PIZZA MARGHERITA
Tomato, mozzarella, basil, all on a crisp base — probably the greatest food invention of the past 150 years
I recently conducted a survey among friends, family and colleagues in order to determine the greatest food aberration of all time. In third place was that powdery “Parmesan” cheese that comes in plastic tubs, has a sell-by date of several months, and smells strongly of vomit. In second place, tinned spaghetti. I was a little conflicted on this one, since I will condone spaghetti hoops if you’re still wearing nappies, and I’m partial to the occasional tin of ravioli myself, but it deserves its ranking simply by virtue of having absolutely nothing in common with its namesake.
In pole position, by a long margin, was Hawaiian pizza. That heinous practice of placing lumps of syrupy tinned pineapple onto a savoury disc of baked dough, ham and melted cheese has no place in the cuisine of any culture, and I’m sure the good people of Hawaii are as unhappy about it as I am. (It was actually invented by a Greek chef called Sam Panopoulos in Canada