"This
life, at least in my memory," in the words of
Manuela
Darling-Gansser, "seems to be a time of endless summer. In my mind's
eye we are eating outside on the terrace 'Al Fresco', as the
Italians call it, enjoying the food the company and the magic
of the setting, where it all began at table in the garden
under an ancient olive on the terrace."
Their
language at home was Italian, their food northern Italian.
Sardegna was where they spent their summers in a white washed
Mediterranean house. Manuela is a passionate amateur cook; she
loves growing it, buying, preparing it, serving it and of course
the rituals of cooking it. "Food is at the centre of our family
life", says Manuela.
To
clear the pallet
Manuela
Darling-Gansser prepares a marvellous bitter sorbet made from grapefruit.
Ideally it should be pink grapefruit for its colour mixed with Campari.
The twin bitter tastes of grapefruit and Campari are an unusual and
bracing combination and the colour is extraordinary.
Sorbetto
Di Pompelmo Rosa Con Campari
Pink
Grapefruit and Campari Sorbet
4-5
large pink grapefruits, juiced
120 g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
½ cup Campari
5 drops Angostura bitters
(Serves
6-8)
Mix
all ingredients well. When sugar has dissolved, put in ice-cream
machine and churn until fluffy and light coloured. Spoon the sorbet
into glasses and finish off with a little bit more Campari on top. The
sorbet should not be too sweet.
Addas
Polo Ba Bareh is a dish made with rice, lentils and lamb: classic
ingredients of Iranian cooking, a country where Manuela spent some time.
"When we lived there, my mother adapted the North Italian cooking
to her new circumstances. We lived in an earthly paradise, a beautiful
garden on the outskirts of Tehran. There, on warm evenings, the garden
of the courtyard would be spread with rugs and cushions and lanterns
would gleam and flicker."
Addas
Polo Ba Bareh
Spiced
Lamb and Rice
500
g (1 lb 2 oz) basmati or long-grain rice
1 ½ cups small brown lentils
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 egg yolk
¼ cup thick plain yoghurt
½ cup melted butter
250 g (9 oz) lamb fillet, chopped in small pieces
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Rinse
rice well in cold water 2-3 times. Bring 2 litres (4 pints) salted water
to the boil, add rice and parboil the rice – about 5 minutes – and
strain
Cover
lentils with cold water, add salt and bring to the boil. Cook for about 20
minutes. The lentils should still be a little al dents. Drain and set
aside. Mix 1 ½ cups of the rice with the egg yolk, yoghurt and melted
butter. Put this in a non-stick, buttered heavy pan, and set aside.
In
another pan, melt a little butter and cook lamb, onion and garlic until
lamb has browned and onion softened – about 5 minutes. Add spices.
Now
mix the remaining parboiled plain rice and the lentils with the lamb
mixture and pit it on top of the yoghurt and rice mixture. With a wooden
spoon handle, make holes in the rice and add some small pieces of butter.
Put the lid on tight and, over a very low heat, cook for about 30 – 40
minutes. To serve, turn it upside down on to a warm dish. The rice
should have a beautiful golden crust on top.
"The
Baked Ricotta, a tantalising balance between the fresh sheep's ricotta and
the Parmigiano, is part of our first lunch of the summer and a tantalising
introduction to the days and nights to come."
Ricotta
Al Forno
Baked
Ricotta
500
g (1 lb 2 oz) ricotta
2 eggs
100 g (3 ½ oz) Parmigiano
a few fresh oregano leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serves 4
Preheat
oven to 200°C (400°F). Mix everything well together in a bowl. Butter an
ovenproof dish, put mixture in this dish and bake for about 25 minutes.
When it is golden and has puffed up, it is ready. You can eat it hot, but
it has more flavour cold.
"On
the Costa Smeralda summer was in full swing. Lunch was often served on an
open boat and perforce, was simple. If you are feeling ambitious a choice
would be a frittata, an Italian omelet, which is delicious eaten
cold."
Frittata
Italian
Omelette
12 organic eggs
¼
cup water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tablespoons grated Parmigiano
2 large boiled potatoes, chopped
1 Spanish onion or 2 leeks, chopped
Beat
eggs with a fork and add water, salt, pepper, Parmigiano and chopped
potatoes. Fry
onions or leeks in a little butter and oil until transparent and add to
egg mixture.
Put a little oil or butter in a non-stick frypan, pour in
egg mixture and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the
frittata is golden brown. Let cool and slid onto a serving dish.
Variation:
You can use all sorts of vegetables to make frittata, e.g. asparagus,
spinach or zucchini (courgettes). Very lightly cook the vegetables
first.
UNDER
THE OLIVE TREE
Family an
By
Manuela
Darling-Gansser
Photography
by Simon Griffiths
Published
by Hardie Grant Books
distributed by Wild Dog Press
Contact Helco Promotions
Phone: +27
(11) 462-2302 Fax: +27 (11) 462-1763
