Pasta is a favorite dish to serve as a feature, side, or even small appetizer. Italians love pasta too, which is where many of the variations derive from. In a lot of cultures, food is a big deal. In Italy, however, the food is almost everything. It’s a way to connect with others, to celebrate, to remember, and to find a reason to gather around the table at the end of the day. A favorite of many is linguine, a thin noodle that, believe it or not, has quite the backstory. Learning about the history of linguine actually helps understand why we enjoy it so much.
Linguine History
To jog your memory, linguine is flat, but elliptical, offering some shape as opposed to trenette. The pasta is very much a creation of its utility, meaning that its shape fulfills a specific purpose. To understand the creation of linguine, it helps to know about where it comes from!
Liguria – Home of Linguine
In North-Western Italy, the coastal region of Liguria is a popular place for tourists thanks to beaches, quaint and cute towns, and of course, food. Being on the ocean, the area is named loosely from a Latin phrase meaning maritime people. As you can imagine, being on the water yields a lot of great seafood. Things like shrimp, muscles, and squid are all known to be bountiful in the area. To this day, you’ll find a lot of people serve linguine with a type of seafood. Because of the rich history and ties between Italy and cuisine, these traditions passed down and still can be found at local Italian establishments and Italian chains.
The Perfect Sauce for Linguine
If you order linguine with seafood, you’re bound to have it served to you in some sort of cream-based sauce. Another popular sauce, however, is with another Liguria favorite. The capital of the region, Genoa, is known for being the home of pesto. Pesto is, at its core, basil, hard cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic. Genoa is where pesto found solid footing, but it’s expected that the creation may have come from Indians who settled in the area.
The Perks of Linguine
Because of its flat nature, linguine is easy to make, only consisting of flour and egg. You can make it with white flour or whole wheat flour. It’s perfect in just about every way, but to eat it as intended, throw it together with some shrimp or homemade pesto.