Our trip Amalfi coast Feb 20-25
Feb 20
It was a relaxed start to our trip. The flight was 11:15 and we decided to take the schnell-bahn to the airport and save the 29 euros for an airport taxi. It was a pleasant, sunny morning with mild temperatures and was encouraging to us because if it is warm in Vienna, it should be even warmer in southern Italy. The additional advantage of using the S-bahn was passing by the Mann Bakery for sandwiches for the trip. We took the train to Rennweg and then to Schwechat airport. We packed very light, so that we both had a rollie suitcase and a small bag. It was great to travel light, for a change. At the airport we did a little shopping because we had to buy some chocolates for Francesca. We arrived in Naples @ 1pm with the sun shining and warm. The airport seems small and easy to circumnavigate. We went to Thrifty to get our car. It took quite a long time to get set to go despite having only 1 customer in front of us. When we finally got the paper work together, we jumped on a small bus and went to the car rental area where we found that we were upgraded to a four person SMART CAR, which was a very pleasant surprise. It was a bit bigger car than we wanted, knowing that the streets are rather narrow. However, it is a nice car. We installed our GPS navigator and off we went on the next adventure.Navigating around Naples was really exciting. We weren't used to the navigator and ended up making some wrong turns leading us to some rather questionable areas with lots of piles of garbage. The garbage situation was still a problem. We finally were able to get out of Naples but it was an adventure we won’t easily forget. The drivers are unlike any we’ve encountered before. Imagine that people are in a queue to turn left from the left lane and someone from behind passes everyone on the left to turn left. The passer was on the other side of the road driving into oncoming traffic. I was relieved to get on the highway towards Salerno and leave Naples. We drove on the south side of Vesuvius and then left the highway at Angri driving towards the mountains and on to our destination. The road up the mountains revealed a beautiful view of Naples and the valleys on the other side of the mountains. The road winds and twists on itself enroute to Ravello. Once over the peak, and on the way down the slope, we came towards Ravello and fortuitously saw the sign to Monte Brusara where our Azienda Agriturismo is located. It is situated at the highest point in Ravello at 500 meters above sea level. We wound around to the driveway, rang the doorbell and the iron gate opened automatically for us to drive in. Our host was Filomena, the daughter of the house, who speaks perfect German because grew up and went to school in Switzerland. Her parents moved to Zurich in the 60s to work and lived there for 25 years. They returned 20 years ago. She walked us up our first set of stairs on the Amalfi coast. Stairs is a way of life here. We could see stairs and an incredible view of Ravello and Scala from there. The place is terraced all the way down the mountain with vineyards, and the special technique of growing citrus, especially lemons in Pergola style. The view from the terrace is of the sea and the lovely hill that is covered with the town of Ravello. We can see the lovely, tall Pinenut trees that are part of the gardens of Rufolo and Cimbrone from where we stood.
We were shown to our room, which is rather large. It has a large double bed, more queen-size and a small second bed. There are glass doors that lead onto a small garden terrace with a little table and a pergola with grape vines. All is dead now, but it is easy to imagine how beautiful it is during the summer. We can see the view of Ravello, the expanse of the gulf; the towns of Minori and Maiori are to the east of us. After settling in, we had a coffee with our hosts and had spent the next hour talking with them. The grandmother and grandfather spoke with us about their lives in Switzerland and the last 20 years back in Italy. They are so nice and friendly. It's a pleasure for me to be able to talk to them. Normally, I'm left in the dust with my few words of Italian.
