Viva Cristofero Columbo

S

ome of my friends have been checking in today, to ask how I plan to celebrate Columbus Day. Certainly, one component of my celebration will be to use this vehicle to dispel any misunderstandings about that tawdry business with Joe Columbo.

I can see how misunderstandings have occurred. The guy’s name was Columbo, and he got whacked in public on Columbus Circle in Manhattan. But contrary to the most common misunderstanding, it happened months before Columbus Day—on June 18, 1971. And he was leading a rally to celebrate a holiday he had fabricated: Italian Unity Day. Christopher Columbus apparently had enough problems with Haitian Indians without being associated with wise guys a few centuries before the fact.

Celebration though, is in order. To paraphrase Calvin Trillin, Columbus didn’t come all the way to America just to have a city in Ohio named for him. Although as I think about it, Admiral Columbus may not actually have made it to America at all.


Nevertheless, no Columbus Day celebration would be complete without pesto. Given he was one of Genoa’s native sons, and the man who brought linguine al pesto to the new world, how could I not include pesto in my plans?

As part of my celebration, of course I’ll spend some time in reflection about the man and his accomplishments. After all, for tonight’s meal, I’ll need simply to combine basil, Parmigiano, pignoli, garlic, and olive oil in the Cuisinart. In Columbus' day, if I wanted to go out for a dish of linguine al pesto, I would have risked falling off the edge of the earth.

Addendum 9:16 p.m.: As you can see from the photograph, I didn't have linguine for dinner after all. I discovered some gnocchi that I had forgotten about, and thought they'd be pretty good with pesto. Also, when I had cooked and drained the gnocchi, I tossed them briefly with melted butter, then with the pesto; hence the pesto looks more brown than green. I assure you, though, it was delicious.

Linguine al Pesto

Ingredients:

2 Cups basil leaves, loosely packed
2 Cloves garlic, peeled
2/3 Cup pignoli (pine nuts)
1/3 Cup grated Parmigiano
3/4 – 1 Cup olive oil
1 Lb. Linguine

Preparation:

Place all ingredients but the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse ten times for approximately one second each pulse, until the ingredients are finely minced. With the machine running steadily, add the olive oil in a slow stream, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Continue adding olive oil until the mixture develops the consistency of a sauce. Reserve at room temperature.

Bring a large pot of salted water (at least six quarts) to a boil, then add the linguine. Cook until the pasta reaches the al dente state. Remove from the heat and drain in a colander.

To Serve:

Divide the pasta equally among four dishes, place a large dollop of the pesto over each, and toss briefly before bringing them to the table.

Serves four.

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