Farineux

Ever since Marco Polo brought back pasta from China we have tried to improve on it. Italians serve it with cream and butter sauces; Americans now eat it warm or cold with a wide variety of sauces and dressings.

In Nice, pasta is always homemade and offered with a light sauce so that the fresh taste of the dough is never smothered by its accompaniment. And pasta is often served as a main course as a good alternative to meat or fish.

When I was a child we used to make pasta once a month. It was quite a production. The kitchen, the pantry, and the entire guest room would be strung with sheets of drying noodles. They were draped from beds, tables, chairs, and brooms propped up like clotheslines. The air would be misty with flour and rich with the smell of the fresh dough.