We stayed in Ravello for a few reasons. We like staying on farms in Italy, we liked the price, and liked the location. It’s only 1.5 kms from the main part of the city, however, they did neglect to mention that there are at least 600 stairs up and down in that 1.5kms. The history of Ravello is very interesting. (http://www.wagnertours.it/ravelloant/raveanting.htm) Ravello was founded in the 6th century a.d. by Roman colonies who arrived on the shores of the coast searching for high ground from where the could defend themselves against the aggression of their attackers, the invading Unni, Goti, Visigoti and Longobardi people. These new inhabitants of Ravello recognised the fundamental need to trade and so sailed ships containing their merchandise (mainly cloth) to the Orient. This proved to be very successful economically for the people of the area. The noble families that grew up built great palaces, castles and churches, (approximately 80 in all). Ravello, from the time it truly established itself, found rivalry from nearly Amalfi. In fact it was probably the people of Amalfi who first named this town ‘’Rabellum’’ or ‘’Ravellum’’ both names deriving from the world ‘ribbelarsi’ which in English means ‘to rebel’. Ravello at its most wealthy had a population of approximately 40,000, but crisis after crisis followed in the form of internal conflict, earthquakes, pestilence and invasion from the Saracens. Today Ravello has a population of approximately 2,300. The most famous villas are Rufolo and Cimbrone although there are many others. The Rufolo palace villa was the dwelling place of the noble Rufolo family in the 11th century. Giovanni Boccaccio the famous Italian writer also spoke of this family and of Ravello in his book ‘’Decamerone’’. On 26th May 1880 the composer Richard Wagner is recorded as saying ‘’Here I have found the magic garden of Klingsor’’ (for his opera Parsifal). Every year Ravello, in memory of his visit there, brings together famous Italian and foreign orchestras to perform in the Wagnerian Music festival. Each orchestra assembles on a specially built platform, which extends from the lower level of these marvellous gardens and appears to be suspended over the sea far below. Other villas include ‘’Villa Di Sangro’’ was the previous home of the Episcopio family. It is said that this Villa was a refuge for King Vittorio Emanuelle III after the armistice of 8th September 1943 on the liberation of Rome. ‘’Palazzo Confalone’’ once the palace of the noble Confalone family ( cent. 1100). Many of these villas and other houses in Ravello housed famous people such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Andre Gide, E.M. Forster, Gore Vidal, etc.
Around 4.30pm, we drove down to Amalfi. We wandered around the city center, bought some lemon goodies and a liquor made with hot peppers. It is so spicy and delicious. Everyone makes lemon liquor here with lemon peels called limoncello, which is also delicious. In Amalfi, we followed our lonely planet guide and went to pizzeria da Maria. Easy to find because it is on the main shopping street. It's a large place with its lovely whitewashed walls. A big poster shows the eyewitness top 10 list of pizzerias. This one rates 8. Hard to enjoy pizza any other place in the world after eating Neapolitan pizza. I had Margharita pizza to test the best pizza without all the extra fixings. Oskar was testing the pizza al Tonno. After dinner we drove back to our agriturismo and discovered that despite a few hours of heating with the radiator, the room was frigid. It's really something to have to sleep in such a cold room. We quickly jumped into bed and snuggled the whole night. Some of the night, I slept with my head under the covers because my nose was so cold.
Feb 21
We woke to the same frigid room despite heating. It was turned off at 2100. It was rather chilly. It felt like 15C, but I could be wrong. One of the important tasks for the day would be to buy some warm pajamas for me. Breakfast was at 0900. We had delicious coffee with milk, bread and cake. They served homemade honey and orange marmalade that they make here. It was great, though a bit bitter. I spent some time helping them with the English on the website. There were several strange English language mistakes that needed to be fixed, so I helped them with it. Some mistakes... holydays instead of holidays; "set in the Mediterranean ticket" I had no idea what ticket meant in this context. I had to change these things. After breakfast, we went out in the rainy cold weather to wander around Ravello. We walked and walked and walked around the city. I was starting sweat going up and down the stairs. I'm not sure when we've done so many stairs at one time. It was high time to have a break after this round about tour of the city. We stopped in a bar with an Internet connection, so that I could check on things. It was a worthwhile stop. My legs were feeling the stairs.One point here that is important to mention for tourists planning to come to the Amalfi coast. It is not for the weak hearted. If you are afraid of heights and you get car sick on very winding roads beware. Don't plan to bring your high heals and don't plan to be in a hurry. Although it may be only 5 kms to your destination, count on the fact that you are battling with the curving roads and the incredibly cavalier Italian drivers who will pass you wherever and whenever you least expect them to. It's an incredible experience that you have to be prepared for. Check out this great you tube clip showing what driving on the blue ribbon is like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsv7rMEJx3M#plc7zsDqtTc for an idea about the drive.
