Pizza and the Long Lunch

Chiara closed the lab for the long Italian lunch at one o'clock. "Come with me," she said.

Chiara zavřela laboratoř na dlouhý italský oběd ve jednu hodinu. "Pojď se mnou," řekla.

Polly perched on her shoulder. Chiara walked out into the bright noon of the park and turned uphill.

Polly se usadila na její rameno. Chiara vyšla ven do jasného poledne v parku a zamířila do kopce.

Naples at lunch was a different city. Shutters were rolling up. Espresso bars were filling. The morning smell of salt and pine had turned to garlic and tomato cooked over a high flame.

Neapol během oběda byla jiným městem. Rolety se zvedaly. Espresso bary se plnily. Ranní vůně soli a borovic se změnila na česnek a rajčata vařená na vysokém plameni.

Chiara took her to a small pizzeria on a side street. Inside, three men were working at a wood-burning oven that filled the back wall. The fire was hot enough to feel from the door.

Chiara ji vzala do malé pizzerie v postranní uličce. Uvnitř pracovali tři muži u pece na dřevo, která zabírala celou zadní stěnu. Oheň byl tak horký, že ho bylo cítit už ode dveří.

A pizza in Naples is not what most of the world calls pizza. It is a Neapolitan pizza. The city has guarded the rules for it for two hundred years. The dough is flour, water, salt, and yeast, and nothing else. The tomatoes are San Marzano, grown in volcanic soil on the slopes of Vesuvius. The cheese is fresh that morning. The basil is raw, added at the end. The oven runs at 485 degrees Celsius. The pizza cooks for ninety seconds.

Pizza v Neapoli není to, co většina světa nazývá pizzou. Je to neapolská pizza. Město chrání pravidla pro ni už dvě stě let. Těsto je mouka, voda, sůl a kvasnice, a nic jiného. Rajčata jsou San Marzano, pěstovaná ve vulkanické půdě na svazích Vesuvu. Sýr je čerstvý toho rána. Bazalka je syrová, přidaná na konci. Pec běží na 485 stupňů Celsia. Pizza se peče devadesát sekund.

The pizzaiolo slid a margherita pizza into the oven. Ninety seconds later he pulled it out. The crust had blistered into dark leopard spots. The cheese had melted into pale pools.

Pizzaiolo vsunul margherita pizzu do pece. O devadesát sekund později ji vytáhl. Kůrka měla tmavé leopardí skvrny. Sýr se rozpustil do bledých jezírek.

Chiara handed Polly a small piece of crust. It was salty and charred and almost weightless. Polly understood why the city had spent two centuries protecting this thing.

Chiara podala Polly malý kousek kůrky. Byla slaná, spálená a téměř beztížná. Polly pochopila, proč město strávilo dvě století ochranou této věci.

"There is a theory," Chiara said, "that octopuses are smart because they are short-lived. They have to learn fast. We are smart because we are long-lived. We can afford to learn slowly. Pasta will learn everything she knows in two more years. I will still be learning when I die."

"Existuje teorie," řekla Chiara, "že chobotnice jsou chytré, protože žijí krátce. Musí se rychle učit. My jsme chytří, protože žijeme dlouho. Můžeme si dovolit učit se pomalu. Pasta se naučí všechno, co ví, za další dva roky. Já se budu učit, dokud nezemřu."

They walked back slowly. The afternoon was warm.

Šly zpět pomalu. Odpoledne bylo teplé.