You know what is one of hubby and my most favourite thing to do over the weekends? You guessed it – making delicious food!
But it’s not just the fact that we make nice food that we enjoy; more importantly, it is making food that brings back memories of wonderful places we’ve visited, special memories we shared when we first had it… and then, getting to share a piece of that with our nearest and dearest, or even just for the two of us. I think what it really boils down to is that we actually love to make food with meaning.
However, we don’t always want to spend hours in the kitchen; especially if there is beautiful summer days to enjoy outside on the patio. And beautiful summer days inevitably remind me of Italy and that real ‘outdoorsy’ lifestyle that we fell in love with. And if I think of Italy I think of focaccia, cold meat, cheeses… and balmy days where lunch has to be enjoyed outside in the shade.
Beautiful Tuscany – balmy summer days, worthy of spending your time outdoors
So these chunky breadsticks really reminded me of our time in Italy. What’s great about it is that you don’t have to spend much time in the kitchen! Sure, it takes a little longer to make as the dough needs to prove, but that just gives you time to spend outside, sipping on a glass of wine! These ones are made with sundried tomatoes anchovies, but you can really add anything you like; think of olive tapenade with a sprinkling of rosemary, or even red pepper pesto with herbs and feta.
Sundried tomato and anchovy breadsticks
(makes about 24 breadsticks)
Ingredients:
Making the bread
4 cups whitebread flour
2 teaspoons salt
10g instant yeast
4 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the filling
4 tablespoons anchovies, roughly chopped
1 cup sundried tomato pesto
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup grated Grana Padano
A few grindings of black pepper
Poppy seeds, to garnish (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
In a bowl, add the flour, salt, instant yeast and sugar. Mix well and then add the lukewarm water little by little. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth dough. Once you’ve reached this stage, add the tablespoon of olive oil, and knead that into the dough.
Place the dough into a large bowl. Sprinkle a little bit of oil the top to stop the dough from sticking and cover the bowl with cling film. Place the dough in a warm place and leave to prove until it has doubled in size.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin unitl thin and even.
Spread the sundried tomato pesto over the dough then sprinkle anchovies, the rosemary, the Grana Padano cheese and grind over some black pepper to taste. (Be sure to spread to the edges.)
Fold the dough in half and form a rectangle.
Cut off the edges where there is no filling, and then cut the dough into one 2.5 cm strips. Give them a slight twist. (You are looking for a loose corkscrew effect.)
Place your breadsticks on a lightly floured baking tray (keep them slightly apart to leave enough room for them to rise). Brush them with water and then sprinkle over some poppy seeds.
Leave them to rise until they are twice their size.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp.
It is lovely when you serve it shortly after baking – just leave it to cool long enough so that it won’t burn your mouth! We had ours with some lovely Italian cold meats and cheese. And the wine of course!
I will never forget the first time I ever laid my eyes on the Mediterranean. We arrived in Rome after a 21 hour flight from Cape Town. Exhausted we had to rush to catch a train from Rome to Naples. Two hours later (and no chance of sleep; I was petrified of missing our stop!) we arrived in Naples and had to rush to make the next train; a commuter train called Circumvesuviana that runs to Sorrento. That was a horrid journey – “commuter train” translated means that there are no seats (well, at least not in the coaches we were in) and we had to stand the whole way to Sorrento. I was so tired and exhausted that I could hardly stand on my feet and hubby had to give a lot of moral support to stop me from bursting into tears from sheer exhaustion. Arriving in Sorrento, waiting at the station for the SETA bus that would finally take us to our destination, Praiano, I caught I small glimpse of some blue water between a row of houses. So to be fair, that was probably the first glimpse of the Mediterranean. But then, as we finally got on the bus and started the last leg of our journey, the blue jewel revealed herself to us and in that instant we fell under her spell.
The first picture we took of the beautiful Mediterranean – from the SETA bus!
The famous Amalfi Coast drive was everything the books tell you it is – twisty, turny, breathtakingly beautiful and quite the adrenalin rush. The speed with which the bus drivers navigate the narrow road is something to experience. At first I did not understand why the driver was hooting randomly; was he just greeting people or were people upsetting him on the road? After paying a bit of attention I figured it out; he hooted every time we approached a bend so that if there were cars approaching from the other side, they would hear the bus coming. That way they would know to stop or get out of his way! Ingenious! And testament to the fact that they slow down for nothing!
Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!
Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!
Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!
Impossible to believe how the lemon groves cling to the side of the cliffs!
Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!
So just about 24 hours after we left Cape Town we finally arrived in Praiano. Exhausted, but in love! I have previously written about my love for Praiano and its little beach La Praia. This is undoubtedly where our love for the Mediterranean comes from. I know what made this extra special for hubby was a trip that we took from Praiano to Capri. A local tour operator offered day trips to Capri and eagerly we signed up, wanting to see Capri but also the beautiful Amalfi Coast from the water. The journey by speedboat was amazing. Half way to Capri, in the middle of the ocean, our skipper stopped the boat. In his best English and with some hand gestures he indicated: “Now you swimming!” Hubby loved it! They had snorkeling equipment on the boat and he said it was the experience of a lifetime. The water was crystal clear; you could see down into the water for meters and meters and the fish….according to him it was like seeing a world that you never knew existed; swimming alongside fish that you have never seen before. With the water being so salty you did not really have to do a lot of swimming and floating was easy. To this day this is really one of his biggest highlights of any holiday. Me, being a novice swimmer, I didn’t have the courage to jump into the ocean; if my toes can’t touch the ground I get panicky!
View from the boat.Amalfi Coast from the water…The view from the top of Capri!Fraglioni rocks, off Capri
And maybe that is part of the allure of the Mediterranean for me. The gentle waves. And the swishing sound it makes. The sea along our coast is much different, with waves thundering down. I’ve never known what “gentle waves lapping the shore” meant until I experienced the Mediterranean. And the best part of that is that it gives someone like me that is a bit scared of the big, rough seas the opportunity to swim in the ocean. Oh, and how I love it. The water is so quiet and clear that even I feel comfortable splashing about; even swimming a bit… provided that my toes can touch the bottom! Some of the best times on our holidays have been when we were laying next to the sea, listening to the hypnotic sound of the waves. Very few things come close.
Laia Praia harbour and beach
La Praia Beach
Sunset on our last night in Praiano
But in talking about the first place where we’ve seen this beautiful blue ocean, my mind instinctively wanders to the place we last basked on her shores.
It was last year September (way too long ago, if you ask me!) and on the last day of our holiday on the Côte d’Azur we took the train to Menton. What drew us there were all the good things we read about its stunning beaches and with Menton also being just about the last stop on the French Riviera before you head into Italy it made me think that I might be able to have a pretty decent pizza while we were there! (It was uncanny to see road signs, showing Italy was just 10 miles away!)
The beautiful Menton beach
When we arrived at the train station we immediately set off for the beach. It was not hard to find; we just followed a group of locals who were carrying beach chairs and umbrellas! And when we got there, we knew that we picked the perfect place to end off our holiday. The water was warm, calm and clear; I could swim and for a moment I forgot that my toes needed to touch the bottom because for once there was a view that could compete with the beauty of the Mediterranean – Menton’s old city cascading down the hill.
The Mediterranean and the old town of Menton. Bliss.
Laying on the beach was surreal. Just closing my eyes, feeling the sun on my skin and listening to the ocean. Staring out in front of me into the big blue and when I turned my head sideways, this stunning old city (and hubby) to my right. It was a perfect day! For lunch we didn’t have to go far; there was an amazing restaurant close to where we were. Hubby had an amazing seafood platter; he says the best he has ever had and me? Well, I had my pizza!
Hubby enjoying the water!
Perfection!
Me, doing some r&r!
View from the restaurant in Menton.
According to Hubby: “The best seafood platter ever!”
I love pizza!
So if you crave a taste of the Mediterranean, I suggest you play this video on repeat, while preparing a bit of fish.
Cheers, until my feet touch your shores again!
