"Italy 2010" |
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To keep our food honest and our knowledge fresh, during the month of May 2010, we took a trip back to Italy……… Rainy though it was at the beginning of our Italian sojourn, Venice never ceases to fascinate. It is a constant reminder of man’s resourcefulness considering the absolute achievement of engineering Venice is. Also, one must consider how romantic it is living in a city with no cars and no roads? Romantic? Yes romantic in its simplicity, if you have to get somewhere in a hurry – use a speedboat! But generally you will soon wind down and adjust to and relish in the slower pace. Whilst in Venice we experienced such dishes as white asparagus with anchovy sauce, mouthwatering marinated sardines and a totally delectable dried cod mousse. Seafood is definitely the order of the day in Venice. From Venice we meandered our way south through thickly wooded mountains then verdant rolling hills of pasture until we reached our destination – one of Italy’s central and most well known regions – Tuscany. Tuscany is as picturesque as any postcard you might see of the area. Cypresses, fields of vines, olive groves, meandering roads and farmhouses appeared everywhere. Fields of red poppies greeted us and wild deer and pheasants’ darted out of our way as we drove the lonely hill to which our accommodation was atop. Here, just north of the 13th century fortified town of San Gimignano, amidst an area where native wildlife such as wild boar, hare and various game birds are regularly hunted we made our base. Our home for the week was a rustic 200-year-old farmhouse – where all but the hot water heater, I’m sure (!) had been refurbished! Even our small daughter learnt the word ‘freddo!’ (Cold!) as the water so often was! The key to Tuscan food is simplicity. Bread, baked deliberately without salt, a variety of cheeses, legumes, fresh vegetables and fruits – all used with a minimum of fuss, but prepared exquisitely. We sampled such provincial delights as Wild Boar Stew – even sighting some of the inhabitants of the stew from our farmhouse windows, and Hare Ragout. From Tuscany we drove across Italy to the region of Campagnia where we would next reside on a region of the Amalfi Coast the ancient fishing village of Prairano. As we walked the 150 steep stone steps to our villa, luggage in tow, we were not only amazed by the view, but also by the feeling that this village was frozen in the 1950’s. Here a man with two small horses delivered the daily mail and flying foxes are used to transport groceries etc to houses built far upon the steep hillside. Lemons and olives grown commercially are all tended and harvested by hand, and then sold on the roadside. As we sat overlooking the glorious view, one could easily imagine Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn sitting at the same table, as they had done. Here we dined on some of the most wonderful marinated anchovies and tuna pasta, and truly Pascalle’s Carpaccio was only rivaled by his hospitality. From Prairano we went across the waters to the island of Capri. We thought we had come across breathtaking beauty during our trip, but this was all came to nothing when we first viewed the bay of Naples atop the summit of the town of Anacapri. It’s easily understood why Capri has been such a hit with visitors from as far back as Homer. Here we ate Bombolotti – little pasta parcels oozing cheese and tomatoes, baked Mussels and ‘Sea Dates’ or fish cooked in seawater. Of course for dessert one had to indulge in the local Granita – just heavenly! Then we moved on to Naples – the home of Pizza! True Italian Pizza is distinctly different to what the western palate dictates. Cheese is always on the bottom with toppings being meager in amount, but excellent in quality. Also prevalent in Naples is an abundance of excellent seafood, in particular, mussels. After Naples we ventured on to Italian capital – Rome. Rome a city easily navigated by foot is an amazing city with ancient ruins everywhere you look. In Rome we found local variations of what already appears on our menu – Pastas both Carbonara and Puttanesca were on the menus of a lot of restaurants and trattorias we visited. One of our highlights in Rome was the Eggplant Parmagiana we had at Café Navona, a recipe, which Daniel has already ‘tweaked’ to make his own and which has proven quite popular as our Blonde Eggplant Lasagne. Throughout our travels in Italy we held dear to our hearts two quests; first initiated by our daughter; but quests which we embraced wholeheartedly. First to find the best hot chocolate Italy could offer, and secondly to find the best Gelato. We believe we found the best hot chocolate in a little town in the midst of Tuscany called Poggibonsi. It was very chocolately, and very, very thick. Without a doubt, the hot chocolate drinks in Italy are markedly thicker than any we have tried anywhere. Upon our return to Australia we endeavored to purchase a product, which would be similar to what we encountered there. Alas, we found none! Even those that touted their authenticity we found to be lacking. The only answer was for us to create our own. After many trials we have come up with what we believe to be the closest to what we experienced in Italy. We now have this on offer as a regular menu item, authentic thick Italian hot chocolate. Speaking of our other quest to find the best Gelato, well we believe we did, in a little alleyway in Rome. The shop was very small, maybe 2 metres wide and about 12 metres deep with people lined up outside the door. No cones were sold here as cones compromised the integrity of the Gelato! When it came your turn to order you had to quickly state what you wanted and step aside, something akin to Seinfeld’s ‘soup nazi’. The wait however, was worth it with flavours like Liquorice, Wild Honey, Ginger, Vanilla and Bourbon and Chocolate Truffle, it was a gourmand’s version of heaven! Gastronomically speaking Italy is a complete package – great produce and great Chefs. Whether they have a Michelin star, work in a local Trattoria or are someone’s Nonna, they are unafraid of treating their ingredients with respectful simplicity. We look forward to bringing some of this simplicity back with us to Coffs Harbour. We also look forward to you sharing a table with us, as we share with you our love of Italian food. Buon Appetito! |
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