All language subtitles for Ginos.Italy.S02E05.1080p.WEB.h264-CODSWALLOP

'I'm back in stunning Italy.'

Mm, this is an explosion of flavour.

'This time,
the glorious deep south.'

HORSE NEIGHS
It looks like an Italian Colorado.

'Discovering amazing food...'

Are you sure you want
to tell them all the secrets?

'..and the rustic traditions
of Puglia e Basilicata...'

OK, we got the secret,
if you want to live long, eat pasta.

This is truly amazing.

So, this is the secret, Gino.
Capocollo.

'..a rich land and bountiful sea.'

And look
at this breath-taking coast.

'I'm on a mission to discover
the ancient recipes and ingredients

'these sometimes forgotten regions
have to offer.'

Let's go.

Georgia, don't lie to me.
No, I don't lie.

There must be a secret in here
you don't want to tell me.

From the master hands,
straight into my hand. Voila.

100%, you didn't know about it.

That's our secret, so shh.

I love stuff like this.

Even I didn't know about it.

'Tonight, I'm hitting the trail
with a new friend

'as we uncover Basilicata,
one of Italy's most remote areas.'

Hey, Mezzanotte,
where are all the people?

'Pollino National Park
spans a whopping 700 square miles

'across both Basilicata
and neighbouring Calabria.

'And I'm here to learn
about the ancient traditions...'

GINO: Fantastico.
SHE SAYS IN ITALIAN:

'..the dancing queen
centenarians...'

IN ITALIAN:

'..and surprising delicacies...'

'..of this largely unexplored
region.'

Did you know that Clint Eastwood
had exactly the same horse as you?

His horse was called Midnight,
so what am I gonna call you?

I'm gonna call you Mezzanotte.

Vai, Mezzanotte, vai!
Forza! Vai, Mezzanotte, vai!

'I've arrived in a land
where Italian horses roam free,

'and mystery and charm fill the air.

'Welcome to the breath-taking
Pollino National Park.'

I mean,
it looks like an Italian Colorado,

look around me, this looks insane!

'The Pollino Park
is a geological wonder,

'and I can't wait to discover
its rugged terrain.'

Now, let me tell you a secret.

Modern Italian cowboys,

they wear the safety riding hats
under the cowboy hats,

cos that's how we rock.

Now, bella, where is your hat?

'The park is home
to almost 2,000 plant species,

'including the rare
red crusco pepper.

'But although
I can see flowers everywhere,

'the same can't be said for people.'

This place is so beautiful,

I mean, waterfall, wildlife.

Hey, Mezzanotte,
where are all the people?

I mean, don't get me wrong,
I love you, but where is everybody?

'In my search for civilisation,

'I've stumbled upon
one of Pollino's enchanting hamlets,

'where time seems
to have stood still.'

Ah, I can see a human. Ciao!

Gino.

Bellissimo! Beautiful.

It's a beautiful view,
beautiful green,

the park and everything,

but there is no human
in this village.

IN ITALIAN:

'Vincenzo's not wrong.

'San Paolo Albanese
has the smallest population

'in the whole of Basilicata.

'The locals love
their exquisite red crusco peppers

'and singing harmonies.'

Tell me everything I need to know
about this place. OK.

SINGING

So this is a proper Albanian town
in the middle of Italy,

in the middle of Basilicata?

Eh, incredible.

'Due to centuries of isolation
amongst the Pollino mountains,

'the Arbereshe people have preserved
their language and heritage.'

Vincenzo, I can hear music.
WOMAN SINGING

What's happening here? What is this?
Is it a youth club?

Bonjourno!

Tutto bene?

Introduce me.

Rosanna?
Nice to meet you.

I have no idea what's going on here,

these apparently are
the oldest women in the village.

Ma quanti anni ci sono qua?
How old are we here?

She's from 1932,
er, let's do the math,

she's... mature.

So duecento? Duecento.

So, so far, we are 200 years,
then we got another nine...

I think we got about 300 years.

Si, ma il segreto... The secret...

Pasta? Pasta, pasta, pasta.

OK, we got the secret,
if you want to live long, eat pasta.

Ma, i boyfriend... where are they?

I fidanzati, dove stanno?
Gli amanti, fidanzati?

Boyfriends, lovers, where are they?

I ask for the boyfriends
or the husbands,

they say, "You need to go
to the cemetery."

They gone 30, 40 years ago.
SHE LAUGHS

And she laughs.

'Looks like I'll have
to watch my back...'

Now she's inviting me to dance.

'..but at least I've found a party.'

She wants to dance.
HE SINGS

I never thought in a million years
I would come in an Albanian town

in Italy, and, er...

Eh, where does the energy come from?

I think it's the peppers
that they eat.

'If the peppers are good enough
for these 100-year-old matriarchs,

'it's time for me
to give them a try.'

They serve the Senise crusco pepper

dipped in chocolate as a nibble.

Man, this is crazy, they...
You know, this is a local delicacy.

It's a bitter chocolate,

and then you get the sweetness
of the peppers coming through.

