In Bitter Honey, seasoned chef Letitia Clark invites us into her new home on one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean Sea – Sardinia. Cooking here reflects life: it is a slow and relaxed affair.
Meat is almost always slow roasted over an open fire, often on a rustic spit. Cheese is made and matured slowly, using age-old methods and tools. Beans and legumes, and most vegetables too are cooked long and slow, extracting all their sweetness. There is no sense of urgency about anything. The recipes in this book don’t take long to make, but you can taste the ethos behind every one of them – one which invites you to slow down, to enjoy yourself, to nourish yourself with food, friends, and family.
Try your hand at roasted aubergine with honey, mint, garlic and burrata, or a fresh, zesty salad of celery, orange, anchovy and hazelnut, followed by malloreddus (the shell-shaped pasta from the region) with crab, saffron and tomato, or a roast chicken stuffed with ricotta and chard. Then move on to an almond panna cotta with poached apricots, or a bowl of mascarpone and sour cherry ice cream. Each of these recipes, and the stories behind them, will transport you to the turquoise waters and laid-back lifestyle of this Italian island. With beautiful design, photography, full colour illustrations and joyful anecdotes throughout, Bitter Honey is both a cookbook and a window into a slow-paced lifestyle in the sun in one.
