Mistake #5: Over-saucing dishes.
Yes, sauce is an essential component of many Italian dishes, but there’s a difference between adding enough sauce to enhance the flavours and drowning your dish in sauce. Don’t be that person who pours half a bottle of tomato sauce on their pasta. Trust me: in Italian cuisine, less is more!
Mistake #6: Parmesan on a fish based sauce
Ah, the capital sin of adding Parmesan cheese to spaghetti with clams. It’s a mistake that many non-Italians make, but it’s one that makes any Italian cringe.
You see, in Italy, Parmesan cheese is reserved for pasta dishes with tomato-based sauces, cream sauces, and meat-based dishes. Adding Parmesan cheese to a seafood-based dish, like spaghetti with clams, is a big no-no. It’s like adding ketchup to a steak or pineapple on a pizza – it just doesn’t belong!
The flavours of the clams and the sauce in spaghetti with clams are delicate and nuanced, and adding Parmesan cheese can overpower those flavours and throw off the balance of the dish. So, if you want to enjoy a true Italian experience, resist the urge to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on your spaghetti with clams.