After our walk in the rain in Ravello and our internet break, we decided to go to lunch to a place the bar keeper suggested in Atrani. We drove down the winding road from Ravello, past the roadblocks insisting that we travel on an alternate route... seems these signs have been there for over two months due to a rock being found on the highway. As with all things that take a long time to repair in Italy, the road is still considered hazardous and means that you must take a 30km detour when the trip actually is only 5km. Needless to say, the residents simply ignore the warnings and instruct us to ignore them too. And so we do. We file down through the narrowest part of the road, where it is a single lane due to the cement blocks that are supposed to block passage and make our way to Atrani, a small fishing port. In Atrani, we lunched at A Paranza, tel. 089 871840. It is a fish restaurant. We had their mixed seafood antipasti to start. I had the risotto crema di Scampi that was incredibly good. Oskar had the spaghetti a l'amalfitriana that was full of shellfish and an olive oil base. It was excellent. We drank a Costa d'Amalfi Tramonti wine from the Francesco vineyard. It was white, cool, light and delicious with the fish.
Sadly, it continued to be gray and rained persistently. So we got in the car and decided to drive to Minori and Maori and then on along the coast to Salerno. The coast road is treacherous but we managed to get to the city with its enormous port and stockyards filled with thousands of containers. It is quite something to see. We drove along the seaside for several kms to see some of the cityscape and park along the coast and then made our way back on the parallel shopping road. It was cold and raining and so we decided to stay in the car and do lazy window-shopping. A bit crazy, but nevertheless enjoyable. On our way back, we stopped on the roadside at a stand selling citrus fruit. We bought oranges, mandarins from the area and saw an array of lemons. It's incredible how many varieties they have. These huge lemons are amazing. They slice them thin and eat them with sprinkled sugar or add olive oil, balsamico, salt and pepper and eat them with roasted fish. I can't wait to try them out. The lady of the stand sold us some very tiny, about 1cm in length, fish that were preserved in oil and vinegar. We then stopped in Minori where it was now pouring and cold. We wandered around a bit and bought bread to go with the fish and some warm pink pajamas for me. I needed some anyway, so it was a good chance and they were half price, so it was a good deal too. We walked in the rain a bit longer to see the town in the dark. They have a creek going through the center of the town. It was fast flowing and noisy with all the rainwater. It was quite something to see. However, after feeling colder and wetter, we rushed back to the car, turned the heater and defroster on full heat and wound around the corners back to Ravello and the hearth at the Azienda. The family was sitting in the dining area by the wood stove watching TV. We came in wet and straggly like lost puppies and asked to have our food in the dining room. No problem. The grandpa, Luigi, came over to us and talked with Oskar for a long while. We ate the fish with bread and enjoyed the oranges. They had a bit of red in them, like blood oranges and were so tasty and juicy. We then had a delicious limoncello that our hosts make themselves. During the evening, I spent some time writing our travel log. Oskar has convinced me to bring the small keyboard that he has with his palm pilot. What a great idea because it is so much easier to input our daily events into the palm typing rather than writing. While we dreaded another cold night, I realized that the dining area and hallway leading to our room was warmer than our room. So I left the door of our room open and it was actually warmer. Pajamas also made a big difference. We had a bit of a warmer night.
Feb 22
At 0622, someone looking for Dahlia called me on the Italian mobile phone and woke us up. I couldn't sleep more and ended up reading a bit while Oskar snored away. I could see that the colors were present but that the sun was slipping through and we might have a good day to look forward to. First bit of excitement was to take a shower because it was rather cold in the bathroom, but I managed and realized how grateful I am to have my own warm bathroom and shower to indulge in at home. I bought Kimbo decaffeinato for coffee the morning. I just didn't feel like having a big caffeine load again this morning. It was surprisingly good. It maybe hard to distinguish it from the caffeinated variety. I will have to ask Oskar. He tried both one after the other. Oskar was in the shower now while I wrote beside the panoramic window over looking Ravello. It's a gorgeous view and it seems that the sun might actually make its way out from behind the clouds...We jumped in the car rather slowly because yesterday's stairs left our calves and thighs aching. The sun was still trying to peer through the clouds and we were optimistic. We started making our way to the most beautiful part of the coast towards Positano. It was about 10 am when we left and it was not terribly busy on the roads. Thankfully. We wound around the coastline, high up from the sea. I would say that the road must be about 40-60 meters from the sea. We enjoyed the view so much that when we go to Positano, we decided to drive further towards Sorrento. A split second decision that turned out to be a great idea. We drove into Sorrento from the west side, which provided a spectacular view of the city, the gulf of Naples, and Naples. Unfortunately, it was partly cloudy and we couldn't see Vesuvius in its complete beauty. We drove down into the city and were struck by the beauty of the city of Sorrento. It is fresh, colourful and appears new and clean. The streets were line with orange trees bursting with oranges. It was stunning to see them along the roadside. In every patch of green were lemon and orange groves. The city is one big garden filled with palm trees, cacti and citrus groves. It's incredibly pretty especially when the sun was out and with mild temperatures.
