#btw i source heavily from the real life history of penne alla vodka

[otto-von-stirlitz]

The food (history) of Goncharov

So im not a movie buff (just an amateur food historian), but with Tumblr fandom renaissance of the mafia classic Goncharov (1973), i just had to mention something. The short scene where Katya is cooking, and why its interesting from a modern food history angle.

It’s obvious from the tense dinner scene, that Katya Goncharova is serving her husband, among other dishes (run-off-the-mill italian classics, not much to talk about), a red sauce pasta dish. What is interesting is that in the earlier cooking scene she is shown adding a hefty glug of Russian vodka to a pan. Obviously it’s to show how she has ~a Russian soul~ all the way through, movie-language wise. For food history it’s interesting because it is the first recorded appearance of “red-sauce with vodka pasta” in culture, a whole year before Ugo Tognazzi cookbook recipe for “pasta all'infuriata” (in which he calls for Polish, not Russian vodka). IMO the sauce in the scene is too vibrant-red to look like modern penne alla vodka sauce where cream is essential (and the long pasta is not penne) , but i would still call it a likely predecessor to the 1980s discotheque (yes, it was a popular disco dish!) classic. Also, with penne alla vodka being popular both in Italy and the States, I wonder if its presence in the film comes from (Italian-)American influence of the producer, actors and one screenwriter, or from Old World Italian-raised director. So there are still questions about the exact origin of the dish that only the crew can answer, but Goncharov is still an interesting lead in the history of one popular recipe.

also, enjoy photos of penne alla vodka (the modern creamy version) i cooked a while ago, I deserve a cooking humblebrag.