An afternoon, somewhere in the Mediterranean
A loose guide to market mornings, long lunches & evenings that call for one more drink.
There’s a certain kind of summer day that doesn’t need much planning.
You wake up late, wander through the market, buy far too many tomatoes, swim before lunch and somehow find yourself sitting around the table hours later than intended.
There’s a drink in your glass, something good on your plate, and nowhere else you need to be.
Consider this our guide to doing exactly that.
1. Start at the Market
First things first: find the nearest market.
Come home with ripe tomatoes, blood oranges, lemons—always lemons—figs, peaches and whatever looks particularly good that day. Maybe some tinned sardines. Maybe something you have absolutely no idea what to do with yet. That’s part of the fun.
Let the produce do some of the decorating, too. A bowl of tomatoes on the table is hard to beat, and a pile of lemons has never met a table it didn't improve.
Add a loaf of crusty bread, a striped linen and a bottle of olive oil. Lunch is practically sorted.
2. Swim Before Lunch
If there's a sea nearby, go for a swim before you eat.
Come back sandy, sun-warmed and very hungry. Make something simple with whatever came home from the market: lemony spaghetti, a tomato salad, grilled fish, or whatever looks good enough to eat straight from the pan.
This is not the time for complicated recipes. Good ingredients, a little olive oil and a table full of people will do just fine.
3. Set the Table, Then Forget About It
Don't fuss over the table too much.
Mix your favourite plates. Bring out the colourful glasses you’ve been saving for “a special occasion”—because this is the occasion. Add a striped linen, a bowl of fruit and a few flowers wherever they’ll fit.
Borrow the colours of summer: lots of blue, yellow, green and tomato red. Don’t worry if everything doesn’t match.
It shouldn’t.
4. Let Lunch Linger
Put everything in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.
There should be bread to tear apart, salads to pass around, something warm in a big serving dish and perhaps a dessert nobody really needed but everyone wanted.
Pour another glass, stay a little longer. Because lunch doesn't have to end just because the plates are empty.
5. Make Room for Aperitivo
At some point, the light gets softer and someone inevitably says, “Should we have another one?”
Obviously.
Take it outside if you can. Bring the glasses, a bowl of olives, some almonds and whatever fruit survived lunch.
This is when the table starts looking its best, slightly messy, half-devoured, flowers beginning to droop and glasses catching the last bit of sun.
6. Dinner After Dark
Keep the lights low. Light a few candles. Put on something good.
Dinner can be simple again, grilled vegetables, fresh fish, pasta, a big salad and plenty of bread.
The table doesn't need much now. Just warm candlelight, beautiful glasses and people who aren't in a hurry to leave. And when the last plate has been cleared, don't clear the table just yet.
Stay, have one more drink. Finish the conversation. Bring out the brownies perhaps.
Because if there's one thing worth borrowing from a Mediterranean summer, it's this:
there's always time for one more.