Minestrone with basil gremolata, and bruschetta

I was reflecting on what have been the stand-out things, foodwise, I've tasted and/or trialled in Tuscany during our stay here, and there have been many; but four came immediately to mind.

 -  a light, crisp batter for vegetables and stuffed zucchini flowers
- salted anchovies and what to do with them
- Squid ink
- Prosecco

More on these later, but just for something different I thought I'd post these recipes, both of which I developed before coming here but 'fit' well. Incidentally there are more recipes posted in my Rowan Bishop Food Writer facebook pages, under 'discussions'.

MINESTRONE WITH BASIL GREMOLATA

True comfort soup, full of flavour and topped with a basil gremolata, very like the French pistou, but with basil instead of parsley to emphasize the more robust Italian style.

Serves 6.
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 ½ cups diced leek

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 rib celery, diced
1 medium – large carrot, peeled and diced
 250g potato, peeled and diced
8 –10 large tomatoes, blanched, peeled and diced
         or 2 x 400g tins peeled chopped tomatoes, with juice
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups cooked or tinned cannelloni or baby lima beans, washed and drained
1 ½ cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped roughly
2 tsp salt or to taste
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Basil Gremolata

½ cup basil pesto
finely grated zest of 2 lemons (2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy based saucepan over a low- medium heat. Sauté the washed, diced leek with the garlic for about three minutes, then stir in the prepared celery, carrot and potato. Turn the heat down, cover and cook about ten minutes, until the vegetables are softening.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock and basil leaves.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add the beans and cook for another 10 minutes, until the beans are thoroughly heated through, then stir in the spinach leaves and the salt and pepper to taste.
Bring back to simmer point for one minute.
While the soup is cooking, combine the ingredients for the gremolata in a bowl, check for seasoning and set aside.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, topped with a spoonful of gremolata and at least a tablespoonful of the parmesan.
Serve with hot, crusty ciabatta buns.

                              BRUSCHETTA

6 slices ciabatta bread, sliced 1cm thick

Oregano oil or extra virgin olive oil
½ cup well drained, diced artichoke hearts
¾ cup diced, seeded tomatoes, preferably acid free
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
1 Tbsp capers, rinsed, drained and chopped roughly
3 Tbsp roughly chopped or torn fresh basil leaves (optional)
3 Tbsp ricotta (optional)
Salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup rocket leaves

Pre heat the oven to 190 C

Brush one side of the ciabatta slices with oregano oil (or extra virgin olive). Place on an oven tray, oiled side up, leaving a space between each slice. Bake at 190 C for 7-8 minutes.
Drain the artichoke hearts well, cut into dice and transfer to a small bowl. Mix with 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil.
Add the seeded and diced tomatoes to the artichokes, then the garlic, capers and the fresh basil leaves if using.
Spread about 2 Tbsp of the tomato/artichoke mixture on each of the ciabatta slices, and grind a little rock salt and pepper over. Evenly dot each bruschetta with ricotta (if using), and drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil.
Return to the oven and bake for a further 5-7 minutes.
Transfer to a serving plate topped with rocket leaves and a further drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if wished.

A great trattoria & the Cinque Terre

Living in Prato has meant we've sampled quite a few of the city's trattoria - not all of them, obviously, because they're around almost every corner, but enough to get a feel for the range on offer. Traditionally trattoria are informal, often family owned, and serve seasonal, very reasonably priced food.
Things have changed a bit, and these days a trattoria can be virtually indistinguishable from a restaurant, although not black tie. Prices and food quality vary, so when you find one you like, you'll probably want to go back to it.
Naturally we found one a bit further away; I've mentioned, and shown proof of, my being persuaded to join Russ (it's either that or be frogmarched) on his early morning walks in the hills above Prato, and on one of these we sniffed out an unlikely looking building set beneath the road. "La Fontana" -The Fountain - is a trattoria named after a mountain spring at it's door, where locals come to sit on the sides of the fountain, chat in the cool and fill their bottles.

