The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Three Types of Pasta and Dreams of Travel

Lorenzo carried the wooden box containing the pasta, and Melfina entered the lord’s mansion kitchen, where a pot of water was already on the magic stone stove.

“My Lady Melfina, I heard it’s a new dish. What are you making?”

Ed asked with bright, curious eyes.

“I’m boiling pasta made with Romana flour. It’s incredibly delicious with various sauces.”

“Pasta, is it? It’s very long and thin.”

“It’s unusual around here. It’s my first time seeing the real thing, too.”

Although it should be treated as a staple food alongside bread in the Romana region, even Melfina, a noblewoman, hadn’t tasted it.

This is her first pasta in this world. She wants to savor it.

“How do they season it in Romana?”

“The most common among commoners is to sauté olive oil, garlic, and chili peppers, add the boiled pasta, and season with salt. I hear that nobles simmer it with milk and spices.”

In Romana, its origin, simple aglio e olio (garlic and oil) and soup pasta-like dishes seemed to be the mainstream.

“My Lady Melfina, what kind of seasoning will you be using?”

“I’ve been thinking about various things, but I can’t decide which one to use.”

“Then, how about making all of them and sharing them with me?”

Melfina was easily swayed by Marie’s tempting words, who is both her secretary and younger sister, and has become quite adept at handling her.

“Making what My Lady Melfina wants to eat is the best. I’ll help, too.”

“Ah, I want to eat, too! Um, I think Serleine and Lloyd will want to eat it too.”

“Well… it might be a little heavy as a light lunch, but we can adjust the portions.”

Serleine’s appetite has improved considerably, and Ed and Lloyd are, after all, in their growing years.

Having a pasta party using the noodles she finally acquired seemed like a very good idea.

“Excuse me, but if you would allow it, I’m very curious to see what kind of seasoning my country’s pasta will receive in a foreign land. Could I possibly have a taste?”

Lorenzo said timidly, and Melfina smiled and nodded.

“Fufufu, then, as thanks for introducing me to pasta, please eat your fill.”

First, she had Ed pound the pork. While he did so, Melfina finely chopped the onions and sautéed them in olive oil until softened, then added the finely pounded pork to the pan.

After adding grated garlic and sautéing until fragrant, she added red wine and ketchup, salt, and a pinch of Worcestershire sauce as a secret ingredient.

“The trick is to use plenty of meat.”

While saying this, she added salt to the boiling water in the large pot and added the pasta.

She wondered if one serving should be the same amount as in her past life, but since there were many men, it shouldn’t be too much unless it was extraordinary.

“Marie, could you watch the pot so it doesn’t boil over? The water level can rise suddenly, so if it does, reduce the heat.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Ed, will you cut the onions and peppers? Thinly sliced.”

“Yes!”

Smiling at his dependable reply, she grated the cheese and cracked the eggs. Since it’s her first pasta, she separated the egg yolks and whites, luxuriously using only the yolks in a bowl and mixing them with the cheese.

“My Lady, where did you get that cheese? It’s quite a bit lighter in color than what’s sold in Romana.”

“Come to think of it, Romana, unlike Francesca, does produce cheese at the civilian level. I hear it’s a hard but flavorful cheese.”

For merchants to handle cheese as a product, cheese with a short aging period must be wary of mold and spoilage. Cheese that is thoroughly aged to a deep yellow or orange color is very hard and therefore full of flavor.

“Didn’t you bring any this time?”

“We prioritized the plant paper and flour, so unfortunately, it’s not included in this shipment.”

“Then, I would be happy if you could bring some next time. I hear that Luxen cheese is very large and difficult for even men to carry, but Romana cheese is supposedly about the size of a palm, so I would like to try cheeses from all three countries side-by-side someday.”

“That sounds like so much fun!”

While checking that Ed had quickly finished cutting the vegetables, Melfina put a new pan on the fire and added finely chopped dried ham.

Olive oil was poured into the sizzling pork fat, and after lightly browning it, a cup of pasta cooking water was added. The reaction with the heated fat made a loud popping sound, surprising everyone.

“Ed, what’s needed to mix the fat and water?”

“Something to act as a binder. The easiest thing is flour… ah, so it’s the cooking water!”

“That’s right. To make delicious pasta, it’s very important to thoroughly mix the fat and water. This brings out the richness and makes the sauce adhere well.”

She took a strand of pasta and tasted it. In her past life, she would aim for al dente with a core remaining like a hair, but since the noodles are slightly flat, she stops the cooking when they are almost done.

She transferred one-third to the pan, instructed Ed to divide the rest equally onto plates, and added the pasta to the dried ham and remaining cooking water, thoroughly mixing them before transferring the egg mixture to the pan and quickly mixing it.

After thoroughly mixing, she plated it and sprinkled it with pepper, completing the carbonara.

“My Lady Melfina, do you mix this noodle with the meat sauce?”

“No, I’ll make another dish. Let’s put the meat sauce on top and have everyone take as much as they like with the pasta when we serve it.”

She put a new pan on the fire, added olive oil, dried ham, the onions and peppers Ed cut, and one frankfurter, cut into appropriate sizes.