Kingklip with sundried tomato marinade
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 kingklip fillets (or any firm fish that you can source locally)
Juice of half a lemon
60ml olive oil
3 tablespoons of sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 clove of garlic, crushed
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped finely
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
Mix lemon juice, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, sugar, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper together
Pour over fish and marinade for 30 minutes
Transfer the fish to a baking tray and place in the oven for 15 minutes until the fish turns opaque and flakes easily when prodded with a fork
Last year the holiday I have been dreaming about for so many years finally came to be. We hired a boat and went cruising down the Canal du Midi in the south of France. From there we went on to experience the picturesque Provence before finally ending our trip on the beautiful Côte d’Azur. It took careful planning… how to make the most of our limited time and to stay within budget!
One place that I really wanted to include in our schedule was Narbonne. Rick Stein briefly visited its fresh produce market (one of the largest in southern France), in Rick Stein’s French Odyssey (the tv show that was really the starting point of our aspirations to cruise the canals of southern France) and because it is not a big city it seemed like it would be a great stop to catch our breath before we embarked on our trip to Provence.
Apart from the market we didn’t know much about it, so I must be honest in saying that we had no real expectations; apart from buying some great produce at the market that we could make back in the self-catering apartment we rented!
We arrived by train and because we only stayed two nights we set off to explore the medieval center of town straightaway. I was immediately taken with how picturesque it was. I loved the streetlights in the streets surrounding our apartment and the buildings were so beautiful. The Canal de la Robine goes through the middle of town and each bridge that crosses the canal was covered in beautiful flower baskets. I just loved the feel of the Narbonne. It felt authentically French; it was without pretense, without masses of tourists and without trying to be anything that it was not.
We found our way to the tourist office, which was not far from the Pont des Marchands, or Merchant bridge, which basically is the foundation for a row of houses and shops. (It actually reminded me of a miniature version of the Ponte Vecchio.)
Armed with a map in hand, we were amazed at all that Narbonne had to offer. It might be a small city but it had so many hidden treasures. It is hard to pick just a few (and we definitely did not get to see all that we would have liked to) but here are our favourites:
Cathedrale de St-Just and St-Pasteur
Building on the cathedral started in 1272. If you climb the adjacent Donjon Gilles Aycelin you can really marvel at the architectural beauty.
The Roman Horreum
This was a fantastic experience and a must do if you visit Narbonne. It was a Roman underground warehouse and dates back to the end of the first century BC. It has been set up with a wonderful display of light and sound… goosebump stuff!
Musee Lapidaire
This is another must do. Inside the old church of Notre Dame de La Lamourguier about 1 300 blocks of stone from all kinds of Roman buildings are housed. We paid for our entrance tickets and when the door opened I literally gasped for air – the setting is that beautiful. (The lady selling the tickets was bursting with pride; the biggest smile on her face!)
For the culinary part of our visit we spent quality time in Les Halles de Narbonne. We arrived early morning and drank coffee with the locals at one of the coffee bars inside. And then we went on the hunt for what we came for… sardines! Rick Stein made sardines on the barbeque when he was there and although we would not have the luxury of that, we hoped to pick up a few that we could fry with some butter, garlic, lemon and parsley back in our little apartment. Oh, and we were not disappointed. Apart from all the wonderful seafood on offer, the market was brimming with everything your heart can desire. One can easily stay in Narbonne a month and would still not be able to eat your way through the market!
Our supper that night consisted out of a starter of fried sardines and a main of fresh pasta with clams, tomatoes and parsley, while we sipped wine from the region.
So Monday was a public holiday in South Africa and hubby and I had some gardening to do… more specifically, it was time to harvest our olives! After such hard labour we sat back with a glass of chilled dry rosé and barbequed a few sardines. Although this can hardly be called a recipe – because it really just relies on the wonderful flavour of the fish and the smokiness of the barbeque – here is our take on sardines on the barbeque. We enjoyed it with our fond memories of Narbonne.
Sardines on the barbeque
(serves 2)
Ingredients:
6 sardines, gutted and cleaned
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Handful of roughly chopped parsley
Coarse sea salt flakes
Method:
Light barbeque and wait for the coals to get hot
Rub the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice and salt
Place the fish on the barbeque once the coals are really hot and grill for 6 minutes on each side
Remove from heat, sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice
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