Puglia extra virgin olive oil

Since I became a professional extra virgin olive oil taster I had a chance to taste many olive oils from different producers. I am very pleased to find out that more and more producers are focusing on making very high quality extra virgin olive oils.
Puglia is the biggest producer of olives and olive oil in Italy. Out of the total Italian market, the region produces 37% of the whole olive production and almost 40% of the whole olive oil production (vs Tuscany which makes 2,9% of the whole olive production and about 3,2% of the whole olive oil production).
For years Pugliese olive oil producers have been focusing just on quantity selling their olives to Tuscany or other northern Italian regions.
Local producers are finally realizing that quality is more important than quantity, in a region that has been producing olive oil for centuries and that counts 40 millions olive trees, of which 40% are more than 1000 years old. This millenary history and important culture is testified by the many frantoi ipogei, underground and ancient olive oil presses that you find in Puglia.
The beauty of Pugliese olive oil is the fact that we have so many different varieties: Leccino, Coratina, Frantoio, Ogliarola, Peranzana, Rotondella, Garganica, Gentile…just to name a few.

The two varieties Bella di Cerignola and Termite di Bitetto are used as table olives.
All these olives have different colors and shape and result in olive oils with different flavors and taste.
In Puglia, we use extra virgin olive oil almost for everything, even to make homemade desserts and cakes. Very rarely we use butter at home…may be to make a cake for a guest or for very specific recipes.
What I find fascinating is how different and how better a dish can taste when we pair it with the right extra virgin olive oil (just as when you pair food and wine).

So many times, I go to a restaurant, order the best food and then I cannot enjoy it because the olive oil used is not extra virgin or it is not the right one for that dish. A bad olive oil can ruin your food. The right extra virgin olive oil can enhance the flavors and freshness of the ingredients.

Of course, I and Marika, we belong to the school that says that extra virgin olive oil should be used raw: when you cook it, you destroy all the flavors and healthy benefits.

For more information about our extra olive oil tastings and tours please write at info.stile@gmail.com or visit the website: http://www.stilemediterraneo.it/

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The search for the smallest capers!

Puglia is the perfect place for those who love capers! We produce tons of capers. Apart from sweets, almost all recipes from the traditional cuisine of Puglia, require capers…from fish, to meat, vegetables and pasta. In Puglia, we certainly use more capers than garlic or other herbs.
Yesterday, I went to the market with a specific mission. I wanted to buy a caper plant and try producing capers….once more! I might have tried 20 times already….always with no success!
It’s really difficult to grow capers. They prefer to grow wild only where they decide to grow! They require just the right sun exposure, the right soil or rock, the perfect climate.

I always wondered how they can get to grow so well on top of the most dangerous sea cliffs…and not in my chalky garden with all my care and love!

When you drive along the Adriatic coast from Otranto down to Santa Maria di Leuca you will see lots of people with bags climbing the sea cliffs: they will be picking capers...and of course the best capers are the smallest ones, the most difficult to pick. May be that's why they are the most expensive ones!

In the next months, I will keep you posted about what happens to this lovely caper plant!

Just to make sure I and Marika had enough capers for the summer, I also bought some freshly picked capers.
Of course, I and Marika like buying the smallest capers: they are so tasty compared to the big ones.

The recipe to prepare the fresh capers is the following:
1kg freshly picked capers (the smallest)
1kg sea salt
White wine vinegar (as necessary)

Wash the capers, put them in a jar and mix them with sea salt. Leave them with sea salt for at least 10 days.
We use salt to remove capers’ bitterness. Please consider that it is very important you use “sea” salt since it helps preserving the capers’ flavor and taste.
As you may already know, salt preserves food: therefore capers with salt can last for many months or years.
After the first 10 days, put them in another jar, add other sea salt and leave them for other 10 days.

Now they are ready to be eaten. Remove the sea salt, put them in a jar, cover them with white wine vinegar and close the jar with the lid.
Leave them with vinegar for about 5 days. After 5 days, remove the vinegar and cover them with other white wine vinegar. After 10 days, repeat this step once more. Leave them with vinegar for other 15 days, at least, before using them.