Too early to be serving, but the dining room opens up under the vine

La Fontana is about 25 minutes brisk walk from where we're living, up a hill and accessed by a road so narrow that you have to hug the wall or back yourself into the bushes on the side whenever a car passes. But luckily friends here have a car, so we went with them the first time; the second time we  took a taxi there and walked home - good for the digestion as the saying goes, and a nice thing to do in these summer/autumn evenings.
It's a lovely spot, looking out over Prato to the hills in the distance. I initially had no idea that the specialty here is bistecca fiorentina, a Tuscan favourite which is essentially a T bone or porterhouse steak grilled over coals. A bit of a 'whoops' for me, not being a red meat eater, although I can cope with a mouthful on the odd occasion - if it's very very good or if I'm being very polite. There was fish on the menu, but it was dried, salted cod which I confess I haven't yet tried. I'm sure it's good, and I have enjoyed salt cod in Norway, but I was attracted more to a pear and cheese ravioli, home made of course, served with a rocket sauce -this turned out to be absolutely delicious, with either a salad or grilled vegetables. . .

So good that I ordered it again the second time we went, followed by a freshly baked orange souffle with chocolate sauce, which was equally as good. . .

The house red wine was absolutely excellent and very reasonably priced; Stefano, our waiter, was faultless, and all the dishes were of really high quality - great flavour, presentation and cooked perfectly.

Chicken grilling over the coals

The men had the steak, and I have to say that it was impressive; I did try a mouthful, and found it was full of flavour and so tender it could be cut with a spoon. Apparently this quality comes from the huge white oxen raised near Arezzo, Chianina beef, but of course it also has to be perfectly cooked. There's no ordering how you want your steak cooked here, it's only served one way- medium rare.

Working the magic

This is not a trattoria for tourists, it's on the outskirts of the city and you need a car or a taxi to get there - but it's well worth seeking out. . .

All smiles

THE CINQUE TERRE
I'm going to keep this fairly short, as there's been so much written about the Cinque Terre, and almost everyone on the planet must know someone who's been. Russ and I did a 'reccy' before returning to stay in Riomaggiore and walk the track, catching a boat from Portovenare to get a feel for this part of the Italian riviera from the sea.
It's quite evident that it's taken generations, from the 7th Century AD, in fact, to build up the terraces to grow olives and grapes and household vegetables; and the houses are really a testament to tenacity and determination to survive. The original settlers were literally chased over the cliffs to escape various occupations, and the houses cling to ridges where you think no one in their right minds would build.
It's a UNESCO World Heritage site now, understandably, and is still not accessible by car; you need to walk the paths connecting the villages, take a train, or go by boat. Walking is the way to see it if at all possible - it can be walked in one day, but if you're not in a hurry the whole place is gorgeous, so our advice would be to at least stay another day and enjoy just being there. Eat some of the great prawns, octopus and anchovies and enjoy the sea and the sun.

Looking back at Monterosso

Vernazza - stop and have a swim before you start off to Corniglia

No one said it was flat!

Grapes and olives dominate

We took the train to the northernmost village, Monterosso, then walked to Vernazza where we stopped for a coffee, pizza and a welcome swim before walking on to Corniglia. The track between Corniglia and Manarola is short, but closed due to slips and has been for some time, apparently; for the more intrepid, however, there is a' high' track, a 3 hour detour, a challenge Russ found irresistible. Anne, Terry and I told him the sun had got to him and opted for the more sensible option of the train, having already walked for 5 hours. We'd ambled the twenty minutes along the track from Vioreggio to Manarola the previous day, so we considered it was time for another swim and a well earned prosecco.

The trail between the five villages (the Sentiero Azzuro), is one of the most popular in Italy. Be warned, it can be crowded and is far from flat. We passed several hikers who were very red in the face and obviously hot and stressed; but if you're reasonably fit it is only 12km long in all, the trail is well maintained, and the views are magnificent. Of course, you can choose just to walk part of the trail if you're pressed for time or not as fit as you'd like to be.

The Virgin's Girdle, Farro & last love of Elizabeth Taylor

Many significant churches in both France and Italy are hosts to relics, items belonging to persons of religious significance. These are often bones, but in Prato's case the relic is no less than Mary's girdle. Displaying it to the community each year is a very big event, and culminates in the Archbishop displaying the girdle from a speaking platform in the duomo, above the piazza crammed with thousands of people. Banners are hung from windows all around the piazza and proceedings are beamed onto an enormous screen so no one misses out.

