Properly, would you place a slice of cheddar on a lobster roll? That is the textual content I obtained after I messaged my good friend, a lifelong Mainer from a fishing household, to ask his ideas on mixing seafood and cheese. I will admit, the considered that individual dish made me queasy. However I wasn’t against the mixture in different dishes.
To me, it is dependent upon context. To him, nevertheless, the considered a cheese-covered lobster was grotesque sufficient to shut the dialog.
“What about lobster thermidor?” I inquired, referring to the French dish made by eradicating lobster meat from its shell, cooking it in an egg yolk and brandy sauce earlier than returning it to its shell to cowl with cheese — typically Gruyère — and baking till bubbly and brown. “Or white clam pizza?”
No response.
It is a controversial mixture, however one which seems in cuisines across the globe. The perfect enchiladas del mar I ever had had been filled with minced crab and shrimp, coated in a salsa verde and generously sprinkled with crumbly, briny cotija. In Greece, there’s shrimp saganaki, a flavorful mixture of sautéed shrimp, tomatoes, olives and pan-fried cheese, usually feta. McDonald’s has the Filet-O-Fish, Maryland has crab dip, my native deli has a tuna soften, and — and I’ll present my midwestern roots right here — simply scripting this has me craving a hearty, cheddar-covered tuna noodle casserole.
Once I ran a Twitter poll asking folks how they felt in regards to the mixture, 259 folks responded over the course of 12 hours. Virtually 46% had been on board, citing dishes like lobster macaroni and cheese, cream cheese bagels with lox and shrimp with cheese grits as affirmative causes. Thirty-five % stated the thought made them squeamish, whereas the remaining respondents stated they’d by no means given their preferences a lot thought. Of those that stated they had been in opposition to the mixture, a number of the most adamantly opposed had been Italian, Italian-American cooks and meals professionals.
Need extra nice meals writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food’s newsletter.
Dig into the historical past and there are a selection of explanations behind the unofficial ban. Some say it is a technique to keep a regional divide and related traditions. Northern Italian meals tends to be slightly richer and, as a result of area’s proximity to Switzerland, Austria and France, there’s plenty of crossover in how cheese, meats and cream are utilized in dishes. Southern Italian meals is lighter and brighter, with plenty of easy seafood and vegetable-based dishes.
In line with Daniela Savone, chef model ambassador for Botticelli meals and author for La Cucina Italiana USA, the normal course construction of Italian meals did not incorporate the combination of seafood and cheese.
“For Italians — in Italy — fish or seafood, if eaten because the entree or ‘secondo’ course, put together and serve it so simple as doable, usually with olive oil, lemon & contemporary herbs, and with a small vegetable facet or ‘contorno’ as a result of they do not wish to take away from the sweetness, freshness and style of the fish,” she stated.
Savone stated that whereas she likes to sprinkle slightly grated cheese on a bowl of pasta and shellfish, like linguine alle vongole, “including cheese and plenty of heavy cream to seafood is an Americanized factor.”
“Italian-Individuals, relying on the technology and ‘how Italian’ they really are — and who’ve been to Italy or grew up like myself in a first-generation Italian house — know that the best way seafood and cheese is served right here would by no means be served in Italy,” she stated.
Maureen Minard, a D.C.-based historical past teacher whose household is Puglian, stated there can also be some previous wives’ knowledge related to reluctance to combine the 2.
“Italians even have tons of sturdy opinions on dairy and when to devour it,” she stated. “For instance, one by no means has a cappuccino after 11 a.m. It’s as a result of dairy upsetting the abdomen. Italians are very involved with one’s well being and structure. There are tons of phrases or issues a nonna would possibly say about how meals would possibly sit in your abdomen.”
Whereas that will not be true for everybody, there’s a lingering, prevailing sense that the mixture of seafood and cheese simply is not executed.
“Why do not cheese and seafood go collectively?” stated meals author Natalia Manzocco. “As a result of my nonna stated so and when you put parmigiano in your spaghetti frutti di mare her ghost will chase you with a picket spoon.”
As a non-Italian, I perceive the hesitancy. The concept of overpowering delicate steamed mussels with, say, a hunk of buttery brie is not only unappealing, nevertheless it looks like a waste of each elements. The mussels will shine extra brightly with a easy splash of citrus whereas the brie belongs with one thing acidic. (Maybe Maggie Hennessy’s tomato and brie pasta?) That stated, house cooking is extra enjoyable when culinary “guidelines” — together with so-called bans — are seen as instructed parameters.
In spite of everything, it isn’t too late to alter your thoughts, as seen on a recent episode of “Top Chef” when judges Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio had been served a smoked trout dish showered with a dusting of briny cheese.
“Contemplating I actually hate any combination of seafood and cheese, I did not thoughts this dish,” Lakshmi stated. Collichio, mid-bite, nodded: “I am with you.”
