Coast with the most

Food writer AMBER GUINNESS transports us to the shores of Italy's Tyrrhenian Sea by way of delicious helpings of pasta, fish and limoncello.

- AMBER GUINNESS

It was as I bobbed in the crystal-clear waters off Punta Scario beach on the island of Salina that I truly began to appreciate the magical and restorative powers of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

It had been a tough few months - I was juggling three jobs at the time and felt like I was being pulled in a million directions - but as I swam out towards the island of Vulcano, I felt all my worries drain away," says Tuscany-based food writer Amber Guinness in her new book Italian Coastal, a love letter to the cuisines and curiosities of Italy's west coast. "Yes, I was on holiday, so of course my mood was bound to lift, but as I floated there, I realised that so many of my favourite spots in Italy have something in common: they are all scattered across this particular body of water," she adds.

Guinness was born in London but raised at Arniano and has worked as a cook in both London and Italy. As she sees it, all major destinations of the Tyrrhenian retain their own distinct style of cooking. "Campania, the tomato-growing capital with Vesuvius at its heart, has a more fiery and playful palate. The Aeolian Islands, so remote and cut off from the rest of the world, have developed a cooking style that celebrates the produce of the islands: capers, oregano and lemons. And Sicily, conquered over millennia by every major civilisation, enjoys a kaleidoscopic blend of cuisines and influences: Italian food with an African, Greek, Arabic and Moorish twist."

Prosecco, limoncello and basil Spritz

SERVES 6

"This light citrusy Spritz has been popping up all along the coast over the past decade, particularly in Sicily," says Guinness.

Ice cubes, to serve