Al fresco
"The phrase al fresco is borrowed from Italian for "in the cool [air]", although it is not in current use in that language to refer to dining outside. Instead, Italians use the phrases fuori or all'aperto. In Italian, the expression al fresco usually refers to spending time in jail." Wikipedia
It's a beautiful warm day - I am writing this post out in the garden listening to the visiting neighbours' grandchildren splashing and playing in their pool - well actually there's not much splashing so maybe they are just playing. A summery sound anyway. And it's also David's special meal day and, because of the weather, he has requested alfresco - which if you are absolutely correct is al fresco, as Wikipedia explains.
I guess I have never really thought about the literal meaning of the word(s) or maybe thought it meant in the fresh air, but of course it doesn't. I now speak a bit of Italian and should, of course, have realised that it meant in the cool. Which is an odd phrase to choose for eating outside isn't it? I mean we don't think of eating outside in the cool. It's a summer thing, when it's warm. Although that said, you can see people sitting outside cafés all year in Melbourne because now we have wonderful outdoor heaters that keep you warm. And there's something liberating about eating outside. Certainly here at home if I am outside eating, reading, or doing this blog, I feel as if I am on holiday. Which is silly because my life is a permanent holiday now and I live in a pretty paradisiacal place too.
"Visions of paradise have always been of the great outdoors, of trees laden with luscious fruit and rivers flowing with milk and honey." Claudia Roden
Not that my trees are laden with fruit. Nicely funny that al fresco should mean in prison in Italian though don't you think? In the course of 'researching' this article I read a few articles about eating outside in Britain - which is rather more challenging than here of course.
"Why, when you could be sat in a pleasantly cool room, concentrating on what you are eating and the pleasure thereof, would you choose to eat outside." Tony Naylor - The Guardian
There was much talk of wasps, flies and ants and sand (on the beach), too much sun, too little sun, wind, rain ... Not that we don't have our own problems here of course - in fact mostly the same - plus the mozzies. But I guess we have aeroguard. Our main problem is usually keeping everyone out of the sun and the food out of reach of the flies - which are not in large numbers as yet. But I have covers from Aldi to deal with that. They have several very nifty ways of protecting food from marauders. We do have a verandah and umbrellas but in high summer they never seem to be enough. I think we should make a serious investment in a really efficient and very large umbrella. But mostly it's just us and we fit under the verandah.
So what to cook for David - this has to be an actual recipe remember? The whole point of the exercise is to actually use some of my cookery books. I chose three books to look at - Summer Food by Elizabeth David, Picnic by Claudia Roden and Summer Food by Jill Dupleix. I didn't want to barbecue and I didn't want to just serve something outside and call it alfresco. It had to be something genuinely outside-ish. Something that felt as if it was designed to be eaten outside. Elizabeth David was either too elaborate or too simple and Claudia Roden's section on eating in the garden was concentrated rather on afternoon tea - with idyllic drawings of genteel tables in posh gardens. The rest of the book was more about either cooking outside or transporting stuff for picnics. Wonderful book by the way - one of my favourites, but on this occasion not quite the thing, in spite of her saying:
"This book is mainly concerned with the casual and unpretentious cooking most suited to the carefree and relaxed atmosphere of outdoor eating." Claudia Roden
Besides her focus is more on what suits the English. So I turned to Jill Dupleix who is more modern, slightly different and rather more Australian. And what did I pick - Chicken Caesar! And coincidentally when I wrote my earlier article about dining alfresco from a Lucky Dip exercise, I also wrote about Caesar salad then - for that was the recipe on the page, though in that instance a radicchio version. I have no radicchio - today's meal also had to be constructed from what I had in the fridge. But if you want to read my former articles - there is Al-fresco dining, Caesar salad, and Radicchio, although this last one is not quite as relevant.
I chose this particular recipe because David loves salad and this is one salad that I find more pleasing than most. Jill Dupleix's version also had a rather interesting dressing with yoghurt and anchovy though I guess I won't be able to use the anchovy. I might just have to add one or two to my plate. Ditto for the boiled egg. Anyway crossing fingers. And it looks pretty simple too. So I'm hoping for enchantment, but will probably just get OK.
"The pleasures of outdoor food are those that nature has to offer, as ephemeral as they are intense. A bird will sing his song and fly away, leaves will flutter and jostle in the sunlight for a brief second - sky, flowers and scents have each their small parts to play in the perfect happiness of those enchanted moments. They serve, as Jean Jacques Rousseau said, to 'liberate the soul'." Claudia Roden
And have you noticed that in all this lovely pictures of romantically laden alfresco tables there is always wine? Tonight there will only be one glass of leftover Nllumbik chardonnay. We have drunk rather more than usual this week, so time for a bit of abstention.
POSTSCRIPT
This was absolutely delicious - highly recommended. Mind you I couldn't resist meddling.
1. I marinaded the chicken (breast) for a bit in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and oregano and tossed the croutons in this too. The lemon juice may have made the croutons stick to the pan a bit but they were still crisp and delicious.
2. David doesn't like anchovies, so I didn't put them in the dressing and just added a couple to my plate.
3. He doesn't like boiled eggs either, so again I just added them to the plate.
The dressing was the star - gorgeous. Give it a go.
