On the tip of the heel

[albiston]

I finally find the time to put my notes together and post about the two weeks spent in Salento, or actually southern Salento. (Sorry for the delay Kevin )

To start, let me thank everyone who helped plan this trip with their tips. They were a great addition to the various guides and co. we used during our travels.

I had been to Lecce a couple of times before, using it as a base for a quick visits to Salento, so this was the chance to finally have a look around with some calm. My experiences in the local cuisine had been limited to a few local traditions, caffé in ghiaccio (iced espresso), rustici Leccesi (puff pastry stuffed with Béchamel sauce and a little tomato, a delicious calorie bomb) and a few horsemeat and horse offal dishes. I was looking forward to improve my knowledge of both the local food and attractions.

Being based near Santa Maria di Leuca, a rather fashionable resort in the early years of the past century, on the southernmost tip of Puglia, and traveling with a pair of two year olds, we limited our sightseeing to the Lecce province. This part of Italy seems to be undergoing a transformation tourism-wise. While tourism is clearly an important part of the local economy, it still seems to be rather low-key both as organization and offering, albeit growing, and mainly concentrated around the coastal resorts. A pity since some nice sights, besides the highlights of Lecce and Otranto, can be found inland and are often ignore, for example the charming historical city centers of Specchia and Maglie.

The countryside also turned out to be the best place for the fantastic local produce and olive oil. September was still a great time to catch the last gifts of summer, like perfect sun ripe tomatoes sold at a mere one euro a kilo or less, something I’d only dream of in Germany, while enjoying the first early autumn produce. It also seemed to be high snail season, since almost every greengrocer had a basket full of lumache con la panna, which Franci talked about before, on offer.

Those above were on sale from a tiny greengrocer in the charming little town of Specchia. The lady in the shop was incredibly friendly, giving me not one but two recipes for the snails, plus suggesting a few possible way to prepare the vegetables we bought from her. Almost every shopkeeper we met was eager to help with recipe tips and suggestions, something I always enjoy and appreciate as a sign of pride in one’s wares. In general the tiny village shops catering mainly to the locals were the best ones, much better than more tourist-oriented “gourmet shops”: lower prices and equally good if not better quality. Almost every bigeer town had one or more fresh pasta shops, sellind delicious hand made orecchiette like those below, cheese makers and real butchers, opposed to the pre-packaged/pre-cut ones that seem to be way to common around where I live. Some shops were a true revelation. I was particularly impressed by a small wood burning oven bakery in Patu’ (just about 10 km north from Santa Maria di Leuca) selling a delicious semolina sourdough bread, which could proudly stand side by side with the best artisan breads.

In Patu’ we also found the very nice A Rua de lu Travaj, a cozy little trattoria famous for its antipasti, offered in such a variety and quantity they could have made for a meal in their own right. Following the best local tradition, vegetables are grilled, fried, marinated in vinegar, cooked as frittata and you name it, creating an array of little, almost tapas style, dishes that could convince even the most hardcore carnivore to give up meat, at least for the evening. The fried green peppers, vegetable pizze (stuffedavory pies) and the eggplant parmigiana had our table fighting for the last bites. We could have stopped here and gone home happy. Instead, following our research-conscious approach to eating , we decided to have at least a taste of the soups: ciceri e tria, chickpea soup with home made pasta, boiled and fried (below), probably one of the oldest pasta dishes eaten in Italy; fave e cicorie, a classic throughout Puglia, boiled slightly bitter baby chicory plants to dip into a sweet fava bean puree’, a fabulous dish worthy of modern creative cuisine; and cecamariti, (husband blinder) made with cime di rapa and fried bread, named after the supposed power of putting husbands to bed giving their wives free room to meet their lovers . The menu carried a small selection of Primi and Meats, but after the antipasti orgy we simply no place left for any more food.

Our great eating-out plans at the start of the trip soon had to come to terms with our traveling around with a two year old and our babysitting arrangements not working as expected. Although we had to give the more fancy places we would have liked to try a miss - Poeta contadino, Picton, Fornello da Ricci, Già sotto L’Arco and a few others-, we had plenty of great traditional fare in the local trattorie and a number of opportunities to cook with the local seasonal ingredients.

