Boating holidays usually mean renouncing some of the comforts of home that we are used to throughout the year. Knowing some “tricks” however, can make life on board easier, more fun, and, why not? A learning experience!

Us Italians love a good plate of pasta, even when we are on our floating walnut shell! So here are four tricks to quickly make a proper “marine” pasta dish, and have no pots to wash at the end.

OUR GALLEY TRICKS

1) On a boat, one of the things we have to be careful with is using gas for cooking: if it finishes while we are two days from the nearest port, it will not be easy even to make an instant coffee, and only eating crackers and tinned food …! So a “trick” to save gas and make the water boil faster is to add a dash of sodium bicarbonate before the water starts boiling. The proper chemical explanation I leave to the experts, but I can guarantee its success!

2) Water used for cooking pasta is salted. Instead of adding a handful of coarse salt, have you ever noticed that you are surrounded by salt water?! Fill your pot with 1/3 sea water and 2/3 fresh water and you will not only reach your objective, but will also save some water. This trick only works if the sea around you is clean, though!

3) And if you have dropped anchor in a secluded cove in Sardinia and feel like having some spaghetti, but all you have in the galley is some oil, a few capers and some olives, the sea will offer the best condiment ever: its flavour! Have a swim to the shore, collect a few stones and put them in the pot while the water is boiling. Once it starts boiling again, remove the stones and add the pasta; drain it then put in the oil., capers, and olives …. et voilà “sea flavoured pasta”! Do you want to learn other recipes to cook while at sea? Consult or bespoke section on Cooking at Sea!

4) If, instead, you have made yourselves some nice pesto pasta, it will be tough to scrub out that pot, so why not let the fish taste some of that Ligurian delicacy? Tie a rope to the pot and tie it to the stern, leave it in the water for a few hours: when you pull it up, it will be as clean as a whistle! Just a word of advice, remember to pull it back up before leaving!!

Have you missed our previous weeks’ advice and you still need to organise your galley? Go to our dedicated section, Liguria Nautica Restaurants and have a read!

Francesca Pradelli
Photography: Donnamoderna.com