To suggest that any country truly possesses its own cuisine is
to miss the whole point of our human experience. For all the
cities and monuments we build, humans are essentially a
nomadic species. Travel is in our DNA, and as such we
become inextricably linked with other communities.
To suggest that any country truly possesses its own cuisine is to
miss the whole
point of our human experience. For all the cities and monuments we
build, humans
are essentially a nomadic species. Travel is in our DNA, and as
such we become
inextricably linked with other communities.
We splice, blend, mingle and conflate, until a new dominant theme
emerges, and we
call this 'the next big thing'. Not surprisingly it is usually
based on 'the last big thing'
as that is the part of our culture we are keenest to share.
So it was that in the early 14th century pizza came to
France.
After the election of a French pope known as Clement V in 1305,
politics and
religion became deliberately entwined. King Philip IV of France
refused to allow 'his'
pope to move to Rome, and instead had the papacy installed at
Avignon, near the
Mediterranean city of Marseille. Philip wanted the power and wealth
of the church
kept close.
And so the Vatican emptied, as the clerks, scribes, courtiers and
monks headed to
France. With them came the palace cooks, and thus began the
westward spread of
Italian cuisine, and all manner of Italian food would soon meld
into the French diet.
Even in medieval times pizza was wildly popular with the Romans,
and soon it was all
the rage in Avignon.
After 70 years the popes returned to Rome, but the imprint of their
time in France
lingers, although it has become characteristically French. Today
the signature dish of
the Avignon region is 'pissaladiere' - an onion- and olive-themed
pizza with a heavy
dosing of anchovies. In some towns dried tomatoes are used as
well.
Made with a simple olive oil pastry, it is richer and yet more
delicate than its Italian
cousin, although this observation could characterise French and
Italian foods
generally.
But best of all, there's no yeast involved, and as such you can
prepare a pissaladiere
from scratch in just a fraction of the time it takes to make true
pizza.
So grab a bowl, grab some onions, start cooking, and perhaps get
creative. Who
knows, maybe the time has come for you to start blending food
cultures and create
your own 'next big thiTo suggest that any country truly possesses
its own cuisine is to miss the whole point of our human
experience. For all the cities and monuments we build,
humans are essentially a nomadic species. Travel is in our
DNA, and as such we become inextricably linked with other
communities.
We splice, blend, mingle and conflate, until a new dominant
theme emerges, and we call this 'the next big thing'. Not
surprisingly it is usually based on 'the last big thing' as
that is the part of our culture we are keenest to share.
So it was that in the early 14th century pizza came to
France.
After the election of a French pope known as Clement V in 1305,
politics and religion became deliberately entwined. King
Philip IV of France refused to allow 'his' pope to move to
Rome, and instead had the papacy installed at Avignon, near
the Mediterranean city of Marseille. Philip wanted the power
and wealth of the church kept close.
And so the Vatican emptied, as the clerks, scribes, courtiers
and monks headed to France. With them came the palace cooks,
and thus began the westward spread of Italian cuisine, and all
manner of Italian food would soon meld into the French diet.
Even in medieval times pizza was wildly popular with the Romans,
and soon it was all the rage in Avignon.
After 70 years the popes returned to Rome, but the imprint of
their time in France lingers, although it has become
characteristically French. Today the signature dish of the
Avignon region is 'pissaladiere' - an onion- and olive-themed pizza
with a heavy dosing of anchovies. In some towns dried tomatoes
are used as well.
Made with a simple olive oil pastry, it is richer and yet more
delicate than its Italian cousin, although this observation
could characterise French and Italian foods generally.
But best of all, there's no yeast involved, and as such you can
prepare a pissaladiere from scratch in just a fraction of the
time it takes to make true pizza.
So grab a bowl, grab some onions, start cooking, and perhaps get
creative. Who knows, maybe the time has come for you to start
blending food cultures and create your own 'next big
thing'.
Go to Fast Ed's Pissaladiere recipe.
See all of
Fast Ed's recipes.
This recipe kindly provided by Fast
Ed. It first appeared in The Manly Daily.