Hikers Wool Blog

...that was the advice of an Italian Immigrant that I befriended when I was working on an experimental Rice farm at Humpty-Doo near Darwin.

I thought about what he had said but I was more interested in the Spaghetti dish that he was preparing in his make-shift kitchen. He said it was called 'Spaghetti di Mezzanotte'. Vince's English was so-so and my  Italian was zilch and I thought that maybe he was referring to the plague of mosquitos (mezzanotte?) that always descended on us at nightfall. 

But when I think about it I actually knew quite a bit of Italian like; Mafia, Cannaloni, Spaghetti, Ferrari ,Cappuccino, Mozzararella, Latte and Pizza!

So I asked Vince what "......... alla Mezzanotte" meant in English.

He replied that the dish was actually called "Spaghetti con Aglio,Olio, e Pepperoncino" !!!!  but because he and his friends back in Naples used to eat it for supper around midnight after an evening playing cards, they called it "Spaghetti alle Mezzanotte" !!!

I gave up and had another beer.

This was the tropical rainy-season and the heat and humidity was oppressive.Then Mario, Paulo and Luca arrived with some more beers and we talked about kangaroo. crocodile and buffalo hunting on the wide black-soil plains along the Adelaide river and about new plantings of corn, bananas and paw-paws etc on Vince's small farm near Katherine. 

Then the spaghetti was ready in a large pot and Vince tossed in a bowl of Olive Oil mixed with heaps of fresh-chopped garlic and chilli flakes and stirred the whole thing up. What a never-to-be-forgotten wonderful feast we had under the light of a kerosene lantern in Vinces make-shift farm hut, while the dogs scrapped and snarled for tid-bits outside.

Years later I would carry the ingredients of "Spaghetti with Garlic,Olive oil and Chilli " with me when I tramped in the ranges around New Zealand and sometimes on reaching a bush hut late at night I would cook up my "Spaghetti at Midnight" dish for supper before going to sleep. Just like Vince and his mates used to do in Naples all those years ago.

Do try this nourishing recipe for Hikers and Trampers. The ingredients are simple and easy to carry.

For one person.

Spaghetti 150g .(cook in salted water until "al dente", look it up!)

Olive Oil . 3 tablespoons.

Fresh chopped or crushed Garlic. 1 clove . ( or more !)

Chilli flakes.  to your taste.

Mix and carry the above 3 ingredients in a plastic bottle.

Enjoy and let me know! ?

P.S. Mosquito in Italian is 'Zanzara' .