Florence to North Cape

Buckwheat with peas and walnuts

Going up the Brenner a strong summer storm forced me to find shelter. In a Bressanone still asleep I stopped to buy some food. I decide to prepare my first recipe before greeting Italy with my last ‘ciao’ for weeks, I prepared myself a dish of a protein and quick to make that I often do at home, especially when it is time to harvest peas from my garden. Fresh peas quickly cook soft and tender and have a rich and intense flavor, which only freshly picked vegetables can give. I guarantee that this dish is equally nutritious and easy to prepare, and full taste even with jarred peas.

Baked apple

After cycling under a hot sun and losing a lot of energy on the steep ascent of the Garmish in Austria I decided to stop due to nausea. 
I've always known about the beneficial properties of the apples. Since I was a child, my mother used to give me cooked apples when I felt sick. The fresh evening air was perfect to catch my breath and cook the apples that I had collected along the road that crosses many apple crops. This sweet and tasty dessert is excellent when one must eat but doen’t feel hungry. It would have been perfect if I HAD some cinnamon to sprinkle on top.

Beans and corn salad

In a flat and sunny Germany I decided to take the secondary country roads away from noise and traffic. Surrounded by endless cultivated fields with wheat and corn, I slowly I reconciled myself with my body, the serenity and peace of pedaling while enjoying the passing landscape. I gathered some corn cobs not too ripe, to taste them raw, and I got inspired to prepare a tasty, simple and hearty salad.

Fettuccine with nettles and walnuts

Here, now that I think about it, I felt really far from home. The landscapes had changed and also the climate, the heat had disappeared leaving fresh air. I took this opportunity to lengthen the pace going up and down in a succession of hills running through expanses of forest with thick and tall trees preventing the view of the horizon.The forest makes me feel at home. An excellent shelter from the road and its noises. During a break I collected nettles. When the plant is not yet mature the young and slightly pungent leaves are excellent to be eaten as soon as they are blanched.
Nettle is an underestimated official plant, it can be found almost everywhere in the shady and humid areas of the undergrowth or along the roadside. It is rich in minerals and other nourishing elements as well as being tasty and with an unique flavor.

Fusilli with borage

I started to find a rhythm with new habits.With the cooler air my pedaling was faster and my appetite too.I gathered some young borage leaves that I found along the way with the unmistakable blue flower. Borage is a plant rich in beneficial properties and also very tasty in the right combinations. A quick recipe to make, cooking all the ingredients in a single container enriches the dish with an exciting flavor.

Gnocchi with lovage and nuts

Denmark was a short and rainy acquaintance. But in the rain, rainbows and golden sunset it revealed some of the best characteristics of mother nature: the lovage - a locally grown herb, which I prepared with gnocchi without egg, that I fortunately found near Cophenagen.
A Danish friend had introduced me to lovage, a plant widespread especially in northern Europe with beneficial properties and a sweet and sour taste that reminds me of celery.

Pasta with beans

I had landed in Helsingborg in Sweden and felt that the journey had only just begun. I stocked up on food and left the city to continue on desolated roads surrounded by a colorful nature. The temperature was perfect for cycling and grinding kilometers. In the open Swedish countryside I prepared a simple and quick dish. I love pasta and beans for its concentrated taste and nutrients that help you recover the energy spent.

Spinach with lupins

I landed in the port of Turku in Finland -it was almost evening, but in time to stock up on some food and then start pedaling into the heart of the wild Finnish countryside. After leaving the city I found a place to stop and cook. Usually I combine spinach and lupine in tasty “meatballs” but the result of this interesting dish, rich in nutrients and taste, was the same.

Chanterelle and potato soup

Cycling in Finland is magical. It may seem monotonous over long distances without seeing signs of civilization, but the overwhelming beauty of nature never tired me. During long rides in the saddle my gaze often turned to the right side of the road. I was attracted by the edible plants that grow spontaneously and to the mushrooms that I could see even from a distance. It was easy to see the unmistakable bright yellow of the chanterelles in the moss undergrowth.
I prepared a hot and fast dish with chanterelles and potatoes, a simple and creamy repairing soup full of flavor.

Porridge with blueberries and banana

In the straight roads of Finland that never seem to end I stopped many times to pick blueberries. Never seen so many and it was a shame not to collect them. I always had a little stock of blueberries in the airtight fridge bags to make a snack or prepare breakfast. I like porridge in all its forms, the possibilities of combinations are endless. The nutritional properties of oats, especially whole wheat, are manifold. Porridge gives you a concentrated of slowly released energy perfect for pedaling on long grueling cold days.

Quinoa with porcini mushroom

As I approach the Arctic circle the light of day hardly ever set. The twilight light gives indescribable colors and also sudden rains and temperature changes. Cycling during the evening hours, tired after a long day in the saddle, it sometimes became difficult to find shelter for the night on the long distances between one city and another in Finland. This time I had to find an emergency refuge for a storm that he had caught me during the night. I found an open door in one of the many abandoned houses along the way. I felt like a transgressor but enjoying the beauty as an invited guest with all due respect. I cooked a simple dish with quinoa with all its beneficial properties and the goodness of the porcini mushrooms I had found during the day.

Spaghetti garlic and ginger

The last 100 km to be covered before reaching the final destination were demanding, cycling under a freezing rain and with the strong cold wind in my face. I allowed myself a break before facing the last difficult kilometers to reach the North cape peninsula and the dreaded tunnel that passes under the sea. I prepared this last quick recipe to make. Spaghetti with garlic and ginger has a fresh, fragrant and slightly spicy taste that is an interesting alternative to the classic garlic and chilli pepper.

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