Puglia Archive

Last night dinner plans in NYC went a bit haywire, so to stave off the hunger, Mamma Parla and I swung by Chelsea Market to grab a few snacks to prepare at a friend’s place while we regrouped. Our choices were a tribute to southern Italy (more…)

Sticking with the Puglia theme of late…The Salentine Peninsula in Puglia (Apulia) forms the heel of Italy’s boot. Known as Salento, it is touched by two seas, the Adriatic and Ionian. (more…)

Today it was 30 degrees in Rome. Hot. Even after 6 years in Italy, I don’t really get the Celsius-Fahrenheit conversion. (more…)

I used to hate ricotta. As a child I would visit my great grandmother in Highland Park, NJ for Sunday lunch. Every week, I would begrudgingly eat her homemade ravioli beneath a copy of Da Vinci’s Last Supper and more crucifixes than I care to remember. (more…)

One of Bari’s many culinary specialties is u’ panzerott’ (il panzerotto), a dough stuffed with mozzarella and a hint of tomato and deep fried (well, technically they can be baked, too, but why anyone would pass over fried food is beyond me). (more…)

I have already professed my love for focaccia barese in a previous post, but after a recent trip to Puglia, I feel as though I have to revisit this magical olive oil and tomato laden delight. (more…)

After a long day of touring, there is nothing I like better than a cold beer and snacks. (more…)

Canestrato Pugliese is a partially cooked hard cheese from Puglia made from the milk of sheep that graze in the Alta Murgia plateau. (more…)

Last night I had the experience of a lifetime, a late-night visit to a cheese producer in Corato (BA) in Puglia. The Alta Murgia plateau situated just east of Bari in central Puglia is known for its amazing cheeses: Burrata, Ricotta Marzotica, Manteca, and Canestrato Pugliese. (more…)

Lampascioni (pampasciuni ‘n salentinu) are walnut-sized hyacinth bulbs (not onions as they are often erroneously described) with a distinct bitter taste. (more…)