Leaving Marko's Country House

Sadly I have to leave the creature comforts of Marko's Country House and head further north out of the food region of Calabria. Driving along the seaside roads over looking the Golfo di Taranto through the food region of Basilicata and ending up on a dairy farm in the food region of Puglia.
La Conea Agriturismo is located between Putignano and Alberobello, home of the Trulli House.

Puglia we loved last time as they were the kings of antipasto and breads so looking forward to these next cooking days.

So from the Sicilian ferry trip we have travelled some 400 km north and mainly sticking to the east coast, now overlooking the Adriatic Ocean and in the food region of Puglia which is in the heel of the shoe of Italy.

Amarelli Liquirzia

 Calabria Liquorice dates back to 1731  

As a kid I'm sure I can remember some of the tins maybe Daddy Frank had some ??

Liquorice come from the roots of small weedy shrubs that grow just off the coast of the Lonian Sea and also in other countries that have the small geographical line.
The roots are 1.5 to 2 m deep but the top is only about 800mm high, hmmm did not know that.
Its is boiled like a tea and thicken it has a strong bitter taste, one that needed to go discreetly into my hanky!
Tried some more in the factory hmmm thanks to modern techniques it is now edible.

The Amarelli family still own and run the business and are in the top few precent of company's world wide that have been run for over 285 years. so with that said they have a great treasures and stuff in the family museum.   

Heading 130km North

Heading 140km north to Rossano, still in Calabria and a few more days R n R before our next cooking adventures.

To our right we look out over Golfo di Taranto and the towards Gallipoli as in the one on the southwest point of the heel of Italy.
 

Destination a 17th century country house that has been in the same family since built.

 

 

 Perched on a hill over looking 100 hectares of olive grove with some trees dating back 500 years 

 

From the pool you look out over Golfo di Taranto

 The central hall is all so Italian country house, going to love it here.
High timber beam ceilings, stone arches, honed marble floors and the antiques bliss.

We are here for some timeout and to take in the 1st olive walk!

140 groves from all over Italy, simultaneous will do a walk to promote the ancient country houses and their olive oil groves as well as their products. 

 

 

The mayor was there to open the event and we got a little Italian welcome for being the token Australians.

 

We were made so welcome by all and what a great Italian day walking through the ancient grove.
22 deg but for southern Italian that mean parker weather.

 

 

 The tree are traditional space 10m so loads of air flow for the majestic tree to strive over the centuries

 

Not sure if anyone is able to get the video to work as it wont play on the I Pad so let me know

Looking back from the olive grove to the country house

After the walk we had an array of oils to taste, wow so many to try and so many different flavours.

 

Checked out the houses library with over 6000 books dating back to the 1650's.

 

 

Marko the heir apparent, not a bad start to life!!!

He was such a gentleman and we felt like one of the family strolling the estate with him.

 

 

Loving the structural beams! always want to know how thing are built.

Their own chapel as the county house, up until 1960's was run like a small village, with Marko's parent overseeing the workers.

 

Marko with some of the priests beautiful robes still in the cupboards, the church today is not accepted by the Vatican so it sits unused.  

 

 The cute stone stairs to the guest rooms

And a room that was put together by someone who did it with love.

Who ...  didn't like all blue! or gaudy child painted poppies!! and had an understanding that you may be traveling with a suitcase possible 2!

Some extra space all to ourselves, so Sandy will try out some of her newly acquired recipes.

Can you believe that they could also organise the best sunset, "squatter rights" ... I'm moving it Marko!

 

 

Today’s test

Ok my smart friends here is today’s test...what does this say...? They were yumo 

Soverato

Spent our first night in Calabria in a small hotel off the highway, what a beautiful Italian lady. We are in Soverato on the east coast of Calabria over looking the Lonian Sea and about 90km north from the bottom tip of Calabria. Soverato is what is called a new town born in the 1950. To house a new population after the war and also to give a seaside/holiday life to a new generation of Italians.   

 

This is her story on the wall in Italian, so below they have translated into English for us.

In 1952, Caterina Rotiroti and Franco Paparazzo, newlywed, came from Centrache, a small hilly town, to Soverato. Soverato is a small centre of commerce and handicraft, and have no idea that the tourism will be  load-bearing axis of its economy. In this improvement, women like as Caterina have an important role. She dedicates with success at the activity of hotelier and restaurant owner , creating the base of the tourist movement,  recognised at national level. 
“Piccolo Ristoro” is the first restaurant and pizzeria on the main street where Caterina works with his husband until 1958. Clients increase and Caterina and Franco rent the restaurant of the Hotel San Vincenzo near the train station until 1961.

Meanwhile, they have bought a ground near the principal square called Maria Ausiliatrice. Caterina does everything alone because her husband was engaged in the costruction of the new restaurant Il Nocchiero, where they transfer in the 1962.

During these years, Caterina develops her instinctive talents like the sense of the hospitality, welcoming, offering and respect that determinate her success not only personal but also like important woman of Soverato.

