Even though I live in Rome, a lot of what I cook is inspired by my travels. Not only do I learn about different traditions and cooking methods while on the road, I inevitably bring back ingredients to play around with.
I’ve been lucky enough to go on quite a few learning trips [2] with Oldways in a variety of locations in the Mediterranean where journalists, chefs, nutritionists, scientists, and vendors get a chance to learn more about different aspects of traditional ways of growing, preparing, and eating meals.
While each trip is very different, certain elements repeat themselves. Foods like olive oil [3], and olives for instance are pretty much a given. And even if each trip itself is full of a widely varied list of local things to eat and drink, there is usually one item that keeps getting repeated at each meal on each trip.
By the end of trip to the Amalfi coast I think I must have eaten my own weight in baba’. Puglia of course was all about the orecchiette. On Lesbos I grew quite familiar with ouzo. After the trip to Emilia-Romagna it was quite a while before I could drink another glass of Lambrusco.
My recent Oldways trip to Pantelleria [4], an island off the south coast of Sicily, was no different. It was pretty much capers 24/7. I think that I can honestly say that I ate the caper-based dishes Insalata Pantesca, Caponata and Ciaki Ciuka at least twice a day, every day, for the entire trip.
Ingredients:
3 boiled potatoes
5 ripe red tomatoes
1 red onion, sliced
30 grams capers
10 olives
olive oil
oregano
salt
Directions:
Slice potatoes into chunks. Add sliced tomatoes, onion, olive and capers.
Season with oregano and salt and dress with olive oil.
-Elizabeth Minchilli
Links
[1] http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/
[2] http://I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20lucky%20enough%20to%20go%20on%20quite%20a%20few%20of%20these%20learning%20trips%20with%20Oldways%20in%20a%20variety%20of%20locations%20in%20the%20Mediterranean%20where%20journalists,%20chefs,%20nutritionists,%20scientists%20and%20vendors%20get%20a%20chance%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20different%20aspects%20of%20traditional%20ways%20of%20growing,%20preparing%20and%20eating%20meals.
[3] https://oldwayspt.org/resources/good-food/olive-oil-101
[4] https://oldwayspt.org/programs/culinary-travel/past-trips-photos-memories/secrets-pantelleria-international-symposium
[5] https://oldwayspt.org/blog/memories-pantelleria
[6] http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/2012/09/capers-pantelleria.html