Steampunk pasta.

[matt_doyle]

I'm in the process of devising a recipe, and it's a far more whimsical process than usual.  The other day, I saw a picture of a bunch of clockwork, and someone had commented beneath it that, at first glance, they'd thought the tangle was a dish of steampunk pasta.

I thought this was a brilliant idea.  So I decided to invent it.  The dish is called 'Incubo del Meccanico,' or "The Mechanic's Nightmare," and involves, first of all, some assortment of the following noodles:  Fiori, Fusilli, Gemelli, Lanterne, Radiatori, Rotelle, and Rotini.  The more the better, because the wider the variety of noodles, the more it looks like a complex clockwork and spring device exploded on the plate.  To achieve a "gilded" effect for the assorted pasta widgets, I was thinking of boiling them all along with a large dose of turmeric, which turns everything some variety of yellow-orange.

For the sauce, I was thinking either a beef bouillon base, or a steak sauce base -- the better to achieve a brown 'motor oil' effect to contribute to the theme -- but I hadn't settled on anything in particular.  I also hadn't yet given thought to whether this would simply be noodles and sauce, or if it would be served with meat or vegetables or anything else added in -- which is where, oh my fiends-list, you come in.  Any suggestions for this recipe?

Comments

[camwyn]

May I suggest the use of at least one noodle made from squid ink pasta? No gilding, just black color a la motor oil. Saucewise I'm not sure what to suggest except looking outside the Italian food family and possibly going into the Chinese sauces- something like black bean sauce tweaked a bit, perhaps. Not like it hasn't been done with lo mein noodles.

[matt_doyle]

Oooh. Good notions both, thanks.