Throughout Salento we did not manage to have a single bad meal as much as we tried. On the two occasions when we had to pick the only gloomy looking trattoria in the little village we landed in, more or less lost and with a hungry kid in tow, the meals turned up fine and even managed to reserve a little culinary surprise. Braised sea fennel was a pleasant discovery. Prices are another positive aspect of eating in trattorie in this part of Puglia, making this one of the few regions in Italy where anyone can still afford a meal prepared with the best local ingredients. With the exception of fish restaurants, which are generally more expensive, we never paid more than €25 for a three course meal, excluding wine.

A general criticism one could make is that the dishes served are pretty much the same everywhere; a typical menu would have plenty of vegetable Antipasti, at times more than one could imagine, a few Primi, mainly soups based on pulses or a few pasta dishes, and a small choice of Secondi, mostly limited to simple grilled meats, horse being quite common, or tomato based stews. Not much different than the situation Marc mentioned regarding Toscana some time ago; plenty of new dishes to try for the first week, slightly boring after the second. Yet, this is the sign of the attachment locals have to those traditions that are of so much fascination for the food savvy occasional visitor.

Something I had been looking forward to, food-wise, was the rather famous fish market in Gallipoli -apart visiting the city itself, clearly-: it turned out to be somewhat smaller than I expected. What it lacked in size it made up in quality of the fish on sale. Gallipoli and its market became a constant stop whenever we traveled northwards, and we feasted on the market’s goods on a few occasions. Everything was so fresh that I couldn’t resist having a taste of those inviting fish and shellfish raw: slightly bitter silvery anchovies, the sweetest pink shrimps, which Gallipoli is famous for, and some tiny calamari, incredibly tender. My unadventurous travel companions refused to join me, no big sashimi fans there, so I ended up cooking most of our shopping as simply as I could, either grilled, or fried like the anchovies below, to keep the delicious freshness shining through. My only disappointment concerned sea urchins, and their delicious roe. Salento is one of the places in Italy to indulge in the pleasures of sea urchins, so I had been craving them before flying to Italy. Sadly the catch was incredibly scarce (bad weather condition was what I was told) and I only managed to have a small taste on one occasion in Gallipoli. I had little luck even in Porto Badisco, a small resort south of Otranto famous for its sea urchin stands.

Although Salento is surrounded by sea, its cuisine gave me the strong impression of being more of a land than sea based one. I had collected many informed opinions on a number of the local fish restaurants, most rather unflattering. The only place constantly tipped as good seemed to be Le Puritate in Gallipoli, an advice I heartedly second. In this pleasant looking restaurant what comes on your table will largely depend on what the market has to offer. Part of the fame of this establishment lays in their fish antipasti, a colorful array of little bite-sized offerings, which, on the day of our visit included some surprisingly tender octopus “salame” and the aforementioned pink shrimps, barely sauted. Equally good were the pasta and fish dishes following, very simple, just highlighting the quality of the main ingredients.

Anyone traveling to Puglia should visit Lecce. Its city center, full of shining examples of Barocco Leccese is one of the gems of southern Italy. Nothing could be nicer than sipping a caffè in ghiaccio in one of the city center’s bars while enjoying the atmosphere. It’s also a pleasant food destination. Having already decided, regrettably, to skip Picton, we were looking forward to dining in one of the highly regarded city trattorie. I had forgotten the golden rule of southern Italian dining: opening and closing time, as found in guides, are merely indicative. Always call in advance, even on mid-week days. Of our two favored destinations, Cucina Casareccia was closed for vacation and Alle due Corti had probably changed their weekly closing day.

Yet the inexact closing information had its positive downside as we made our way back home stopping in Taviano. This rather unappealing town between Santa Maria di Leuca and Gallipoli is of little of interest to the tourist and could be skipped altogether was it not for A casa tu Martinu. Inside an XVIII century building you will find one of the best trattorie of the province, highly praised by the Slow Food Osterie Guide, which has awarded their “snail award”, a recognition of excellence, to this trattoria for several years in a row. According to the guide they should have been closed, which was luckily not the case. From the moment the welcome basket of pittule, to be dipped in the accompanying vino cotto, arrived on our table we felt at home. A team of young people runs the place in really friendly and hospitable way. The well-prepared dishes are either traditional or feature local ingredients with a slightly more modern twist, and change with the market offer. A typical menu might include minchiareddi d’orzo , homemade barley pasta, with ragù and ricotta forte; horse fettine, thin steaks; a large antipasti buffet to start and differently flavored pasticciotto tarts (custard filled tarts) as dessert. The wine selection earns a special mention, with the best regional products and many wines form Piemonte, Toscana and Veneto to choose from.

