How to Cook Spaghetti Al Limone | Searching for Amalfi Lemons in Naples, Italy
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0:04 - 0:06(Nicole) So, you've ridden
a gondola in Venice, -
0:06 - 0:09eaten gelato in Florence,
-
0:09 - 0:10you think you've seen Italy;
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0:10 - 0:12you haven't.
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0:12 - 0:18No one earns that badge
until they've been to Naples. -
0:18 - 0:20Naples is not for the faint of hearts,
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0:20 - 0:21it's crowded,
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0:21 - 0:22chaotic,
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0:22 - 0:23and tatted up.
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0:23 - 0:27But man, does this place have soul.
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0:27 - 0:29It's full of characters
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0:29 - 0:30and around every corner
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0:30 - 0:32it's a diamond in the rough.
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0:32 - 0:33That's what kept me coming back here
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0:33 - 0:35for two decades.
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0:35 - 0:38And just when I think
I've got a handle on her, -
0:38 - 0:39she surprises me.
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0:39 - 0:41So, this time, I've come with backup.
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0:41 - 0:42- (Nicole) Buongiorno.
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0:42 - 0:43- (Francesca) Buongiorno, Nicole.
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0:43 - 0:46(Nicole) I'm hitting
the historic quarter with Francesca, -
0:46 - 0:48my woman on the inside.
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0:48 - 0:50She's a local expert with context,
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0:50 - 0:54guiding urban explorers
who want to go deeper. -
0:54 - 0:57It's this area where
I first fell in love with Naples -
0:57 - 0:59- because it is full of life.
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0:59 - 1:01- (Francesca) Yeah, scooters!
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1:01 - 1:02(Laughter)
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1:02 - 1:03- (Nicole) it's never boring!
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1:03 - 1:04- (Francesca) That's true!
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1:04 - 1:05(Nicole) Never boring!
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1:05 - 1:08(Music)
(Nicole) I'm here on a mission. -
1:08 - 1:10In our last episode,
I spent a day in Amalfi -
1:10 - 1:12where I discovered how lemons
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1:12 - 1:15are literally saving
the town from disaster. -
1:15 - 1:17Now, I'm in the big city,
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1:17 - 1:21to learn how lemons have inspired
Italian cooking and culture. -
1:21 - 1:22(Music)
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1:22 - 1:24After the requisite coffee --
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1:24 - 1:25(speaking Italian)
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1:25 - 1:27We start at the beginning.
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1:27 - 1:30So my town has got
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1:30 - 1:33almost 3,000 years of life.
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1:33 - 1:36(Nicole) Naples was first settled
by the ancient Greeks, -
1:36 - 1:39this was the site of the Agora,
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1:39 - 1:40and later the Roman Forum.
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1:40 - 1:43Francesca shows me
two Corinthians columns, -
1:43 - 1:47lone survivors of a first century temple,
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1:47 - 1:52incorporated into de facade
of a 17th century church. -
1:52 - 1:54This is what exciting about Naples,
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1:54 - 1:57it's a haphazard layer-cake of stories;
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1:57 - 1:59stories you can
walk right up to and touch, -
1:59 - 2:03if you know what you're looking at.
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2:03 - 2:06To outsiders, Naples can seem inscrutable,
-
2:06 - 2:09it's hard to know where
history ends and myth begins, -
2:09 - 2:12where faith fuses with superstition.
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2:12 - 2:15Just look at these
handmade nativity scenes, -
2:15 - 2:18a quintessentially Neapolitan fixation.
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2:18 - 2:22You got modern-day figures
witnessing the virgin birth, -
2:22 - 2:24and there, amid the terracota produce
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2:24 - 2:25I spot them --
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2:25 - 2:27This was very typical,
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2:27 - 2:29there were people selling in the streets
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2:29 - 2:32fresh lemon juice.
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2:32 - 2:34And those lemons would have
come up from the coast. -
2:34 - 2:38The lemons are form Amalfi
and from Sorrento. -
2:38 - 2:42(Nicole) All these fake lemons
make me crave the real thing, -
2:42 - 2:45so we head over to Cafeteria Eppolito
where they have -- -
2:45 - 2:48Delizie al limone -- the lemon delight.
