A young Antonio Banderas as a sort of spindly Islamic bloodhound was kind of fun. Passion and food have been inextricably linked throughout the ages.
Passion fruit is, well, passion fruit.
Generally, those foods thought to engender passion were those that were expensive, and therefore, likely to impress the object of one's desire. Exotica were also fair game, especially in the world of spices where the filaments of 70,000 or more saffron crocuses are required to put together a pound of saffron, or where Chinese merchants skim the intestinal secretions of sperm whales off the surface of tropical seas to make ambergris. Personally, I have some ideas that involve homemade nachos and a two-liter bottle of RC Cola, but those will have to wait for another column. My favorite foods for passion are lobster, caviar, and roses. I love Mediterranean cooking, whether Italian, Spanish, Moroccan or elsewhere.