One of the unfortunate elements of blogging about food is the occasional need for research. For this, I made the long treck down to Pompeii, where the day was concluded with a meal at a southern pizzeria. Because my father, who came to Italy many times throughout his military service, had always told me that the margerita pizza of southern Italy was the best pizza in all the world, I knew that I could not disapoint my father and leave Pompei without trying it.
And I was not disapointed. Unlike the Roman pizzas which tend to be much thinner, the southern pizzas are cooked on a much heartier bread. The mozzerella was melted into a cream, lightliy fermented and hinted into a perfectly mild tartness. The tomatoes were flavorful and organic. And the basil, scattered only lightly throughout, nevertheless filled the entirety of the experience with aromatic splendor.
The Margarita Pizza is not simply a joy of pizziastical simplicity, however. Its creation, in fact, marks an important landmark in modern culinary history in Italy . . . and consequently the rest of the world.
In spite of pizzas being associated with Italy, the plain flatbread (otherwise known as foccacia) was a Greek invention. Due to its inexpensive heartiness, however, this plain flatbread was often sold to the peasants in the southern regions of Italy -- such as Naples (one should also take note that America can claim responsibility for existence of tomatoes in Italian fare, thank you very much, but that is another post for another day).
It was during a visit to Naples in 1889 that Italy's Queen Margaret, traveling with her husband, Umberto I, took a liking to this simple peasant fare. Since such a liking was a faux pas for a queen, she arranged for her cheif -- Rafaelle Esposito -- to come up with a version of this peasant's flatbread that would be more suitable for royalty. Of the various combinations that Esposito came up with, the pizza that Queen Margeret liked most was the one arranged in the colors of the Italian flag -- red tomatos, white mozzerella, and green basil. Named after the queen who commissioned it, all forms of the pizza which developed from that time forward, first in Italy, than the rest of the world, can claim the Margarita pizza as their mother.
It is in the humble simplicity that Italian cuisine finds its delectability. Unlike many dishes from elsewhere in the world which consist of a dozen of ingredients (not to mention America's processed food industry, which can consist of 100s of ingredients -- most of which are chemicals and dies), Italy's most flavorful fare remains simple. The life lesson here? It is in life's simplicity that one finds life's true delectability.
*Jimmy Buffet, 'Margaritaville'
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