* M$ H; A/ p% m: \3 _$ `7 W 随着“禁蒜”运动规模的不断扩大。目前，在西西里岛等地，一些餐厅为了迎合顾客的口味，推出了“无蒜菜谱”，即使在烹调传统美食的时候，也用别的调料代替大蒜提味。7 ~8 X# t r- f
; F( ~) J' f. w3 U7 \3 n- |: V7 H 对此，对大蒜宠爱有佳的意大利南部地区民众感到不以为然。当地美食家认为，没有了大蒜的意大利菜肴，将变得索然无味。1 w1 t4 J3 t# e
) k$ F6 N( p$ z) ~ 意大利著名厨师 安托尼奥·卡罗纳：这将是场灾难，把大蒜剔除出菜谱就好像交响乐团里没有了小提琴。' R7 }9 h( G {, \/ {6 p
5 a; b3 E, } I 对于这场在意大利烹饪界闹得沸沸扬扬的“禁蒜”运动，很多民众却显得比较淡然，他们认为没有必要把个人喜好扩大为一项全国运动。 * Z/ J8 h$ R" D. a6 } ) t7 U1 d7 @; K4 d ^ & Z- T' ~: D/ v$ j+ o9 T5 F: L) z) M+ s2 R- _
Sicilian chef Filippo La Mantia prepares octopus linguine without garlic 7 C" M" I2 V/ e; q( j P
in a restaurant in downtown Rome this week. . Q9 Z6 Q8 }& Q4 `0 i 5 N4 w8 b: _* ]3 b$ b0 e" d& @( |, P h: e6 O
Aversion to garlic gives Italians food for thought 5 \) p' A! y" |& D" N9 ?! wROME — Look around the kitchen of Filippo La Mantia's hip restaurant in downtown Rome and you'll see oranges, fresh basil, olive oil. But no garlic.( B( ^/ G# |2 h3 N+ G7 n) K
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"I will never use garlic!" declares the Sicilian chef as he demonstrates how to make a flavorful pasta dish — octopus linguine with orange juice and almond pesto — without the ingredient he hates. 0 U# G; e" y) w 0 u0 C3 w% e1 t! ` @# y& iA quintessential element of traditional Italian and Mediterranean cooking, garlic is at the center of a gastronomic dispute in this nation that prides itself on its food. To critics it is just a stinky product that overwhelms more delicate flavors. Admirers say garlic enhances taste, gives a dish an extra punch — and is also good for the health.3 s: W" \4 G; ?; u+ X9 }9 m* {
2 C& P. R$ a9 q, l) a6 x D2 Y$ g"Garlic is the king of the kitchen," says chef Antonello Colonna. "To eliminate it is like eliminating violins from an orchestra." X2 w& U$ u& C& D
" {3 f4 |8 s4 T4 \% c* y0 {Critics have started a ferocious campaign for garlic-free dining, and the debate has moved out of culinary circles. Corriere della Sera, Italy's top daily, devoted a page to the matter this week, listing celebrities in each camp under the headline: "The Crusade of Garlic Enemies.". l, ?6 J: d( b" |2 U- E
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Garlic foes have a high-profile campaigner in former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose aversion to garlic and obsession with minty breath are legendary.4 v1 l. {! e! n* P, P/ ]
2 [/ l5 o! K, z: _7 B/ R- |: [* UCarlo Rossella, who heads the news department for one of Berlusconi's Mediaset channels, has been compiling a list of garlic-free restaurants and hopes to persuade "distinguished" restaurants to come up with separate garlic-free menus.9 w5 s& I. u( m) m; \9 A m( R
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"Garlic for me is a sort of persecution," laments Rossella, who says he is allergic to it. "They put garlic in almost any dish: With meat, with fish, everywhere. It's not politically correct to impose garlic on everybody."; d5 H# {: g' Q- s# x# t
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Food critic Davide Paolini counters that certain dishes — such as the aglio, olio e peperoncino (or garlic, oil and hot peppers) pasta — simply cannot be cooked without it. He has launched a survey on his Web site to ask readers where they stand on the debate. % A# T) W. c! J, k+ _' T& k' h* y( B8 f u, i, T( i# q2 C"It's nonsense dictated by people who want to keep their breath under control," he told The Associated Press. "But it's a real, genuine smell. It's not stink."8 f0 \7 W: ^; I$ O6 l2 {3 a
6 @: L! Q; e; LThe bulbous herb has long been a mainstay of Italian cuisine, from flavoring steaks in Tuscany to dishes of the poor south, where cooking is traditionally less rich in butter and cream and garlic's pungent flavor often accompanies simple vegetable dishes.4 `! B9 `: a) K8 a; t$ t) I
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Garlic's therapeutic qualities also have been proclaimed, including for heart disease, cancer and infections, but there's no agreement in the scientific community. A study published in February in the Archives of Internal Medicine found garlic had no effect on cholesterol in people whose levels already were elevated.! T* L( b5 p6 M; V3 c
( d% {8 X8 h- D }7 e, x+ K5 g# x4 MLa Mantia's customers love his garlic-free dishes.: {$ {7 y( \+ }
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"You can cook perfectly well without it," he said. "I use a lot of different ingredients — mint, basil, capers, orange, lemons — to make up for it."5 ~8 d- O U5 H! V' T. [
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