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Before I finish let me just add a tip for those who might be driving between Napoli and Puglia. A great spot for a pleasant lunch stop is the little town of Valleseccarda (motorway exit: Vallata). Less then 100 meters apart you’ll find the two most interesting restaurants of the area: the Michelin one starred Oasis, and the simpler and more traditional Minicuccio.

Saving Oasis for amore relaxed occasion, we tried Minicuccio. The dishes are definitely traditional, with influences form Campania and Puglia and unique recipes from the valley where the village is located. There’s a menu to choose from, but we were rather strongly encouraged to have the taste of tradition menu, which changes every weekend: a marathon of two soups, two primi, three meat dishes and eventually a dessert. It seemed like a lot, but there was no problem in asking to skip a course, share a portion or stop when we were full. Among the simple dishes we tasted, a very nice zuppa di talli e patate (potato and zucchini leaves soup) and the signature dish calzuncieddri (in the picture below) an oversized raviolo, filled with a slightly sweet ricotta and served with a slightly hot tomato sauce filling, stood out.

[hathor]

It was about 20 degrees (F) this morning, with a good wind chill ....and I come in to find you rhapsodizing about Puglia in September. Unspeakably cruel. But thanks for sharing!

[albiston]

It was about 20 degrees (F) this morning, with a good wind chill ....and I come in to find you rhapsodizing about Puglia in September. Unspeakably cruel. But thanks for sharing! 

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The temperature is not that different here in Germany (23F this morning). Remembering those warm late September days helps me fight the cold . . . or maybe I'm just a masochist .

[Marco_Polo]

Grazie, Alberto! What a great post. We spent some time in Puglia a few years back and it's nice to revisit, even if only virtually. Great observations and descriptions made more vivid with the excellent pics. Thanks for this: I've just returned from a cold afternoon cycling in the hills of Devon, and already it's warmed me up. And that's even without yet opening the Salice Salentino...

MP

[Kevin72]

Fantastic, detailed write-up and pictures, as to be expected from e-G. If I ever do a travel write up here it will be intimidating . . . not the least because I don't yet have a digital camera and/or know how to load pics on this site!

But it was dead-on, everything I've read about in researching our potential Puglia trip is laid out here. I smiled at the mention of each of the dishes you tried, recognizing them from one cookbook or rhapsodic travel article or another.

Alas this thread is bittersweet agony for me. The place I work at is closing the first part of the year and my layoff date would probably fall right around the time we were planning to go. A stubborn part of me is holding on to the notion that we can still try to go but I'm afraid reality is sinking in. As a matter of fact I've spent most of the day preoccupied with making the final decision on whether or not to go. Hmmm, is this thread a sign . . . ?

[Ore]

Alberto,

I am glad to read your post. Even more so, the shout out for Oasis. I ate there the other day with my chef. From my posts you must know we have worked together for those special events. I made great friends with the two stagiers from Japan in the Oasis kitchen as well. I suggest a meal there whenever the next time is you pass by.

Did you find the location a bit difficult - If I wasn't with someone who knew where it was - I would have. Also, today the (secret) Michelin guide person was there for lunch (we got the alert here at La Locanda!!). They are shooting for a second star (I think they can do it!).

Ciao,

Ore

[albiston]

Marc, the Salice Salentino would certainly warm you even more! Which Salice Salentino were you thinking about?

Your comment made me notice I completely forgot to mention anything about the wine makers I visited. Although my stay overlapped the busy vintage stage all the producers I contacted were incredibly friendly and dedicated some time to show me their cellars and production facilities and to talk about their wines. I'm extremely thankful to the people at Taurino, Leone de Castris, Rosa del Golfo and Conti Zecca for their friendly reception. I'd suggest a visit to Leone de Castris to anyone interested in wine and traveling to Salento for the first time: they have the best facilities for visitors, just remember to call ahead.

Kevin, I don't know if my post is a sign but I hope you'll manage to find an occasion to visit Puglia sometime, if not now, then in the future. It's a region full of surprises. And when you do, please do not feel intimidated by writing about it, we'd love to read your experiences.

