That was my life during the first week of August this year. For the rare times during the year when my husband is allowed to take time off work (two weeks in summer and two in winter), we seized the opportunity to vacation in Puglia after reading many glowing articles on its rugged beauty.
Located in the 'heel' of Italy, Puglia is often known as the poor South or the forgotten cousin to the more popular Tuscany. We've travelled around Tuscany earlier this year and whilst beautiful in its own way, Puglia has a more rustic charm which entices alot of northern Italians during the European summer and foreigners wanting to experience the 'real' Italy.
Due to year round sunshine, you will find an abundance of vegetables grown and eaten here. Vegetables we have neither seen or heard of due to its uniqueness to the region. However, there are a handful of vegetables that will feature prominently from menu to menu. Some of which are fava beans, chicory, artichoke and of course olives. Puglia is also famed for its super fresh seafood as well as fresh hand made pasta known as orecchiette which literally translates to 'little ears'.
I can go on and on about the beautiful towns we visited and the extremely friendly people that we met during our time here, but at the end of the day, this blog is about food.
We had many many meals in Puglia and in Basilicata (we spent two nights in Matera) and at times we thought we would lapse into a food coma given the copious amount of food ingested. I'll only share the ones that left an impression on us. I won't bother with words, instead I'll let the food do the talking.
LE BACCANTI (via sant'angelo 58, 75100, MATERA, italy)
Our second night in Matera, we decided to trust some reviews we read on TripAdvisor. Le Baccanti wasn't the easiest place to find and after a few missed steps we headed down into a cave like restaurant. It was typical Apulian cuisine with a modern twist. So much better than the dinner we had the previous night at La Botteghe. The Angus beef left us salivating for more.
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[Antipasti] Salame piccante di Palazzo San Gervasio |
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[Primi] Lagane fritte su purea di fave e cruschi |
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[Primi] Maltagliati al ragu di cinghiale |
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[Secondi] Tagliata di Angus* * This piece of steak was almost on par with my all time favourite piece of beef devoured in San Sebastian in 2008 |
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TRATTORIA IOLANDA (via montanara 2, LUCUGNANO, italy)
On our first night in the Salento Coast, our host at Palazzo Mellacqua Emanuel and two guests (who became our drinking buddies) - Paolo and Emanuela, drove down to the local trattoria which was immensely popular with the locals. This was evident when we turned up at 10:30pm to a queue!
We had by far, the best orecchiette con cime di rapa in our entire time in Puglia and we've had many versions. Simply bellisimo!
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[Antipasti] Deep fried courgettes, aubergines & peppers |
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[Antipasti] Marinated fava beans, artichokes & sundried tomatoes |
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[Primi] Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa |
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[Secondi] Arrosto misto del "Rosso" |
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PALAZZO MELLACQUA (via pisanelli 4, 73030, CASTIGLIONE D'OTRANTO, italy)
We spent 3 unforgettable nights at Palazzo Mellacqua and our host Sonia made us two excellent seafood dinners. Not only did we eat well here, we met some amazing people who we will remember for many years to come.
Who can forget the nicknames we were christened with when we left this place sadly 3 nights later ~Adriana e Adriano~
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[Antipasti] Fresh oysters |
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[Antipasti] Mixed seafood salad |
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[Primi] Scampi & mussel linguine |
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[Secondi] Salt baked fish |
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IL FRANTOIO (s.s. 16km. 874, 72017, OSTUNI, italy)
A truly memorable meal in every sense. We booked the seven course meal based on a recommendation from a friend and were not disappointed.
From the tour of the masseria before dinner to the detail presented in each dish followed by a rather passionate narration by the owner. All courses with the exception of the main were freshly prepared using vegetables grown within the masseria. I wish I remembered where we placed the printed menu that we were presented with after the meal, but I'm sure the pictures itself will tell its own story.
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OSTERIA DEL COCO PAZZO (via arco mastrovito 18, MARTINA FRANCA, italy)
We ended our final night on a high note with a meal at Osteria del Coco Pazzo. Six antipasti courses and a 1.3kg entrecote later, we managed to roll ourselves out of the osteria and back to the masseria to pat our newly developed food babies.
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[Antipasti 1] |
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[Antipasti 2] |
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[Antipasti 3] |
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[Antipasti 4] |
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[Antipasti 5] |
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[Antipasti 6] |
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[Secondi] Grilled entrecote |
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