After reading the lonely planet, we decided to try to get to Marina Grande, which was not an easy task, for lunch. It took several attempts until we finally figured it out. We parked about 700 m from the Marina and walked down hill to the restaurant. It had a very good rating and so we were keen to try it out. Da Emilia is a small place on the Marina. In the summer, it must be great to eat outdoors on a dock over the water. In the winter, it's an indoor restaurant with 5 tables or so. The woman who founded the place was sitting at a big table and she held court with her daughters and others. It was a family affair. We sat together across from them and had a large woman with a friendly smile ask what we wanted to drink. We ordered a half-liter of the local white wine and a bottle of mineral water con gas. We then ordered the food that the guide suggested. Thank you lonely planet. We started with an antipasti misto, which included prosciutto, local white cheese, salmon and sardines in vinegar and oil, grilled eggplant and very bright green rather hard olives. All were absolutely delicious. The antipasti were enjoyed with a rough white and very salty bread. It was very tasty. We then had gnocchi alla mamma, which is the gnocchi di Sorrento. It is baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Excellent. We shared one Pesce misto del golfo, which was a mix of local fish fried including small sardines. It came with their delicious lemons and it was spectacular. We were delighted with the very relaxed atmosphere, almost like eating dinner in someone's home. It's a real hole in the wall, but a delightful one. We finished dinner and had a cup of espresso that the family was drinking, gratis. It was a nice gesture. It was worth the trouble finding the place and the walk to and fro. On the way out, we say a photo black and white from an old movie that was filmed there with Sophia Loren. You could easily imagine her at this tiny marina in this movie. It was a gorgeous photo of her in short shorts looking the part of the most beautiful woman in Italy. She captured all the mystery and beauty of the Italian woman. Fantastico.
After walking back up the hill, we decided to make it over to the centro storico to see the place and to go to Primavera to get the best ice cream in Italy, or so the guide says. It is a place on the Corso Italia and there is a large array of ice cream flavours. It was hard to choose but the woman serving was so rude and impatient, we had to make our decisions very quickly. We chose crepe cones that were too chewy and neither of us liked them. I would recommend a cup. The ice cream was good but as good as Colle Val D'Elsa according to Oskar. He prefers the ice cream at Acropolis. After our ice cream, we went walking around town to see the very few notable sights. The gardens and citrus groves were fabulous. The centro storico is a small area with very narrow streets that only pedestrians and motorcycles can pass through. It was a great surprise to spend all this time in Sorrento but an enjoyable one. We found our way back to the car at the Ulysses parking lot and our way through the city to the road towards Positano. The drive was great. The views spectacular. I made some videos of the drive that I will upload onto you tube so that you can get dizzy with us. It shows how windy the road is between Sorrento and Positano. Additionally, it shows the Italian drivers driving on our side of the lane. Because it was already late we passed through Positano again. We wanted to get to Amalfi before it got too late. It's not fun to drive on the road when it is dark.
We stopped to take photos and then drove to Amalfi, where we stopped to do some shopping for toiletries and oranges. Oskar really wanted to have some more after last night's treat. At the moment, we were enjoying a few minutes of rest in a restaurant bar having a cold Italian beer. There are so few tourists around and so we are sharing the restaurant with only one other couple and I took the opportunity to write about our day. With the palm keyboard, I can really write everything that I feel like writing.
