While my marinara differs from Clemenza’s and most traditional Italian recipes, it has evolved over the last twenty years into a flavor that is woven into the proverbial fabric of my kitchen. I like the sweetness that the onions and carrots give to the acidic tomatoes and wine. I have made this sauce without the wine just to meet comments that my sauce tasted less delicious.
These are not the meatballs of my childhood. But these are the meatballs of my son’s childhood. And that is the whole point of this food blog…to preserve the flavors of my son’s childhood so that he can replicate them in the future so that these flavored memories are not lost.
On our honeymoon in Eleuthra, we ate at a restaurant owned by Italians where I was scolded for asking for cheese with my shrimp and squid. I was internally hand gesturing to them through my eyes – but I’m Sicilian – we love to combine cheese with seafood. Arguably, anytime you add a pesto to seafood you are marrying cheese and seafood with a delicious result. So why all the snobbery with combining seafood with cheese? I hope that this version of shrimp pasta helps you reconsider the antiquated rule of not topping seafood with cheese.