Many Italian famous artists arrive to this restaurant: for example Enzo Tortora, Corrado and Miranda Martino.

Hotel Il Nocchiero is inaugurated to the mayor in 1962 and become a reference point where a lot of newlywed celebrate them weddings.

After time, the restaurant become an hotel, a structure composed to 36 rooms, updated in these years by Caterina’s sons, Giuseppe and Maurizio who have called the hotel “Il Nocchiero City Hotel” to continue the history of the hotel and increase new clientele.

Today Caterina is still loved and wanted from friends and everyone know her history and considerer her like a life and work mentor.  She is an example of honesty enterprise and free of any conditioning in a region like Calabria.

 

Parking like an Italian

 

Look at that park Peter Moore, didn't your mother teach you to drive better than that.

Well yes she did ... in Australian ... now I'm in Italy I wanted to just go crazy and live on the edge!!

 

What's that a BIG M ... yep a great place to stop with clean toilets.

Don't eat it in Australia so not eating it here either.

 

Can you believe it this one had not one person in the drive through or inside and it was 1pm. Apparently there has been some that have even closed as the Italian don't want them in there towns.

 

Me supporting a local grower, this little chap was out the front  selling fruit in the car park, well no one else was using the carpark so he had set up shop, so got some sweet grapes in his drive through!!!

 

 

 

Car ferry Sicily back to the mainland

The car ferry from Messina in Sicily back over to Villa S Giovanni, the bottom of Calabria, southern Italy was a 40 min ride, boy were we packed in like Sicilian Sardines.
This ferry was way bigger than the one that bought us here and holds about 100 cars, oh and it was double decker.
Waiting in line, this time not the first so big smiles from me ... its time to move forward to enter the ferry. One little problem, as when we got to the man who was the official barcode reading man our 37euro ticket well what can I say, it had some how disappeared in the waiting time and we could find it anywhere. So still sitting in the que and the now not so nice little barcode man was sending us to the side line which felt like the naughty corner.
Even with me showing him my credit card receipt, he was not going to let us on.
Clearly Criminals, I showed him where we had put the ticket on the dash and it had somehow slipped down into behind the console but still we were not going to win this battle. So sent from this que to join the other que again to buy another ticket. As Sandy gets out at the ticket office all we can see is the ferry filling fast. Then off to her side the ticket had somehow made it’s way through the console and had landed on the floor, so with a quick run back to angry barcode man we were again able to get back in line with a bit of my new driving skills learnt in Sicily (that is don’t look them in the eye and just drive and they will get out of your way!!!)

Great we get to go upper deck! it was so narrow

 

Waiting on top deck

What goes up must come down

 

We arrived back into Calabria

 

 

1650 km around Sicily in 21 Days

We have had an amazing 3 weeks in Sicily and clocked up
1650 km.
So at my average speed we spent about 40 hours behind the wheel.
Its no wonder I have only have 1 "AF" day since we arrived into Sicily, well probably into Italy ... opps there will be some major drying out when I get home!!!

But with these fabulous wines it would be a crime not to try just a drop or two. The Sicilian wines mostly from the western side are big reds like Pinot Nero, BIG flavour and the Nero D'Avola Merlot much bigger than what we know as a merlot back in Australia.
Even the whites for example Grillo big food whites, some whites up to 14%.
We did try a wine from or made by Vinagry ... not sure if that name would be a big seller back home! 

 

Hey, it tasted great and was a great match to the west coast

Spikey Lobster.

Loved that you were served all the lobster, the strong flavour and the texture of the "extra little inside bits" was yumo. 

 

 

So did we get the "Arabic/Sicilian spice hit" from Sicily that we were led to believe, told about and was hoping for, well, no would be the answer. Even the couscous was tame to our palette but to the Sicilian a "hint" of chilly or a "pinch" of curry flavour was all their palette would allow for.

Well after all they are still in Sicily and just being close to Africa and Morocco even with the Arabic influences they are still and foremost  Italians.

The architecture on the south west coast had a Arabic influence

 

  and the beautiful wall tiles were just everywhere

 

So we will have to make another food trip and go even further south next year and go into Morocco and do the spice trails, OK sorted, plane booked, we leave in April 6th ...

But that will be next years blog!

 

So back to Sicily and its amazing food ... the seafood, seafood and more seafood, octopus, squid, swordfish, Tuna, notably smoked tuna, with such a strong flavour again new for me and we had it with lemon and olive oil, tuna sushi, Tuna Botargo which is the roe, salted, dried and shaved over pasta dishes. Black Bread, Couscous, Eggplant Caponarta, and Sicilians love thing sweet and sour. Panella, Arancini and the Wines of Marsala, Persimmon, Pomegranates. Sweets with ricotta Almonds, Pistachio and Candied fruits, Cannoli, the list goes on, some we have posted recipes for and some that may be in Sandy's next cook book.
 

 

 Sicily now closed for the season

 

Look out Calabria here we come!!