I totally agree with Mario and think Bittman's ideas are non-authentic Italian and cockeyed yuppy tastes. I've acquired most of my pasta cooking expertise from MB and truly feel he's got it right.
Goodness. Too many things to read. I think that you're just not comparing apples with apples here. Fresh pasta itself is perfect, needs very little flavoring, etc. So Batali makes sense. Especially if you've had his cacio e pepe pasta.
Bittman is discussing what's good for your health. It's definitely an American school of thought. Pasta as one of many ingredients in a dish. Still, there are lots of delicious dishes w/ pasta that aren't pasta-focused.
Geeeeeeeeze! All this who-ha about Italian vs Italian American! You'd think either one was homogeneous. Venetian pasta and saucing is different from Sicilian, Piedmontese differs from Neapolitan... and where your grandmother came from shapes the tastes of your perception of Italian American. Hell, even Chef Boy-Ar-Dee (aka Boiardi) from your childhood (or worse, Franco American) helped shape your opinon. Some of you act as if your sophistication sprang full-blown on your 21st birthday.
Instead, isn't it enough to acknowledge that Batali has a bias toward AUTHENTIC Italian -- and more specifically, probably, Tuscan. Perhaps tempered by the Bastianich Istrian influences (which are sometimes in history Croatian.) And unless I miss my guess Mark Bittman's grandmother's pasta probably had its roots in kugel. And he adjusts his recipes to the (generic) American palate and to American obsession with increasing fiber and protein and reducing fats and carbs.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way. It just has to taste good. If not, the insinkerator doesn't really care what it tastes like.
I say it's much like Chinese food with rice.
Old country style Chinese is full of strong flavors, fat and salt. It's delicious eaten in small portions with a huge amount of steamed rice. But modern American style Chinese is more a standalone dish that can be eaten with just enough rice to support it on a plate.
Potent pasta sauce full of strong flavors, and salty is to be used in moderation with a lot of pasta. But mild American style sauce can be eaten with just a little pasta added for texture.
But WHAT IS AUTHENTIC ITALIAN!?!?! For many people that is Italian-American cuisine, which is no less authentic its just not traditional italian. A plate of spaghetti and meatballs better be drowning in sauce and meatballs or else to me that isn't authentic. If I am making something in the tuscan or northern Italian styles than it better be only kissed with sauce or else that isn't authentic either.
Who the hell is Mark Bittman? He doesn't sound Italian to me.
My vote: MARIO BATALI
:-)
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