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Aperitif time the Pugliese way: fresh sea urchins!

One of the things I and Marika love about the summer in Puglia is the chance to enjoy our favorite aperitif, may be on the beach while watching a beautiful sunset!
There are many things that Pugliese people have during the aperitif.
What I and Marika love the most are the sea urchins. Both accompanied by a good glass of Italian Prosecco wine, the Valdobbiadene Doc is one of our favorites.

Aperitif is a very special moment of the day in Puglia. It can take place at around 12…after breakfast, before going to the beach; or at 8pm after a day spent on the beach before getting ready to have dinner. In Puglia we have a sort of Latin culture therefore dinner is never before 10.30pm, even in winter.
Many people say they will never try sea urchins ….never, never in their life! We have seen lots of people who started with just one….and who are now coming back to Puglia just to eat the sea urchins! Of course there are many ways to eat sea urchins: you can have them on top of the linguine, very simply cooked with just some parsley.

However, the most unforgettable way is to have them raw, by the sea while the fisherman opens them for you a few minutes after he cathes them! Bread is allowed to get all the juice. Fishermen have their special or hidden places where they stop to open sea urchins. Usually you will find them in any village by the sea.

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Traditional tomato Sauce

One thing that I and Marika certainly love about the cuisine of Puglia is the fact that even though our recipes are very simple to prepare, the resulting dishes are extremely delicious. Tomato sauce is the recipe that best represents the simplicity of our cuisine. We use only these ingredients: fresh and ripe tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, basil leaves and onion. Nothing else! We promise the resulting tomato sauce will be unforgettable.
To make a good tomato sauce the quality of the tomatoes you use is very important as well as the extra virgin olive oil you add on top at the end.
Contrary to what people normally think, Italian cuisine does not use as much garlic as other cuisines (i.e. Spanish). Therefore to make the tomato sauce in Puglia we tend to prefer onion to garlic. Also, in Puglia we don’t cover the taste of the main ingredients we are using: if we make a tomato sauce we want to taste the tomatoes and not the onion. Therefore we don’t use too much onion.
As for the extra virgin olive oil, we prefer to add it at the end when the tomato sauce is ready and not in advance. This is because once cooked, the extra virgin olive oil loses all the health properties and flavors. Whereas if you add it raw it still has all its flavors. To remove the acidity our grandmother always told us to cook the tomato sauce at least for two hours. If you don’t have that much time, you can use a sliced carrot that helps removing the acidity, instead of using sugar.


RECIPE
6 servings

Ingredients:
2 kg of fresh and ripe tomatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion
1 tsp sea salt
Basil leaves
Red pepper flakes

Preparation:
Soften the onion with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. Cook the tomatoes for about two hours. Blend them with a food processor and cook them again at very low flame so that the sauce reduces more. Add basil, sea salt, red pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

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Mediterranean lifestyle: the Siesta time

If you ever arrive in Lecce any time from 1 to 5 pm you will certainly think this is a gost town.

All houses will have their shutters down.

All shops will be closed and most bars and restaurants will be empty.

Nobody will be around apart from a few tourists desperately looking for open churches or monuments.

The only proof that humans are around may be a bottle of wine with a few glasses left on the table after lunch in a private home.

For those wondering what goes on from 1 to 5 pm in Lecce and everywhere else in Puglia, the answer is very simple: it's siesta time!

All people go home to have lunch with their families and then, they go to bed for a long siesta...before starting their day again which goes on until very late at night.
After 5pm, little by little people start waking up again: first you see a man riding a bike, then a lady knocking a neighbour's door...until when you see all the ladies gathering in front their house and chatting about their plans for dinner.

Many medical studies demonstrated that having a proper and seated lunch with our family improves our well being and lifestyle. Moreover taking a short siesta reduces the risks of many heart and health diseases.....of course when associated to a healthy way of eating.