Since they don’t need to be cooked much, after lightly sautéing them, she added ketchup and the cooked pasta, frying it in the pan while tossing it until it’s completely mixed to finish.

Three large plates of pasta were far too much for an afternoon snack, but when she carried it to the dining hall, not only Serleine and Simon, but also Rad, Cliff, and surprisingly, even the two administrators were waiting at their seats.

“My Lady Melfina, we’ve also brought the ale barrels.”

“And the cups are ready.”

Laughing, she shook her shoulders at Rad and Cliff’s perfectly coordinated words. Recently, there hadn’t been many opportunities to gather around a meal Melfina had prepared, so everyone seemed to be in a slightly elated mood.

“It’s good that it doesn’t seem like there will be any leftovers, given the number of people.”

“I’ve never seen any leftovers from your cooking, Sister.”

“I think it will be quite filling, so please eat accordingly.”

She arranged the three plates on the table and invited Lorenzo, who seemed hesitant about where to sit, to the seat next to Cliff.

“Today, Lorenzo, a merchant from Romana, brought us pasta, so I’ve made three different flavors for us to try. If everyone likes it, I think we can serve it regularly at the lord’s mansion, so please feel free to give me your feedback.”

After a brief greeting, she served a small portion of the meat sauce—Bolognese—and twirled it with a fork before eating it.

The rich flavor of the generously used pork and garlic, the sourness of the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, were well mixed, and the red wine added a good depth of flavor.

The Romana pasta seemed to have a slightly rougher surface than the dried noodles she remembered, helping it hold the sauce well. Instead of the smooth texture, it had a chewy texture.

“……Ah, everyone else, please. The pasta loses its flavor when it cools, so please eat it while it’s warm.”

Everyone had been watching Melfina, who had fallen silent while comparing it to what she had eaten in her past life. However, as she spoke, they began to serve themselves pasta.

“This is… quite a rich flavor. It has more of a bite than I expected, and a single serving would be very satisfying.”

“Eggs, and milk? Is it seasoned with cream? Is that pepper on top? …I haven’t eaten this in a long time, but pepper with this kind of seasoning is a wonderful accent.”

While Helmut and Simon calmly discussed it across from each other, Ed, Anna, and Lloyd silently emptied their plates and then added another type of pasta. Ed changed plates each time so the flavors wouldn’t mix, but the other two didn’t seem to mind.

“This is so delicious. There’s plenty of meat, and the meat sauce on top would go well with grilled bread sandwiches. The white sauce, I thought it would be mild, but it’s quite rich.”

“Marie, which one do you prefer?”

“It’s difficult to say… the white one is easier to eat, but the meat sauce would be nice for dinner. The mixed one is a bit too easy to eat, and before I know it, I’m full.”

“I like the one with everything mixed the most! There’s plenty of frankfurters. But, it might be a little sour.”

“Fufufu, actually, it tastes even better if you sprinkle grated cheese on top.”

When Melfina said this playfully, Ed quickly got up and left the dining hall. When he returned, he had cheese in one hand and a grater in the other.

“Ed, some over here!”

“Ed, please, a generous amount.”

“Um, if you would, could I also have some?”

Even Gunther, the usually calm and unassuming administrator, raised his hand, so Ed diligently continued grating, unable to return to his seat for a while.

Apparently, no one here disliked the pasta. It might be worth buying it regularly.

—I want to try cream pasta, soup pasta, and baked spaghetti, and maybe even make noodles from scratch at the lord’s mansion someday.

“Ed, I’ll give you the detailed recipe later. Can you make it sometimes?”

“Yes, of course!”

She told Rad, Cliff, and Anna to grate their own cheese and gave them the cheese and grater. Ed, finally back in his seat, looked exceptionally happy.

Across from him, Lorenzo was quietly eating the Napolitan.

“Lorenzo, didn’t it suit your taste?”

“No, it was incredibly delicious, and, well, shocking. This is the first time I’ve tasted pasta with this seasoning.”

Come to think of it, she remembered from her past life’s memories that Napolitan was the most familiar seasoning, but there was a debate about it not really being Neapolitan.

However, Romana isn’t her past life’s Italy, and the place name Naples probably doesn’t exist here either. She shouldn’t feel guilty about feeding Lorenzo, a Romana napolitan, she thought.

“Pasta would probably go well with clams and squid. It’s a bit of a shame that Enkar is far from the sea, so we can’t get seafood.”

“Vongole, I understand, but squid? Even in Romana, only fishermen eat that.”

It’s probably similar to the feeling in her past life where octopus and squid were once shunned because of their appearance. Squid ink pasta is definitely delicious, though.

“If I ever get the chance to go to Romana, I’d love to savor the seafood.”

Melfina has never even been to the southern territories. It’s hard to imagine such a day ever coming, but imagining the warm weather, the blue sky, the sparkling sea, the delicious food, and the exotic streets is enjoyable.

“If that time comes, please contact our trading company. We will introduce you to all the good things about Romana.”

Lorenzo said this with a determined expression. Melfina laughed and thought about how she should gently point out the meat sauce on his gray beard.