CALABRIAN COMFORT FOOD
WHEN THE TOMATOES ARE READY
WORDS BY PANDA WONG
Georgia Spanos’ debut cookbook intimately weaves recipes and history together to pay homage to family, food and migration.
I have a memory from when I was six, of standing in my grandmother’s kitchen watching her make me a bowl of noodles. I remember her briskly chopping the choy sum from the garden, cracking an egg into the wok of simmering broth and the steaming noodles sluicing into a chipped enamel bowl. The chewy squiggle of the noodles as they passed through my lips, the rich broth and the warmth of the enamel bowl against my small hands are still vivid in my mind. Noodles have been my go-to comfort food ever since, reminding me of the simple joy of someone I love cooking something I love, for me.
This sense of nostalgia and comfort from food is evoked in Georgia Spanos’ When the Tomatoes Are Ready. The book takes its title from Georgia’s grandparents’ love story—when her nonno migrated to Australia, her nonna promised to join him ‘when the tomatoes are ready’. This way, she could leave her family with peace of mind, knowing that they would be well-fed in her absence. The title is a nod to the themes of migration, love and family that flow throughout the cookbook.
After Georgia’s nonno passed, a recipe only known to him was lost too. This spurred Georgia on to learn her nonna’s recipes, worried that she would lose an entire legacy of recipes if she didn’t capture them now. Spending a year in her nonna’s kitchen, Georgia carefully noted down recipes in a journal, secretly measuring ingredients as she went (her nonna doesn’t believe in measurements). The book is peppered with jottings from that year of cooking, drawing the reader with Georgia into her nonna’s kitchen.
Determined to make the cookbook a truly personal venture, Georgia opted to self-publish. She also chose to have it printed and produced in Melbourne to reflect its homegrown ethos. A lot of life and emotion emerges from connecting with food. You can give a lot of love through food by cooking for your loved ones.
‘I wanted it to be an art piece as opposed to something made to generate lots of sales. Otherwise, there was too much compromise. You make no money, but you have full control. When you accept that, it’s a lot of fun!’
This sense of joy permeates the book. From the playful, bright illustrations by James Fox Rogers to the bottle-green, embossed cover of the book underneath its dustjacket, this is an exuberant addition to any bookshelf.
Georgia stays faithful to the Calabrian home-cooking of her nonna. This is the type of cooking designed to feed lots of people and feed them well. Each recipe is straight-forward and easy to follow, using ingredients that are accessible and affordable, true to home-cooking’s functionality. The book flows from entrées to dessert—much in the same way as a dinner at Nonna’s—allowing for easy planning for a big feed. The recipes are adaptable and versatile, such as the Passata recipe which forms the basis of many other dishes in the book.
The recipes inside this book are easily transferred into the fabric of daily life. The Fritelle (zucchini fritters) are perfect for a late, leisurely breakfast (I tried them out for a hungover brunch and can confirm that they made me feel 100% more human) while the Marriage Soup recipe (one of Georgia’s favourites) would be the perfect accompaniment to a cosy night in with your loved ones. There are also other dishes such as the Turdilli di Vino (wine balls), deep-fried honey and merlot-soaked pastries firmly rooted in Calabrian culture, that will satisfy any sweet cravings.
Although our backgrounds are different (mine Malaysian-Chinese and Georgia’s Calabrian), I’m reminded, when reading this book, of how integral food is in shaping our lives and the ways we love. When asked about the relationship between food and love, Georgia says: Dishes aren’t made by robots. Stories come through food—I think of the dishes that I had in my childhood. A lot of life and emotion emerges from connecting with food. You can give a lot of love through food by cooking for your loved ones.
And that’s what makes When the Tomatoes Are Ready feel so personal. Yes, it’s a Calabrian cookbook, but it’s also a lovingly written and beautifully illustrated ode to her nonna, to her family and to food’s undeniable ability to evoke, comfort and connect. This book is an invitation. An invitation to enter Nonna’s kitchen, lick the passata off the wooden spoon and get elbow-deep in flour, making pasta. Perhaps accompanied by a cheeky glass of red wine.
When the Tomatoes Are Ready
Georgia Spanos
Self-published
Available to purchase online at whenthetomatoesareready.com