguini. What do you use?

It was all going so well until you ruined it by adding prawns.....

Yuueeeeaaaaauuuuuuuuuuucccccchhhhh!! :)
 
Oh dear! I’ve trodden on some delicate sensibilities! Really fresh ripe tomatoes easily make the best tomato sauce, as anybody who knows anything about Italian, or indeed any cooking will tell you.

Let me put it this way. A Porsche will run on low octane fuel. Does it run better on the correct octane? You bet. Yes, you can make a tomato sauce canned tomatoes, but does it really do justice to the pasta? No, so, if you can, what’s the harm in using the best ?
 
thebiglebowski said:
French wine is shite, watery, insipid tasteless crap, I much prefer spanish or italian reds.
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Well my GF being vegetarian, I far prefer the watery tasteless crap to a gut-wrenching Cannonau or Nero d'Avola which is arguably the better choice for Spagbol or anything meaty. And France is big and diverse.

About tomato sauce, when I see half-rotten 'sauce' tomatoes on offer at the market, I usually buy some, depending on the mood I add some tinned ones, or I may not. Same with basil at the end. That's what cooking is about IMO, let your heart invent something new every day and accept that sometimes the result is so-so. That's how the mammas learned their craft.
 
avole said:
Oh dear! I’ve trodden on some delicate sensibilities! Really fresh ripe tomatoes easily make the best tomato sauce, as anybody who knows anything about Italian, or indeed any cooking will tell you.

Let me put it this way. A Porsche will run on low octane fuel. Does it run better on the correct octane? You bet. Yes, you can make a tomato sauce canned tomatoes, but does it really do justice to the pasta? No, so, if you can, what’s the harm in using the best ?
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My Porsche runs equally well on both types of unleaded available here
, and so have all the others I have owned.

No sensibilities trodden on here....just one knowing when they are correct.
 
We have demonstrated the 'Fallacy of Composition' and the 'Fallacy of Division' in one short thread. PFM is a centre of learning. Or do I mean PFM is a learning centre ?
 
avole said:
Oh dear! I’ve trodden on some delicate sensibilities! Really fresh ripe tomatoes easily make the best tomato sauce, as anybody who knows anything about Italian, or indeed any cooking will tell you.

Let me put it this way. A Porsche will run on low octane fuel. Does it run better on the correct octane? You bet. Yes, you can make a tomato sauce canned tomatoes, but does it really do justice to the pasta? No, so, if you can, what’s the harm in using the best ?
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Taste in food in very much like taste in music - totally subjective.
 
Yes, but it is the interpretation, as with music that counts. Like it or not, the best interpretation of a classic tomato sauce involves ripe tomatoes. Bit like wine really - imagine a bordeaux produced with alcohol measured at 5% as opposed to one at 12%. The first case tells you the grapes weren’t properly ripe, while the second tell you they were spot on.

I don’t know why this is being argued, apart from the obstinate British belief that they and only they have it right, and, even so, I think most would agree with me. Having quite a few Italians eating at the resto, I have to say that if the quality of the tomato sauce isn’t good, we hear about it straight away, and this is in a family style resto, not a gastronomic one.
 
Sadly that’s global warning for you. Even burgundies are hitting 13,5 regularly.
 
avole said:
Yes, but it is the interpretation, as with music that counts. Like it or not, the best interpretation of a classic tomato sauce involves ripe tomatoes. Bit like wine really - imagine a bordeaux produced with alcohol measured at 5% as opposed to one at 12%. The first case tells you the grapes weren’t properly ripe, while the second tell you they were spot on.

I don’t know why this is being argued, apart from the obstinate British belief that they and only they have it right, and, even so, I think most would agree with me. Having quite a few Italians eating at the resto, I have to say that if the quality of the tomato sauce isn’t good, we hear about it straight away, and this is in a family style resto, not a gastronomic one.
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For once I feel its you who is being obstinate here. It's a bit like suggesting that fresh pasta is always better than dried... (btw, I don't doubt that you know this not to be the case).

... so many Italian Mamas - in Italy - make sublime tomato sauce - in all its subtle variations - using basic passata di pomodoro purchased in bottles from the local supermarket. Using fresh tomatoes will give a different, but not necessarily superior outcome.

All part of the joy of Italian cooking.
 
avole said:
Yes, but it is the interpretation, as with music that counts. Like it or not, the best interpretation of a classic tomato sauce involves ripe tomatoes. Bit like wine really - imagine a bordeaux produced with alcohol measured at 5% as opposed to one at 12%. The first case tells you the grapes weren’t properly ripe, while the second tell you they were spot on.

I don’t know why this is being argued, apart from the obstinate British belief that they and only they have it right, and, even so, I think most would agree with me. Having quite a few Italians eating at the resto, I have to say that if the quality of the tomato sauce isn’t good, we hear about it straight away, and this is in a family style resto, not a gastronomic one.
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Uh oh the old fresh vs. canned debate again. The best thing about quality canned tomatoes is consistency & guaranteed to get the correct ripeness. There are a lot of proper Italian chefs out there who use canned, no problem. There's also people who like to use fresh, again, no problem aside from consistency (getting the correct ripeness, and not using insipid British 'orange' tomatoes). Neither way is the one true way, but I find canned gives a bit of a richer base than fresh.

Have had fresh pasta many times, but you know what, I prefer the quality dried stuff - M&S stock some really nice pasta, made in Italy.
 
jtrade said:
For once I feel its you who is being obstinate here. It's a bit like suggesting that fresh pasta is always better than dried... (btw, I don't doubt that you know this not to be the case).

... so many Italian Mamas - in Italy - make sublime tomato sauce - in all its subtle variations - using basic passata di pomodoro purchased in bottles from the local supermarket. Using fresh tomatoes will give a different, but not necessarily superior outcome.

All part of the joy of Italian cooking.
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spot on.... and the Italian mama living across the road from me, laughed at "Mr I know it all, I am best" comments when I showed her earlier today... she also made some remarks about that contributor that are unrepeatable here!
 
I like passata. I like pasta too. I'm not sure that I serve it, I just mash my face in the pan and slurp it all in. No tongs then.
 
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