Comments on: Pasta Puttanesca with Paho, Tawilis & Siling Labuyo…

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:26:51 +0000

bora, I would have thought sweet basil and Italian basil would be one and the same. The most common types of basil I use are Italian basil, Thai Basil which has smaller more pointed leaves and a more pungent aroma and taste, and red/burgundy/opal basil, whenever I can find it (usually abroad more than local)… Basil does tend to grow well in Manila if you have enough sun and good soil. You may also want to have tanglad or lemongrass in your garden. We have kaffir lime bushes/trees, siling labuyo plants, pandan, galanggal, kalamansi, parsley (hard to keep alive in our garden), oregano, etc. If you want a huge variety of herbs are very reasonable prices, go to the Manila seedling bank and look for the two largest garden stores… they have all kinds of herbs for say PHP30-50 a piece. Good luck.

By: bora

bora — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:12:38 +0000

Hi MM,

I have been a lurker of your blog for more than a year now and with all your “organic, fresh-from-the-plant/tree/farm” way of using ingredients, I recently decided to start a small herb garden myself. I just need to ask: In Tagaytay, I saw plant tagged as Sweet Basil and another as Italian Basil. What’s the difference between the two and which is the most commonly used? Thank you. :)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:05:08 +0000

paula, paho is a specific type of mango, not baby large mangoes… I have several posts on paho in the archives, or you can read my post on Friday on the Philstar.com website. e, I am not home, so I can’t check the box, but I agree that whole wheat pasta sometimes has a tougher consistency.. but I like it because it’s presumably a bit healthier… Pam, paho brined in salty water have a unique taste that is similar to olives. Brined larger mangoes may have odd thick skin that might be tough in a dish like this… joji, yest tuyo would work, it has a sharper, saltier flavor than the tawilis.

By: Lyndsay

Lyndsay — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 06:22:59 +0000

I’m always a fan of simple pastas so it is interesting that you made ‘Tawilis’ instead of Anchovies, it is more Filipino. However, a little cheat to add anchovies would not hurt or maybe fish sauce to imitate the strong fishy tangy taste of anchovies. Still, your pasta looks amazing and mouthwatering!

By: paula

paula — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:23:10 +0000

pardon my ignorance… what is paho? is that the young green mango.. just beginning to sprout?

By: betty q.

betty q. — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:35:42 +0000

Hey, Footloose…..mwahahahahahahaha!

…we are not tomato sauce people. I make a similar dish to your pasta taught by a dear old Italian lady in the 90’s…has lots of garlic and bread crumbs tossed before serving.

By: e

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:46:05 +0000

what brand of whole wheat penne do you use? I cook with whole wheat spaghetti all the time, no problem. but with whole wheat penne, i can never get the pasta al dente, despite following cooking directions and time, cooking it longer, shorter, etc since I try the pasta every so often. it always ends up too gummy, which i think is due to the fact that the pasta is whole wheat and its relative thickness and size. frustrating :(

By: Pam

Pam — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:15:34 +0000

Would love to try this! MM, Would green mangoes other than Pajo also work? I’m also curious if, instead of anchovies, a little bagoong would work here. Just because green mangoes and bagoong just seem to go well together. So do tomatoes and bagoong.

By: David

David — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:18:49 +0000

wow its look like delish…
do you like Indonesian food also? check the recipe @ here https://meinfoculinary.blogspot.com/

Thanks

By: Joji

Joji — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:18:17 +0000

Substitute for anchovies? Bottled “tuyo” with olive oil.