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Mediterranean Escapes”After 59 days on a barge travelling through the leafy, green tunnels on the canals of south west France, I finally reached the Mediterranean…. And when I saw that silky pink early morning light fading into infinity, I felt I didn’t want this journey to stop. I wanted to go on and on to discover the great dishes from around this very special sea – the centre of western civilisation.” Rick Stein July 2007 Rick Stein’s latest culinary odyssey starts where French Odyssey left off, in the port of Marseilles at the mouth of the Rhone. However, this time he abandons the idyllic canal boat, and explores the Mediterranean coastline and islands using the public ferry system in search of the very best in the region’s food.Programme one: Corsica and SardiniaProgramme two:  Sardinia and SicilyProgramme three:  Sicily and PugliaProgramme four:  Corfu and MallorcaProgramme five:  Mallorca, Catalonia, MoroccoProgramme six:  Morocco and TurkeyInspired by ‘good food that stays in the memory for a long time, sometimes forever’, Rick Stein journeys across the Mediterranean visiting islands and places that radiate a vibrant sense of individuality through their spirit, history and food.From spices and perfumes to the lavish use of wine and herbs, Mediterranean food is a large culinary mosaic full of colour, taste and smell formed by the Arabs, Greeks, Italians, Spanish and Turks. Join Rick as he travels from Corsica to Crete and right through the very cradle of cooking in the Western world.Mediterranean food is first and foremost the simple cooking of simple ingredients which translates extremely well into delicious, easy-to-prepare dishes. Some of the mouth-watering recipes from the series include chicken with sobrasada, courgettes and butter beans, pasta with pecorino sardo, pancetta, parsley and eggs, seared swordfish with salmoriglio, fennel sausages braised with lemony potatoes and bay leaves and baked Greek omelette with wild greens, herbs, leeks and fetaEpisode 1: Corsica and SardiniaDuration: 00:59:13Rick Stein’s Mediterranean escape started in Marseille where his last series ended. He caught the ferry to Bastia, the ancient capital of Corsica, where he was invited to a typical Corsican feast. Here pulenda, a kind of polenta made with chestnut flour, took pride of place along with figatellu, a strong-tasting local sausage made with offal and cheek from the Corsican black pig. At Bonifacio, Rick sailed across the rough straits to Sardinia, where he sampled an especially good spaghetti with cuttlefish ink and a rich tomato sauce.Recipes from the programme:• Wild boar stew with wild mushrooms, chestnuts and chorizo• Pasta with pecorino sardo, pancetta, parsley and eggsEpisode 2: Sardinia and SicilyDuration: 00:59:13In Sardinia, Rick watched as the local fishermen caught mullet using methods that date back to ancient Roman times. He then boarded a ferry for Sicily and in Palermo he found one of the best pasta dishes he has ever tasted. Rick treated us to the simple vegetarian Pasta with tomatoes, capers and mint using capers from the island of Pantelleria, and Pasta alla norma with aubergines, tomatoes, chilli and ricotta salata cheese from Catania on the east coast of Sicily.Recipes from the programme:• Pasta with tomato, capers and mint• Pasta alla norma• Seared swordfish with salmoriglioEpisode 3: Sicily and PugliaDuration: 00:59:15Rick continued his travels in Sicily and enjoyed the colours and ambience of Catania’s busy fish market. He then travelled to Puglia on Italy’s mainland where the local dishes have been influenced by centuries of poverty. Rick cooked Peas with onions, parma ham and olive oil, then gave his take on a fennel sausage recipe he had tasted at a local restaurant.Recipes from the programme:• Peas with onions, parma ham and olive oil• Fennel sausages braised with lemony potatoes and bay leavesEpisode 4: Puglia and CorfuDuration: 00:59:13Rick left Italy and made his way to the Greek island of Corfu where he attended a family feast. He visited kitchens in restaurants all over the island and learned how to make authentic Greek dishes such as a Greek salad with good quality feta and olives; Pastitsio, a beef and macaroni pie with cinnamon, red wine and kefalotiri cheese; and Baked Greek omelette with wild greens and herbs (horta), leeks and feta.Recipes from the programme:• Salata horiatiki• Pastitsio (beef and macaroni pie with cinnamon, red wine and kefalotiri cheese)• Baked Greek omelette with wild greens, herbs, leeks and fetaEpisode 5: Mallorca and CataloniaDuration: 00:59:14From Corfu, Rick headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca where he ate what he described as the most succulent lamb he has ever tasted. He interpreted Mallorcan-style cooking with his Chicken with sobrasada, a soft and spreadable Mallorcan sausage made with pork loin and fat, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Rick then travelled to Barcelona’s La Boqueria market, which he says is the best place to eat Catalonian food. With Catalonia in mind, he cooked the local food of salt cod fritters with allioli (a punchy garlic sauce from Catalonia).Recipes from the programme:• Chicken with sobrasada, courgettes and butter beans• Bunyols de bacallá (salt cod fritters with parsley and garlic)Episode 6: Morocco and TurkeyDuration: 00:59:12In Morocco, Rick enjoyed couscous, and tucked into the tagines and mint tea found in the bazaars. Rick cooked the Moroccan dish of Kefta mkaouara, a simple dish of onions, tomatoes, cumin, and paprika baked with spicy meatballs and eggs. His Mediterranean travels ended in south-eastern Turkey where he feasted on kebabs. Rick made the Turkish-style fast food lahmacun, a flatbread that is topped with minced lamb, then rolled up to eat.Recipes from the programme:• Kefta mkaouara (spicy egg, meatball and tomato tagine)• Lahmacun (spicy minced lamb flatbreads)Format:. MKVSource: BBC HD (Scandinavia) Video: 1280×720 at 25.000 fps, MPEG-4 AVC, ~ 2 971 Kbps avgAudio: English: 48 kHz, AC3, 3 / 2 (L, C, R, l, r) + LFE ch, ~ 448.00 kbps avgSubtitles: None