Ethnic Heritages in Food - Cross Over to the Other Side!

Last week I attended a ceremony at the Regina, SK city hall on the last day of summer. It was the dedication of a new sculpture celebrating the founding of Regina by First Nations and immigrants that took place outside the city hall. The sculpture has two parts that flank the fountain on the front lawn; one called “lace” that is cast in bronze and has the written description of immigrants and their contributions and the opposite side is a series of bronze casts of living immigrants to Regina. The day was quite chilly and the ever present prairie winds reminded us of what it must have been like for those early settlers in this often austere climate.

me, Ursula, Mayor Fiacco, Stephanie

What might this have to do with food you might ask? I have found that the overseas immigrants here have largely maintained their respective cultures to include food, which always seems to be at the heart of any culture. You can see this at their annual festival of diversity called Mosaic in which Regina’s many cultural clubs each demonstrate their respective cultures through dance, song and primarily food. I found it amazing for a place with such a relatively small population to maintain such diversity. In fact the ‘lace’ part of the sculpture has an homage to pasta fagioli (Mayor Fiacco is undeniably Italian) as prepared by Gina of the Star Deli; an authentic Italian deli here in town that I found in my very first week of visiting. I think good pancetta has the lure of a siren’s song.

Regina has, in a very small geographic area, many small grocers that specialize in their own ethnic ingredients. In the space of only a few miles there is Oskar’s; a German butcher that stocks my favorite licorice, house made bratwurst, heavy rustic breads and packets of premade potato dumplings. We have the aforementioned Star Deli with its gourmet dried pastas, array of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, the torrone nougat candy I recall fondly from childhood and of course, pancetta, prosciutto, salamis and cheeses and always a friendly banter with Carlo, the owner’s son. The Asian market is like most, with cramped aisles and shelves packed to the rafters carrying all kinds of rice, dried mushrooms, fish sauces, ingredients unidentifiable to westerners, teas, dried cuttlefish, fresh lime leaves and even green tea ice cream. The East Indian spice and grocery store is a symphony of aromas and colors; bags of coriander and fennel large enough to last me years, cans of coconut milk, secret curry mixes, garam masala, big bags of corn nuts (a personal favorite) and a backroom full of exotic produce. The Korean grocer stocks, spicy chili pastes, hand labeled jars of kimchee, dried tofu, fresh bean curds, noodles, spices and an wide array of pickled treats. I’ve not been into the Ukranian market/bakery yet and I am sure I will find more ethnic delights the longer I stay here. How cool is that?

However, I think that there is very little crossover between cultures except for the annual Mosaic festival. In my last post I poked fun at my fiancé who’d never tried eggplant parmesan, which to me is a dish more American than authentic Italian. However, at a family birthday party this weekend, a show of hands proved that none of his family had ever tried it. Now my fiancé is first generation; both his parents German immigrants, but even the second generation had never tried it. I was stunned. They had also very little exposure to sushi or other Asian food, with only one having tried it (except for my fiancé who I stuff with sushi whenever I get the chance). No Pho, summer rolls, lumpia, vindaloo, basteeya, nicoise, etc, had ever passed their lips. I can’t say for sure but I’ll also bet that our friend Mai from Tay Do restaurant (our special Pho place) has never had rouladen, bratwurst, spaetzle or any of the other well known German staples.

I can see where these silos of culture have value in that they keep their own traditional foods alive and vibrant but I also find it quite sad that these people of different heritages have so many amazing authentic cuisines in their midst that they have never dared to try. I try to bridge the gaps, if only in this one family. I remember the looks of doubt, skepticism and reluctance when I offered some of my home made mozzarella last spring, but slowly everyone tried after seeing that the first taster had not been stricken down. While they might never come to love diverse ethnic cuisines as I do, I will continue to ply them with ‘foreign’ (to them anyway) foods while comforting with the familiar at the same time. I commend their willingness to let me introduce them to the flavors of my world while teaching me about theirs.

Tell me about your favorite 'exotic flavors' and how you came to sample dishes that differed from those upon which you were raised. I'd really love to hear about them and perhaps along the way you can open me up to a new cuisine!