Last September, a few weeks after we moved to Lucca, Laura and Dennis were our first guests for dinner in the new place. Last Sunday the situation repeated itself. The garden table and chairs and ombrellone have all been delivered, 98% of stuff is unpacked and finished, it was time to have lunch, or pranzo, as they say here. Italian summer is in full swing, it is bloomin’ hot, the patio resembles a frying pan, if one makes a mistake of walking out barefoot.

I couldn’t decide what to make for lunch; it’s baking hot, so we wouldn’t want anything heavy, but L&D are fellow foodies, so it had to be good. With Florek’s generous financial support I decided on Thai beef salad, but Italian version, without beansprouts ( not seen them anywhere yet!), for mains some grilled chicken of Donal Skehan’s recipe. Beef salad was a winner, the steak we bought in Esselunga was all but cheap and we could taste the quality, it was well rested and delicious, plus Dennis saved the day and brought 2 packs of fresh coriander I could not find on the day. Even Izzie had some and finished it!

Chicken thighs and some breasts, for those who don’t like meat on the bone( one such individual among us!) were marinating for 24 hours prior to cooking. Everyone liked it and it was enjoyed, I would’ve liked more heat, more chili next time. I used some grated fresh ginger, 4 grated garlic cloves, zest of 2 limes, 2 fresh chilis( but it’s always a lottery, these were not very hot), some fresh thyme, coriander, dried oregano, 3 tsps of all spice, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, 6 tbsps of ketchup, salt, pepper and oilve oil to bring it all together.

Chicken was grilled, served with fresh coriander and lime wedges. The only side was a nice, fresh salsa-mango, spring onions, cucumber without seeds, fresh chili, lime, coriander again, olive oil, s&p. Very nice indeed.

Before it was time for desserts, we hopped in the pool for a quick swim and a g&t.

A tasty, great day in an excellent company. Next time Dennis is going to teach me how to cook octopus.