Before this, however, hundreds dress in medieval costume and a procession makes its way through the streets as dark falls - musicians, archers, flag flourishers, stilt walkers and trumpet blowers.

I need a stronger flash. . .

Spectacular, and the Monash terrace provided fifteen of us with a great view -we all contributed something to eat and celebrated the occasion.

I made focaccia (which I'm happy to say a number of people want the recipe for - see previous post for the recipe) and also a farro salad, which also disappeared quickly.  Farro is regarded as the 'mother of all grains', the original ancient grain from which all others issued forth, including rice, barley, wheat and rye.  It's very popular throughout Italy and is enjoying growing popularity world -wide these days; it's sold as a whole grain, and when cooked has a nutty, chewy texture that is a platform for almost any flavour you can think of - sesame oil, toasted nuts, roast or raw vegetables, fruits, lemon and of course extra virgin olive oil.

Farro is very low in gluten, a useful thing to know.  I used farro perlato, where the hull of the grain has been removed so there is no need to pre-soak (actually perlato was the only kind I could find in the supermarket here). Just cover with about 7 cm water, bring to simmer point uncovered, and simmer for 6-10 minutes or just until the texture of the grains are chewy but not raw tasting or tough. Drain immediately, refresh under cold water and drain again. I added roasted eggplant, red capsicum (raw), diced apple, toasted walnuts and almonds, red onion slices, diced feta cheese and lots of chopped flat leaf parsley. Then I tossed in a garlic, lemon, honey and rosemary dressing.  Obviously farro can  carry flavours such as curry, mustard, orange, spices, mint or coriander just as well, and heaps of different chopped vegetables and/or fruits.  It's also great thrown into soups, just as it is.

It was quite a big bowl full!

I've not met anyone who doesn't like biscotti, but here in Prato they have a special claim to fame. Not only did these famous twice-baked biscuits originate in Prato - the first documented recipe for them is centuries old and preserved in the State of Prato - but Elizabeth Taylor was especially fond of biscotti di Prato, or cantuccini as they are called here.  They come in all flavours, and are centre stage in most food shops and bakeries; the Antonio Mattei shop has been doing a great trade in making, marketing and exporting them for generations.

Traditionally, cantuccini is either dunked in vinsanto, a rather sweet wine similar to a marsala; or served with vinsanto on the side (I'm sure the Roman legions weren't too concerned with such  niceties, though, and ate them more because they keep a long time).  They're the perfect finish to a meal - not heavy or intrusive but they have loads of texture, taste and are so simple to make.

I'm getting behind on these postss, so much happens; but the next post will be about an outstanding trattoria, La Fontana, and us walking the Cinque Terre.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen. . .

06/09/2011

This post is not food-focused, as temperatures have been the focus this last month. For produce market pics, though, please go to rowanbishopfoodwriter's Facebook page. . .

Prato has been hot and quiet over August, as locals generally head for the coast in pursuit of the darkest tans possible and the odd sea breeze.  The temperatures climbed sreadily from low 30's to high 30's with no wind or rain at all. Despite this, I made it to Siena (home of panforte, among other things) with friends, and Lucca. We've also visited the town of Vinci (as in Leonardo da), a lovely little town set in an archetypal Tuscan  landscape.

The town of Vinci

The town has a museum dedicated to Leonardo, and has models of some of the things he conceptualised - from cranes to textile looms, to a helicopter, just to mention a few. Of course he managed to also paint the Mona Lisa in his spare time, plus other famous paintings and sculptures, and 'dabble' in anatomy, physics and writing - so many gifts, so productive in so little time - he died at 67.

By the time the mercury hit 40 C, Prato was almost emptied out. It was low humidity, but stepping out the door was like stepping into the blast of an open furnace door for a couple of weeks. The locals who did remain in town came out in the early evenings for a gelato, often, or to sit around one of the fountains or at an open air bar, hoping for a whiff of breeze; the heat was relentless, day and night. Icecreams and sorbets here are very good, and of course very popular.