Ore: Oasis is definitely one of the places I MUST visit (together with La Locanda di Bu' and a few others) next time I'm in Campania child-free; last time it was just not possible. Our two-year-old son is good behaved, but simply not enough yet for such a restaurant. Maybe in a few years time; meanwhile he really enjoys eating out

I really enjoyed them knowing the secret Michelin man was there .

[Marco_Polo]

Marc, the Salice Salentino would certainly warm you even more! Which Salice Salentino were you thinking about?

Hi Alberto, the best I've enjoyed recently is Leone de Castris' Donna Lisa Riserva 1999. My notes read: Dark, inky garnet, earthy, rich, spicy nose with soft tones of oak (18 months in barrique); incredibly concentrated, muscular with well-knit tannins. This is a stunner: uncompromisingly powerful and pure Negroamaro, yet dressed in a velvet glove.

Apart from the big names you've already mentioned, I have also enjoyed some stunning wines from a newcomer, La Corte, who are making some really classy Negroamaro and Primitivo wines using fruit from very old vines (upwards of 80 years old). Worth hunting down.

Kevin72, my advice? Go! Who knows what the experience may lead to. Go and enjoy.

MP

PS Just remembered another stunner: Li Veli Pezzo Morgana 2001 Salice Salentino DOC Made by the Falvo brothers of Avignonesi, this is Salice with a super-Tuscan accent.

Edited December 16, 2004 by Marco_Polo (log)

[Kevin72]

So, some questions for Alberto:

What's sea fennel?

You commented here and in the other thread that the region is not as developed in regards to being receptive to tourism. Is this a conscious decision on their part? I.e., with say, the Amalfi coast in mind, do you think they have been much more measured in developing an infrastructure around tourism rather than going at it full-on? Is this a good or a bad thing?

[albiston]

So, some questions for Alberto:

What's sea fennel?

Sea fennel is a rather common plant on Mediterranean sandy beaches; it is called, I believe, samphire in English. I've always seen it around but never thought it would be edible.

You commented here and in the other thread that the region is not as developed in regards to being receptive to tourism.  Is this a conscious decision on their part? I.e., with say, the Amalfi coast in mind, do you think they have been much more measured in developing an infrastructure around tourism rather than going at it full-on?  Is this a good or a bad thing?

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My comment on tourism being not fully developed has more to do with the degree of organization and promotion coming from the institutions than on infrastructure. While some administrations in Italy are consciously starting to pick out high quality producers, restaurants, hotels that deserve to be known and promoting them, in Salento I saw nothing like this. You get more the feeling that everyone gets the same amount of promotion to avoid anyone being unhappy.

Getting back to your question, I'm no expert on the state of tourism in Puglia and Salento, but I can try to put my thoughts and feelings together.

I would imagine tat least part of the situation has more to do with the difficulty of reaching this part of Puglia from the rest of Italy and therefore its relative lack of appeal than with conscious choices. The railway connections are slow, there's no major airport in the vicinity (Brindisi is there, but it is a small airport). Compare it to the Amalfi coast: next to Naples, easily reached from Rome. It's not too hard to see why tourist flows have only marginally touched Salento. From what I'v e been told in the last 30 years, with better motorways and therefore quicker connections, there has been a constant increase of visitors, also due to the relative convenience of the local seaside resorts in comparison to other, more famous, destinations.

It's not always been like this: Santa Maria di Leuca, Santa Cesarea Terme and Santa Maria al Bagno were very exclusive locations during the early XX century. The astonishing array of Moorish and oriental style villas in Santa Maria di Leuca are a standing testimony of those times. If I correctly remember what I read before visiting, the situation dramatically worsened after WWII. Many locals had to emigrate to find work and there was a strong decrease in both population and tourism. The situation started improving only in the late 70s.

hmm.. rather cahotic I fear, but I hope you can see the sense in my answer

[Kevin72]

I do. So it would seem their slow response to expansion for tourism is more due to circumstance than choice.

[albiston]

I do.  So it would seem their slow response to expansion for tourism is more due to circumstance than choice.

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Exactly. Wish I had your ability in keeping things short .

[Kevin72]

Exactly. Wish I had your ability in keeping things short  .

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Ha! You haven't read too many of my other posts around here then!

