Our Positano cliffside apartment, Casa Della ‘Uovo or House of the Egg (71 Trara Genovo) has been our base of operations for the many trips we have taken in our five days here, the dinners we have shared in a wide variety of locations and styles and the easy conversations about a wide range of subjects of importance to each and all of us.
Clementina is the housekeeper who comes and cleans for a half day each day. She washes our dishes, washes our clothes, makes our beds and keeps the whole place tidy and appealing for us. This four-bedroom cliffside apartment has been just a joy for us. Fantastic views from every window, a full kitchen where we could prepare meals when we wished, and a patio that overlooks the main beach and ferry dock. The vistas from this location are breathtaking. The owner is a professor who has collected an assortment of eclectic artifacts to decorate the space making it a visual wonderland. One of the most unique is the saw bill from a saw fish which is mounted upright and sits in the middle of the table in the main living area.
On our last night in the apartment we contracted for Clementina to prepare a dinner for our group. She offered to make one of three different menus, either fish, meat or vegetarian. All three menus have common elements in the appetizers of bruschetta and grilled vegetables including zucchini and eggplants. A bread roll, which resembles a donut with olives and is lightly fried she calls a zeppole: oliva fritte, was incredible. Everyone had more than one. And this is where the menus differ. She made fried zucchini blossoms which were crispy and yet delicate for us which was not on her standard menu. This was a special request we made when we chose our menu. Most of us watched this dish being made hoping to be able to duplicate it some time in the future.
For Vegetarians the third appetizer is a caprese salad of mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, for the meat menu she provides a selection of meats and cheese (ham, salami and mozzarella) and for the fish dinner she provides an octopus salad which is very thin sliced with olive oil and crushed pistachios.
The first course for vegetarian is pasta or ravioli with zucchini and risotto with mushrooms. For meat she serves pasta with Ragu Alla Bolognese and lasagna. For fish she served a pasta with seafood which in our case was large circular noodles with a langoustino and pasta with shrimp, fresh cherry tomatoes and rocket.
The second course for vegetarians is eggplant parmigiana and salad, for meat lovers, Saltimbocca alla Romana (meat with salvia and parma ham), or carpaccio (thinly sliced meat seasoned with parmesan flakes, oil, salt and rocket) and a salad. For the fish menu she offered fresh oven cooked fish with bread crumbs and pistachios (in our case it was sea bream), or grilled swordfish and a salad.
For dessert we had a choice of chocolate and almond cake with ice cream or Tiramisu in either traditional or lemon. We chose the chocolate and almond cake which is flourless and only a tiny piece was more than satisfactory.
We chose to accompany Clementina’s dinner with a prosecco to start, a Campagna Falanghina white (Villa Matilde Avallone – Falerno del Massico 2018), bottles of wine Fabio had given us during the anniversary celebration the week before, Falesco Montiano 2015 and Falesco Marciliano 2013 and another Dei Vino Nobile d’ Montepulciano ‘Bossona’ 2013. Some of us thought the Marciliano had the most fruit while others preferred the Dei Vino Nobile. All complimented the dishes well and made the meal memorable.
Having experienced the flood of food at Fattoria Tagliata the night before, we were all cautious about how much we should eat of any one dish. For that reason there was a tremendous amount left over. Yet not one of us left feeling hungry. We all agreed that it was one of the best meals of this trip.
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