Global Grazing

I’m sitting here at my kitchen table, having lunch and fiddling with our desk globe. 

It’s an elegant little globe, Portugese, deep Mediterranean blue, inlaid with semi-precious stones, delicately cut into the shapes of continents. The latitudinal and longitudinal lines crisscross the globe in gold.

I’m having Mexican- style guacamole on Sardinian flatbreads, and sipping homemade Italian sweet pepper soup. As I spin the globe around, I trace with my finger across the latitudinal lines from Central Italy across to Southern California, where I was raised. Rome and Los Angeles are on a par with each other, half a world away.

It’s a popular misconception that all Californian food is Mexican

As I’ve mentioned before, America is a big melting pot of cultures and tastes, and so my inspirations really come from all across the globe, Italy included. For example, a popular attraction in Southern California is Venice Beach, with it’s bridges, canals, and white sandy beach. It was inspired by Venice, Italy, with its long, sandy Lido.

I’ll be in Italy soon, writing to you from my grazing tour. My shopping list for the villa where we’re staying would not be out of place in an American supermarket, and as I look up in my food guides what produce to expect in the regions I’m visiting, the foods are just as familiar as in the Central Valley of California.

Once, when I was in a beach café in Positano, on the Amalfi coast, I was served an enormous bowl of fish stew, which was a speciality of the house. I was expecting my first child, and feeling a bit fragile. When the dish arrived, I was confronted by the heads of several fish, staring soulfully at me from their soupy grave.. THAT you wouldn’t see in California: fish heads!

Here, for you, my ’fusion’ soup recipe

To celebrate Spring and the sunny produce of Italy and California. It is a rich terracotta colour. A crumble of English, or Italian, blue cheese, would round it off perfectly. (Karen at Bloomfields greengrocers found some enormous, glossy, fabulous red and yellow sweet peppers for me.  Don’t use green peppers for this recipe; it’ll turn everything a vaguely khaki colour).The Sardinian flatbreads are from M&S: (Pane Carasatu from Giulio Bulloni)

SWEET PEPPER SOUP (serves 6)

4 large red, and yellow sweet peppers, cored, deseeded, and chopped roughly
2 medium plum tomatoes, cored and chopped roughly
1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped roughly
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
1/8 cup  vegetable stock powder ( I use Marigold brand organic Swiss vegetable bouillon)
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Sautee vegetables on a medium heat in the oil until soft, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle over the stock powder and stir to combine.
Add about six cups boiling water and stir again. The amount of water used depends on the size of the vegetables you are using. Use your own judgement.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool slightly, and then remove the solids from the soup with a slotted spoon, and process in a food processor, with a little of the cooking liquid, until all vegetables are pureed.
Return the puree to the saucepan with the soup, and simmer for another five minutes.
Season to taste with salt & pepper, and garnish with crumbled blue cheese if you wish
BUONA MANGIATA! (Good eating)