[Kevin72]

Well, it's fun reading back on Alberto's Puglia trip and realizing we had many similar experiences there. You're dead-on with the surprising lack of seafood and fish restaurants in the area; in fact that will be included in my own write-up soon. I'd also enthusiastically echo the recommendation for Lecce. It's a great little town and makes a neat base to explore the surrounding area.

You got to go to a few places including St. Maria di Leuca and Gallipoli, as well as delve into alot of the smaller towns and hidden food gems though. We were more Central Puglia: Ostuni and environs. But I got to eat at both Cassareccia and due Corti, ha!

Due Corti was fun. Lots of university folks seemed to go there, in fact the proprietor looks like he's a professor at the university by day and runs the restaurant at night. Lots of grilled meat items that we were regrettably too full to try.

I'd agree that the cuisine might get a little redundant on a long stay--we had 'ncappriatta three times while we were there. But when it's that good, you don't mind the occasional repeats!

Finally I now see what you mean about being slow on the uptake with tourism. It's a hard region to get around in unless you rent a car, in fact it's pretty much essential to do so. And the places to rent a car are Bari and Brindisi, two pretty unattractive, industrial towns. If Ostuni gets on the ball and opens a few car rental places or more regular trains and buses then it will easily take off a la the wine country in Tuscany (in fact some enterprising person could open a car rental spot in Ostuni and clean up, hmm . . . ). It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens in the next 5-10 years there, because it has every potential to be the next hot spot.

[silverbrow]

For Puglia lovers everywhere there is an article in this months edition of Conde Nast Traveller on Puglia. It's not yet up on the website but I'm sure it will be at some point in the coming weeks. It looks at five or six small hotels in the region, with Il Frantoio coming in for particularly high praise. Other hotels it looks at are among others La Sommita Relais Culit, Convento di Santa Maria.

On this topic, is it possible just to go to Il Frantoio for lunch - for various reasons we can't stay there but I'd love to eat there.

[Kevin72]

They do lunch on Sundays as a big dinner sort of affair, but then no dinner that night. Conversely, during the week they don't do lunch, but do dinner. I gave up Poeta Contadina to eat lunch there and no regrets.

Edit: Thanks for the heads up on the article.

Edited May 3, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[silverbrow]

The trip's now confirmed, all I've got to do now is sort out the meals. My one concern is whether I should try to eat at as many of the highly recommended restaurants or possible, or not worry too much, chill out and eat where ever I fancy because all the food will be great. I've been studiously trawling through this post, Kevin's and others on the area and have built up a stunning list of fantastic restaurants, but should I stop obsessing. My feeling is to go to one or two great restaurants, such as Picton, and otherwise follow my nose, literally, and of course, get lost.

[Kevin72]

Yeah, welcome to my world. My Rome restaurants list was two pages long when I was researching our trip. Don't get too worked up about it; and realize once you're there and you start eating all that great food you really won't miss the places you gave up on. Like I said I was in a tizzy b.c. we gave up Poeta Contadina to eat at Frantoio, but Frantoio was so good I can't imagine Poeta topping it. In fact the next day when we were in Alberobello we walked by it and I just kind of mentally shrugged. Ostuni, if you're going there, is definitely a great eating town.

[MarkDM]

Just returned from a trip to Basilicata and Puglia- it's hard to make a mistake in finding a place to eat. We stopped at the recommended places, like Alle Due Corti and Casareccia in Lecce and just stumbled on other places that were equally as good. In fact, our least satisfying meal, at a small place in Matera, was better than we get here in Florida.

I'll be sure to send a complete report at least of the highlights, but I highly recommend Lecce and Martina Franca as good central locations for making day trips around Puglia. We also spent a night in Trani and very highly recommend a place called Il Melograno.

Kevin, I was surpised to find more seafood in Puglia than expected, albeit on the coast- particularly in Otranto (a great place!) and Trani. We did have some seafood in Alberobello as well.

[Kevin72]

Martina Franca keeps coming up now that I'm researching my cookbooks on Puglia for this month. Add that to my "wish we had gone to . . . " list.

I guess with seafood thing, most of where we went was inland. Though we did have good seafood at Tempo Perso, and I did get decent stuff at a place in Lecce, I was just surprised at how it didn't play a larger or dominant role where we were. When we were at Il Frantoio, you could see the ocean in the distance when I asked the proprietor if they did much seafood and he looked perplexed and said no. They were "inland" so they got everything they needed right there.

Glad you had a good time, and looking forward to your writeup!