Most recipes created in Italy probably were a result of cooks getting creative with locally available, seasonal ingredients. However, some classic foods still relished today were inspired by love and lust, rather than merely by the necessity of a hearty meal at least once a day.
There is pasta, cakes, and confectionery shaped like various parts of the human anatomy, and there is a delicious sauce that at least some historians think was invented by prostitutes. Perhaps the international reputation of Italians as consummate lovers has more to do with the food that we prepare than with skills in any other department!
Less popularly known as Roman sauce, Puttanesca sauce is traditionally associated with the city of Naples. The city is probably better-known for being the birthplace of pizza, but however that came about, the story couldn’t not possibly be as exciting as that of Puttanesca.
Some food historians, such as Francine Segan, think that, unlike the sauces created in the 18th century, the concoction of anchovies, capers, olives, tomatoes, and chilli first appeared during World War II. Notably, it was a time in which many poor Italian women were forced by circumstance into prostitution. For Segan, the pungent aromas of Puttanesca sauce probably reminded sailors and soldiers of something else entirely!
Whether making the sauce was lucky for the ladies of the night is unknown. Some folk who play NZ slots for real money think that lucky charms work for them, so you never know. Maybe it did work.
No trip to Bologna is complete without a meal of tortellini, those wonderful folded pasta circles filled with parmesan cheese and prosciutto, traditionally served with broth. According to legend, Venus once visited the tavern in the town of Castelfranco Emilia, between Bologna and Modena.
Struck by her beauty, the innkeeper peeped at her through the keyhole, and caught a glimpse of her body. He could not resist the urge to immortalise what he had seen, so he went straight to the kitchen, rolled a sheet of fresh pasta, and rolled it into a shape inspired by the navel of the goddess thereby making the first tortellini.
Capezzoli di Venere are another Italian treat inspired by the love goddess that weaves her spell over unsuspecting suitors. This time, they are sweet pastries shaped like breasts. The traditional recipe calls for chestnuts, milk chocolate, and brandy, while the ‘nipple’ is made from white chocolate. The pastries usually a brown, but when they appeared in the film Amadeus, they were dipped in chocolate and colouring to make them white and pink. Many modern variations do that to emphasise what the pastries are supposed to represent.
Bacio chocolates, the little dome-shaped confections famous for including a love note, are still made by the Perugina factory. According to legend of the dessert, the wife of one of the two factory founders had an affair with her husband’s business partner. Her loving notes placed under a chocolate for him every morning gave him an idea. He created chocolates inspired by the shape of her nipple, included love notes in them, and named them ‘Bacio’ or ‘kiss’.