There are some food “rules” that are made to be broken, and Ralph Macchio’s favorite meal isn’t afraid to break them. The star of the “Karate Kid” films recently sat down with Mythical Kitchen to share some of his favorite foods as he mused about what he would eat for his final meal. Macchio’s menu included a mix of Italian-American favorites that reflect his Long Island upbringing, like grilled scampi prawns and eggplant parmesan, and American classics, including a burger and fries from Shake Shack, and apple pie for dessert. But there was one moment where he got a little less classic. Prepping his prawn pasta before digging in, Macchio broke what is supposedly a cardinal rule of food, especially Italian, and added some cheese to his seafood dish.
The cheese wasn’t much, just a sprinkling of grated parmesan, but Macchio knew that what he was doing might raise some eyebrows, saying, “This is against the law, right? To have cheese on a seafood pasta. And I don’t mind it just a little bit, but this is a must.” And of course he’s right. The salt and nutty umami flavor of parmesan is a great addition to some grilled prawns, especially when it’s being used lightly as a topping, like Macchio was doing. It turns out that while there is some reasoning behind the no cheese on fish and seafood idea, like most food rules, it’s an overly broad generalization that has many, many delicious exceptions.
Ralph Macchio’s favorite prawn pasta shows that seafood and cheese do mix sometimes
It turns out that Macchio’s heritage is probably where he picked up on this, because the idea that you shouldn’t mix seafood and cheese is pretty strongly Italian. People love lobster mac and cheese, lox and cream cheese, and tuna melts. Even in neighboring Greece, dishes that mix shrimp with cheese are common. And what’s interesting about the Italian aversion to cheese and seafood is that nobody even really knows where it comes from.
The most commonly cited idea has a little bit of logic to it, which is that the strong flavor of cheese can overpower delicate seafood. But of course, not all cheese is strong, and not all seafood is mild, with something like Macchio’s scampi prawns being a great example. Some people claim it dates back to ancient times when the mixture of seafood and cheese was thought to make you sick. And then there is the more practical reason: That most cheese-making areas of Italy are inland, and so when traditional recipes were being established, seafood recipes were developed in areas that didn’t eat much cheese.
However it happened, the myth is just that. There is no reason you can’t make seafood Alfredo or spicy shrimp parmesan. Make some whitefish casserole, and melt some cheddar on your fish sandwich. And if anybody tries to judge you, tell them the “Karate Kid” approves.