We arrived back and spent sometime eating our sandwiches that we bought at a bar in Amalfi. Luigi was up and treated us to a few glasses of their own wine and then Oskar and I learned some Italian and some local history. I went to bed a bit early and waited for Oskar to join. Thankfully, it's warmer and easier to get ready for bed. On Saturday, we were planning to drive to Naples to meet Francesca for lunch and to spend the afternoon with her. We were really looking forward to seeing her.
Feb 23
It's 0710 and I am wide-awake. The sun is streaming through the window promising a nice day. We were treated to our first delicious special lemons, called citrone from the area. They have a light bumpy peel that is about 1 cm in width. We enjoyed them thinly sliced with sugar sprinkled on them especially the peel, which is not bitter. It was so good that we had the slices on buttered bread. What a delicious breakfast. I love all things lemon and this had to be the best of all. We hung out a bit at the breakfast table and then left for our adventure in Naples. We drove on the road behind Ravello towards Angri and then onto the highway A3 to Naples, where we took the tangenziale to exit 10 Fuorigrotta. From there, we drove along the coast to Centro and finally parked behind the Excelsior hotel, where we met with Francesca. It was a lovely day and the castle, Castello D’Oro on the island was open and so we wandered to see the views from the terraces of the fortress. It was really pretty, though it was hazy and we couldn't see Vesuvius. After enjoying the lovely views, we wandered to the restaurant Transatlantico Borgo Marinari - Santa Lucia, Naples, Tel: +39 0817648842 where we had a birthday dinner for Francesca. We had three different antipasti, one was a fried pancake like dish with small fish, the second was a tomato based baby octopus and the third was a mixture of clams and mussels in a garlic sauce. The primi piati was a large cylindrical pasta with crab with small cherry tomatoes. It was very good and was easily washed down with a cold white Fiano di Avellino from Mastroberardino 2006.We then went for a short walk to the king's palace and the fantastic square facing it. We went to the Gran Cafe Gambrinus, Piazza Trieste e Trento 38 Naples +39 081 41 75 82, for a coffee and local desserts. We shared a Pasteriera, Caprese and a new torta made with ricotta and pears. The first dessert was made in the past only at Easter but is now made all year round. It's not a dessert found in places outside of Naples. It is baked ricotta cake made with bits of dried fruit. The Caprese is a chocolate cake made with almond pasted and chocolate in different ratios, depending on the family recipe. Lastly, small pieces of pear and mixed with a light ricotta. All the desserts were delicious but my favourite was the easter treat. We walked back to the car and left for the trip back in the dark. It was a rather curvy drive back and I was a little car sick as a result of a mixture of Oskar driving a bit faster and not having something to focus on in the dark. We arrived at Atrani for a walk. Oskar's favourite place on the coast is this small fishing village. It's not touristy and it is a very interesting labyrinth. It is a lot of fun walking through the town especially on a nice and mild evening with the sound of the waves and an inky sky with stars. We wandered around the place and then finally made our way back to Monte Brusara. We were still full from lunch and so decided to eat the oranges from the other day. It was really nice to sit back and enjoy the evening by the stove. Our host is out here offering us wine but we were happy to eat the fruit.
Feb 24
For some reason the sunlight streaming gently through the shutters was enough to waken me at 0607 despite going to sleep rather late. Luckily, it was warmer this morning for a hot shower and hair washing. It was fine except that it takes 10 mins for the water to heat up and I flooded not only the bathroom but also the floor outside the bathroom! Once I dried the floor, I had my cafe, lemon marmalade made fresh from yesterday. It was delicious on bread. We had homemade cake too. I read while Oskar went to shower and flood the floor again. I don't know what it is with Italian showers. So often, are left drying up the wet bathroom floors. Alas, we made it out of the house after enjoying the view from the roof terrace.We drove almost alone along the coast to Positano. There were cyclists on the road the police were controlling the streets, but it was very quiet. Perhaps it's particularly quiet on the road. It was fabulous to see Positano in the morning sunshine. We took the road to the south and wound around the town until we found a parking lot to park in. We wandered around the center until we got to the beach and went to enjoy the beach, sea in the sunshine. It was so pleasant that we decided to have a pizza - the most expensive ever- at the Baco di Bucca on the beach. We had a cold beer and a pizza capricciosa and a pizza quatroformaggi. It was fine to sit in the sun, under the pergola, even though it was naked at this time of the year. Certainly in the summer it provides a lovely, romantic and shady place to enjoy a bite. There were very few patrons at about 12:15 and so we had a lovely table at the edge on the beach. By the time that we finished, the place was packed and not only with tourists, but surely not with Positano customers. I really enjoyed the walking around the place. It was quiet and a lot of it was closed because it was off-season. Nevertheless, it was very nice and we could still shop a bit and have a nice coffee at the cafe on the main street going into the city and had my favourite pastry, sfoglietella.
