The hot southern area of Puglia has a Mediterranean style of cuisine that reflects its geography and culinary history. The region’s superb olive oil is present in every facet of cooking here, and many an antipasto has been created from a simple selection of raw vegetables dipped in a small bowl of local oil. Fish is abundant, and the freshness of the catch is often celebrated by eating fish raw, be it swordfish, sea bream, shellfish, octopus or the delicious orange flesh of sea urchin so popular along the shores near Bari. Cheese is also excellent, with mozzarella, scamorza and burrata representing some of the favorites, and the region’s vast selection of pasta is of exceptional quality. Meat normally means lamb or goat, simply grilled, but no visit to Puglia is complete without having tried the area’s tasty bread.
Traditional dishes:
Favetta: Fava Bean Purée
Ingredients
- 500 g shelled fava beans (broad beans)
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Blanch the beans in salted boiling water, and drain as soon as they are tender, 2 – 5 minutes, depending how old they are.
- Run under cold water then remove their outer shells.
- In a food processor, whiz the fava beans with the garlic, lemon juice, thyme leaves and slowly add as much oil as you need to obtain a rich, smooth cream.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with some braised chicory.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Insalata di Arance: Orange Salad
Ingredients
- 4 large oranges
- Few crisp lettuce leaves
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel orange and cut into segments, taking care to remove any pith and membrane.
- Arrange the crisp salad on a serving dish and season lightly.
- Place the orange segments on top, season with salt and pepper and garnish with a drizzling of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Delicious served with grilled salmon.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa: Oricchiette with Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients
- 700 g broccoli rabe
- 500 g fresh orecchiette pasta
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 salted anchovies, rinsed and chopped
- Pinch of dried chili pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Trim and rinse the broccoli rabe and cook in boiling salted water until tender.
- Drain and reserve the cooking water.
- Heat a generous drizzling of olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and sauté until garlic turns golden brown.
- Discard garlic and add the chopped anchovies.
- Add the roughly chopped broccoli rabe and the chilli pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the broccoli cooking water back to the boil, add a little more salt if necessary, and cook the pasta until it is al dente.
- Drain pasta and add to the broccoli.
- Toss well together and serve immediately.
Number of servings (yield): 4-6
Seppie Ripieni: Stuffed Cuttlefish
Ingredients
- 1 kg cuttlefish, cleaned and boned
- 100 g homemade breadcrumbs
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp of capers, rinsed
- 1 salted anchovy, rinsed and chopped
- Handful of parsley, finely chopped
- 25 g pecorino cheese
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- To make the filling, mix the breadcrumbs with the garlic, the eggs, parsley, capers, anchovy, parsley and pecorino cheese.
- Season to taste with salt and parsley.
- Stuff the cuttlefish with the filling and close each one with a toothpick.
- Place cuttlefish in an oiled ovenproof dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for 40 – 45 minutes at 350ºF.
Number of servings (yield): 4
Torta di Mandorla: Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 300 g sugar
- 100 g butter
- 250 g flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 300 g ground almonds
- Icing sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Beat the eggs with the sugar and the butter until they are light and fluffy.
- Sieve in the flour with the baking powder and the salt, then add the ground almonds.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture then pour batter into a round buttered cake tin.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 360ºF for about 30 minutes or until cake is cooked in the center.
- Allow to cool and serve with a dusting of icing sugar.
Number of servings (yield): 1 cake