But back to the heat. . .at least, you'd be forgiven for thinking, I'd be let off the early morning hill walks, but no! . . . I grizzled quite a bit, and pleaded Irish- ancestry- therefore -intolerance- to temperatures -above -35 C, but it all fell on deaf ears.

We did go into Florence several times - to the Uffizi, which is of course air conditioned as well as a must see, and to the Pitti Palace and to walk around the Boboli gardens; the latter, however, turned out to be a mistake in the heat; apparently my face assumed the colour of an over- ripe tomato before we were even half way around.

A suggestive cherub outside the Uffizi

Florence is a magical city, I just love it. I've waited a long time to see the David, but it is worth any wait - it quite literally takes your breath away. Every last tuesday of the summer months, there is free access to all museums and galleries in Florence, from 7pm - 11pm, so last tuesday night we took advantage of this and went to the Bargello, which is magnificent, then 'popped in' to see the David again on our way back to the station. As for the Uffizi, you could spend days in there. Then there's the Duomo of course, and the Ponte Vecchio; this city is stuffed full of history and treasures. To walk around a corner and see the Duomo in front of you - well, I've spent quite a bit of time in Firenze now, most of it with my mouth open.

This week, Prato is a different city; bustling with tanned locals home from their holidays, and 'invisible' doors have appeared all along the narrow streets, opening into lovely shops. The temperatures have dropped to early 30's again and early mornings and the evenings make it a joy to be out.

We did retreat to the coast ourselves for two weekends, to breathe some sea air and swim, and go to the Puccini festival at Torre del Lago - Madame Butterfly, and then back again to see La Boheme. Torre del Lago is a stunning outdoor setting; the lake can be seen from wherever you sit, the stage set in front of it, creating the illusion that the stage is surrounded by the lake.

From one of the exits at Torre del Lago - almost dark

You aren't allowed to take photos of the production or stage, unfortunately, but there's some good photos on the Puccini Festival 2011 website.  Both productions were magnificent but La Boheme was absolutely stunning on all counts, I'd go again tomorrow if I could.

We stayed at Viareggio, on the coast about 8 km from Torre del Lago, and of course wanted to dip our sweaty bods in the sea, but we New Zealanders are so naive (speaking for myself, at least) - it costs a minimum of 15 Euros (about $30.00) to hire 2 deck chairs and a sun umbrella, in order that you use them and a metre of  beach for the day. Loungers cost more. We bit the bullet, more than once.

Italians literally toast themselves, I've never seen so many deeply tanned people in my life, lying in the sun for hours and hours on end, worshipping those rays.

That was a bit of a culture shock, but it was rather lovely to laze around and swim beneath the Carrara mountains (which look snow covered but are in fact the source of the famous carrara marble).

After La Boheme we left Vioreggio and took a boat trip up the Cinque Terre, as we'll be walking it this weekend, with friends Anne and Terry. The five villages are fascinating, clinging to spiny ridges and nestled into clefts in the cliffs - very picturesque, and it was good to see them from the sea and get some idea of what we're in for. After all the hill training I've been doing, though, it should be a doddle.

As for the kitchen, I've been trialling a green gazpacho containing peas, mint or basil and yoghurt, pureed up with my kitchen whizz/wand of course. I decided it would be nice to have something different from the more traditional tomato based gazpacho, and it seems to me that a gazpacho  is essentially raw ingredients either chopped small and combined, pureed or partially pureed - a 'liquid salad', I've heard it called. It's always served chilled, so is ideal for this weather. I've also been trialling a light, fresh lasagne made mostly of raw ingredients. The idea of this is that the vegetables should generate enough liquid for the pasta to cook, but that the dish retains it's fresh flavours. In any case, I continue to scope out the Monday morning market, making sure I go along early so I'm not lugging my puchases home in the heat...more photos of the markets on rowanbishopfoodwriter Facebook pages - click here

Salted anchovies

Culinary Conversations from Tuscany

Tomorrow we'll have been in Prato a month, amazingly - the time has gone so fast. We've had some visitors and settled into routines - and of course done some sight seeing. Just to introduce Prato, here is the scene from our third floor bedroom window. . .