In general I and Marika like this relaxed lifestyle and for the past few years, since we are back home in Puglia, we "have been forcing" ourselves to take an after lunch siesta every day, even just fo 15 minutes. There won't be anything else you coud do otherwise: you can't call anyone because all phones will be off; you can't go shopping because all shops are closed. The only problem with taking a siesta is that once you get used to it, it's very hard to go back and not take it anymore!

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What you should not miss if you come to Puglia: the Primitivo wine!

If you come to Puglia you should definetely try the many different wines produced from the distinctive local varities, which are impossible to find in any other part of Italy.

Puglia is a region with one of the most ancient enological traditions of Italy. The region counts 25 DOC wines and many local grapes, including the now famous Primitivo. A few years ago Primitivo variety was cultivated with the only purpose of making bulk wines destined to other Italian and European regions, where wines were less robust and with less alcohol content.

Nowadays, thanks to the hard work of many oenologists and wine producers this grape has been revaluated and is now fully appreciated around the world.
Primitivo became famous when it was found out that Primitivo and Zinfandel have the same DNA.
Some researchers say that both Primitivo and Zinfandel have Balkan origins, from the Zagarese grape. They say that Primitivo grape was introduced in Puglia in the 17th century.
Other people say that the primitivo grape was introduced in Puglia much earlier by the Greeks.

The name primitivo comes from the fact that this grape ripens earlier than other varieties.

The current success is due to the innovation introduced in the vineyards, such as the early harvest and the very low yield per hectare so that the resulting wines are softer, more fruity and less aggressive in terms of alcohol.

Lots of wine makers still practise the manual harvest which results in higher quality of the grapes and so of the wines!

Primitivo is produced everywhere in Puglia, but the DOC areas for Primitivo are Gioia del Colle (where the different temperature between night and day lets the fruit ripen slowly and perfectly) and Manduria (where the wind coming from the sea contributes to keeping the fruit in good health and to its flavors). The wine obtained from primitivo is well structured, with flavors of ripen red fruit and minimum alcohol degree of 14%.

This grape has a strong and very distinctive character and Pugliese wine makers wisely prefer a short time aging in French barrels (instead of complying with the international wines with a stronger wood taste). This is a wine to be aged.

Today wines made of Primitivo show undeniable class in a style that stands comparison with its American counterparts.

Every last Sunday of May is a special day for those who love wines from Puglia. All wineries are open to visitors for free visits and tastings, while usually, it is not possible to visit wineries without an appointment.

For more info on our wine tours in Puglia please email at: info.stile@gmail.com or visit the website: http://www.stilemediterraneo.it/
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Traditional home made Pear Jam

Making pear jam is one of those things that brings me and Marika to our childhood, when we were preparing it with our Grandmother: not only the smell in the house while we prepare it, but also the taste when we spread the delicious on a piece of warm bread.
I and Marika belong to the very traditional school when we come to making preserves. We don’t use any pectin nor any water!
We know that the pectin would reduce the time to prepare our jam. But we really don’t care: you need time and patience if you want an excellent result. We want to know that anything else goes into our pear jam but organic pears (from our father’s garden) and sugar. You may also use honey, which is the ancient Roman way of preparing jams.

The key when you make your fruit preserve is the quantity of sugar you use.
Sugar is one of those ingredients (along with salt and vinegar) which have very important properties in preserving food. Sugar helps to preserve food by lowering the water activity, so preventing the growth of bacteria and fostering the microbiological stability of the product.
The quantity of sugar depends on the fruit you are using (which can have more or less sugar content). In general you need a minimum of 600 – 650 grams of sugar per each kg of fruit, if you want to store your jam for up to one year.

We totally agree with Christine Ferber: the secret for a very good jam is the quality of the fruit you are using. Therefore, our pears nees to be of very high quality and not too ripe!

We also like to keep the skin of our pears, because of their high quantity of vitamins.

RECIPE

servings: about 20 little jars
Ingredients:
4 kg pears
2,5 kg sugar

Preparation:
Cut the pears in small pieces, add the sugar and start cooking in a very big and tall steel pan. Cover with a lid and stir very often with a wooden spoon, so that the compound does not stick or burn.

