Americans are slowly but surely getting into the act – celebrating the election of the first US Pope, Leo XIV. Leo came as a surprise to many Catholics – except perhaps to the College of Cardinals, who vote for each new Pope, in conclave…
Something I didn’t know until this past week: There’s a lot of background politics surrounding the election of a new Pope, after the previous Holy Father either retires or – more commonly – passes away…
The ultimate ‘secret ballot’?
The Cardinals lock themselves away in the designated chamber at the Vatican to deliberate and vote (usually multiple times) on who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church. And apparently, much like leadership factions at a US political party national convention, leading ‘candidates’ and their supporters circulate among those eligible to vote, seeking commitments for their preferred new pontiff.
After each vote, the ballots are tallied and then burned. The ultimate ‘secret ballot’ process. And a small quantity of one of two secret chemical compounds is added – to induce the burning ballots to produce either a white smoke, signalling a new Pope has been selected, or black smoke, signalling at least one more vote will be needed to decide the question.
But there is usually a global outburst among the faithful of cooking and feasting to celebrate the ascension of a new Pope. And many of the initial offerings traditionally celebrate the new Pontiff’s place of origin and /or known personal tastes. A debate which can also stir up another round of politics all it’s own.
And the new Holy Father is from…
Chicago!
Now, on first consideration, you’d think there would be a whole cook book full of possibilities for authentic, traditional Chi dishes to choose from, when nominating an officially unofficial, but un-officially official Papal tribute dish. So, no problem, right? Alas, in the particular case of Pope Leo, it’s just the opposite.
Take, first of all, the fact that Leo comes from a town with a long and colourful culinary history, influenced by wave after wave of European immigration over the past 150 or so years. And let’s compound that circumstance with another fact: Regardless of where they actually come from, each new Pope speaks Latin, lives in Rome and pretends to be Italian (sort of).
Which frames a picture of confusion and confoundation surrounding to make for dinner when the Pontiff drops by or dinner.
h answer to that question were obvious when the world had a Polish pope. Or the more recent Bra-zillian one. Or, more traditionally, back through the mists of History, a whole procession of Italian ones.
On the other hand…
Chicago has enjoyed a particularly rich infusion of Italian culture over the years. Which has resulted in a potentially ugly clash of opinion over which Italian specialty to associate with Leo’s reign. Lemme see… There’s the legendary Deep Dish Pizza. Or, for that matter, Chicago’s other ‘native’ Pizza fave, the classic thin-crust Tavern-Style pie.
Then, there’s the traditional Chicago-Style Hot Dog… Which is generally agreed to feature an all-beef hot dog on a poppyseed bun topped with mustard, relish, chopped onion, tomato slices, a pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery.
But as we pointed out in a recent post, the most popular ‘local’ dishes – the ones favoured by the the indigenous population of a given city or region – classic creations folks who ‘aren’t from around there’ have never even heard of. So it is with the Italian legends of Chi-town. In Spades.
There’s Chicken Vesuvio, Baked Sausage and Peppers, Chicago-Style Hot Giardiniera (see photo, top of page), and the incomparable Chi-Style Italian Beef Sandwich…
And the offering you can’t refuse is…
… Widely accepted to be the Italian Beef Panino (Beef Sandwich! Which we recently featured in a post all its own. It’s actually an Italian Sub/Hero/ Cubano/French Dip… Heck, it’s really most like an Italian kissing cousin to the Philly Cheese Steak than any other oblong, grilled sammy you’ve ever had!
And there’s a new viral version, created by Chicago’s legendary Portillo’s Restaurant, specifically in honour of Pope Leo.
“In the name of the gravy, the bun, and hot giard, we introduce The Leo: a divinely seasoned Italian beef, baptized in gravy and finished with the holy trinity of peppers — sweet, hot, or a combo,” Portillo’s proclaimed in a news release.
(And for dessert: A colourful new jumbo Papal Sugar Cookie from Chicago’s legendary Bennison’s Bakery (see photo, top of page).)
My take
Judging by the official photo, above, the Leo is truly blessed. In the culinary sense, at least.
Portillo’s isn’t publishing the recipe for its new Leo. But Stanley Tucci is happy to share his!
Mangia! Mangia!
~ Maggie J.