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A day on the Amalfi Coast: divine poetry

03-October-2024

"But how do sailors do it," sang the De Gregori - Dalla duo. How can they really not be awestruck by the beauty of a timeless place, lost among curves and fjords, lemon groves and vineyards overhanging blue waters?

La Amalfi Coast, for everyone the Divine, hides stories and traditions handed down from generation to generation, when even in this place people were hungry for work and the only possible alternative was emigration. Even sweeter was the return of those who had made their fortunes, or simply felt nostalgia, the saudade of sea peoples who can ill-afford cold and dust.

Among its villages, the placid wind takes you to savor tastes that unite different territories of the Campania coast. The catch is the prince of the table, always offered here in delicate versions and well combined with typical wines based on Falanghina, Biancolella and many varieties half unknown to ampelographic registers. Ripolo (or Ripoli), Ginestra, Biancazita, Pepella, are just some of the curious names of grape varieties cultivated since the mists of time. A priceless heritage carefully preserved by historic companies such as the Andrea Ferraioli and Marisa Cuomo Winery, married out of love of purpose and unending passion for the land.

A glass of Furore Bianco, with its deep aromatic and mineral vein, almost brackish on tasting, or of the emblematic Fiorduva masterpiece conceived by the brilliant mind of winemaker Luigi Moio, are the ideal incipit for a lunch on the panoramic terrace of theHostaria Baccofurore since 1930. Donna Erminia runs both the inn and the restaurant together with her son Domenico. Grandfather was called "Bacchus" because he was a landowner who produced wine, and in 1930 the inn was established to provide refreshment for local workers during work on the Amalfi-Agerola link road.

The first patrons 2 outsiders were medico condotto Francesco Sirica and his wife, both from Sarno. Street artists frescoed the entrance walls in honor of the owners' hospitality. Here there was only land and vineyard and they ate chicken a la diavola, cannelloni, baked pasta, and minestre maritate. Now tastes have changed and the search for elegance in dishes and flavors is in the hands of the Chef Raffaele Afeltra.

For example: tomato bread with flavored butter and cetara anchovies, seared octopus on green bean and potato salad, and risotto with raw shrimp lumpfish roe and parsley mousse. Effective recipes that start from zero-mile raw materials envied the world over. But the real excitement is to be found in the words of Donna Erminia Cuomo, sister of Marisa, who moved from a small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina following her heart. And with the heart you can hardly go wrong.

We go back toward Salerno, arriving in the small village of Cetara. In the eyes the colors and scents of Amalfi lemons, the "Sfusato" rich in essences and suitable for its leathery peel for infusions and liqueurs including the famous Limoncello.

Our attention is caught by a seafood product that has made the history of these lands: colatura d'alici. He tells us about it Giulio Giordano of the firm Neptune, which starts from the origins of Roman times, when "garum" a kind of condiment sauce for foods of the time was produced.

Of course, the techniques are different than then, while still maintaining two fundamental components over the centuries: the quality of the anchovies, which are strictly cetaresian, and the dexterity of those performing the various processes. From the "scapezzatura," when the heads and guts are removed from the fish before they are laid with salt in a chestnut caratello, about 70% of inedible liquids are lost. This is followed by "nzuscatura" with the cleaning of the anchovies and reinsertion into the small wooden barrels using the belly-back method with overlapping layers, to avoid gaps and allow the salt to extract the precious liquid that will come to be extracted, by percolation, after a full 36 months.

An amber color, dense with aromatic personality, which with just a few drops can change the face of dishes, giving them flavor and persistence. The Divine Coast never ceases to amaze.

Luca Matarazzo

Journalist, passionate about food and wine since the cradle. A career as an A.I.S. taster and speaker that began back in 2012 and continues today on the other side of the fence, on the tasting tables, as an expert in the field. A judge in numerous Italian and foreign wine competitions, I feel pure love for niche productions and the Italian style imitated all over the world. Ambassador of Sagrantino di Montefalco for 2021 and Albana di Romagna for 2022, as well as second in the Vermentino Master, I have always pursued the winning idea of those who know how to dare with an unexpected product that disorients the palate.

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