The Southern Table - Southern Italy - page 492

A standard primo (first course) on menus across the south, pasta is not only delicious,
it's often a filling meal in itself. Your waiter will understand and there is usually no pres-
sure to order a secondo (second course). The south's knack for pasta dishes is hardly sur-
prising given that it was here that pasta first hit Italy, introduced to Sicily by Arab mer-
chants in the Middle Ages. It was a perfect match. Southern Italy's sunny, windy disposi-
tion was just right for producing pasta secca (dry pasta), while the foodstuff's affordabil-
ity and easy storage made it handy in the face of hardship. It's no coincidence that pasta
fresca (fresh pasta) has, traditionally, been more prevalent in Italy's more affluent north.
Arriving from Sicily, pasta secca took off in a big way in Campania, especially after
the 1840 opening of Italy's first pasta plant in Torre Annunziata, a town on the Bay of
Naples. Not that Torre Annunziata was Campania's first pasta-making hub. Some 30km
southeast of Naples, the small town of Gragnano has been making pasta since the 17th
century. Gragnano's main street was specifically built along the sun's axis so that the pasta
put out to dry by the town's pastifici (pasta factories) would reap a full day's sunshine. To
this day, pasta di Gragnano enjoys an air of exclusivity.
And while pasta secca may be the dominant form of pasta on southern plates, the
Mezzogiorno is not without its fresh pasta icons. The most famous is arguably Puglia's
orecchiette (meaning 'little ears'), best savoured in dishes such as orecchiette con cime di
rapa (with turnip tops) and orecchiette con pomodori e ricotta forte (with tomato sauce
and strong ricotta).
Puglia produces around 80% of Europe's pasta, and per-capita consumption of bread and pasta is at least
double that of the USA. It's also said that there are 50 million olive trees in Puglia, equivalent to the Itali-
an population, and the region is the sixth-biggest wine-making region in the world.
Eat Your Greens…Purples, Reds & Yellows
Vegetables across the world must loathe their southern Italian counterparts. Not only do
they often look more beautiful, they're prepared with a know-how that turns them into
culinary protagonists. Take the humble melanzana (aubergine/eggplant), glammed up in
the punchy melanzane ripiene al forno (baked aubergine stuffed with olives, capers and
tomatoes) and decadent parmigiana melanzane (batter-fried aubergine layered with
parmesan, mozzarella, ham and tomato sauce). Another version, simply named parmigi-
ana, does the same for carciofi (globe artichokes). Campania's pomodoro San Marzano
(San Marzano plum tomato) is one of the world's most lauded tomatoes. Grown in the