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2:48 - 2:49We use a lot of lemons.
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2:49 - 2:51Actually, we have
a lot of lemons in our gardens - -
2:51 - 2:52- (Nicole) Yes!
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2:52 - 2:53- (Francesca) and our balconies.
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2:53 - 2:58There were a lot of monastery cloisters
that had these plants, -
2:58 - 3:02also because they were considered
like healing plants. -
3:02 - 3:04- (Nicole) Yes, medicinal, right?
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3:04 - 3:05- (Francesca) Medicinal.
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3:05 - 3:09(Nicole) I think we should have
a little bit of medicine, then, shall we? -
3:09 - 3:12I think we should.
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3:12 - 3:13(Music)
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3:13 - 3:14(Nicole) Thank you!
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3:14 - 3:18This looks like... a sugar bomb!
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3:18 - 3:19(Laughter)
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3:19 - 3:22Layers of sponge cake
filled with lemon cream, -
3:22 - 3:24covered with Chantilly cream.
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3:24 - 3:25(Music)
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3:25 - 3:29Okay, so delizie al limone,
not really my thing, -
3:29 - 3:31a little bit too sugary,
a little bit too creamy, -
3:31 - 3:36but it was fun, it's lemons,
that's what we're doing here, right? -
3:36 - 3:38Luckily, it's nearly lunchtime,
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3:38 - 3:39we're headed to a friend's apartment
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3:39 - 3:42where Francesca has arranged
for me to learn from a local chef -
3:42 - 3:45a perfect Neapolitan summer dish,
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3:45 - 3:49but of course, we can't arrive
empty-handed. -
3:49 - 3:54This is a Salumeria from 1864,
let's check it out! -
3:54 - 3:55(Music)
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3:55 - 3:57(speaking in Italian)
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3:57 - 4:00(Nicole) Thank you!
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4:00 - 4:03We got our cheese,
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4:03 - 4:05our bread,
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4:05 - 4:07and lemons.
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4:07 - 4:10And this being Naples, we bought them all
from specialty purveyors, -
4:10 - 4:12who's been doing this forever.
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4:12 - 4:16It's time for spaghetti
al limone! -
4:16 - 4:18Let's go!
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4:18 - 4:19(Music)
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4:19 - 4:24We arrived at a friend's
fabulous apartment -
4:24 - 4:25to cook with Antonio,
-
4:25 - 4:30who's whipped up dishes
and top kitchens in Italy and England. -
4:30 - 4:34(Antonio) Ciao!
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4:34 - 4:36(Laughter)
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4:36 - 4:38(Music)
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4:38 - 4:40This is spaghetti al limone!
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4:40 - 4:44A dish that Neapolitans crave
when summer hits -
4:44 - 4:46and lemons are at their peak.
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4:46 - 4:47To make it you'll need:
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4:47 - 4:48(Antonio) Double cream,
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4:48 - 4:49parmesan,
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4:49 - 4:51dry red chili,
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4:51 - 4:52garlic,
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4:52 - 4:53butter,
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4:53 - 4:54lemons from Sorrento,
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4:54 - 4:55parsley,
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4:55 - 4:57and obviously the linguine.
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4:57 - 4:58Let's go!
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4:58 - 5:00(Nicole) Okay, half zest,
half juice of the lemon. -
5:00 - 5:01(Music)
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5:01 - 5:02(Antonio) All right.
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5:02 - 5:03(Nicole) More?
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5:03 - 5:04(Antonio) Go, go, go --
(Nicole) Okay, okay -- -
5:04 - 5:05You can't have too much lemon!
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5:05 - 5:07(Antonio) Yeah, specially if they are
from the Amalfi coast. -
5:07 - 5:08(Nicole) Oh, yeah --
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5:08 - 5:09And everything right into the cream?
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5:09 - 5:10- (Antonio) Yeah.
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5:10 - 5:11- (Nicole) Okay.