Once the pears start boiling, reduce the flame to the minimum, cover and keep cooking. Stir very frequently. Cook at very low flame for at least 1 hour and half or until when the preserve reaches the right consistency.
To check the consistency, put a few drops of jam in a glass with some cold water. If the jam drops fall down to the bottom without melting, it means the jam is ready.
Our recipe is to keep some small pieces of pears, therefore we don’t pass it through a food processor.

In the meantime, sterilize the glass jars and lids in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Let the jars cool down. Fill them when the pear jam is still very warm and within ½ inch of the top! Close the jars very well.

Our Grandmother's method is to keep the jears upside down for about 5 minutes.
I and Marika like to be super safe so we boil the jars again for about 40 minutes at low flame. Then, place the jars in a warm place and cover with a blanket so that they don’t break.

What is your favorite jam?

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Durum wheat semolina

One of the key ingredients of the Pugliese cuisine is semolina from durum wheat. In Italian, semolina translates into “semola di grano duro”.
Semolina can only be made from durum wheat and is very yellow in color. It is completely different from the white flour (farina Bianca) which comes from softer wheats. Durum wheat semolina is much richer in protein and healthier because slower to be digested.
Puglia is a big producer of durum wheat. In fact Puglia is also known as the “Granaio d’Italia”, Granary of Italy. If you go to the Northern part of Puglia, the so-called Tavoliere di Puglia, you will be amazed by the beautiful yellow grain fields. In Puglia all types of fresh handmade pasta, dry pasta, bread and even some cakes are made of durum wheat semolina. For pasta nothing else is used but durum wheat semolina and water. Our personal experience is that kneading the pasta dough made of durum wheat semolina is much easier than with other kinds of flour. It just gives you the perfect consistency right away and the resulting taste is unique!
All bread made in the Altamura (read this interesting article The Bread Is Famously Good, but It Killed McDonald's ), Laterza and Matera areas, is made of durum wheat semolina as well, which results in a more yellow bread. The interesting thing about bread made of durum wheat semolina is that it can last for many days or even a week, if kept in a dry environment and in a paper bag (we actually think it is much better after two or three days). No preservatives are added to this bread!

Very impressive results are also reached when semolina is used to bake cakes or tarts. Not only the color is very warm and beautiful, but also the taste is much richer.

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Spring Sunday lunch with your friends

What’s better than inviting all your best friends at your place for the Sunday lunch and having everything ready from the night before?
Having a free Sunday morning gives you the time to relax, choose the best wine to accompany your food, buy colored flowers and choose the perfect table cloth.
I and Marika are so excited: we have 6 friends over tomorrow and we are already done with all the preparation!
We experimented with this fantastic recipe: fresh green peas with lamb and bacon.
We used the fresh green peas we bought at the vegetable market today (you may also try with the frozen peas).

RECIPE
Ingredients
For the green peas:
600 grams fresh green peas
¼ onion
A few drops extra virgin olive oil

For the lamb:
700 grams lamb
Pinch rosemary
2 glasses red wine
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
3 eggs
150 grams bacon (lengthwise sliced)
50 grams grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Cut the lamb in small pieces and discard the fat. Dip the lamb in the wine with rosemary and marinate it for about two hours.

When the lamb is marinated, soften the garlic (whole) with 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. After 1 minute remove the garlic clove. Drain and add the lamb to the olive oil and stir while cooking it at very low flame. After about 25-30 minutes, switch off the flam and let the lamb cool on the side.
For the green peas, soften the onion with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil in a pan just for a minute. Add the fresh green peas, stir, reduce the flame to the minimum and cover with the lid. After 5 minutes, stir and add some warm water. When the green peas are cooked (about 25 minutes) switch off the flame and let them cool on the side.
Drain the green peas, in case they released some water.
Using a food processor, reduce 2/3 of the green peas to a smooth cream and add 3 whole eggs, the grated parmesan cheese, the lamb (once it is cold), and the remaining green peas.


