Victor Hazan and Marcella Polini on their first date in Cesenatico, Emilia-Romagna. Courtesy of Victor Hazan.
A continuation of the conversation with Victor Hazan on the matter of my Irish beef & Guinness stew (see previous post):
A deft rebuttal, my dear.
Italians may sometimes mention nutrition, but they don’t believe in it, really. They go for taste. The interesting thing is that the taste of good Italian cooking turns out to be so salubrious. At least the people look so much better.
I have a very catholic appreciation of the tastes of other cuisines, save when they seem to be an aberration. I find no grounding in principles of taste in boiled potato skins. That parsnips are sweet is perfectly okay. A stew wants to be vegetable sweet. And in any event, the cardoon balances.
An excellent stew all the same. I shall make it again. With a small touch of Italian. A little bit of Italian will improve any dish. Even any life.
Victor
Have you ever wondered which of the couple was the muse? I think I know. And he is right, a little bit of Italian will improve any dish, even any life…
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So true, so true…thanks for the smile Julia…certainly has ours!
Nice to hear from you again, Phyllis.
Victor was the muse, of course. He’s the poet.