Very crunchy.
It's actually quite cool.

I like it.
Never thought in a million years

you could do crispy peppers
and dip into chocolate.

Ah.

You live and learn.

'The crusco pepper
certainly reigns supreme

'with the Arbereshe people,

'but I want to know about
their other culinary traditions.'

Where do we go to cook here?
Luigina.

I want to meet Luigina.

Buongiorno.

Gino.
The queen of the pasta Arbereshe.

This special type of Albanian pasta
comes from an ancient tradition.

So semolina?

Usually,
when you make fresh egg pasta,

for every kilo of flour,
you will put 10 eggs,

but she just does it with her eyes,
I guess.

IN ITALIAN:

'The people of this village
are the descendants

'of Albanian refugees
fleeing the Ottomans,

'so it's no surprise the food here
has a strong Albanian influence.'

Il segreto di questa pasta, qual e?
The secret of this pasta.

So this shape of pasta
is only and exclusively made

in this little town,

and she was explaining to me...

She was explaining to me
the way they do it.

So, the idea of doing it
is very simple,

you put the rod
in the middle of the pasta.

And then, oh, oh...
OK, we do one more.

Fantastico! She said, "You're good."

Te dua mire.
Dua mire? Dua mire.

Luigina? Dua mire?

SHE SPEAKS ALBANIAN

HE REPEATS
Si, si.

Si. I have no idea what she said.

Ah, she said, "I love you, too,
not too much,

"but enough for what we need to do."

I have no idea
what she's got in mind to do.

But, OK, I love you, too.

One of the things that I love about
this technique of making pasta,

that you don't need
any pasta machine

or any electrical utensil,
and I love stuff like this.

IN ITALIAN:

Te dua mire.
Shume, shume.

Te dua mire.

Shall we go fishing? Huh?

'I am in southern Italy,
in the Basilicata region,

'exploring the awe-inspiring
mountains of Pollino.'

This is just stunning!

'Mezzanotte and I
are back on the trail.'

Now, I've heard
that there is a wild woman

who knows all the secrets
about this area.

The problem is that
there is a very tall bridge

over there, and there is no way
that we're gonna cross it,

right, Mezzanotte?

We're gonna go around the mountain.
OK, bella?

I don't like heights, you know that.
HORSE NEIGHS

No, no, don't do "brr",
you need to listen to me.

'The best way to unearth the wonders

'of this landscape
is to find a local,

'and mountain-born Iole
has volunteered.'

You listen to me, we are...
No, no, listen to me.

We are going to meet another woman,
so don't get jealous, yeah?

She's the wild woman around here.

Iole, this is Mezzanotte.

You stay here, OK? All right.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Gino.
How cool is this place?

It's just amazing.

How big is this park?

This is the largest protected area
in Italy.

And it's the first time
that I come here.

Yeah, I'm wondering
why you didn't come before.

I'll tell you why.

Because this is such a secret
that even I didn't know about it.

'A secret so big,
it covers 700 square miles.

'There is no way Mezzanotte and I
could make it across here in a day.'

You like my horse? She's amazing.

'And since the Italian cowboys left,

'it's become
a UNESCO World Heritage Site

'and boasts
nearly 400 medicinal herbs.'

So, this is just healing herbs,

or you can use them
for cooking as well?

We have plenty of aromatic herbs
that you can use.

'The herbs that grow wild here
are said to be out of this world.'

What are they?
Oh, this is oregano.

We have mint, thyme, wild fennel.

We have a lot of...
Some thistle over there.

Can you pick them from here?
We can pick a little bit of this.

No, I'm not gonna...
I'm not gonna take a lot.

If you smell it, it's very strong,
you can smell it very...

Oh, wow.
Fantastic, isn't it?

You know what I was thinking,
because I feel wild with you...

With you and the park, I feel wild,
so I'm thinking to do, like,

a wild pesto, a wild herb pesto.

Mm, sounds good.

Yeah, and one more?
One more.

One more, just a little bit,
and just one more, and that's it.

Plus, let's be honest, any plant
who's gonna die in my recipe

is gonna be a happy plant.
OK.

'Now I've got my hands
on some wild herbs,

'I'm inspired to make
an Italian-Albanian fusion dish.

'So, where better to try it out than
the village of San Paolo Albanese?'

OK, I'm in the back garden
of Luigina's restaurant here,

and it looks absolutely beautiful.

'I am adapting one
of my mamma's favourites

'using Luigina's Arbereshe pasta.'

Now, pasta with ceci.
Pasta with chickpea is a pasta

that from the north of Italy
all the way down in the south,

everybody cooks it.

Every Italian will know
how to make pasta with chickpea.

The only thing that... Every region
will have a different way to do it.

Neapolitan people will do pasta
with chickpeas

with pasta mista,
different shapes of pasta left over,

you know.
Instead of throw them away,

my mamma used to do a big bowl,
mix all the dry pasta together.

So, get yourself a nice large pot.

In there,
we're going to add the soffritto -

finely chopped onions,
finely chopped carrots

and finely chopped celery.

