Sliced bread and espresso

I went to Heidi land yesterday to do some food shopping. Anytime I have a craving or a need for something exotic – i.e. not Italian – I take a 90 minute drive north. I skirt around Milan on the always hectic and stressful tangenziale (ring road), past Como (with just a two-second view of the lake from up high on the motorway), down into the not so beautiful border town of Chiasso and, finally, into Switzerland, the land of good cheeses, chocolate, clocks and very bad coffee.

What brought me here, you might wonder? In just a few words, white sliced loaf.

Before you ask, and for those who are now thinking I’ve taken leave of my senses, good bread of the sliced variety in Italy is notable for its absence. What does come sliced is usually treated in alcohol and lasts for up to 3 months - not exactly fresh and certainly not something you want to put your Parma ham between! But hey, Italians don’t have a problem with that because they rarely eat sliced bread. I, on the other hand, can’t imagine life without the occasional BLT or little toasted soldiers to dip into my egg or a few slices of retro Melba toast to go with my thick autumnal soups. So, once a month, I visit the very Swiss Sermonata shopping centre in the border town of Mendrisio and stuff my boot with all manner of things I can’t get a few miles down the road in Bell’ Italia!  

A leisurely stroll around both the Co-op and Migros supermarkets resulted in a bill of just over CHF300. The exchange rate is awful at the moment so the bread wasn’t coming cheap! But needless to say, I didn’t just buy sliced bread! When in Switzerland, I like to take advantage of the very international shopping experience that Switzerland offers. You see, in my opinion, there’s no country in the world like Italy when you want a good restaurant. And there’s no country in the world like Italy when you want to do some Italian food shopping (as you’d expect). But, if truth be told, when it comes to buying anything let’s say, not Italian, well, suffice to say that I get into the car and drive to Switzerland.

Exhausted and with a pocket full of Swiss change and a boot loaded to the max with eight loaves of sliced bread, bagels, shortbread, assorted Chinese food stuffs, sweet potatoes, Swiss cheese and a basket of French cheese, pâté, madeleines and wine, I went into a coffee shop within eyeshot of the border checkpoint. I ordered a large café crème (coffee with cream), took a deep swig and almost choked.

As it happens I was standing next to a Swiss border guard who couldn’t help but notice the expression of disgust and incomprehension on my face.

“The coffee’s better there”, he said gesturing to the other side of the border. “I can’t”, he added by way of explanation, “we’re not allowed, not in the uniform”. I looked down at his cappuccino and immediately felt sorry for him. To work so close to the best coffee in the world and have to endure this every day: that’s some kind of punishment. I thanked him for the advice and left my drink unfinished. Life’s too short for bad coffee… besides, from where I was standing I could see a coffee bar in Italy that had a cup of espresso with my name on it! 

True coffee lovers, try out the following liqueur. It’s simple and I can guarantee you, it’s absolutely delicious!

Espresso Liqueur

Liquore al caffé

Makes 1 litre

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: N/A

500ml strong espresso coffee

500g caster sugar

5cm piece of orange zest

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 vanilla pod

200ml alcohol (a strong clear grappa or vodka will work just as well)

In a heatproof bowl add the caster sugar and the freshly made (very hot) espresso coffee. Stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved and then add the spices and orange peel. Leave the mix to cool (this is very important). Once cold, add the alcohol (or grappa/ vodka) and stir. Pour the mixture into a demijohn/ bottle with at least a 1.5 litre capacity. Seal and set aside for 3-4 days in a cool dark place. 

To finish, pour the liqueur through a fine sieve into a bottle, discarding the spices and peel.  Although it can be drunk immediately, the liqueur will improve if you allow the flavour to develop for between 1 and 3 months.

TIP: Serve chilled after dinner or, alternatively, pour a shot of the liqueur over vanilla ice-cream for a delicious and simple adult dessert!