In the early 90s my retail company sent me to Florence, Italy to buy clothing for our store. It was a wonderful opportunity and I treasure every memory from it. And there are many memories to savor but there’s one I’ll share today that still has an impact on my life.
I landed in Pisa with crashed aircraft from the war displayed on the runway. Comforting. Our Italian agent picked me up at the airport. This was all new for a girl from rural Utah. The land, the people, the language and I was lost without Franca, whose job it was to tend all our buyers who occasionally worked there.
She drove me a couple of hours north to Florence where I’d be staying and visiting sweater manufacturers. Italy is known for many things but very much so for their knits. We arrived at the Hotel Villa Cora, it was at the time a rustic old-time Inn with a huge room key that had to be returned to the front desk each time you left the property. I didn’t know this so I carried this huge key attached to a huge piece of wood all over Florence that first evening. I was chastised when the hotel needed the key behind the front desk to let them know I wasn’t in my room. Flowers were being delivered from my sweater vendors and the front desk sent the delivery guy to my room where he did not get an answer. I was in trouble for not following European hotel protocol.
(Reminds me of a funny story when I was in London, shopping clothing vendors there. The hotel front desk clerk asked me if I wanted him to knock me up in the morning. I was perplexed and sheepishly said no. But then I realized he was asking if I wanted someone to knock on my door and wake me up in the morning. Foreigner in a foreign land.)
Back to Italy. The Hotel Villa Cora grounds were gorgeous and the location was up on a hill instead of in the crowded downtown tourist area, it was serene and relaxing. Everything was excitingly new and lovely.
Franca was concerned about my every need. She let me unpack and then suggested that it was time for a meal. It was midday and we walked to the hotel restaurant, I was starving after my long flight in coach. The menu was in Italian and the waiter only spoke Italian. (Nowadays, most Italian service people speak English and now I can read Italian.) I was tired so I asked Franca to choose something for me. She ordered it quickly and continued to chain smoke her cigarettes without ordering anything for herself. It was clear she was tending me.
I chose to sit outside at a small table overlooking the private grounds, fortunately under a canopy as it later turned out.
My meal arrived quickly. It was spaghettini with fresh chopped tomatoes. It was delicious and I marveled at how simple it was. It was one of those times where the food memory is indelibly etched forever in your mind. I know you’ve all had moments like this.
Relaxing after my meal an amazing thing happened and has not happened since in my travels to Italy. We had a cloud burst along with a couple of dramatic lightning strikes. We Navajo consider cloud bursts to be from the gods. It was a perfect punctuation on this lovely meal and brought me a lot happiness and emotion. What a wonderful welcome to Firenze!
Recently, I’ve figured out how to duplicate this meal. Below are my steps, perhaps you’d like to try it, too. There is a lot of prep work to do before you start cooking.
Gather all ingredients, have them ready, either washed, soaked, diced or minced. For two people I had two plum tomatoes, diced. A large sprig of fresh basil soaked upside down for 15 minutes to remove the grit. It was later hand dried with paper towels, carefully so as not to bruise and then only the leaves were plucked, discarding the woody stems. Chiffonade the leaves but closer to the finish of the dish so they don’t turn brown. Chiffonade style, not chopping, will prevent bruising the leaves. Leave the tomatoes and basil ready on a cutting board.
In a sauté pan, add enough virgin olive oil to make a sauce for your pasta and tomatoes. It’s experienced eyeball time. Crush four large cloves of garlic into the oil, add coarsely ground black pepper and Tibetan Pink Sea Salt, to taste. Let that wait while you boil your pasta of choice. I chose spaghettini but linguine would work, too. I like to save my linguini for my Shrimp Scampi dish, I like the heavier chewy pasta for it. I prefer a more delicate mouth feel for the pasta and fresh tomato dish I’m detailing now. Once the pasta is boiled and ready, set aside but work quickly. Heat the sauté pan and BE CAREFUL, garlic burns fast. Just as the garlic starts to sizzle slightly I take it off the heat.
The tomatoes, basil and grated parmesan reggiano (the undisputed king of cheeses) are ready in a mixing bowl.
Drain the pasta well and dump into the oil mixture in the sauté pan, use tongs to help coat the pasta with the oil. Dump the pasta and garlic oil mixture into the mixing bowl of tomatoes, parmesan and basil and toss to coat well.
Divide onto warm plates.
Voilà! (Please excuse my mixing-in of Français in this Italian experience)
As many of you know, I returned to Florence last year as a tourist, a completely different experience from having to work there. I had my BFF who lives there take me to the Villa Cora. Sadly, it wasn’t the same. The old buildings were torn down and replaced by a fancy, schmancy expensive hotel. That’s all good for wealthy tourists but I was sad not to have my memories tangible again. Oh well.
So, tell me about unforgettable food memories you’ve had. Could be as simple as a cup of hot chocolate when you were dying of the cold or an elegant meal in and elegant setting. As you know, food memories are the best.
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