Glazed chorizo with tomato-cilantro sauce on rice...and farmer's markets

First of all the sausage I used in this recipe was not really chorizo; it was tasty, local sausage*. The reason I called it chorizo in the title was to convey the Latin American feel of the recipe: fresh zesty cilantro, sausage and rice. Second, I used basmati rice. Not really Latin, I know, but I find the aroma of basmati rice irresistible and can never get enough of it. So I threw together and mixed ingredients from all over the world and probably offended several food purists out there. Or, if I were a famous chef, I could call it fusion cooking. It doesn't really matter what you call it, if it works, and from the empty plates at the end of our meal I think it did.

Spatchcocked Cornish game hens and roasted peppers in olive oil

I bet you think I am trying to be fancy with all this spatchcock and Cornish game hen talk in my title. The truth is it was a Thursday night. (This post was written on Friday). And what a Thursday night!

I had bought two Cornish game hens to roast for dinner, a nice change after all the fish we have been eating. It was a week night and I usually do not have time to roast a chicken, so I thought these little guys would do the trick (thus the choice of poultry). So there I am as usual on a work night, in octpus mode, making my young-un his baby meal, roasting the peppers, filling the bathtub and washing the kids. I realize it is getting later than expected and that I may actually not even have time to roast the hens if I want to fit in an early dinner so that my daughter gets back to a decent bedtime routine after the Spanish Italian hours she got accustomed to during our vacation. So I am thinking spatchcock. Yes, that is what I will do. These days more often than not I feel like the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, jumping around in a frenzy repeating "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!".

Good bye Elba!

We are home!

Yes, I miss the sunny beaches, the crystal clear waters, the good company and the fabulous food. I miss watching my childrens' toes wiggle in the sand, hearing their squeals of pure pleasure in the water. It makes me happy when I see them relishing in their new-found freedom, the absolute liberty to run around without clothes on, to get dirty and wet to their hearts' delight, to eat ripe peaches with sandy hands and not worry about the sweet juices running down their bare chests and dripping from their elbows. I loved kissing their warm, sun-kissed heads and tasting salt on my lips. I miss the beautiful evening light, the fresh fish and cool, creamy gelato we ate almost every day.



Fettucine with mussels, tomatoes, zucchini flowers and red peppers



Elba part 8 - Lobster fest

We celebrated a few birthdays in the family this week. F was the first to turn a year older and I took him out for a very nice dinner (if I may say so myself) in Marciana Marina. We went to Affrichella, a fish restaurant, and left the kids at home with the famiglia. This is a very rare happening and what made it a special evening. We enjoyed every drop of prosecco, every bite of fish and every moment of luscious, quiet conversation. It was a magnificent summer evening and we were even spoiled with a spectacular sunset over the sea on the curvy drive down the coast.

Yesteray it was our brother-in-law's birthday so my in-laws treated us to a lovely lunch for the birthday boys and we willingly obliged. The cloudy sky made it the perfect day for a food fest...and if you read below you will understand my cry for a stomach pump yesterday evening...

Elba part 7 - Sicilian salad and a stomach pump please

I need a break. This is a food orgy; all we seem to be doing these days is eating and drinking. Plus my morning runs and afternoon laps have come to a screeching halt since my 13 month-old not only has decided to start waking up early in the morning but also that he cannot live a minute without his father or me in a two-foot radius. And did I mention that he is also trying to abolish his afternoon nap?

As a consequence I am rising like a loaf of bread in a hot oven. I need to go back home and get back into shape. I also need some healthy, light food. So pass me a salad and a stomach pump please if you will.

Elba part 6 - Of bread and panzanella elbana



Marciana Marina

 



Italy is not famous for its bread. Don't get me wrong, there are many excellent regional breads, several different qualities. But usually when you think bread you think France and its crusty baguette or Germany and its pumpernickel and whole grain or nutty breads.

The other day we were walking through Marina Marciana, a quaint little town on the northern shore of the island and a little, pretty whitewashed bread store caught my eye in the central piazza. In the windows were the most beautiful crostate (tarts made with jam). Their peach crostata especially intrigued me as Elba peaches are some of the best I have ever tasted.

In I went; the walls were decorated with bread sculptures and the shelves were covered in pretty loaves sprinkled with sea salt and herbs. I decided to buy the crostata (yes, the place turned out to be a tourist trap. The cake was good, don't get me wrong, but not good enough to justify its price). But buying the cake was the real experience. You know what I mean? Does that happen to you too?

Elba part 5 - Mahi mahi, impepata di cozze (mussels in their broth) and pasta alla Norma

In Italian, watermelon is anguria, but here they call it cocomero. Stands sell it by the slice



I could just snack on some of these... 

 

The days are passing in a whirlwind of sun, sea, sand, food, wine and childrens' squeals.

My father-in-law goes every morning to Fosco's fishing boat to buy whatever the catch of the day is. Yesterday he came home with a 6.5kg lampuga, pesce azzurro, better known in English as mahi-mahi, dolphin fish or dorado. My mother-in-law cut 9 steaks and froze them to make with tomatoes and olives in the near future. She roasted the rest in the oven for 6 of us. As I write this she is in the kitchen making fish soup with its head and other fish. And my father-in-law made linguine with the roe we found in the fish (1kg!). Needless to say, it was fabulous. Talk about feeding a large family for days!



Mahi mahi: an ugly little huge sucker!