Pizza and the Long Lunch

Chiara closed the lab for the long Italian lunch. "Come with me," she said.

Chiara je zatvorila laboratorij za dugi talijanski ručak. "Pođi sa mnom," rekla je.

Polly perched on her shoulder. They walked into the park.

Polly je sjedila na njezinom ramenu. Ušle su u park.

Naples at lunch was busy. People were going to espresso bars. The streets smelled of garlic and tomato.

Napulj je bio užurban za vrijeme ručka. Ljudi su išli u espresso barove. Ulice su mirisale na češnjak i rajčicu.

Chiara took her to a small pizzeria. Inside was a big wood-burning oven. The fire was very hot.

Chiara ju je odvela u malu pizzeriju. Unutra je bila velika peć na drva. Vatra je bila vrlo vruća.

Neapolitan pizza is special. The city has rules for it from two hundred years ago. The dough is flour, water, salt, and yeast. The tomatoes are from the slopes of Vesuvius. The basil is fresh. The oven cooks the pizza in ninety seconds.

Napuljska pizza je posebna. Grad ima pravila za nju već dvjesto godina. Tijesto je od brašna, vode, soli i kvasca. Rajčice dolaze s padina Vezuva. Bosiljak je svjež. Peć peče pizzu za devedeset sekundi.

The pizza maker put a pizza in the oven. Ninety seconds later he pulled it out. The crust had dark spots. The cheese was melted.

Pizzaiolo je stavio pizzu u peć. Devedeset sekundi kasnije izvukao ju je van. Kora je imala tamne mrlje. Sir je bio rastopljen.

Chiara gave Polly a small piece of crust. It was salty and charred and very light. Polly understood why Naples had protected this pizza for two centuries.

Chiara je dala Polly mali komad kore. Bio je slan, lagano zagoren i vrlo lagan. Polly je razumjela zašto je Napulj čuvao ovu pizzu dva stoljeća.

"Octopuses are smart because they only live a few years," Chiara said. "They have to learn fast. We can learn slowly. Pasta will learn everything she knows in two more years."

"Hobotnice su pametne jer žive samo nekoliko godina," rekla je Chiara. "Moraju brzo učiti. Mi možemo učiti polako. Pasta će naučiti sve što zna za još dvije godine."

They walked back slowly. The afternoon was warm.

Polako su se vraćale. Poslijepodne je bilo toplo.