Pizza - the story behind Italy's great culinary
contribution : - )
Get your cholesterol levels topped up with your cotto
al legno pizza with extra mozzarella!
Pizza was first introduced into the Italian diet during the
Middle Ages. Ironically, the birth of the pizza came about from a direct
mandate of a Pope responding to the problems experienced by his priests
who had become seriously overweight.
These bulky priests were using up too much material in their gowns and
were also finding it difficult to perform many of the more physical
functions demanded by their position. For example, sermons were being
cut short as the priests found it difficult to stand and choir boys were
being allowed to get into all kinds of mischief because they were left
unattended while the priests digested their large meals of pasta just
oozing with grease, cream and other high cholesterol substances.
The rot was not just at simple priest level, either. It came to a head
when it became a more common sight in The Vatican to see one of the
archbishops in a somnolent condition rather than the Pope. Often it
became necessary for the Pope to prod the offending archbishop with his
staff only to be met with an embarrassed look and a greasy belch as the
overstuffed clergyman continued digesting the heavy meal of pasta and
sauces that they had consumed over a leisurely lunch hour.
A Papal Decree was sent out the same day. Henceforth and commencing
immediately, one day a week would be devoted to disposing of the greasy
sausage, salami and cheese which would otherwise have found its way onto
pasta. The prescribed way of ridding themselves of all of the offending
food items was to throw them onto an open wooden fire. The archbishops
and cardinals were allowed to eat any (presumably) incinerated remnants
if they so desired and they could throw a few herbs and spices onto the
fire to alleviate the smell if they wished.
Unfortunately two things happened immediately after this mandate.
Firstly, the Pope suddenly fell ill and died; rumour being a poisoned
truffle had been presented to him - and, secondly, the mandate was
passed by the disgruntled cardinals to one of the legal beagles in the
Vatican for closer scrutiny.
The text had indeed been written in haste and, as is often the case,
what was meant was not what was said. Taken literally, the priests were
only required to expose their fattier foods to a wood-fuelled stove.
Nowhere was it said that they had to be thrown directly into a fire nor
was their a limit on what could be 'burnt' and so one of the Vatican's
chefs was put to work to find a way of 'burning' the fatty salami,
salsicce, cheeses and olive oil in such a way that it was still edible.
He quickly hit upon the idea of using a bread-type base upon which would
be spread tomato sauce and then greasy cheese, sausage etc. This would
be 'cooked' for a few minutes over a wood fire (cotto al legno) and then
served hot. To comply with the requirement for the food to be burnt, it
was an intrinsic part of the recipe to singe the bottom of the bread
round.
Since the chef had been born in Pisa, the finished dish was known as the
pizza and it rapidly became popular throughout all of Italy.
The new Pope, conscious of his predecessor's sudden demise, decided not
to launch a crusade against the new dish and that is how Italy gave
birth to the slimy burnt offering that is known as a pizza.
|