Dinner and a Movie: Mostly Martha

On the recommendation of a friend, I rented Mostly Martha, a German movie about food and love. My kind of movie! Mostly Martha was very sweet and beautiful, but I didn't expect it to be so educational! I learned a few things from watching it. First, in Italy, basil is called basilico. I think it sounds so much nicer like that. And second, boiling a lobster is the worst way to kill it. I am truly sorry for the torture my friends and I inflicted on that tasty crustacean back in the college days. We didn't know! Apparently, you're supposed to deliver a precisely-placed stab to its neck. Now I know, but I think I'll leave the preparation of lobster to the professionals in the future.



There's a scene in it where the Italian chef Mario is eating a simple pasta dish, which served as my inspiration. It basically looked like noodles in a thin layer of tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. But the idea behind it is to use only a handful of quality ingredients, and really let them sing and shine together. So, I present this Roman dish, Pomodoro E Basilico.



If you find yourself with a healthy arsenal of basil as I did this weekend, this would be a good dish to unload it on. The use of such few ingredients really made me stop and savor their combination together . . . the acidic, tangy tomato . . . the nutty, pungent, earthy parmesan . . . and the star of it all, sweet basilico! I had to restrain myself from adding even pepper and garlic to the dish. It struck me as a bit odd that there was no garlic in the recipe. I will have to add it next time, because garlic makes everything better! For tonight, however, I did as the Romans do (well, as Fabrizzio Favale of Mediterraneo does, that is).

Result? Delizioso!