A small town nestled in the south-west of Salerno, right next to the border of Naples. Staying in such a small town was nice and peaceful, but it meant that I had to venture out and about in search for the tastiest of meals. Being in this location, was absolutely perfect for discovering the typical tourist spots – Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius, Sorrento – and with different Italian towns and cities, came a variety of local dishes.
The first thing I did after landing in Naples was go on a search for a local pizza place after all, I was in Italy.
Ristorante Il Golfo
Via Nazario Sauro, 25, 80133 Napoli NA, Italy
Seafood Pizza
Naples is known for it’s coastal entities, being on the Bay of Naples meant that the seafood was practically taken from the sea every morning and served fresh on your plate by lunch. With this in mind, ordering a seafood pizza was probably the best idea, and with outdoor seating at Ristorante II Golfo, it added a major advantage to sit in the sunshine with a view of the bay.
The pizza came out looking very authentic, very homemade style and the seafood just chucked right on top. For some people, this style of presentation can be a bit disconcerting, but for me it looked wonderful. The slightly charred edges and the colourful array of seafood, with a sprinkling of fresh tomatoes – everything about this pizza was a perfect combination.
Hoshi, Japanese Fusion
Stuffed Squid
Eating in a Japanese fusion restaurant would probably not have been my first choice, but it was definitely somewhere where the food was surprisingly creative. With a twist on classic Japanese style cooking, Hoshi have recreated dishes to suit the Italian palate.
I decided to try something that I had never heard of, and with my only real experience of eating squid being in the form of calamari or squid rings, I was pleased to try something that had never graced my tastebuds before.
This squid dish was served whole, and stuffed all through the centre was this succulent miso flavoured chicken mince, and then slightly grilled to give the squid a beautiful golden brown coating. As complicated as this dish looked, the flavours were so simple and so satisfying.
Caupona Pompeii Restaurant
Caupona is a restaurant that I hold very dear to my heart. Not only was the food absolutely phenomenal, the theme of the restaurant is ancient Pompeii, and after you have finished your meal, the waiters will take you into a room to dress you in old fashioned robes for ladies and gladiators for men. After a day of seeing the ruins and the aftermath of the Vesuvius eruption, Caupona was honestly the most perfect way to celebrate the lives lost in the city of Pompeii.
I ordered a clam strozzapreti which is a traditional style of freshly hand-rolled pasta, tossed in a buttery-lemon sauce and adorned with beautifully fresh clams. The dish was light and succulent and served with a side of freshly baked break, which was excellent to mop up the remaining sauce at the end.
Tenuto Vannulo – Buffalo Mozzarella Farm
Being in the birthplace of buffalo mozzarella, it seemed only fitting to go and see the production of how it gets from the buffalo to the many different dairy forms. It was an extremely informative day and I learnt how the female buffalo creates all the milk production and that the male buffalo’s are only used for reproduction. The guide showed us how the milk is pasteurised to create fresh milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream and many other different products, the most famous being the mozzarella cheese. Luckily enough at the end of the tour, we were given a small piece of the freshest mozzarella and it was indeed like nothing I had ever tasted before.
At Vannulo, they have a cafe which sells their products and a menu displaying items that were made with the buffalo milk. I decided to try their brioche cake with a dollop of buffalo milk chocolate ice-cream – the flavour was so rich and creamy, it was heavenly, but it was also so rich that you can’t ask for more.
Food, Family & Fusion 