Rick Stein discovers the many varied delights of Mediterranean food.
Rick Stein's Mediterranean escape started in Marseille where his last series ended. He caught the ferry to Bastia, the ancient capital of Corsica, where he was invited to a typical Corsican feast. Here pulenda, a kind of polenta made with chestnut flour, took pride of place along with figatellu, a strong-tasting local sausage made with offal and cheek from the Corsican black pig. At Bonifacio, Rick sailed across the rough straits to Sardinia, where he sampled an especially good spaghetti with cuttlefish ink and a rich tomato sauce.
In Sardinia, Rick watched as the local fishermen caught mullet using methods that date back to ancient Roman times. He then boarded a ferry for Sicily and in Palermo he found one of the best pasta dishes he has ever tasted. Rick treated us to the simple vegetarian Pasta with tomatoes, capers and mint using capers from the island of Pantelleria, and Pasta alla norma with aubergines, tomatoes, chilli and ricotta salata cheese from Catania on the east coast of Sicily.
Rick continued his travels in Sicily and enjoyed the colours and ambience of Catania's busy fish market. He then travelled to Puglia on Italy's mainland where the local dishes have been influenced by centuries of poverty. Rick cooked Peas with onions, parma ham and olive oil, then gave his take on a fennel sausage recipe he had tasted at a local restaurant.
Rick left Italy and made his way to the Greek island of Corfu where he attended a family feast. He visited kitchens in restaurants all over the island and learned how to make authentic Greek dishes such as a Greek salad with good quality feta and olives; Pastitsio, a beef and macaroni pie with cinnamon, red wine and kefalotiri cheese; and Baked Greek omelette with wild greens and herbs (horta), leeks and feta.
From Corfu, Rick headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca where he ate what he described as the most succulent lamb he has ever tasted. He interpreted Mallorcan-style cooking with his Chicken with sobrasada, a soft and spreadable Mallorcan sausage made with pork loin and fat, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Rick then travelled to Barcelona's La Boqueria market, which he says is the best place to eat Catalonian food. With Catalonia in mind, he cooked the local food of salt cod fritters with allioli (a punchy garlic sauce from Catalonia).
In Morocco, Rick enjoyed couscous, and tucked into the tagines and mint tea found in the bazaars. Rick cooked the Moroccan dish of Kefta mkaouara, a simple dish of onions, tomatoes, cumin, and paprika baked with spicy meatballs and eggs. His Mediterranean travels ended in south-eastern Turkey where he feasted on kebabs. Rick made the Turkish-style fast food lahmacun, a flatbread that is topped with minced lamb, then rolled up to eat.
