Puglia is beautiful, Puglia is magical, Puglia stays with you. People come here for the sea, for the people who welcome you like family, for the landscapes, the masserias (farmhouses), and the beauty of the historic centers. This land captivates you as soon as you arrive. But if there's one thing people come to Puglia for and take away from Puglia, it's definitely the food.
Every self-respecting tourist has packs of taralli and a bag of friselle in their suitcase! Because when we talk about Apulian food, we're talking about absolute delicacies, and it's definitely hard to choose what to taste. Because here, every dish is made with love, every village has its shops and restaurants, and every city has its typical dishes. In Puglia, even a simple piece of bread will win you over.
Now, if we were to make a selection, it would be easy to say, "If you go to Puglia, you absolutely must eat panzerotto or fava beans and chicory." But the truth is that Apulian cuisine is a world. A world of traditions and goodness, and many lesser-known dishes that you probably don't know but should definitely try.
In short, if you want to consider yourself a true "Apulian food addict," it would be too trivial to recommend trying the usual things. That's why we've decided to offer you a selection of 5 truly special and little-known dishes:
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Lagane di San Giuseppe
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Stuffed Mussels
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Spaghetti with green beans, fresh tomato, and cacioricotta
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Baked pasta timbale
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Bread meatballs
Lagane di San Giuseppe
Like any self-respecting peasant dish, this is one of the best and least known in Apulian tradition. Lagane, a type of long pasta, flat on one side and curly on the other (like tripolina), is seasoned with toasted breadcrumbs, oil, garlic, and plenty of anchovies. The secret—needless to say—is the oil, which must be strictly Apulian and abundant, to properly toast the breadcrumbs and the anchovy soffritto. The mix of flavors is simple and perfect for seasoning this very particular pasta, which in Puglia is prepared for Saint Joseph's Day and seasoned almost exclusively this way. An absolute delight that we recommend you try, perhaps at the home of an Apulian grandmother.
Stuffed Mussels
In Puglia, dozens of dishes are prepared with mussels. The king of tradition is certainly "Patate, riso e cozze" (potatoes, rice, and mussels), but if you find a seafood restaurant that makes them, don't hesitate and order the stuffed mussels immediately. Opened and then filled with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, egg, and cheese, tied with string and cooked in tomato passata, these mussels—prepared this way—are a delight for the palate. Inside, the mussel remains soft and made even more flavorful by the various seasonings. A treasure chest of flavor to eat, strictly getting your fingers dirty!
Spaghetti with green beans, fresh tomato, and cacioricotta
After a day at the beach, just stop by the greengrocer and pick up some tomatoes, garlic, a basil plant, and Apulian green beans. A short stop at a cheese shop to buy Apulian cacioricotta, and then head home to cook. Toss the spaghetti into boiling water and, in the meantime, sauté the cherry tomatoes with oil, garlic, and basil. The aroma that will spread is that of home cooking, of simplicity, of the goodness of simple but exceptional ingredients.
Baked pasta timbale
Our wish for you is that you have Apulian friends and that they invite you to spend a Sunday with their family. For us, Sunday is sacred; it's a day of celebration, a time for everyone to gather. Much like Christmas or other holidays. Every Sunday in Puglia is a big celebration where food is the star. Mothers and grandmothers enjoy preparing traditional dishes; one in particular is the king of Sunday: baked pasta timbale.
The ingredients speak for themselves: ragu or simple sauce, fried meatless meatballs, cheese, mozzarella, ham. With these delights, the pasta, usually tagliatelle, is seasoned. And then the "tiella," the typical terracotta baking dish, goes straight into the oven to meld the flavors and create that crust on top that we still don't know why it hasn't been declared a world heritage site.
Bread meatballs
In Milan, aperitivo is with olives and crisps. In Puglia, it's with meatballs. Here, the meatball is strictly made from stale bread, because it's a recipe for grandmother's recycling. Bread has always been considered sacred and is never thrown away. It's grated to make breadcrumbs or soaked to make meatballs.
This "poor" dish originated as an idea for recycling old bread, but today it is also a coveted item in the most gourmet restaurants. Meatballs, as you know, are never enough because one leads to another. You'll find them in bakeries, restaurants, and in the homes of Apulian families. Everyone has their own recipe, but the typical ingredients are stale bread, garlic, parsley, eggs, and grated cheese. Once formed, they are fried in hot oil and then ready to be devoured.
Our advice? Eat them hot, perhaps with a glass of wine by the sea!
These and other dishes are the protagonists of our Vespa tours or our cooking classes. Have you already chosen what to do among our activities? Go to www.pugliamare.it and choose the right one for your holidays in Puglia.