Goodfood in Italy Part 2: Positano, Amalfi coast and Steinbeck

Life in the very slow lane. For a very few days

"It bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when
you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."
John Steinbeck on Positano


The blue blue waters of the Bay of Naples with the islands
of Capri and Ischia in the distance, the vertical city where you
can only go up or down, Saracen inspired domes,
pastel houses clinging miraculously to the cliffs that go
right down to the ocean. Does a picture postcard have a soul ?



The spectacular drive along the Amalfi coast. Twisting,
turning, zigging and zagging, hairpin-bend loaded highway
hugging the clifftops and overlooking the Bay of Naples.
Where do we go from here ?


The terrace at Residence Alcione, from where it is easy
to imagine the world as your oyster. Happy or sad, illusion
is your friend.



Assortment of freshly baked, warm, fragrant pastries
for breakfast, Rigatoni with sausage and meatballs at
Le Tre Sorelle on the beach, and Chef Vincenzo's
creations: Vermicelli with Clams, and Octopus Salad
with a squeeze of lime at Ristoranti Mediterraneo.
Mamma Mia.


As evening falls

"Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years."
Vikram Seth


Others in 'Goodfood in Italy' series so far
Making Limoncello in Positano
Chef Vincenzo's Ragu Bolonese

Goodfood in Italy Part 1: Making Limoncello in Positano

LOST IN LIMONCELLO

"The first shot feels so goood in the mouth, the second one

goes down sooo easily, and then you have the third, and

Mamma Mia ... you burn ..." said my new friend Lorenzo

about drinking Limoncello, the favourite liqueur of

the Amalfi coast.

Having lost an afternoon ito Limoncello earlier, I knew

only too well what he was talking about. And I was delighted

when Chef Vincenzo offered to teach me to make this

sweet and lethal drink.

We started with 1 kg of the finest Sorrentine lemons.

These babies are bigger

than tennis balls, fragrant and delicious,

and only found on the Amalfi coast.

Chef and I skinned them, taking care

to leave out the bitter white parts,

put the skins in a glass jar and

added 1 litre of pure alcohol (95% strength).

Almost immediately the colourless alcohol

started turning lemony.

Ideally the skins should steep in the

alcohol for 10 days. We didn't have

10 days so after 24 hours we

strained the liquid ( which by now was dark

lemon-yellow) into a large pot.

Separately we had boiled 1 kg sugar in 1.3 litre water

(note the proportions or you risk death) and cooled it down.

Now we mixed the lemon-alcohol mixture and the sugar-water,

and ended up with a light lemony liquid.

All that was left to do was bottle it using a funnel

( for some reason the shape of the funnel caused

a lot of laughter among the Italians in the kitchen)

And with that ladies and gentlemen, we ended up with

a 2 litre bottle of limoncello of about 45% strength. Part

of this bottle is coming home with me to Hong Kong,

assuming the Customs guys don't take a dim view.

Grazie Grazie to Chef Vincenzo and Lorenzo of

Ristoranti Mediterraneo, Positano. Salute !