In written

Now we arrive at the port Naples, but I’m meeting someone who runs cooking vacations down in Positano where she lives. And I just love the Amalfi coast.

So, of course, that’s where I’m going. What a beautiful ride down to the most picturesque places in Amalfi. It’s lots of houses perched on hills, naturally beautiful, and all the houses are stacked, teiered into the cliffs.

And the colors are so pretty with peach and pink. And it’s just so stunning.

Right in Sorrento, there was this lookout with a lemonade stand. And I can’t resist getting a fresh lemon juice.

Lauren.

I meet Lauren at her fish monger. She wants to buy a special fish for us to cook later on.

Señor Zita Cruz. Nice to meet you. And we’re here to buy the best catch of the day to make a good Aquapa. Yes. Aquapa.

This one is Jack. Amberjack. Amberjack.

Can we take that one?

Which one you like better?

The first one. The first one. Okay, perfect.

So, Lauren feels we can’t start our day without having one of the best cappuccinos at her favorite cafe.

We walk through these pretty winding streets down some of the steep steps to Lazagara.

Who knew this very generous owner would want me to try every dessert that they had? The table’s filled with pastries and they’re just delicious. So, we’re here in Positano which was was a sleepy fishing village and now it’s a little they call it the pearl on the Amalfi coast. Um, it’s on the tourist tracks but things are still handmade and places like Zagura. La Zagura is owned by Mario. It’s the most famous pastry shop in Campania on the Amalfi Coast. And they’re still making things the way his mama made them like the Breast of Venus.

This is great.

And the church bells still ring.

You still feel that old world feeling here even though they try to modernize things. And Le Zagara, the name of this famous pastry cafe is the lemon flower.

Why? Because we’re under a lemon garden and they pick all of their lemons that go into the pastries that are predominantly have the lemon essence in them. Yeah. This is fabulous. This is really good. So, the cannoli would have that, too, then. The cannoli is chocolate. Um, a chef could often season the cream a little bit with lemon.

Regionally, cannoli come from Sicily, but they’re made throughout all of Italy.

And the next one is 𝗦𝗳𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮, which is a multi-layered crunchy pastry that has cooked cream inside.

And this um absolutely crunchy and delicious. First made by the nuns in the Santa Rosa village. So crunchy I can’t hear you.

So, this week, I know we got that fish that. Uh we’re going to do something with. We bought a great fish this morning, an amberjack, and we’ll head to the kitchen to make Aquapa. What is Aquapa? What does that mean? Aquapa means crazy water. Crazy water. And originally the fish was cooked at sea by the fisherman with a little sea water.

They’d always have a little bottle of olive oil and they’d cook it at sea. And today the fish is the tradition goes on with the Aquapa. Um they use and any fish that the freshest fish it’s usually a blue fish like an amber jack or a sea bass. Okay. Looking forward to that after this uh after this sugar rush that we get. Have a little taste for good luck. The breast. The best of the breast.

It’s really, I know. So, now to cook our foods, Lauren has a great place. It’s a little bit out of the way. Called Laivera DeLeon. It’s been around for about half a century at least.

Family owned and family run. It’s so nice.

They’re allowing me in the kitchen so I can watch them make these fabulous dishes. First thing up, I get to make. So, it’s a boiled potato that’s been mashed with two kinds of Italian flour. The semolina is usually used for the pasta.

Yes. and the 00 flour which is a fine powdery flour. Okay. And you mix it together. And also, even though the basic is the serentino with the typical vesuvio tomatoes and mozzarella. You can make this um right now the squash flowers are in season. So, we make them with squash flowers and bongala or you can make them um unalt with eggplant.

So, the next step is to roll it into um a long a long tube-like figure. Do you want to give it a try rolling it?

So, you want to get it down to I’m trying.

Why is mine falling apart?

Takes a little practice when you do it every day. When you do it every day.

Look how long it’s taken me to do one.

Okay.

You can either leave them like that or roll them. I see. They’re really pretty like that.

The classic form. Okay. You always want to take it with your fingers from the side that was cut.

And then press it.

Just press. See?

Okay. There we go. Now that I’m going to see. See?

This is really fun. It’s easier than I thought. A nice little mix of potato and a couple of different flowers. And I think what makes it light is the 00 flour they use a lot here. Now we’re finally going to make the aqua paza or fishing crazy water as they call it. I guess the chef decided to use his own fish for this dish.

Lauren will have to use the amberjack for something else.

Okay.

He said in making aquapa there are those chefs that put white wine and those chefs that he does not and he does not he does not because when the fish is fresh, he likes to taste the actual elements of the fish. You cover for a couple of minutes. I love it. I’m actually understanding the Italian. So, the local tomatoes are the last touch.

We start with them. He boils them. puts them in cold water which will let the peels pop off and that way you have the real true red of the tomato and not the bitter taste of the skin.

O, that’s a lot of tomatoes to peel.

And finally, we get to see the real Neapolitan pizza being made. There’s no way I’m leaving the area of Naples without eating pizza. So, what better than Chef Ulissi, who is an award-winning pizza maker. He makes pizza daily. I’m getting to watch him and find out how he makes these with special 00 flour and special rules, and he’s been doing this a very long time.

You have to use official the 000 flour.

Um, and you have to follow the guidelines of the DO, the the domain of origin and those rules. This is called driving the dough. Uhhuh.

And they make the past, it’s called pasta dough, but it’s pizza dough. Um, they make it every night for the next day with a madre levito, which is a rising agent that’s over a hundred years old. So, it’s in the back. They have to feed it according to humidity. Oh, my goodness. Every day. It’s like having a little baby. It is. You have to nurture it to make it right. Um, but it’s the key ingredients in a very very uh fine crust Neapolitan pizza. A perfect pizza takes about a minute. A minute. How very hot. Hot-hot-hot.

I’m now surrounded by pizza and I’m definitely finishing this day off very happily. A glass of Italian white wine, fresh fish, and a few slices of Neapolitan pizza. I’m living the life.

I thank you for creating this amazing time in Pasatana, which you know, I know we’re away from Naples, but I couldn’t get away from having Neapolitan pizza. So, to have the best and your dream, live your dream and live your life.

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