nevereatenpizzabeforetheyarrivedinCarlton.Sowhen
you’retalkingAussie-ItalianfoodI thinkit’smoreabout
a notionofpan-Italianthanfusion.”
It canbehardtoknowwhethertocelebrateorsneerat
LygonStreet,Melbourne’sLittleItaly.Maybeboth.A tricolour
pioneer,it producedAustralia’sfirstpizzahouse(Toto’s,in
1961,stillgoingstrong),itsfirstcommercialespressomachine
(UniversityCafé,in1954)andthefirstshopsellingmozzarella
andextra-virginoliveoil(asanediblefoodstuff).Initsmodern
incarnation,it hasbecomethewall-to-wallhomeofidentikit
restaurantspushinga notionofItalianfoodhighlyunlikelyto
passmusterinBologna.Thehallowednotionof“authenticity”
certainlybecomesproblematicwhenfacedwiththeclassic
Aussie-Italianpizzatoppedwithmatchstickhamofnofixed
addressandgassedolivesthatresembletapwashers.
“There’sa bitofa sentimentalnotionthatthese
cookie-cutterjointsonLygonStreet,withtheiroversized
laminatedpaint-by-numbersmenus,aresomehowrepresentative
ofAustralian-Italiancooking,”saysHarden.“That’slikesaying
McDonald’srepresentsAmericancooking.Manyofthose
placesonlyopenedinthe’80sand’90s,whenzoninglaws
ona partofLygonStreetwerechanged.Theywerethere
solelyforthetouristdollar,witha fauxauthenticityjust
likerestaurantsthatclusteraroundMontmartreinParis
orGreenwichVillageinNewYork.Sure,theytella story,
justnotthewholestory.”
FedericaAndrisani,ofHobart’sFico,metherpartner,
OskarRossi,innorthernItalysixyearsagoandsealedtheir
bondovera pitch-perfectpastapomodoro.“Oskarsaidthat
waswhenhefellinlovewithme,whenI cookedsomething
sosimpleandsodelicious,”shesays.
It’ssafetoargueclosereadingsoftraditionhavehadtheir
daywhenevena Neapolitannativewhoshuddersat Australian
pizza(“I’mscaredofit”)seesnoreasonnottoembracelocal
ingredientswhilegentlypushingboundariesindishessuch
as bug tail carpaccio flavoured with yuzu and seaweed dust.Somethings,ofcourse,remaininviolable.Pastamustbe
al dente.Risottomustbecookedtherightway(laboriously,
withlotsofelbowgrease).Dishesshouldbea simplecollection
ofthreeorfouringredients.ButAndrisaniandRossienjoy
playingwitha biggertoolbox.
“Italianflavouris basedonumami.Parmigiana,tomatoes,
colatura– thefishsaucemadefromanchovies– butbecause
wedon’talwayshavethesameingredientshereit makessense
tofindaninspirationfromtheJapaneseflavourprofilewhich
is sosimilar,”saysAndrisani.“Wemakea seaurchinrisotto
withyuzuinsteadoflemon,andweliketouseseaweedfor
umamiflavourina dish.It’sstillverytraditional,buta little
twistwiththesameflavourprofile.”
Theirbrandofrespectfulreinventionmirrorsthestateof
playinItaly.Thebarbarianshavestormedtheregionalcitadel,
withRomancacioe pepejourneyingsouthandSicilytrading
itspastaallaNormatothenorthernersinreturn.Massimo
Botturaat OsteriaFrancescanahasprovedconclusivelyyou
cansimultaneouslyenrageyourcountrymenandwomenwith
innovationandbenamedthebestrestaurantintheworld.
Ironically,thebiggestpushbackFicoreceivescomesfrom
dinerswithItalianheritage.“Thethird-generationItalians
whogrewupinAustraliaaretheleastopentoourfood,”says
Andrisani.“Theyreallyhavenoidea,becausetheygrewupwith
theirmumscookingtheworstItalianfood.Theyseewhatwe
doandgetallupsetandwehavetotrytoexplainit tothem.
Sometimesit’sa battleyoucan’twin.”
It’sa battleworthfighting,nonetheless.Orat leastdiscussing
vigorouslyoverspaghettiBolognese,thatbelovedEsperantodish
ofunknownorigins,withanumami-givingsloshoffishsauce.
AlmostanythinggoesinthisbravenewAussie-American-Italian
world– justsolongasyoudon’tovercookthepasta.
“Ofcourseyou’regoingtoseesomeinterestingthings
whenpeoplefromallsortsofbackgroundsstartopening
Italianrestaurants,”saysCasey Wall. “Not just people whose
names end in vowels.”●Itcan behardtoknowwhethertocelebrate orsneer
at Lygon Street, Melbourne’s Little Italy. Maybe both.GOURMET TRAVELLER 65PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE BURGESS.