And this is a view of Prato from the hills above the town. . .

And this is a view of Russ's back, on one of the tracks above the town, among the olive and fig trees, and grapes. It's a very familiar view to me (his back, that is. . .)

The old part of town, where we live, is surrounded by a medieval wall.

And of course we've made good use of the walkways and cycle tracks all along the river and up into the hills.

Prato just happens to be the center of the slow food movement, with all that conjures in terms of philosophy – using fresh seasonal produce, and as little processed food as possible. Every day I see locals gathering blackberries, stone fruits and crab apples, picking their figs, tending their olives, and I’m able to gather herbs like rosemary, dill, parsley and fennel from the walkways along the river. Of course I include myself as a local now, at least for the next couple of months.

It’s out the door by 7am at the moment if we want to get any exercise, as by 9am it’s simply getting too hot - 40 C now in the middle of the day, though hopefully next month it will cool down a bit. The Monday morning market, however, is not to be missed; apart from mouth watering produce, there’s every chance you’ll be sung an aria while you’re selecting your parmigiana or your pecorino! Some of the stall holders treat the markets as their source of entertainment as well as income, it seems, and love an audience -  a raison d’etre that makes perfect sense to me.

One of the real treats at this time of year is fresh porcini (piglet) mushrooms, plucked straight from the forest; mostly chestnut forests, but occasionally pine - truly, they are to die for, sliced and sautéed in olive oil, a little butter, garlic, salt, pepper, chopped flat leaf parsley, with and without a little mozzarella and gorgonzola melted in to finish them off. Toss them into pasta such as rotelle (wagon wheel) pasta and prepare to be transported. So simple, but so full of flavour. Rotelle catches all the sauce bits in its ‘spokes’ and is ideal for almost any chunky pasta sauce, incidentally.

Fresh porcini - the King of mushrooms

The guy on the left has a great voice. . as well as very good pecorino!

Layered mozzarella and gorgonzola is common in both France and Italy, and is ideal for adding a little creaminess with flavour but not too much ‘bite’ to many dishes – I’ve found it really useful, although sour cream and a creamy blue cheese could be substituted (not lite sour cream, as this can split when heated).

Peaches and nectarines are larger than those back home, but at the risk of banging on about this, we’ve yet to have any rot before they ripen. Don’t get me wrong, the quality of New Zealand stone fruit is just as good, but too often we’ve experienced rotting from the core out, before the fruit ripens, and I’m well aware that we’re not lone voices in this. I’m not bagging New Zealand producers; our produce, overall, is wonderful, and I’m certainly not saying this is endemic – but I’m genuinely bemused and disappointed by how often we and others have experienced this, and believe ripening is an issue that needs to be looked at seriously.

Florence fennel is another star of markets here – I love it thinly sliced and marinated as the base for a salad, but the other day I sautéed a large bulb (about 400g) in olive oil and garlic – slowly, until the fennel was well softened. I’m sometimes put off sautéed and roasted fennel because it turns a rather pallid grey colour, but I tossed in 300g of one of the delicious seafood* mixes available here at the end, just to cook through, then stirred in a spoonful or two of layered mozzarella/gorgonzola to melt in and give just a suggestion of creaminess - then some basil pesto (home made) to add colour and flavour. Season, serve with rotelle or a similar al dente pasta – ah, squisito!

*Misto scoglio is a seafood mix, available frozen or fresh, of baby seafood – mussels, squid, octopus, prawns, clams.

There are capsicums and chillies of every shape and size, and basil, of course – my kitchen whiz/wand has been working overtime whipping up basil pesto as well as gazpacho, it’s really earning its keep – I’m just hoping that my baggage allowance will let me take it home!

As for tomatoes, surely someone who contributes to the Farmers markets in New Zealand will try to source seeds for the sweetest, most delicious tomato I’ve ever tasted. They’re called datterini, because of the similarity in size and shape to dates. I actually eat them as I do grapes, as well as throw them into salads, and use them to top pizzas and pastas.

Datterini pomodori - simply the best!