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5:11 - 5:14(Antonio) And the reason to do that
is because we don't want to cook the zest, -
5:14 - 5:16because it's already bitter,
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5:16 - 5:17if you cook it, it'll be even more bitter.
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5:17 - 5:18Perfect.
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5:18 - 5:19- (Antonio) Nice smell.
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5:19 - 5:24- (Nicole) Smell this, come on, so good!
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5:24 - 5:25(Music)
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5:25 - 5:30(Nicole) Next, we chop garlic,
chili and parsley. -
5:30 - 5:32A lot of people,
at least where I come from, -
5:32 - 5:38think of Italian food as tomato sauce
and olive oil, not butter and cream. -
5:38 - 5:41(Antonio) We already have
the lemons, which are bitter, -
5:41 - 5:44so the olive oil, especially
the extra virgin olive oil is bitter, -
5:44 - 5:47so you don't want to have too much --
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5:47 - 5:48- (Nicole) Too much bitterness.
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5:48 - 5:49- (Antonio) Exactly.
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5:49 - 5:52(Nicole) Antonio melts de butter
with the parsley, garlic and chili. -
5:52 - 5:56(Antonio) This is a basically
a very simple dish, -
5:56 - 5:59everyone can do that
but you need the right ingredients. -
5:59 - 6:01- (Nicole) Good quality ingredients.
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6:01 - 6:02- (Antonio) Absolutely.
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6:02 - 6:06(Nicole) And patience,
that's the hardest ingredient to find. -
6:06 - 6:08(Antonio) You always need patience.
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6:08 - 6:09(Laughter)
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6:09 - 6:12(Nicole) We add the lemon creme
until it's just warm through. -
6:12 - 6:17(Antonio) Now, the king
I say in Italy - parmesan. -
6:17 - 6:22Okay, the pasta is boiling...
that's, the water is boiling (chuckles) -
6:22 - 6:26and we're going to open the pasta
the Italian way -- -
6:26 - 6:28- (loud stomp)
- (Nicole) Whoaaaa! -
6:28 - 6:30(Music) (Laughter)
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6:30 - 6:34(Nicole) Antonio says it should come out
slightly undercooked but, -
6:34 - 6:35how does he know what that is?
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6:35 - 6:39(Antonio) I'm going to just touch it
and I know, I know it's the right time. -
6:39 - 6:41(Nicole) You're the pasta whisperer.
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6:41 - 6:42(Laughter)
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6:42 - 6:43(Antonio) It will actually tell me,
"I'm ready" so -- -
6:43 - 6:47(Nicole) I'm going to listen and see
if it tells me now -- -
6:47 - 6:48(Laughter)
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6:48 - 6:54(Nicole) It doesn't, but 8 minutes later,
it tells Antonio it's ready for the sauce. -
6:54 - 6:55(Music)
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6:55 - 6:58He tosses the pasta as only
a professional chef could. -
6:58 - 7:00I'd have spaghetti down
my blouse doing that. -
7:00 - 7:04A couple of pinches of salt
and he ladles some hot pasta water -
7:04 - 7:07until the linguine is fully cooked.
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7:07 - 7:09More parmesan and more lemon zest.
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7:09 - 7:10(Antonio) That will give you
the smell, you know. -
7:10 - 7:11(Nicole) To the table?
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7:11 - 7:13(Antonio) To the table.
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7:13 - 7:21There we go --
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7:21 - 7:32(Nicole) After a long walk,
we're finally feeding you. -
7:32 - 7:33(Laughter)
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7:33 - 7:35- (Francesca) Buon appetito!
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7:35 - 7:37- (Nicole) Buon appetito!
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7:37 - 7:38(Music)
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7:38 - 7:42(Nicole) To Naples' new friends
and limone! -
7:42 - 7:43(Laughter)
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7:43 - 7:44(Glass clicking)
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7:44 - 7:45(Music)
- Title:
- How to Cook Spaghetti Al Limone | Searching for Amalfi Lemons in Naples, Italy
- Description:
-
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Eating With My Five Senses
- Project:
- TRUE FOOD TV: Recipes - PART 1
- Duration:
- 08:02
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