So...you've ridden a gondola in Venice...eaten gelato in Florence...you think
you've seen Italy...you haven't! No one earns that badge until they've been to Naples.
Naples is not for the faint of heart,
it's crowded, chaotic, and tatted up. But, man, does this place have soul!
It's full of characters - and around every corner is a diamond in the rough.
That's what's kept me coming back here for two decades...and just when I think I've got a handle
on her, she surprises me. So this time I've come with backup! [Greetings in Italian]
I'm hitting the historic quarter with Francesca - my woman on the inside. She's a local expert with context,
guiding urban explorers who want to go deeper.
In this area is where I first fell in love with Naples, because it is full of life, right?
It is just [Italian] yes it's never boring, never boring.
I'm here on a mission - in our last episode, I spent the day in Amalfi, where I discovered how lemons are literally
saving the town from disaster. Now, I'm in the big city, to learn how lemons have
inspired Italian cooking and culture.
After the requisite coffee, we start at the beginning...
Naples was first settled by the ancient Greeks. This was the site of the Agora,
and later the Roman Forum. Francesca shows me two Corinthian columns - lone
survivors of a first century temple incorporated into the facade of a 17th
century church - this is what's exciting about Naples:
it's a haphazard layer-cake of stories - stories you can walk right up to
and touch - if you know what you're looking at.
To outsiders, Naples can seem inscrutable...
It's hard to know where history ends and myth begins...where faith fuses with superstition.
Just look at these handmade nativity scenes: a quintessentially
Neapolitan fixation. You've got modern-day figures witnessing the virgin birth...
and there amid the terra cotta produce I spot them...
And those lemons would have come up from the coast?
All these fake lemons make me crave the real thing,
so we head over to Cafeteria Eppolito,
(Nicole): Yes, medicinal, right? Yes!
I think we should have a little bit of 'medicine' then, shall we? Yeah? Should we? I think we should...
Thank you...This...looks like a sugar bomb...
Layers of sponge cake filled with lemon cream, covered with Chantilly cream.
Okay...so Delizie Al Limone...not really my thing...
a little bit too sugary...a little bit too creamy...but it was fun! It's lemons - that's what
we're doing here, right?
Luckily, it's nearly lunchtime. We're headed to a
friend's apartment, where Francesca has arranged for me to learn from a local chef,
a perfect Neapolitan summer dish. But of course we can't arrive empty-handed.
This is a Salumeria from 1864! Let's check it out.
Oops, scusi (excuse me)!
[Italian]
We've got our cheese, our bread, and lemons. And this being Naples, we bought
them all from specialty purveyors, who have been doing this forever.
It's time for Spaghetti Al Limone, andiamo (let's go)!
We arrive at a friend's fabulous apartment, to cook with Antonio,
who's whipped up dishes in top kitchens in Italy and England.
(Antonio): Ciao (hello)!
This is Spaghetti Al Limone, a dish that Neapolitans crave, once summer hits and lemons are at their peak.
To make it, you'll need...
(Antonio): Double cream, parmesan, dry red chili, garlic,
butter, lemon from Sorrento, parsley, and obviously - the linguine. Let's go!
(Nicole): Okay, half zest, half juice of the lemon. (Antonio): Yes.
(Nicole): More? Okay, okay..(Antonio): Go go go!
(Nicole): You can't have too much lemon!
(Antonio): Yeah, especially if they are from the Amalfi Coast.
(Nicole): Oh yeah, and everything right into the cream? Okay.
(Antonio): And the reason why we do that (is) because we don't want to cook the zest,
because it's already...uh...bitter. If you cook it, it will be even more bitter.
(Antonio): Perfect...the smell...
(Nicole): Smell this...oww...come on...it's so good...
Next, we chop garlic, chili, and parsley.
(Nicole): A lot of people - at least where I come from,
think of Italian food as...uh...you know, tomato sauce and olive oil - not butter and cream.
(Antonio): Yes...We already have the lemons, which are bitter, so the olive oil, especially the
extra-virgin olive oil, it's bitter so you don't want to have too...
(Nicole): too much bitter(ness)? (Antonio): Exactly.
Antonio melts the butter with the parsley, garlic, and chili.
(Antonio): This is...uh...basically...uh...very very simple. The chef (or) everyone can do that, but you need
the right...the right ingredients. (Nicole): Good and quality ingredients.
(Antonio): Absolutely.
(Nicole): And patience that's...that's...
the hard ingredient to buy.
(Antonio): You always need patience.
We add the lemon cream until it's just warm through.
(Antonio): Now, the king I say in Italy: the parmesan.
Okay, so the pasta is boiling. That's...the water is boiling, and we're gonna open
the pasta in the Italian way.
(Nicole): Wow...
Antonio says it should come out slightly undercooked. But how does he know when that is?
(Antonio): I (am) gonna just touch it, then I know...I know it's the right time.
(Nicole): Pasta whisperer...
(Antonio): It...it will actually tell me: "I'm ready!" so...
(Nicole): I'm going to listen and see if it tells you that...
It doesn't...But 8 minutes later, it tells Antonio it's ready for the sauce.
He tosses the pasta as only a professional chef could.
(Nicole): I'll have spaghetti down my blouse if I do that...
A couple of pinches of salt, then he ladles some hot
pasta water, until the linguine is fully cooked. More parmesan and more lemon zest.
(Antonio): That will give you the...the smell...you know...
(Nicole): Hmm...
[Italian]
(Nicole): Yay...
(Antonio): There we go!
(Mark): Look at this...Antonio!
(Nicole): After a long walk, we are finally feeding you!
(Mark): Beautiful...
(Antonio): So...
(Francesca): Buon Appetito (Bon Appetite)!
(Everyone): Buon Appetito (Bon Appetite)!
(Nicole): To Naples, new friends, and Limone!
(Everyone): Cheers!