Sophia and the stuff she’s made of (although what is that lumpy mess hanging in the middle?).
I had an extremely enlightening conversation with a friend while we were preparing dinner together a few nights ago. The subject was pasta, and what he matter-of-factly said shocked me—me the pasta queen, who really thought I knew pasta and the habits of pasta eaters inside and out. He said that when he makes pasta for himself and his boyfriend, one pound easily and almost always serves two. Okay, these are two fairly big guys, but that is a huge amount of pasta, and with all the sauce and bread to sop it up, that is a tremendous amount of calories. I’ve never heard of eating so much pasta. Then I started asking around, and it seems other people do this too, and not just men. Pasta happens to be one of the good carbohydrates, one that digests relatively slowly, not like potatoes or rice, but if you eat enough of any good carb it will turn into a bad carb from the act of gluttony alone. I don’t mean to embarrass anyone, and coming from someone who can down an entire bottle of Chianti in about 15 minutes, I’m not one to judge.
I guess what I want to say here is more of a reminder than a reprimand. One pound of pasta traditionally serves six as a first course, in true Italian style. If you want to serve pasta as a main course, a pound should serve four, or sometimes five if you have a protein-rich sauce, such as a ragù. I understand Sophia supposedly said that everything you see she can attribute to pasta, but she couldn’t possibly be eating that much. I mean, she does still have a waistline.
Erica De Mane 
Erica, I’m sure you have heard the story of Sophia on, I believe, the Dick Cavett Show. At one point she cupped her hands under her breasts and said, “I owe it all to pasta!”
You got me thinking……
I’m not sure how much more slowly the “good” carbohydrates in pasta digest than other complex carbohydrates, but I think they still exit the stomach pretty rapidly, leading to an empty feeling a few hours later. It occurred to me that they typical Italian diet of pasta followed by more protein and fat rich foods would create a combination in the stomach that would satisfyingly sit there for a while! But we don’t have this option with pasta as a single course: so here comes today’s counter-intuitive notion. Maybe the best pasta for a dieter would have a fairly rich sauce, creating the combination of carbs, fats and protein that would pleasingly fill the stomach without having to eat too much and would sit digesting there for a while and not elicit the urge to eat a few hours later.
I don’t feel the urge to engorge as much as I did when I was a youngster, but I still think that a half-pound of pasta at a sitting must be conditioned by the memory of how fast that satiated feeling goes away as the carbs break down in the stomach and are absorbed.
I need pasta and butternut squash,please.
I think I remember a Marcella Hazan recipe for a clam and butternut squash risotto, Liti! Weird, but quite good.
I found some confirmation of my suspicions in the first edition of “On Food and Cooking:”
“And the presence of fat in the mixture that reaches the beginning of the small intestine causes a hormone to be released that inhibits the peristaltic action of the stomach walls…So the stomach retains its contents longer when fats or oils are a significant part of the meal, and such a meal therefore seems especially satisfying.”
George,
Yes it’s true. The more fat and protein you throw into pasta the longer it’ll just sit there, which is good. And something else I found out, whole wheat pasta, since its fiber is ground so finely, digested just as quickly as white pasta. It does have some more nutrients though. I don’t know if I’d like clams with butternut squash. I like big blobs of pork fat with butternut squash.
E
Liti,
Yes, it’s time for pasta with butternut squash (or pumpkin). Let me think about it and I’ll post of new recipe soon.
Erica
Hee hee….I like blobs of pork fat with most everything!
Never been a fan of whole wheat pasta….so you get some more nutrients: but that’s really only significant if you eat a half-pound of pasta at a sitting. Plain old semolina pasta with a tasty sauce…and then a small portion of nutrient rich food afterward with some verdure. Trial and error…but traditional cuisines have had a long period to work out the kinks!
Was in Bologna last spring and I was pleasantly reminded of how subtle that cuisine can be (I cook with something of a heavy hand myself). Had just the most delicate tortelli with pumpkin filling! Butternut squash (I’ve also used sweet potato) is a good alternative to the Italian pumpkin which must be ( I think) somewhat sweeter than ours.
Hi Erica,
I love your books but I don’t think that 1/2 a box of pasta is that many calories…Generally I eat about 1/3 box to 1/2 box in one sitting, 500-800 calories for the pasta. Every one of my male relatives in Sicily and the US eats about the same amount. I can burn this off in about 1/2 hour of vigorous exercise. If I do not work out as much, I eat less.
-Jay
Hi Jay,
Those were the good old days for many of my fine men friends. I love the idea of men eating a lot of pasta, but I’ll bet you’re under 40.
Best to you,
Erica
I’ve always eaten a lot of pasta. But I’ve recently found out that my ravenous hunger is due to diabetes. I could easily (though somewhat painfully) eat one box of pasta with one jar of pasta sauce. I used to do that on occasion late at night when nothing else helped my appetite. Then I was relaxed enough to fall asleep. But I have sleeping issues as well. But yeah pasta and pizza are my two downfalls. I eat way too much at one sitting usually. I just had 2 bowls (filled near the top) of bowtie pasta with meatsauce. And unfortunately I’m now uncomfortable since my stomach is so stretched.
I have a bad habit of eating too much pasta in one sitting. I’m certain I eat more than your friends. Ive made a box of linguine, a whole box, in a pot… And I ate it all to myself with ragu sauce and butter. It’s gonna leave you bedridden for an hour or 2 but I have the bad habit of stuffing my mouth with foods I really love just like anyone else. As long as they don’t eat a whole box of spaghetti they should be fine. Sometimes I wonder how my stomach is able to handle that much.
Angel, That’s a lot of pasta. And too many carbs in one sitting. Hard on your blood sugar. If you took a 6 mile run after……