Moisten an oven paper with water and use it to cover a plum-cake baking pan. Place the bacon slices on the paper (the bacon must be placed on the sides as well) and pour on top the green peas and lamb. Fold the bacon and close the oven paper. Bake in the oven at 180° for about 50 min. Once cold (better after 12 hours) slice the lamb and peas plum-cake.

Serve with a good Rosè wine! One of our favorite Rosè wines from Puglia is the Metiusco Rosato from the Palamà winery made from Negroamaro (70%) and Malvasia (30%).
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Hand-made Agnolotti pasta stuffed with ricotta and Parma ham

I and Marika woke up very early this morning. We wanted to get to the local cheese artisan before he finished his delicious ricotta cheese.While the fresh ricotta was being made just in front of us, we were both mouthwatering at the idea of making our favorite Agnolotti pasta, stuffed with ricotta and Parma ham.

If you ever come to Puglia, you will be surprised by the fact that we look like a whole region of vegetarian people: we eat lots of vegetables (eggplants, artichokes, bell peppers, zucchini), legumes (chickpeas, fava beans) and cereals (wheat, faro/spelt etc).
Moreover, all traditional pasta from Puglia: orecchiette (which means little ears), tagliatelle, trofie, sagne...is made with NO EGGS! Just water, a pinch of salt and durum wheat flour (or barley flour).

Everybody attending our cooking classes is always impressed by how diverse, Italian culinary traditions can be from region to region. This applies to the fresh pasta: which is without eggs in Southern Italy; and with eggs in Northern Italy. However, when we come to agnolotti, ravioli or lasagne, also in Puglia we use eggs.
Ricotta and Parma ham are the best combination for the stuffed pasta! You can make different shapes using different cutters: squared ravioli or the round agnolotti. For the filling, instead of the Parma ham, you can also use asparagus or spinach, or a mix of fresh herbs if you prefer.
Please try and tell us what you think.

Agnolotti stuffed with ricotta and Parma ham.
INGREDIENTS
Agnolotti pasta:
(3 servings)
200 grams durum wheat flour (you can use all purpose flour)
2 eggs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Stuffing and dressing:
150 grams Ricotta cheese
100 grams Parma ham
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Sage leaves
100 grams grated Parmesan cheese (good quality)
a pinch of grated nutmeg

PREPARATION

Put the flour in a bowl with the two eggs and the extra virgin olive oil. Knead the dough until it gets very smooth.
Cut the dough in little balls and using the pasta machine, stretch out the dough in very thin sheets of pasta.

Cut the Parma ham in very small strips and mix it with the ricotta using a spoon.
Using a teaspoon, place some ricotta and Parma ham on the pasta sheet (in the middle), and fold it. Cut the stuffed pasta using a pasta cutter and close it with your fingers. It is important you cook these stuffed agnolotti right away. Boil the water in a pan adding a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (so that they don’t stick). Add a tsp of sea salt and cook the pasta for 5 minutes.
Remove the pasta al dente and sauté in a saucepan with a few drops of olive oil and the sage leaves, for 2 minutes.
Serve adding the grated parmesan cheese and nutmeg.

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Strawberry flowers for Mother's day

In Italy, we say that we are a population of “Mammoni” (mummy’s people): la “Mamma” is a very important person for Italians in general.
Therefore, today’s Mother day is going to be a very important festivity (almost more important than Christmas!). Everybody gives to their Mammas the most beautiful flowers.
I and Marika thought of making a “savory flower”. We were inspired by the red color of the beautiful poppies we now have in the countryside in Puglia.
We prepared this summery strawberry dessert, that we called “strawberry flower”.
Recipe:
(for 6 servings)

500 grams strawberries
20 ladyfingers
1 tbsp sugar
1 freshly squeezed lemon
Mint leaves

For the pastry cream:
4 yolks
½ liter skimmed milk
7 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp 00 flour
1 lemon zest

To prepare the strawberry sauce:
Leave aside 10 big strawberries. Cut in small pieces the other strawberries and place them in a bowl with 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 freshly squeezed lemon. Stir with a spoon and let them marinate in the fridge. After about 2 hours, use a food processor to reduce the strawberries to a sauce (leaving some big chunks of fruit).

