Puglia, the Vegetable Garden of Italy

Puglia is the eastern most region in the south of Italy. Puglia is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and the Gulf of Taranto to the south. Puglia shares its northern border with the Italian Region of Molise. Its western neighbors are the Italian regions of Campania and Basilicata. Previously we visited the toe of the Italian boot. Today we visit Puglia which forms the heel of the boot.

The region was once occupied by Greeks, whose influence on the cuisine and the culture remains today. Some of the population still speak a local dialect that has its roots in the Greek language.

Puglia is one of the hottest regions of Italy. The Mediterranean climate is hot, dry and sunny during the summer months with winters being mild and rainy. The terrain is mostly flat with only a moderate peppering of hills. These conditions make the region of Puglia near perfect for farming and the cultivation of an assortment of vegetables such as artichokes, tomatoes, eggplant, asparagus and mushrooms.

The region had traditionally been a poor agricultural area. Meat is not used often in much of the cuisine indigenous to Puglia. Meat was too expensive to be consumed on a regular basis. The term cucina povera, or the poor kitchen is often used to describe the cuisine. The food is largely vegetarian made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. As you can imagine vegetables have become an integral part of the customary regional cuisine.

The coastline of Puglia is longer than any other mainland Italian region of Italy. Along the extensive coastline many types of fish and shellfish are available. Mussels are the most commonly consumed seafood in Puglia, but many other simple dishes are prepared with the use of octopus, cuttlefish, anchovies, and white fish as their

foundation. A local specialty from Taranto is Tarantello, which is a tuna loin seasoned and air dried then sliced and served.

Puglia is also Italy’s second largest producer of olive oil. Sadly, the olive oil industry in the region is under threat of extinction due to the invasion of a pathogen which causes a disease blocking the trees ability to absorb water and nutrients. The southeastern part of the region is the center of the epidemic and many of the infected trees have begun to die. Researchers have initiated a program to combat the disease but unfortunately have not had much success to date.

The region is also a massive producer of durum wheat. As a result, Puglia has become the home of some of Italy’s most celebrated pastas and breads.

A variety of diverse breads can be found across Puglia. The most legendary is Pane di Altamura. This bread is the only bread in the world to be rated a PDO-protected status. It is made by using a specific type of durum wheat flour, local salt, water and yeast. This hard-crusted bread can stay fresh for as long as two weeks.

The abundance of local wheat also lends its hand to the production of pasta. The pasta dough is made with just water, semolina flour and a pinch of salt. The dough does not contain egg due to the fact the historically poor ancestors would have considered egg to be a luxury item, and therefore produced their version of pasta dough without the inclusion of eggs.

Orecchiette, an ear shaped pasta, is strongly rooted in the history of the region. Even today in the streets of Bari (the capitol city of Puglia) the women gather in the streets outside their homes to hand produce the pasta which is later sold in local markets. Of course, the ladies also use this time to catch up on everything that is happening in the neighborhood. Many of these women have been producing this pasta for generations, continued by grandmothers and mothers passing the technique on to their daughters.

A very popular orecchiette dish is orecchiette con le cime di rapa. The pasta is cooked with turnip tops, garlic, red chili, anchovies and pecorino cheese. This dish is a prime example of a simple yet amazing use of the local ingredients.

The secret of all simple but refined Italian dishes, of course, is the quality of the ingredients.

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The recipe:

ingredients

4 yellow peppers, 500 gr. of orecchiette, 1 kg. of turnip tops, 3 garlic cloves, 1 preserved anchovy bones removed, one Calabrian Red Chili Pepper (careful, these are hot), extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Clean and remove tough stems from the turnip tops, keep only the tops and the tender leaves. Meanwhile boil the orecchiette in salty water.

In a suitable sized frying pan add the olive oil and sliced garlic cook until golden brown. Turn down the heat and put the cleaned anchovy and the Calabrian red pepper to the pan. I like to mash the anchovy into a paste. Cook them all for 2 minutes and then take them off the heat.

When the pasta reaches the half cooking stage, add the turnip tops. If you cannot find turnip tops, you can substitute kale.

Remove the garlic and the red pepper from the pan and add in their place the pasta with the turnip tops cooking for an additional 3 minutes. Finish the dish off the heat with additional olive oil. Top with grated Pecorino or Canestrato cheese if desired.

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Puglia also produces some very fine cheeses. A history of shepherding has led to the creation of many sheep milk cheeses. Two of the best know are Canestrato Pugliese, which is a hard cave aged cheese that is often grated over pasta dishes and Cacioricotta, which is similar to ricotta cheese but slightly firmer with a sharper flavor. Some cheeses in the area are produced using cow’s milk. Burrata is one that most of us have become familiar with. Burrata is made with an outer shell of mozzarella made from the milk of a cow or water buffalo with a center filled with fresh cream and curds. Its creamy textured center is the chief variance from mozzarella. The creamy center emerges in a lava like way when cut into.

Now it is time for something sweet. An unforgettable dessert: “sporcamuss” hails from Bari. Sporcamuss is very easy to make at home with very few ingredients. The name, in the local dialect “sporcamuss” means “get your mouth dirty” because this dessert is filled

with warm pastry cream, so when you take the first bite, inevitably the cream flows out. Your mouth, and half you face is covered with it. It is made by filling layers of puff pastry with Italian pastry cream/custard and dusting them with powdered sugar. Messy but amazingly delicious!

Well, I don’t want to get to wordy so I will conclude our visit to Puglia for now. I haven’t decided where we will head next time so it will be a surprise for both of us.

Until then, alla prossima!

Buon cibo e buon appetito a tutti!!

Chef John