Читать книгу Heathcliff Redux - Lily Tuck - Страница 18

Hannibal, our bull, was not an Angus but a Charolais. The Charolais is one of the top meat-producing breeds, and Charlie had bought him with the hope of improving our herd. The Charolais comes from Charolles, France, and was imported to Mexico in 1930. Hannibal, according to an article I read, could trace his lineage back to two Mexican bulls called Neptune and Ortolan.

(Ortolan? An ortolan is a tiny bird, the size of my thumb, that weighs less than an ounce. It is a French delicacy prepared by first throwing the bird into a vat of Armagnac to both marinate and drown it, then cooking it for eight minutes and serving it whole. Traditionally, diners eat ortolans—heads, bones, and all—with a napkin thrown over their heads.)