Lat.42° 47.2'N    10° 19.'3E                                       August 1999.

Les and Catherine had joined us in Viareggio for a sail in the Tuscan Islands and points further south. Catherine cooked this meal in Porto Ferrario on Corsica and wrote it up in the visitors’ log two days later.  What follows is her log entry.

“On our way from Marciana Marina on Elba back to the Italian mainland at PuntaAla on yet another glorious day.  It’s been a lovely sail so far without the need for motoring.  We’ve been testing out the speakers in the cockpit with Mozart and then Mississippi John Hurt CDs which has added to the atmosphere.  All is very peaceful and calm at the moment and so Les has been able to go for a snooze after last night’s exertions. (More about that later, doubtless!)  I’ll take the opportunity to write down something approaching a recipe for the pasta dish we had on Wednesday.  It’s all a bit of chuck it in and see affair, unfortunately.

Simple but  effective!  The courgettes and fresh herbs are lovely and cheap here; all the fresh food around here has made eating a real pleasure.  We tried some Elban wine too, which is apparently difficult to get elsewhere. We agreed   that the red is superior: very easy drinking whereas the white (and we had two) was a bit sharp and a bit muddy.  Whatever,experimenting around here is fun!”

What you need for four people.

 3/400g of pasta of your choice.

1 onion, finely chopped.

1 garlic, crushed.

1 handful of pine nuts.

2 courgettes cut into 3 equal lengths and each third sliced into thin slices lengthways.

Juice and zest of 1 lemon.

Leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary.

Olive oil.

 What you have to do.

2/3 fill a large saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the pasta, bring back to the boil and cook for the time on the packet.

Fry the onion, garlic and the pine nuts in enough olive oil to coat the pasta at the end.

Add the thinly sliced courgettes, rosemary leaves and lemon juice and zest to taste.  Fry for a further 3/4 mins.

Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan.  Stir in the contents of the frying pan, season to taste and serve.

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