When I got out of the hospital, I was brought home. How delightful! Once again the same mouth-watering scent that came out of the kitchen.
Despite me being a newborn, my little nose already worked perfectly. I warned my mother about my ill-being by desperately screaming. I had drank my mother’s milk shortly before, but I cried like I hadn’t eaten in days. She once again offered her breast, but it wasn’t enough,I wanted more.
Mom always held me in her arms while she was running errands and when the time to cook came, I went crazy. I started crying again. All those smells exited me, I wanted to taste everything.
My first recipe, as my mother will tell me years from now, was homemade orecchiette pasta * with turnip tops. I wanted it so badly! I started crying, but what else could I have done? My mother once again, reacted the same way, unbuttoning her shirt and shutting me up with that big breast of hers. “You don’t get it” I argued in tears, but for the time being I gave up and drank the milk. Days became weeks and weeks months and every time my mother cooked all that I could do was look, sniff, but never eat.
I was four months old and my mother was very busy organising the Christmas dinner and carried me around while cooking. I took advantage of ever small moment of distraction to have a taste of anything.
For the first time my fingers met something different other than my mouth and nose: tomato sauce.
For the first time I ate mixed meat ragù*: the taste of the meat had soaked into the sauce, I could sense the pork, lamb and beef, of which I even ate a strand.
Thanks to my mother’s talent, who knew all too well the secret of every good ragù: low fire simmering, which made the meat so tender!
I smelled the chops, stuffed with garlic, parsley and cheese, as is tradition from where I come from. “ I don’t want to drink milk anymore” I said to myself “ I know what I want now!” My mother didn’t want to hear any of it.
What an unforgettable Christmas! I fell asleep dreaming of the scents and the flavours the day had gifted me with.
Orecchiette*- tipical pasta of the regions of Basilicata and Apulia. The shape reminds small ears, hence the name.
Ragù*- meat-based sauce, commonly served with pasta.