I’ve been marinating roasted eggplant (melitzano) slices to serve as a side salad, and really enjoy them. I’ve been on the lookout for ideas around this for some time, and once I’d tasted them at a local trattoria, I couldn’t wait to try to recreate the recipe myself.  Okay, it didn’t turn out quite the same, but I like it just as much. . the marinade is a combination of apple cider vinegar, sugar, and a small amount of olive oil ( as the eggplant is roasted with oil).

Also, marinated zucchini salad is very good, using raw zucchini – the round ones, which are denser than the long – salted and then marinated in a similar marinate of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and sugar. Light green zucchini are favoured here, baby ones, almost always with the flowers still attached – this not only indicates freshness, but the flowers can be tossed in at the end of sautéing, or used as a garnish. Larger flowers are often sold separately, and can be stuffed with, for example, ricotta, egg and fresh herbs, coated in a very light batter and pan or deep fried. The flowers can also be steamed. Most zucchini flowers in Tuscany are stuffed, but further south they are simply lightly battered and fried. I’ll say more about these later, but surely we could sell these at Farmers markets in New Zealand, and educate people how to make use of them – it seems so wasteful not to, and they are delicious as well as eye catching.

Instead of the baguettes and croissants of France, it’s foccacia and ciabatta here; all good, but I have been puzzled as to why they rarely contain salt – especially given the amount of perspiration you exude every day in the summer. Possibly it’s because much traditional food eaten with bread here is salty – olives, prosciutto, and anchovies for example.

Which brings me to anchovies sold in the markets from large tins. When I first saw these, I really didn’t know what to do with them, and unfortunately my phrasebook Italian is not up to culinary conversations; a constant source of frustration when I want to find things out. However, a friend from Norway who speaks Italian helped me out and I discovered that you wash them thoroughly, inside and out, open them up along the back, then simply lift out the entire skeleton. Very simple for a farm girl like me. Then it’s a matter of extra virgin olive oil, with finely chopped garlic and parsley. No, you don’t have them with a salad or with tomatoes I was told, very emphatically, only with bread.

It’s very difficult to explain how delicious these are; apparently Spanish anchovies are the best, although I’ve now tried the Italian and they seem almost as good to me. What I can tell you is that there is a world of difference between these and the fillets we buy in jars and tins at home. Hmmm...imagine inviting someone to lunch and serving them anchovy fillets in olive oil, garlic and parsley accompanied only by white bread – a raised eyebrow or two, perhaps?? But these are beyond good and actually don’t need anything else.

I am keeping up my cheese intake, but here it’s parmesan and pecorino, gorgonzola and buffalo mozzarella rather than the brie and camemberts of France. I do miss those bries and camemberts, I have to say – but I'm not complaining too much. . . 

Below is a recipe for foccacia, from my catering business. The ingredients can be halved, of course, but it is rather addictive . . .It seems rather presumptuous to be living in Italy and to publish a recipe for foccacia bread, but in a previous blog I said that Claudine had been impressed with my foccacia, and asked for the recipe - so I thought I'd post it, too (it's so easy to make and so good).

 

FOCCACCIA

 Delicious served as is, as part of an antipasto platter or split and filled (try fresh tomato slices and smoked cheese for example). Make it on the day you intend to eat it, although any leftovers can be refreshed in an oven the next day, uncovered, OR crisp it lightly in a dry pan and use it as a base as you would shallow fried polenta, for pan fried fish, for example, topped with grilled or baked portobello mushrooms.

Not suitable to freeze. Halve the recipe if you wish.

 

4 cups plain flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

4 tsp granulated yeast

2 Tbsp roughly chopped rosemary leaves

1/3 cup stoned and chopped black olives (optional)

2 ¼ cups warm water
½ cup olive oil

2 tsp rock salt, crushed

2 tsp dried oregano or majoram, optional, or an extra 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

 

Place the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, rosemary and olives if using into a bowl large enough to allow for rising. Mix in the warm water with a knife as you would a scone dough.

Pour the olive oil over the top of the dough, cover with a clean tea towel and leave for approximately one hour in a warm, draught free place.  When the bread has doubled in size, mix in as much of the olive oil as possible - a clean hand is the most efficient way to do this, taking about 20 seconds.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased or sprayed roasting dish (or two 30cm pizza tray).