To prepare the pastry cream:
Put the yolks and sugar in a pan and mix with a spoon, while adding the flour little by little. Pour half milk and keep stirring with a spoon until the flour is completely dissolved.
Peel the whole lemon zest and add it to the mix. Move to the stove, reduce the flame to the minimum and keep stirring with the spoon, while adding the remaining milk. Keep stirring for about 8-10 minutes. Let the pastry cream cool down completely (for at least 1 hour) and then remove the lemon zest. (Instead of using the lemon pastry cream, you could also use the mascarpone cheese).

Dessert preparation:
Place a first layer of ladyfingers in a serving bowl and, using a spoon, moisten them with the strawberry sauce. Add a layer of pastry cream on top.
Continue adding another layer of ladyfingers, strawberry sauce and pastry cream.
Slice the 10 strawberries and use them to garnish. Finish with some mint leaves.

How do you celebrate today's Mother day?

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Back from our memorable cookery tour!

(Savory Strawberries)

I and Marika are back from our cooking and wine tour.
It was a memorable week: we cooked, ate, drank and … laughed a lot! Some guests even complained that the food was TOO GOOD and the wines too delicious!
After sharing so many memorable experiences, it is very sad when our guests (now new friends) go back to their homes…even though they left with the promise to be back in Puglia again (but only after following a strict diet!!).
The best part of a culinary tour is to meet so many interesting people who enjoy traveling and getting to know a place through its food, culture and the local people they meet.

These are just a few highlights of our week.

A good start of the day with one of the best Italian ice creams at the local seller:Visit of a village which was ready for the Saint Patron celebration:

Lots of poppies and olive trees in the countryside:

We meet our fishermen friends in Gallipoli:
One of the fishermen invited us to his house to show us his collections. This was an experience that all our guests enjoyed a lot, since it was totally unexpected...and since no tourist guide books even mention it!

Collection of big shells caught in the sea and old nets used to fish:

Collection of other ancient instruments used in the house:

Collection of 12 little chracters (below the Saint frame). Each character represents an old profession in the village. Starting from the left, we have: the fisherman, the carpenter, the builder, the shoemaker, the taylor etc. Every year, on the Holy Friday, local people wander around the village wearing the colored gouns and hoods.

We think this sort of little unexpected surprises makes our tours unique! Click here for more pictures about sea and beach in Puglia.

What was your favorite unexpected adventure in Italy?

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The roses cake....or the small panini

I and Marika are so excited to leave for one of our cooking tours. It will be lots of fun!
Before leaving, we would like to share with you one of our favorite recipes. It is similar to the local Focaccia from Lecce (but the size is much smaller). It can also remind you of some small Italian Panini.

We call it “The Roses Cake” (la torta di rose) because it reminds us of many little roses.

Ingredients for 5 people:
-250 grams flour
-1 yeast
-½ tsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-200 grams of fresh pecorino cheese
-5 tomatoes
-3 basil leaves
-Pinch of oregano
-1 tbsp capers
-3 anchovies

For the dough: melt in a cup the yeast with some warm water and the sugar. Pour the water with the yeast in a bowl with the flour and salt. Knead with your hands and let it rise for about 1 hour. Then, knead again the dough on a wooden board and cut it in small pieces, of 50 grams each.
For the inside: cut the tomatoes, cheese, basil leaves and anchovies in small pieces and dress in a bowl with oregano, olive oil and capers.
Roll out each piece of dough and place a spoon of tomatoes and cheese in the middle.Fold the dough and close it very well.

Prepare a baking pan with some olive oil. Place each piece of dough one next to the other and let them rise for other 30 minutes. Bake in the oven at 180° C for 35 minutes (350F).

Let us know if you make this recipe. It's perfect to be used on the table instead of the regular bread.

