Great Ocean Food: Puglia

More lockdowns, more restrictions, but this week I’m off to southern Italy; Puglia to be precise.

While this journey may be mind travel only, I can still prepare Italian food and relive the memories of adventures past while hoping for a speedy return to our pre-covid lives. I was going to describe the fields of Puglia as sun kissed, but unlike some parts of the Mediterranean where the sun is delicate and warming, in southern Italy it is harsh. In fact, driving through the countryside reminded me of the Barrabool hills on a particularly severe summer day.
When we arrived in Naples, the forecast maximum temperature at our destination of Matera was 48 degrees. Nearly as hot as the tempers we experienced in the car rental carpark. I have driven many places in Europe, but nothing could prepare me for the traffic in Naples. It was like driving in Bali or Bangkok but with more speed and significantly more aggression. A young Italian man and his friend crashed into the rear of our car not more than 100 metres from the airport. No polite swapping of names and insurance details here. I endured a tirade of Italian abuse and when I stopped to request their details, they sped off in their tiny Fiat reminiscent of a scene from The Italian Job.
So, in true Italian style I just ignored the problem in the hope that it would disappear – and it did! Our next stop was Matera, some four hours drive from Naples. You can imagine how my wife was feeling at the prospect of driving the breadth of Italy having had an accident in our first five minutes. After escaping the environs of Naples, the traffic dispersed and the driving, although still challenging as most cars were speeding at 140kph, was much more manageable. The scenery was beautiful and surprisingly mountainous. We were, however, looking forward to finding our hotel and relaxing at the end what was at times a tense day.
About six in the afternoon we arrived on the outskirts of Matera. Our first impression was not good. The town looked like a poorer version of Naples and our GPS was directing us through the narrowest of streets with barely enough room for one car let alone oncoming traffic. At a certain point I gave up and was not willing to drive any further. We called the hotel, told them where we were and hoped like hell they would find us. Some nervous minutes later an Italian knight in shining armour (in the form of the hotel driver with an air-conditioned van), came to our rescue. From that point on, our time in Puglia was sublime.
I have had time to reflect on this recently and thought how we have always found solutions to our problems… our current situation will come and go in a relatively short period.
In the meantime, I suggest you prepare the following easy tiramisu and consume it, like all Italians, as a “pick me up” regularly and whenever required during the next six weeks.

Tiramisu

INGREDIENTS
6 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar
500g mascarpone
1 cup freshly made hot, strong, espresso coffee
Liqueur mixture of Tia Maria, Kahlua and amaretto
400g packet savoiardi (sponge fingers)
Dark chocolate, grated

METHOD
Beat the egg yolks and the sugar for at least fifteen minutes, or until thick and white. Add the mascarpone and beat until just combined but smooth. Combine the coffee and liqueur (as little or as much as you like) in a bowl. Quickly dip the biscuits into the liquid and set aside on a plate. Beat the egg whites until thick and stiff, then gently fold into the mascarpone mixture. Layer the soaked biscuits and mascarpone cream in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least three hours. Before serving, top with a generous grating of chocolate