Dagmar

Dagmar sent a boat for us. We raced across the bay to Palmižana island in Croatia with ear-to-ear grins. A battered, chugging Land Rover took us up the hill, deeper and deeper into a botanical playground. It dropped us at the top of the path down to the Meneghello home - bright red and royal blue, covered with bold art, rosemary bushes, olive and orange trees between mad, giant cacti. Dagmar’s family bought the island in 1906 and slowly created a paradise, importing the cacti from Mexico.

Dagmar cooked her gregada stew on an open flame. Two tanned males got a menacing fire going in a matter of seconds upon her command. It also works fine on high heat on the hob. Any white fish will work; it’s just very important that it’s super-fresh. Dagmar used red scorpionfish (traditionally associated with bouillabaisse), grouper fish, big shrimp and clams.