Massimo Montanari & Rachel Roddy: A History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

What could be simpler than a dish of pasta with tomato sauce? According to food historian Massimo Montanari’s latest book A Short History of Spaghetti With Tomato Sauce (Europa), quite a lot. Spaghetti al pomodoro has a story behind it entwined with empire, colonialism, migration, globalisation and cultural appropriation.

Montanari was in discussion with Rachel Roddy, whose book An A–Z of Pasta (Fig Tree) has become, in the few short months since its publication, one of the Bookshop’s most treasured possessions.