Caprese

The Isle of Capri

In Italian restaurants the description “Caprese” has been rendered somewhat meaningless by being applied as a “catch all” description. Originally it meant simple rustic food from Campania as exemplified by the diet of the fishermen on Capri and particularly the simple salad made from the local ingredients of Buffalo Mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. Well there is very little simple about today’s Capri which has a well deserved reputation as a pit stop for the jet set trying to recapture the Dolce Vita. Not the one from Rome in the early 60’s but the one from the Emperor Tiberius 2000 years earlier. Here are some simple recipes which are typical of Capri.


Insalata Caprese


A delicious salad prepared exclusively with local produce: island grown tomatoes and the freshest Bufala Mozzarella.

Ingredients for 4 people:
Capri tomatoes
Mozzarella di Bufala or Fiordilatte cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil
Oregano, salt

Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into slices and place them in alternating order on a plate.
Dress with extra virgin olive oil and a little salt.
Add a few leaves of fresh basil and oregano to taste.


Limoncello di Capri


Liqueur made using the lemons of Capri. An Excellent after dinner drink and splendid alternative to the Italian “amaro”. Capri and the Amalfi coast are famous for their lemons which are not like the shapely supermarket lemons we get in the UK. These lemons are left on the tree for two years and are 2 to 3 times the size of lemons we see in the UK. Their skins are rough and gnarled and it is this rind which is used to make the Limoncello.

Ingredients:

10 organically grown lemons
1 liter of alcohol (95°)
1 liter water
1 kg. sugar

Carefully remove the yellow part of the lemon peel. Infuse with the alcohol in a closed glass container for 20 days, shaking now and again. Sieve the infusion. Prepare the syrup with the hot water and sugar, let it cool and add to the infusion. Leave for another 10 days before bottling. Serve ice cold.


Caponata

An easy to prepare, wonderfully fresh dish which is ideal for a summer lunch. There are many types of Caponata, usually an eggplant dish from Sicily reflecting the Arabic influence and liking of the contrast between sweet and sour ingredients. This is the simpler Caprese version.

Ingredients for 4 people:

Loaf of Ciabatta bread
Cherry tomatoes
Mozzarella
Black and Green Olives
Basil, oil, salt
To taste: lettuce, rocket, tuna, and mackerel.

Soak the bread in plenty of water until soft.
Place all the ingredients in a large salad bowl, dress and serve immediately.


Chiummenzana


A quick to prepare pasta dish, using tomato and herbs, typical of the Mediterranean diet.

Ingredients for 4 people:
Cherry tomatoes
400 gr. spaghetti
Garlic, oil, peperoncino
Basil and oregano

In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the garlic and peperoncino. Add the tomatoes, basil, a pinch of oregano, and leave to cook for approximately 15 minutes. In the meantime place the water to boil. Cook the pasta until “al dente”, drain and toss in the pan with the sauce.

Serve immediately

Buon Appetito!

Europe's worst airport?

The reputation of the Amalfi Coast precedes any trip with visions of La Dolce Vita, the stupendous beauty of the coastline and a magical and simpler Italy as seen in “Il Postino”. The reputation is not without some truth but the truth of today’s Amalfi Coast is somewhat more complex. The complexity begins with the probability that you will access Amalfi by flying into Naples Airport. This exercise in chaos is owned by our old friends B.A.A. who are in turn owned by Ferrovival, the Spanish brick company.

The previous year Naples had won the title of “Worst Airport in Europe” and from what I could see it was fighting hard to keep the title. Terminal 2 at Naples demonstrates BAA’s advanced sense of humour. It is a former cargo warehouse which has lost none of its ambience a mile from the airport to which the charter flight cattle are bussed. It has no luggage trolleys (either side!) and the “management response” when you mention this at the Information desk is to make a tannoy announcement which they have pre-printed in 12 languages that “there is a shortage of trolleys for operational reasons.” Indeed.

The ambience of the airport does not convey La Dolce Vita. There are not even proper air-conditioned buildings. We are talking about just a collection of pre-war aircraft-hangers in the middle of the one of the most heavily populated, poorest areas of Naples. Rubbish, barbed-wire fences and concrete covered in graffiti. Passengers are shipped in and out on coaches with no logical system or thought. Staff seem either too busy to help or would rather help their fellow Italians on domestic flights. Even the short runway is so full of potholes and rubbish that the pilots have to use all their skill and experience to take-off and land safely. The whole airport needs to be demolished and re-built outside the city.

Proudly wearing our “We saw Naples Airport and didn’t die” badges we made our escape from this proud gateway, but in dread of the thought that we had to come back through it in another week.

This is the spin on the airport website which promises happiness in the future:

" GESAC, the Naples International Airport Management Company, is committed to an important programme of airport development. By December 2008, new infrastructure will be completed which will make Naples airport more functional, safe and efficient."

Dammed with their own faint praise then that the current set up is not particularly functional, safe or efficient. Time will tell but let me tell you - the current crew are part of the problem with their years of experience of managing chaos and failure. Don't just replace the buildings!!