Moving On

This wasn't going to be my next entry, but life cropped up and fed me some material so there you go.

A chance remark made by my Dad when we were Skyping one evening while I was in Italy inspired the title of this blog, so it's about time I made reference to it again, and this is something pretty much everyone can relate to:

I'm leaving home. (Actually, at the time of publishing, I have left home)

We all leave home at some point (or at least we're supposed to). I've left home several times already. When I was eighteen I left home to go travelling. When I was nineteen I left home to go to university. When I was twenty-two I left home to go travelling. But this is a different kind of 'leaving home'. This is kind of...it.

Vamoose.

See, the house I grew up in is very little. And my family are very...big. And there are no opportunities in Devon, and it's logical, and, quite simply, I love my boyfriend and I like the thought of living with him. (Again, time-of-publishing update - what is this thing called 'compromise'? And why must I apply it to the piles of his clothes on the bedroom floor? Watch out darling, 'Boots' is about to happen to the shower room). But sitting in my childhood bedroom, sorting my things out and realising that this room will soon belong to my youngest brother, shook me a bit.

I found us the place and Ewan moved in a month ago while I was still in Torbay studying for a CELTA. Both our names are on the contract but I'm so used to being his visitor that I'm still having to make a conscious effort to refer to it as 'our' place. But that'll change as I adjust.

It wasn't the knowledge that I'd be moving my life and my base to a new, comparatively unknown location that gave me the jolt. Not even the suggestion that I could be getting cold feet over the next stage of our relationship or, I'm a little ashamed to say, seeing the realisation dawn on my lovely Mum's face as she stood in the kitchen doorway - 'I just realised... This is kind of it, isn't it Charlie?' No, it was when I remembered that my childhood bedroom is going to be taken over by my youngest brother. The little bit of space I've called my own since the bundle of joy arrived thirteen years ago - yes, changes were made when I left for university and my relationship to it has changed several times over the years but it was still, essentially...mine.

That room saw me through my Busted phase, with posters on the wall and 'surf hair' wax (how??) on my shelf. Then my McFly phase (similar), followed by the Emo phase (Busted posters replaced by Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy ones, hair products replaced by kohl and ALL THINGS BLACK WITH PINK STRIPES, and Green Day lyrics scratched into the desk). Then my Christian phase (let's please not go there), my psycho-bitch A Level revision phase, my 'where is home - London or Devon oh God what IS my identity' phase, my 'well I've finished uni and NOW FREAKING WHAT' phase, and finally, my 'return home temporarily to gain another qualification and then bugger off for good' phase.*

Magnolia walls, floral bedcovers and Penguin Recycled Classics are to be overtaken by...a superheroes theme.

Transience is healthy. Too much permanence leads to rot and stagnation. As ever, it's about balance. 

It's time for me to move on. I made the choice and I'm happy that doing so means that my little brother will have the opportunity to experience having a space to call his own. I'm happy that this little room will be able to do the same for him as it did for me. But the fact that this little sanctuary won't be mine any more is a bit of a tug. Until the new place with Ewan starts to feel more 'mine' than the room that was 'mine' for so long, I suspect I'll probably feel a bit placeless again.** And that's fine.

One door closes, another opens. Transience is always a given. It's time for one chapter to end, and another to begin.

*Because you see, even though I'm 'moving in' with Ewan, my career choice is kind of...roaming 

** What is it with this notion of property anyway? I sense a black hole opening...

Pizzeria 'Formula Uno'

Located a mere 10 minute walk from Termini station and advertised as ‘The Best Pizza in Rome’, this pizzeria comes highly recommended for when you want good grub on the cheap, away from the tourist crowds. Just seconds away from my doorstep and recommended by my Air BnB host Enea, I thought I’d try this place out to see if it really was as good as he said.

Situated just off the Via Tiburtina, (via Degli Equi 13), this unassuming little place serves up an array of pizzas from 7.30pm-midnight, six days a week. This pizzeria is a stronghold of the locals, and you can expect to be the only tourist in sight. You’ll also find yourself practicing your restaurant Italian but don’t let these things put you off; wherever the locals go you can guarantee good quality, and this pizzeria really is worth a visit!

What you see is what you get with Formula Uno. White-washed walls sporting pictures of Formula One cars and racing legends, simple unadorned wooden tables and service that meets the bare minimum to avoid anyone making a complaint; but the pizza comes out fast, hot and REALLY tasty! In my three days I tried Margherita (of course), Melanzane (aubergine) and Peperoni (peppers- not salami!). They were simple, fresh, filling and satisfying. One of these followed by a gelato from any of the several gelaterias on the Via Tiburtina was more than enough to keep me going until breakfast.

The pizza toppings are all described in English (which I found surprising given that I was the only tourist around). With pizzas ranging from €5-8, you can get a decent sized pizza and a drink for under €10, and ¼ litre of house wine costs the same as a small bottle of mineral water, €1.50!  It’s worth noting that Italians generally drink water alongside their alcohol, so if you want to blend in a bit more in this almost entirely local pizzeria then I would recommend doing that; it also doesn’t hurt to make sure you’re fully rehydrated after a day sweating your way around the streets of the Centro Storico!  There is no cover charge, so you don’t have to worry about being shafted for an extra €3-6 when the bill comes out (il conto, per favore). Tips are not included in the bill, but tipping is down to your discretion  - tipping in Italy is generally neither required nor expected.

I really enjoyed my meals at Formula Uno. As I was alone in Rome for the first time and still adjusting to being back in a country I hadn’t visited for over a year, to be able to eat so well and so cheaply was a real comfort, and started what would become a four-month long taste odyssey.