Use the largest roasting pan you have  - a shallow one is best though not strictly necessary, and 45cm x 33cm is ideal.

Reserve any olive oil not incorporated into the dough.

Push the dough into roughly the shape of the pan, though you will feel some resistance at this stage. Allow it to relax for about 10 minutes, then push it evenly into the corners.

Pre heat the oven to 220 c.

Allow the dough to rise again, uncovered, in a draught free place, for a further hour.

Using your fingers, lightly dimple the surface of the dough, taking care not to collapse it by being too enthusiastic, and drizzle the reserved olive oil evenly over the surface. Crush the rock salt lightly and sprinkle evenly over the top of the bread, followed by the dried oregano or majoram if using or the extra rosemary.

Bake at 220 C for 15 minutes, or until golden and crisped on top and bottom.

Slide a fish slice under the baked bread and immediately transfer to a cake rack to cool. A good idea is to support one end of the rack on top of a cup to lift it higher to prevent the bread steaming underneath, so that it retains its crispness.

From our terrace, watching the moon rise

The Upper Nivernais Canal - by boat

9/8/11: It's been a busy 3-4 weeks, and largely without internet access; but now we're in one place again, in Prato, Tuscany.

It was quite hard to leave La Cour Barree, we had such a good time and made so many new friends; but we'll be back there some day, hopefully, or they'll head down south to visit us. With Russ on annual leave for a week, we headed for Tannay to pick up our boat with friends Jean and Jenny, feeling especially excited as we'd heard a couple of weeks previously that we'd been upgraded to a bigger boat.

We've travelled on the lower Nivernais, the Borgogne, and the canal de Midi at different times in the past, but Russ has always wanted to travel the upper Nivernais. I wasn't quite so sure, mainly because it has one stretch of 16 locks; he, of course, was delighted with this prospect; but then he would be.

We'd also heard it was 'wilder', more remote and without as many villages along the way, but in its favour those who have done it had said it's very beautiful. We've always taken 10 days for what is offered as a 7-day trip, as we like to have time to get off the boat and onto the bikes to do a bit of exploring in the villages, chateaux, local markets and the countryside if we can. Three to four hour's boating a day is perfect, and it means there's no rush to get to the drop-off point on time. In this case, that was Decize, about 90km away - ten days to travel 90km - hmmmm.

I'm sure that some people expect to be lounging on these boats with a book and a gin and tonic, (or bottle of chablis) but although of course there is down-time for this, while the boat is on the move you have to be alert for the next lock - and getting through the locks is, most often, quite a slow process - as it has been since the 1830's. That's the point, though - slowing down not to the point of inertia, but having the luxury of taking a few deep breaths as you step back in time.

On the way to Tannay to pick up the boat, we swung by Vezeley, a lovely walled town on a ridge we've visited on one of our previous canal trips. The cobbled streets here are inlaid with brass scallop shells, the sign of the 'Coquille St Jacques', indicating the pilgrim trail to Santiago del Compostella in northern Spain. Russ wants to walk this when he retires, it's only about 2,000 kilometres according to him - should be a doddle! In Paris there is a monument to St Jacques, with constantly playing films around the circular walls of all the pilgrim trails to Santiago del Compostella - the film maker walked them all, taking a photograph every 11 steps of the way, so that they appear as an animation of the journey - awesome. 

Vezeley is famous not only for that, but the cathedral claims to house relics (bones) of Mary Magdalene; and two of the great crusades (one led by Richard the Lionheart) left from the steps of the cathedral.

One of the villages from the Vezeley wall

Vezeley  - now which way's north?

We picked up the boat in searing 37 C heat, but much as I'd love to brag that we had great weather all the way, that wouldn't be the truth. It's very hot here in Prato now, but even Tuscany had unseasonably cool weather over the ten days we were on the boat. It really didn't matter, though, we had a great time, only got wet once and had lots of sunshine as well - off and on sunshine, admittedly, but it wasn't cold.

