Sample text from Under the Olive Tree -  In the Garden at Lu Nibaru.

I am not an early morning swimmer so my thoughts turn to coffee. There is an Italian saying about coffee, that the best coffee is ‘sedente, bollente e costa niente’ (drunk sitting down, boiling hot and is free!). I know the cupboard is empty, it’s a beautiful day, so I plan to go and buy the ingredients for lunch in the garden and stop by our local cafe on route.

For our al fresco Italian lunch i’m looking for a selection of prosciutto and salamis and two special cheeses - a fresh sheep’s ricotta which I am going to bake and one of the crowning glories of Italian cheese making, the ‘burrata’. The burrata is a large buffalo- mozzarella which is firm on the outside and has the consistency of a runny cream on the inside. Next stop is the local produce vendor for a selection of salads, local fruits and summer vegetables.

This lunch may sound simple but it is an indulgence. The burrata is perfect, the baked ricotta a tantalising blalance between the ricotta and parmigiano, and the artichoke salad a perfect fit to our Italian summer lunch. This is our first lunch for the summer and it is a tantilising introduction to the days and nights to come...