So much Yum in your Tum that you'll get a Big Bum: A Few Simple Italian Recipes

Seasoning for Just About Anything

When I was working in Bergamo, my half Italian half German host mother who grew up in Brazil (she spoke three languages, not one of them English, and I didn’t speak any of hers) made me the most mouth-watering roasted vegetables I’ve ever eaten, and it was all down to the seasoning.

Place rosemary, sage (dried or fresh), garlic and salt (heavy on the salt light on the garlic) into a pestle and mortar and crush into a paste with olive oil. Add to meat, fish or vegetables and roast/fry/grill/barbecue. Quantities depend on the amount of food you wish to season, so it’s largely guesswork I’m afraid. Happy concocting!

Spaghetti agli Olio ‘a la Barbara’.

This is a meal that was cooked for me by my lovely Sicilian host mother, Barbara. It is yet another celebration of the simplicity of Italian cooking and is well worth a try at home.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

150g spaghetti

Olive oil

1 fat clove of garlic

½ red chilli, finely chopped (it depends how much tingle you like, add more if you want more kick)

Handful of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped.

Parmesan to serve

1.    .Place a saucepan of cold water on to boil and add salt.
2.        Cover the bottom of a frying pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Finely chop the garlic and    add to the oil to heat gently. Don’t let it burn!
3.       When the water has reached a rolling boil, add the spaghetti. Don’t snap it in order to get it in, that’s really not the point of spaghetti! Use a bigger pan, or push it gently. The packet will usually give you an indication of how long to cook it for in order for it to be properly al dente.
4.      .As the pasta cooks, add the chopped chilli to the oil and garlic.
5.       Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain and add it to the oil, garlic and chilli, along with the parsley. Toss to combine.
6.       Serve with grated parmesan.

Salmarillio ‘a la Barbara’

Another recipe given to me by the lovely Barbara, this dressing for fish followed the spaghetti agli olio. We had it on swordfish, but it would work very well with any sea food.

Tip: prepare this before you start cooking the rest of the meal, as it will give the flavours the maximum amount of time to infuse.

Again quantities depend on how many you’re cooking for, but allow for a good generous ‘slosh’ per person, plus a bit extra in case anyone goes for seconds. The amount we made served four.

In a small bowl, combine a generous amount of good olive oil (not quite enough to make the garlic float) with chunky chopped garlic (about two or three cloves), a small handful of parsley and the juice of half a Sicilian lemon. Leave to infuse and spoon over fish when eating.

Pasta a la Pomodoro

I know I know, everyone knows how to cook pasta a la pomodoro. But this recipe is, for me, as much a recipe for a good meal as it is an exercise in nostalgia. I was keen to learn more about Italian cooking and my lovely host father Stefano couldn’t be more willing to oblige. Immensely proud of his country’s food heritage, Stefano first pointed out to me that the key to brilliant cooking is simplicity. Pull together three or four perfectly matched ingredients and you’re away, and this is the baseline of all Italian food. He then ploughed through this recipe with me late one evening after work while I struggled to simultaneously follow his instructions and write them down, which resulted in a messy kitchen, a messy Charlie, a messy notebook and a truly gorgeous dinner. Writer’s paradise.

Serves Three.

Ingredients:

200g pasta (any will do, although penne, fusilli or spaghetti are usually used)

Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic (1 per person)

Fresh tomatoes. Typically they use the ‘dotterino’ variety, but we used three large beef tomatoes. One per person if you’re using large ones. If you’re using Dotterino you’ll have to use a bit of guesswork, but any leftover sauce can always go in the fridge for later!

Chunk of pecorino cheese OR parmigiano reggiano/grana (parmesan)

Note about the cheese: ‘Grana’ is what we know as Parmesan. Stefano was very particular about highlighting the difference between grana and parmigiano reggiano. I understood that they were two names for the same thing – parmesan - but apparently they’re not. I think what he was trying to tell me was that parmigiano reggiano is produced in the area between Modena and Reggio Emilia, and that grana is produced around Bologna, Farrara, Mantova and Rovigo, and that therefore they are different cheeses and must not be confused. He also implied that grana is a lower class of cheese than parmigiano. So for the rest of the trip I had no idea if I was eating grana or parmigiano but surprise surprise, they tasted pretty darn similar to my foreign, amateur tastebuds!

Finally a handful of fresh basil

1.      Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a medium sized pan. Add the garlic cloves whole and unpeeled. Cook over a low heat until they start to go brown.
2.       Meanwhile, boil water in a separate pan for the pasta. (See steps 1 and 3 of the Spaghetti agli olio recipe for the proper Italian way to cook pasta.)
3.       Chop the tomatoes and place in a colander over the sink, to drain the juice. Add the tomatoes to the garlic and oil and add a little salt.
4.       While everything is cooking away nicely, grate your cheese.
5.       When the pasta is cooked, remove the garlic from the tomato sauce, drain the pasta and add it to your sauce, mixing thoroughly.
6.       Roughly chop the basil and scatter it on top of the pasta.
7.      Serve with a generous handful of cheese!

     
Of course I gorged myself on loads of different meals over the course of the four months I was in Italy, but these are four of my top dishes from the summer. They all have different flavours and elements, but there are two things they all share in common, and those are: simplicity and joy. Each recipe is so straightforward but so lovely, and each one is made with the same aim in mind – to provide sustenance and pleasure to loved ones and friends. Watching Stefano explain how to make the perfect tomato sauce, Barbara lovingly prepare her family’s favourite meal and Susie glow with pleasure as I exclaimed over her roasted vegetables, the knowledge that – for Italians – food is about so much more than just eating was reinforced for me again and again, and is something that I have carried into my own cooking since returning home.