Monday, April 2. 2007
New Jersey Cactus
It's all about the tunas in New Jersey:
Tunas have become naturalized in Italy. It seems strange, but true, that a regular feature of the American West, the prickly pear cactus, has become a food staple on Naples. Delicious, but true.
Bayonne isn't anywhere near a desert, but cactus pears were nonetheless a part of the culinary landscape there when Joseph Mastrella was growing up.
Now general manager of Coccola, an Italian restaurant in Hillsborough, he recalls that his father grew them on his farm in Sicily and that in their Italian-American household, the fruits were often referred to as fichi d'India -- figs of India. An occasional treat typically enjoyed after dinner "to clean your palate and refresh your mouth," said Mastrella, cactus pears sometimes were served with bread and cheese for a light lunch. Back then, he didn't give much thought to the etymology of their Italian name.
Now general manager of Coccola, an Italian restaurant in Hillsborough, he recalls that his father grew them on his farm in Sicily and that in their Italian-American household, the fruits were often referred to as fichi d'India -- figs of India. An occasional treat typically enjoyed after dinner "to clean your palate and refresh your mouth," said Mastrella, cactus pears sometimes were served with bread and cheese for a light lunch. Back then, he didn't give much thought to the etymology of their Italian name.
Tunas have become naturalized in Italy. It seems strange, but true, that a regular feature of the American West, the prickly pear cactus, has become a food staple on Naples. Delicious, but true.
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