Pizza dan Makan Siang yang Panjang

Chiara menutup laboratorium untuk makan siang panjang ala Italia pada pukul satu siang. "Ikutlah denganku," katanya.

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

Polly bertengger di bahunya. Chiara berjalan keluar menuju taman yang terang benderang dan berbelok ke arah bukit.

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

Napoli saat makan siang adalah kota yang berbeda. Jendela-jendela mulai terbuka. Kedai-kedai espresso mulai ramai. Aroma pagi yang berbau garam dan pinus berubah menjadi bawang putih dan tomat yang dimasak dengan api besar.

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.

Chiara membawanya ke sebuah pizzeria kecil di jalan samping. Di dalam, tiga pria sedang bekerja di sebuah oven kayu bakar yang memenuhi dinding belakang. Api cukup panas hingga terasa dari pintu.

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.

Pizza di Napoli bukanlah apa yang kebanyakan dunia sebut pizza. Ini adalah pizza Neapolitan. Kota ini telah menjaga aturan pembuatannya selama dua ratus tahun. Adonannya hanya terdiri dari tepung, air, garam, dan ragi, tidak ada yang lain. Tomatnya adalah San Marzano, ditanam di tanah vulkanik di lereng Vesuvius. Kejunya segar dari pagi itu. Daun basilnya mentah, ditambahkan di akhir. Ovennya berjalan pada suhu 485 derajat Celsius. Pizza dimasak selama sembilan puluh detik.

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.

Pizzaiolo memasukkan pizza margherita ke dalam oven. Sembilan puluh detik kemudian dia mengeluarkannya. Kulitnya melepuh dengan bintik-bintik hitam seperti macan tutul. Kejunya meleleh menjadi genangan pucat.

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.

Chiara memberikan Polly sepotong kecil kulit pizza. Rasanya asin, gosong, dan hampir tidak berbobot. Polly mengerti mengapa kota ini telah melindungi hal ini selama dua abad.

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.

"Ada teori," kata Chiara, "bahwa gurita pintar karena mereka berumur pendek. Mereka harus belajar dengan cepat. Kita pintar karena kita berumur panjang. Kita bisa belajar dengan lambat. Pasta akan mempelajari semua yang dia tahu dalam dua tahun lagi. Aku akan terus belajar sampai aku mati."

"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."

Mereka berjalan kembali dengan perlahan. Sore itu hangat.

They walked back slowly. The afternoon was warm.