I was wondering about Esad Bey aka Kurbin Said aka Lev Nussinbaum. He lived in Positano in his last years. I was wondering where he lived and how sad it was that he was all alone living there in hiding. However, I understand why he would have liked to live there. It is a very pretty place. It is somewhat magical in its appearance. I realized that, like Oskar, I wouldn't like to be here in July or August. We had the place almost all to ourselves. It would be awful to fight the crowds in the summertime. It's good that we decided to come in February.
We finally decided to leave and make our way to Furore, which was another incredible drive and very exciting. We went up to Aregola and then returned and drove down the 520 meters and visited Marini dei Communi, which is a pleasant coastal town. The late afternoon was still sunny and warm and made it hard to believe that this was February in Europe. We drove by a gorgeous 5 star hotel, several times in the last few days and today I decided to stop and see it. It turned out that it was closed for renovations but it is fantastic. I took a brochure and price list and was very impressed with the beauty of the place. It is certainly a place to see with my parents. I will send them the brochure. We then went to Amalfi to pick up a few things for the lab. Oskar went up to see the church, which he liked very much while I did some more shopping. For our last dinner on our holiday, we went to L’Arcate in Atrani, where we had a mixed fish antipasto and a pasta with seafood for me and Oskar had swordfish with pasta. It was very tasty and went well with the Fiano di Avellino dei Feudi di San Gregorio that we drank. There was an especially good antipasto that was white fish in very small pieces mixed with small bits of tomato, parsley and balsamic vinegar that I will try to replicate.
After dinner, we made our back home and sat with our host and drank some Concerto... a digestive with orzo cafe, herbs, and anise and was a thick brown drink and was very good. Oskar learned a lot of Italian talking to Luigi. He is full of great stories and history making it great to talk to him. While I was typing our travel log, Luigi sent greetings to our friends reading our blog. On our last evening when we went to bed, we listened to the CBS radio mystery theatre. It was a short radio show that I had on my palm. It was called the Island of the Lost and was fun to hear especially some of the sound effects and music. It was from 1975, as we learned when we heard the ads for the 75 Buick skylark. It was really fun to hear the stuff, even the commercials.
Feb 25
We woke a bit later than previous days at about 7:45. It was light outside but white. We were in the clouds and fog. We couldn't see anything for the fog. We ate our usual breakfast and managed to get my last work in. I noticed that the back of the Monte Brusara brochure had some additional English mistakes that needed repair and so I did that. We finished packing after eating and made our way, once again to Nocera and then to Naples. This time we went searching for fruit and for Kimbo decaffeinated coffee. We found an old farmer selling citrus by the side of the road and couldn't resist buying mandorini, mandoranges, red oranges and citrons to bring with us. I wasn't sure where we would put them, but we had to have them because they were so delicious. We went into town and Oskar passed the supermercato that I'd seen before and so we were on a mission to find a supermercato, which wasn't easy. We went to the next town and finally found a place but they didn't have decaf kimbo, so I bought bread, cheese and salumi for lunch and we then made our way back to the highway. It was an easy trip back to Naples, to the tangenziale and to the airport. The tough part was getting the tank filled with gas, but finally we managed and the other potentially tough thing was finding the car rental return. It went well with a little intuition, though it wasn't so easy to figure out. We boarded the plane pretty quickly. Like the flight over, Oskar had paid the extra 5-euro booking fee and placed us in the second row. We had very little with us for hand luggage and so the race to the seat and the overhead cabins is less intense. It very pleasant to have the seats organized for us. The flight was faster than expected and we landed safely in Vienna to record high temperatures. It seemed that it may have been warmer in Vienna than in Italy, after all.Food
Lemons:
http://www.babbonyc.com/dolci-lemonsemi.html : Lemons are agriculturally produced in several regions of Italy, but without question the finest and most distinctive lemons come from the Sorrentine Peninsula, around the Bay of Naples, and on the Amalfi Coast, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. The superior lemons produced in both regions have been granted IGP status. (“Indicazione Geografica Protetta” is a designation approved in 1992 under the adoption of the European Union, and it applies to agricultural produce of exceptionally high reputation and distinction, relative to its geographical origin. Currently, there are over 30 foods that are designated as IGP, and their production, processing and distribution are strictly controlled.) Evidence of cultivated lemon groves dates as far back as the 1st century in and around Sorrento, and the from the early 11th century along the Amalfi Coast. Around the 15th century, growth and export of lemons expanded throughout Italy when Vitamin C-laden citrus fruits were proven to be effective combatants against scurvy.Lemons:
