Ancient Rome Recipes

My best friend's father grew up in Italy. I love going to my friend's house because his dad is the best cook. Every time I go to his house we eat pizza or pasta. We even go on picnics with tubs of pasta instead of the typical fried chicken and apple pie. As I grew older I watched him cook. I learned a lot from this true Italian. As we were making this website I wanted to share one of his recipes with you.

First I had to do some research. How long have the Italians made pasta? Some people think pasta making tools were used as far back as the Etruscans. I was in luck! (One thing the ancient Romans did not have was tomatoes. Tomatoes came from the Americas and did not reach Italy until the 1500s, so this is an Italian recipe, not an ancient Roman one.)

Making the pasta at school was a little hard. At school we cut a few corners using canned tomatoes, bottled garlic, etc. Here is the recipe the way my friend's father makes it. I hope you will enjoy this great Italian dish.

Ingredients

5 to 6 ripe tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
basil
one large onion (diced)
olive oil (extra light virgin olive oil)
cheese (I like fresh grated Parmesan and Mozzarella.)

Directions

Dip the tomatoes into boiling water for a few seconds. This will loosen the skin so that they are easy to peel. After peeling, dice the tomatoes and put them aside for later.

In a large skillet add about three tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced onion and sliced garlic. Cook until the onion is tender. Next add the tomatoes. Add basil to taste.

While the sauce simmers cook the pasta in boiling water. They use many different kinds of pasta at my friend's house. Experiment until you find your favorite. I like spaghetti. When the pasta is soft, drain the water off.

Pour the cooked pasta directly into the sauce and stir. Add the cheese.

This is my most favorite meal!