Margherita ala Filipina: Localizing an Italian Classic

The pizza’s fairly simple, and makes use of the clean combination of the flavors of tomatoes, basil and mozarella cheese. The same flavors have been appropriated for everything from salads to pasta, and have travelled all over the world, from New York and even in Manila.

While the pizza is fairly simple, the downside to it is that Mozarella cheese is relatively expensive here in Manila, and the quality isn’t so good to pull off the kind of flavors one would demand from their margherita. I’ve learned to substitute goat’s cheese—fresh varieties from farms in the nearby provinces of Laguna and Quezon—and these prove more than enough to get a hearty meal, while complimenting the fresh and not to mention puritanical flavors of the tomatoes and basil. I always find it crucial that for the Margherita to work, it has to have fresh ingredients—no canned tomatoes, nor preserved mozarella.

I love the same flavors in pasta. And I keep cooking myself this pasta dish that remind me of lazy Sundays when its ok to have disheveled hair and to walk barefoot around the house. Aside from tomatoes, basil and goat’s cheese, I also use onions, garlic and olive oil. The nice thing about this combination is that you don’t need to be spot-on with the ingredients’ proportions, you can caramelize one large onion to make it sweeter, or add a ton of garlic to make it more robust.

The first step is to boil water for the pasta. Since it’s fairly quick to prepare, gather all the materials and prep them. Chop your garlic and onions. Slice your tomatoes. I prefer my tomatoes to be big and chunky since they’re going to reduce eventually and you’re going to be left with a nice thread of tomato skin on your pasta. Coarsely chop your basil or tear them out by hand if you want to. Dice your goat’s cheese and sprinkle with black pepper.

When everything’s prepared, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. I love using a wok since things tend to cook faster and fresher there. Add the onions and stir them until they’ve turned translucent. Add the garlic and then the tomatoes. It would be fairly fast from here and when the tomatoes start breaking down, add the basil, some salt and pepper to taste, squeeze in some lemon or calamansi and then stir in the pasta. When the pasta’s coated, turn off the heat and mix in the goat cheese. And serve.