A little bit of bay leaf,
that is optional.

We're gonna start straightaway
with a good extra virgin olive oil.

In there, I'm also going to add
the crusco pepper.

This is a pepper
that only grows in this area.

This has got a beautiful,
sweet flavour,

a little bit smoky.

And they dry it, and it's fantastic
to create recipes.

I'm just gonna chop it up...

like this.

So, crusco pepper goes straight
into the oil,

so it starts to release the flavour.
SIZZLING

And then,
as soon as you hear the sizzling...

straight in goes the soffritto.

Like that.

The soffritto gives the flavours
that you need.

So, whenever you make a sauce,
always start with a good soffritto.

Now, you can use two different kinds
of chickpea.

You can use the dry one,
you have to soak them in water

for a good 24 hours,
and this is what you get.

You just drain it,
and they're ready to be cooked.

Or if you don't have the time,
you can buy the tinned chickpeas.

So then you take away the step
of soaking the chickpeas.

OK, happy with the soffritto.

Now the chickpeas go straight
into the pan...

..and we just want to mix them
into the soffritto.

In there, now, just add the water
and start to make the broth.

And as soon as they're covered,
put a lid on.

And slowly, slowly,
piano, piano,

let the chickpeas get the flavour
of the soffritto.

Meanwhile, let me show you

how I'm gonna make
an amazing wild herb pesto.

You can make pesto pretty much
with everything that you have,

and I have this amazing oregano
that I picked with Iole.

Take the leaves out.

Now, a lot of people,

they like to make the pesto
into an electric blitzer,

which is OK.
I'm not a huge fan.

Because the blade of the blitzer,
it goes so fast

that sometimes you burn
or you bruise the leaves,

and then the pesto
becomes quite dark.

So I like to do it with a knife,
nice and rustic.

Then in there,
what are we gonna put?

We're gonna put a little bit
of a prezzemolo - parsley.

Now, the one herb that's gonna
make this wild pesto really good

is the wild thyme.

Now, once you've got
your herbs done,

then I'm gonna add a little bit
of garlic, peel it, crush it.

OK.

So, I'm happy with the garlic.

That goes there.

Now, let's get the herbs, and
the only thing that you have to do,

just chop away, chop away,

and make sure
you don't over-chop it.

No, no, no, no, leave it rustic.

Now I'm gonna just put a little bit
of lemon zest.

Then I have a little bit
of parmesan cheese,

which I'm gonna grate
straight on top of the herbs.

In there straightaway.

Obviously, we have to put
extra virgin olive oil.

This is how you make the pesto.

And as you put in the oil,
you keep stirring.

Come, come, come, I'll show you.

This is the kind of consistency
you look for,

this is absolutely perfect.

The only thing, we're gonna
add a little bit of pepe nero,

black pepper, and, of course,
we're gonna season it with salt.

OK, now, let's check
the chickpeas here.

Now you're gonna think,
"Well, this looks a bit too much

"like a soup,"
and you're absolutely right.

The reason why is because
I'm now going to cook the pasta

straight into the chickpea sauce.

Instead of cooking
and boiling the pasta separately

and then put it together,
I want the pasta to immediately,

immediately absorb the flavour
of the soffritto

and the chickpea
and the crusco pepper.

I'm sure
you're not gonna be lucky like me

to have Luigina's pasta
around your house.

Whatever you've got is going
to work, trust me.

This is the secret
of this plate of pasta.

You have to make sure
that the pasta cooks in the broth

of the chickpeas for minimum effort,
maximum flavours.

Now, see what's happening here?

The pasta slowly, slowly absorbed
all the stock from the chickpea,

and it gets thicker and sticky,
that's exactly the way

a pasta with ceci should be.
I am happy with this.

Just before you serve it,
what I'm gonna do,

I'm just gonna add a little bit
of the wild pesto,

mix everything together.
HE GASPS

See, now you get all the colours
going through,

this is just yum, yum, yum,
yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. OK.

Bellissimo. Final touches
just before you serve it.

I really hope
Luigina's gonna like this.

I'm putting the pesto on top
at the end,

and look how beautiful it is.

Luigina! Sei pronta?

What is that? Che mi hai fatto?
Che hai preparato?

I wasn't expecting this.

What Luigina's done,
she cleaned the peperone crusco,

and then she deep-fried
in olive oil

so they're nice and crispy,
so they're like crisps.

We can put them on the side,

so then you can pick up
the chickpea. I like this.

Mm.
Buono, eh?

I got the Luigina approval
on my pasta with chickpeas.

And this is how you make
pasta e ceci.

Luigina's pasta with chickpeas.

'Next time, I'm meeting the families
of breath-taking Salento...'

Ah!
Ciao.

'..who are keeping
old traditions alive.'

Your dad invented it? Actually,
my great-great-great-father.

Buonissimo.
'And I'm diving into action.'

He's gonna get me
something nice to cook.

Gino! Una spigola!
Yes!

Subtitles by accessibility@itv.com