Louis, Claudine and the girls joined us on our second day, they've lived beside the canal all their lives but have never been on one of these boats.  The kitchen was a bit more spacious than others I've been on, but I kept lunch simple - rice and ham salad, a green salad, baguettes of course, and rock melon with prosciutto. I'd said to Claudine she could bring some Normandy camembert, which is just the best - but nothing else. Of course that didn't work, and the family arrived with not only two camemberts but a wonderful assortment of small cakes like Paris Brest and others, all of which were divine.

Unless the canal banks have been mowed, shorts and sandals can be hazardous if you're on the ropes, as stinging needles are a scourge in some places. Celine told me that when the plants are young, the young leaves are included in salads, or used to make nettle soup, and that they are more tasty than spinach. I would have loved to try, but where we went the plants were either too big or mown flat. I've often wondered why New Zealanders aren't more open to picking wild greens - chickweed, for example, makes a really good salad.

Of the two camemberts Claudine brought, one was made from pasteurised milk, and one was en cru, made  from unpasteurised. Both were delicious, but I guess there's no prizes for guessing that we all liked the  unpasteurised one best; another good reason for physically visiting France, obviously. Many French cuisine traditionalists regard pasteurised cheeses as almost a sacrilege - after all, many of the reputedly best French cheeses have been made solely from raw milk for hundreds of years, so why, they ask, should they stop now?

Just the way I like it !

Claudine and Louis, taking turns driving

The next night we were on the bikes, just cruising between villages from our mooring at Sardy when we came across a sign for a snail farm "le maison des escargots' (House of Snails), which of course we couldn't resist having a look at.

The farmer was very obliging, and showed us how the snails are farmed - they do look just like the ones in our garden, only a bit bigger!

I'm guessing he supplies restaurants as well as sells from the gate, as they weren't cheap - however, he obviously knew what he was talking about and took pride in his product, so after close questioning to ensure I knew how to cook them from frozen, we bought two dozen.  I have been served escargots in restaurants that have been overcooked and a trifle rubbery in texture, but I followed our snail farmer's instructions precisely, and have to say they really were delicious - tender and succulent, drenched in butter and minced garlic, parsley and shallot.

Bon appetite!

All that remained !

On the fourth day of our journey, we turned east and headed up the Sardy flight of locks. This was to be a highlight of our trip. It is a very beautiful area and one well worth visiting. In fact Russ considers it to be a French national treasure.

Checking out the 16 locks after dinner the night before

A lock keeper's cottage

Dusk

Easy-peasy

At the top, we followed an elderly couple in a tiny boat . . .

into a couple of long and scarily narrow tunnels. . .

This is beginning to feel like a Disney ride!

to Baye and down into the Loire Valley.

We didn't always eat on the boat as it was nice to have the odd restaurant meal; most often, though, it was more convenient to cook where we stopped. From recollection, the most successful meals I served up were a spaghetti with smoked trout (easily as nice as smoked salmon), with olive oil, lots of lightly sauteed garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice to finish, with flat leaf parsley as a garnish; and a deep dish frittata.

For the frittata I diced and boiled waxy potatoes until they were just cooked, sauteed onion, garlic, finely sliced courgette and red capsicum, then combined them with eggs, plain unsweetened greek yoghurt, a little milk, and a crumbled blue cheese. I had to bake it in an oval casserole dish so it was deeper than I've ever made one before, but I've decided I like it that way.

There was a nice cassoulet, too; beans with herbs de provence, a small amount of a tasty sausage like a chorizo,  a splash of red wine and tomatoes. . .

And, store-bought crepes, large but very thin, that I used like canneloni to encase sauteed pleurotte mushrooms (oyster) and roast eggplant, again with a creamy blue cheese melted in along with some creme fraiche. A few spoonfuls of tomato pasta sauce over the top, and baked - yum.

The Loire valley is quite a different landscape, much larger scale farming and lots more cattle, mainly charolais.

Charolais grande

But of course there were still chateaux to see, like these significant ruins someone is living in still

And this

Verdict? Don't let the locks put you off if you're contemplating a trip along the upper Nivernais.

There was even talk from el capitain that if he could, he'd turn around and do the trip back. . .