Although it’s an oft-repeated story, food historians have discounted the myth that Marco Polo introduced noodles to Europe from China in the 13th century. He may well have brought some back, but there is irrefutable evidence that different forms of pasta developed early, and independently, in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, as well as in China. In The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson writes that a “highly important and satisfying category of food, … pasta is largely a food of the common people of any nation where it is used and is therefore less well documented than more luxurious foods.” Documentation and mythology notwithstanding, the fact remains that pasta is known and loved throughout much of the world, and the regional and cultural styles of preparing this intrinsically simple food are both complex and fascinating.
Of late, there are a couple of new ways to celebrate the world-beat nature of noodles. One is at the Downtown restaurant Noodle-ism, a “noodle and tea house” that serves fast and inexpensive pan-Asian and European-style pasta dishes. The other is the new book The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles, which provides recipes and techniques for all kinds of pastas from the West and from the East.
This article appears in January 10 • 2003.