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Hand made mozzarella from Puglia

One of the good things about living in Puglia, apart from the weather, is that you can get the freshet handmade mozzarella at any small little “bottega” or artisan shops.
For Pugliese people, mozzarella is not just another example of cheese, but it belongs to the specific “mozzarella” category. When you go to a restaurant and you ask for some cheese, they will bring you to the table all the most amazing cheese you can think of: Pecorino, Parmigiano etc. But if you want a mozzarella, you need to specifically ask for: a “mozzarella”.
In Puglia there is a big tradition and culture around the mozzarella.
If you try the mozzarella in Puglia, you understand why. It has a high moisture content and is very tender and tasty. And it doesn’t matter if it is a buffalo mozzarella or a cow milk mozzarella (though, the one from Puglia is traditionally the cow milk mozzarella and we call it fior di latte). When you cut a piece of mozzarella with your fork and you have all the milk coming out….you start mouthwatering and you are just in paradise!
I believe the main reason why mozzarella is so good in Puglia is because lots of artisans still hand make the mozzarella, as opposed to using a machine. One of the best food experiences you can have is to eat a mozzarella a few minutes after it was handmade. Can it be any fresher than this?

Mozzarella belongs to the “pasta filata” cheese. This means that after the milk is curdled, the mozzarella is stretched and kneaded until it gets very soft. The interesting thing is that the artisan stretches the mozzarella dough with his hands and a wooden spoon. However, this is not as painless as when you make a pizza or bread: the mozzarella dough is submerged in VERY HOT water (which can go up to 90°C). So for sure it’s not something for those who have delicate hands and skin! Mozzarella in Puglia is made from cow milk, whereas in the Naples region, it is made from buffalo milk. When I was little I was told that cow is lighter than buffalo milk. I am not completely sure this is true, but it has always given me a good excuse to eat double portion of mozzarella.
Many times I pointed out that Puglia has many different culinary traditions. The size of the handmade pasta, the way we make the focaccia, the flour we use for bread and pasta, the way we name dishes, may all change from town to town, even if they are just a few miles apart.
Of course this also applies to the mozzarella. When you are talking about mozzarella in the Bari area (the Northern part of Puglia) you are certainly referring to the burrata. Burrata is a mozzarella which has inside a mix of cream and mozzarella.
In the Lecce area (Southern part of Puglia), instead, it is very rare to find the burrata and it is not very common for the local people to eat it. In Lecce, locals would eat the simplest and tasty fior di latte mozzarella made from cow milk. The fior di latte comes in many different shapes: the small nodini (knods), the beautiful trecce (braids) and the wonderful and huge “bombe” (YES! It means bombs!..because of their size). All artisans say that handmade mozzarella can last up to one week. I never succeeded with this sort of experiment because I always finished my mozzarella in the same day it was made. However, if you want to keep the mozzarella for more days, put it in a bowl and cover it with milk! That's the secret!

Have you ever tried a mozzarella from Puglia? How much mozzarella were you able to eat? (including the one you stole from your friend's plate!)

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Tasty fish from the Mediterranean sea in Puglia

If there is something you should not miss when you are in Puglia on a gourmet tour is: eating fish! You can say: ohh “but I live by the ocean and I eat fish every day. I want some meat!”
Still, I think you should first try the fish in Gallipoli (by the Ionian sea), or in Otranto (by the Adriatic sea). Then you tell me if you still want some meat!

The Mediterranean sea has much saltier water when you compare it to the ocean, which I strongly believe makes fish more tasty.
However, it’s the whole experience which is unique and really mouth watering! In Puglia, locals won’t buy the fish in a supermarket. They will go direct to the harbor and buy the fish from the fishermen, just returned from their catch.

Can fish be any fresher than this? The typical Mediterranean fish includes: sea bass, sea bream, sword fish, calamari, squid, octopus.

However, my and Marika's favorites are the red big shrimps from Gallipoli. The best place where to have them is “Le Puritate” restaurant in Gallipoli, in the historical center, just by the shore. I think it’s a restaurant which definitely deserves a Michelin star! It's a bit expensive, but really worth it. The wine list is very good as well.

Their famous recipe is to bake the shrimps in a big salt crust (exactly as if you were preparing the sea bream) and serve them with very fruity extra virgin olive oil. It’s something you will never forget!
Please let us if you ever try these shrimps!

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