“Sfusato Almafitano” is the local term for Limone di Costa d’Amalfi. Grown on strips of steeply terraced land along the “Divine Coast”, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, lemon trees provide important ecological protection against the erosion of the Amalfi coastline. The scent of lemon blossoms wafts through the air of the surrounding towns in springtime. Amalfi lemons are pointed at the ends, with a pale yellow rind laden with fragrant oil. They produce an abundant amount of acidic juice and very few seeds. Amalfi lemons are harvested a few times a year, with the best of the crop picked from March through July.
Limoni di Sorrento have exceptional aroma and flavor. The long branches, often over 10 feet tall, are trained to climb on chestnut-wood trellises. Straw mats are stretched over the trellises to protect them from any atmospheric perils that may threaten even ripening of the fruit. Sorrento lemons are elliptical in shape, with a medium thick, aromatic skin, and an extra-juicy, straw-yellow interior. According to IGP standards, they must weigh no less than 2.8 ounces. The best fruit is harvested between May and October. Lemon groves thrive on almost 2,000 acres of the Sorrentine Peninsula, but are limited to 344 trees per acre to ensure the quality of the fruit. Over 30,000 tons are harvested each year, many of which are made into limoncello, a delicious, sweet liqueur.
For a great radio documentary on these lemons: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_14_tue_04.shtml
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Gnocchi dough:
3 pounds russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 extra large egg
Pinch kosher salt
Sauce: 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes 4 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella di bufala, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3 pounds russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 extra large egg
Pinch kosher salt
Sauce: 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes 4 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella di bufala, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Place the potatoes in a large pot and just cover with cold water. Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft, about 45 minutes. While still warm, peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill onto a clean pasta board.
Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle with the flour. Place the egg and salt in the center of the well and, using a fork, stir the egg into the flour and potatoes. Bring the dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed, and continue to knead for another 4 minutes, until the dough is dry to the touch. Cut a tennis-ball sized hunk of dough off the main ball and roll it into a dowel about 3/4-inch thick. Cut across the dowel to form pellets about 1 inch long. Flick each pellet down the tines of a fork to form the traditional gnocchi shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
In a 14 to 16-inch frying pan, combine the pepper flakes, tomato sauce, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 15 minutes, or until the sauce is as thick as good porridge. (At this point the sauce could be refrigerated for up to 2 days).
When you are ready to serve the gnocchi, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook until floating aggressively, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the pan with the sauce, using a slotted spoon. Turn the heat to medium and toss gently for about 30 seconds. Tear the basil leaves into a few pieces and add to the sauce along with the mozzarella cubes. Toss together for 30 seconds longer. Pour into a heated bowl and serve immediately.
Basic tomato sauce:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt
In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Yield: 4 cups
Caprese (almond-chocolate flourless cake)
1 1/2 cups blanched slivered almonds
1 cup sugar
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups blanched slivered almonds
1 cup sugar
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Combine almonds and 1/3 cup sugar in processor. Blend until almonds are very finely ground. Transfer almond mixture to medium bowl; do not clean processor. Add chocolate and 1/3 cup sugar to processor. Blend until chocolate is finely ground but not beginning to clump, about 45 seconds; stir into almond mixture. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl until mixture falls in heavy ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in almond extract and lemon peel. Fold in chocolate-almond mixture, then butter.
Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into chocolate batter in three additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.) Cut around pan sides to loosen; release sides. Sift powdered sugar over cake.
Pastiera Napoletana is a dessert that is made for Easter. However, Francesca informed me that people eat it at all times now. There are many recipes for the special treat. Here is one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26686,00.html - Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Ingredients
1/2 pound faro
1 pound fresh ricotta
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange flower water
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups skim milk
1 lemon, zested
4 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
For the dough: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 egg yolks
1/2 pound faro
1 pound fresh ricotta
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange flower water
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups skim milk
1 lemon, zested
4 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
For the dough: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 egg yolks
For the filling: Place the faro in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let the faro soak for 3 days, changing the water daily. On the third day, drain the grain and place them in a medium-sized pot. Cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil over a high flame, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the faro.
In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the milk over a medium flame until hot but not smoking. Add the faro, 1/2 the lemon zest, 1 pinch cinnamon, 1 tablespoon sugar, and let cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the milk is completely absorbed.
Place the ricotta in a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, mix the ricotta until the texture becomes creamy. Add the remaining cinnamon, sugar, egg yolks, the remaining lemon zest, orange flower water, and the cooked faro. Use a spatula to mix until well combined then set aside.
To make the dough: Sift the flour and sugar together then mound on a wooden cutting board or clean surface. Dig a hole in the center to form a well. Mix together the butter and egg yolks in the center of the well. Being careful not to break the outer walls of the well, incorporate the flour, eventually bringing all the flour into the dough. Keep mixing and kneading until the dough forms a homogenous mass. Knead 5 minutes more then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the dough into 2 pieces, 1 piece 3 times as large as the other. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the larger dough piece until it forms a large circle, about 11 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick.
Lightly butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan. Place the larger dough round into the baking pan, using your thumb and forefinger to tuck the dough into the bottom of the pan. The dough should come up the sides of the pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they form medium-hard, glossy peaks. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Gently place the filling into the baking pan, on top of the bottom crust.
Using the lightly floured rolling pin, roll the remaining dough into a circle 1/8-inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into strips 1-inch wide. Use these dough strips to decorate the top of the ricotta pie, forming a lattice across the top, just as you would an apple pie.
Place the pie in the oven and bake until the dough on top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' flour before serving.
My favourite pastry is Sfogliatella. I have a recipe below but I can’t believe that it’s easy to make this pastry.
PASTRY:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lard or better, melted
PASTRY:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lard or better, melted
Combine flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Add butter, cutting it into the dough until blended. Slowly add water. Knead until firm. Form into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
FILLING:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup semolina flour
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of either
candied orange peel
lemon zest
candied fruit of choice
pinch of cinnamon
confectioners sugar
parchment paper, optional
1 cup milk
1/4 cup semolina flour
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of either
candied orange peel
lemon zest
candied fruit of choice
pinch of cinnamon
confectioners sugar
parchment paper, optional
Place a saucepan over medium heat. Add milk. Bring to a boil and slowly add semolina flour. Stir constantly so as to avoid lumps. Simmer three to four minutes, remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and allow to cool.
After five minutes add ricotta (which has been passed through a sieve), egg, sugar, candied fruit, and sugar to semolina. Beat well. Set aside.
Remove dough from refrigerator. Divided it into two equal parts. Place on a dusted pastry board and roll with a rolling pin into an 18 inch square. It will become very, very, thin.
Brush the thin pastry with butter. Begin at one end and roll it like a jelly roll. Cut the roll into a number of 3-4 inch pieces. Pick up one piece of the dough in your hand. Press your thumb in the center of the pastry and push it down to form a hole like a cup.
Fill the cup with 2 tablespoons of filling. Fold the cup until the open edges touch. Gently press the edges together to seal the pastry. Set it in front of you. Gently pull out the sides of the front to form a shell. Brush the top with beaten egg yolk. Repeat above until all pastry and filling are used.
Preheat over to 425 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the shells on the paper and bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Let the pastry cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes. It will harden a bit. Then place on a rack.
When ready to serve and completely cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
MSG URL: http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/015757
