Puglian cuisine is very much reflecting the surrounding nature like land and the sea combined. Predominant ingredients are seafood with different types of fish and shellfish, combined with vegetables like broccoli rabe and fava, but the star of the cuisine are orecchiette. Small thumbnail sized pasta shaped like an ear (orrecchio), hence the name are traditionally made only from only semolina flour and water, but their concave, thin-center, and thick-rimmed structure makes them perfect for catching sauces.
Two weeks in Puglia we have had tons of pasta and seafood in all forms. We have dined out and in. Finding a local fish store made it perfect for saving some money and enjoying the comfort of the apartment while passing out for an afternoon nap.
Many of the local restaurants serve take outs so we took the advantage and dining out to a next level, ordering meals and enjoying them on the beach with a beautiful sunsets.
Truly magical gastronomic experience. Simple yet very tasty.
The fantastic Italian pasta greeted us on the very arrival, although the service disappointed, the food was fantastic.
We landed quite early to Bari and booked one of the restaurants right at their opening hours (Antica Osteria delle Travi), which apparently was to early for them. To start with work right away, so we were waiting for our food and almost left disappointed and hungry. Luckily the main dish was excellent and we (kind of) forgave them the slow and lousy service.
Gelato on the way to the car was wayyyyy better.
I had a chance to dine once again in Bari but this time the service was way better and the food did not disappoint.
La cantina dello zio was situated in a crowded touristy area and looks like a scam with big signs and the plastic menues but the service which turned to be from our area (Montenegro) was fast, kind, polite and almost stole the show.
I had patate riso e cozze a mixed of potatoes and rice with mussels, that reminded me of mums home made dish potatoes with rice. Chopped potatoes would be mixed with rice, seasoned, put in a casserole pot, covered with water and baked until soft. Easy and tasty. Boring slightly, but than Italians add tomatoes and mussels and it is next level peasant dish.
Trattoria da Olga was one of the traditional Pugliese food restaurants in Gallipoli than we scouted before our trip. We booked reservations and arrived among the firsts.
We had some fantastic seafood pasta and orecchiette with octopus ragu and burratina cheese of course.
The dinner followed with a gelato in one of the most famous and oldest Apulian confectioneries Martinucci laboratory.
Their pastry and gelato shops are all around and one in the new part of the city, where we were located, away from the old city promenade offering cheaper gelato was our everyday stop.
One of the regional characteristics is a pasticciotto.
This type of filled Italian pastry traditionally filled with either ricotta cheese or egg custard is best known to have in Lecce, however they are sold everywhere.
Sweet and crumbly they were not our favorite dessert, we stticked to gelato and wine .
Another local restaurant, Trattoria le Fontanelle, was higly recomended by the internet rewievs and our local host.
Described as fabulous seafood restaurant with excellent food and service it is deffinitelly serving fresh quality seafood prepared with taste.
We have tried almost everything from the appetizers as stuffed and fried mussels, occtopuss polpette, fried anchovies, marinated shrimps, risotto alla pescatora
Family restaurant in the center of Gallipoli, Osteria Sant’Angelo offers wonderful, fresh cooked seafood in a charming side-street location in the old port town of Gallipoli.
We arrived fresh from the beach, with no reservation, but we made sure to be there on the clock of the opening of the restaurant as many Italians dine quite late in the evening.
Praised for its authentic Apulian cuisine, Osteria da Angiulino was our lunch choice in Lecce.
We had some fantastic eggplant melanzana, horse meatballs, fava beans and chicory, the staple of Apulian cuisine, orecchiette al pomodoro, ciceri e tria (local pasta with chickpeas and fried pasta).
Tiramisu and the local and mustazzoli (traditional, hard, spiced Italian cookies, flavors cacao, almonds, cinnamon and orange)
Maseria Le creste near Otranto was a recommendation of someone in the local souvenir store when Debeli asked for good food in the neighborhood. We called imidiatelz, booked a reservation and drove after the beach time. It was and 30 minute drive into the country side as the maseria is a family run farm and a restaurant.
We were the first to arrive, while the kids were still playing outside and the accountant of the restaurant (wife, sister, mother) was doing the numbers in the fresh summer air.
Soon the rest of the reservations arrived while we were enjoying some home made traditional appetizers like turcinieddhri (rouled of lamb intestins), home made dried meat and cheese
Some days, especially evenings, when we had too much fun at the beach we would do some take out ordering freshly cooked seafood pasta to be enjoyed at the beach watching over the sunset.
We tried local sandwiches and some street food as well, like pucce salentine.
Puccia Salentina is a traditional, rustic sandwich bread originating from the Salento and Taranto regions of Puglia, Italy. Similar to pizza dough it is very crispy, with thin crust and soft, airy interior with very little crumb, often served with variety of stuffings.
Rustici leccesi are the classic Apulian savory pastry: small, round, puff pastry discs (about 10cm) stuffed with béchamel sauce, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
Very tasty even cold, but sensational when freshly baked. Perfect to snack with typical caffe leccese; regular espresso refreshed with ice cubes and almond syrup. Perfect for combating the heat and the warmth, together with the orange wine.
Wine is actually not made of oranges, but Falanghina or Verdeca grapes, white sort of grapes, with a special production method where the skins, seeds, and sometimes stems are left in contact with the juice during fermentation. This “skin contact” process gives the wine its distinct amber or orange color and a more robust, tannic, and complex flavor profile compared to standard white wines.
And speaking of wines, we had some great ones in Apulia, both white, red and rose.
Good in quality and afordable in price.
We did not skip the beer as well, that was our favorite mid day refreshment on the beach
Raffo is known as a beer of the two seas from Taranto. This lager made from Apulian barley was originally established in 1919 and now produced by the Peroni group. It is known for its refreshing, dry taste, it is best enjoyed “croccante” or very cold, jusst as it suits this south Italy climate region.
The great thing about vacation in Italy, and having a place to cook in your own accommodation is the possibility to use local and fresh ingredients. We had a pescheria, fish shop, in the neighborhood, where tuna stakes were three times cheaper than in the restaurant. The shop opened early in the morning and just for couple of hours, until they ran out of the products, but it was worth it.
Alberobello
Although we had only a day in Alberobello, we had all of the meals to confirm the greatness of the Italian cuisine.
Coppino is a fantastic, almost street food concept, as they are classified as a restaurant but has only outdoor seating. Their simple concept of paper cups instead of plates and disposable cutlery is as interesting as the menu they have, serving grannys recipes orecchiette and pulpijett or meatballs. During our stay they were full and rotating hungry tourists, but definitely worth the money and time spend waiting for a seat.
And with a child surviving only on pizza and pasta it was inevitable to have some pizza for dinner in Alberobello.
Luckily Il Pinnacolo was a great choice to have some good pasta and pizza before heading back to the North and the everyday culinary routine.
On the last day in Puglia we had a lovely breakfast in a cute bistro Cosi com’era
Nothing special, but fresh ingredients, great service, fantastic English, as the area is packed with tourists, and a hard time saying goodbye to this beautiful region of Italy. Will come back one day again, for sure!
