Puglia
Puglia is the region at the heel of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula. At one time a Greek territory, the Greek influence in Pugliese culture and cuisine continues to this day.
Having great lengths of good coastline, seafood plays a considerable role in Pugliese cuisine. Fish from its Mediterranean waters include sea bass (branzino), monkfish, halibut, and snapper, and oysters, clams, mussels, and spiny Italian lobsters abound. Fish soup is a mainstay of Pugliese fishing villages, and an example of the simplicity of the region’s cuisine. The fish – whichever fish was caught that day – are quickly sauteed in olive oil flavored with anchovies and garlic, then removed while the same is done with large prawns. The pot is then deglazed with wine and tomatoes, which are left to simmer with some hot chile for 15 minutes or so, to allow the sauce to reduce a little. The fish and prawns are then returned, simmered briefly to allow the flavors to blend, and then served in bowls over toasted bread.
Like other Southern Italian regions, the cuisine of Puglia uses a fair amount of garlic and chile peppers. Tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, anchovies, capers, almonds, and citrus fruits are other important ingredients in the Pugliese kitchen.
Puglia is a pasta-eating region, and its pasta is dried pasta made with semolina flour and eggs. The shapes made include spaghetti, bucatini, and orecchiette (little ears). The pasta is served with either a seafood or vegetable sauce. Flavor combinations in Pugliese pasta sauces include bitter greens and cauliflower, almonds and sun-dried tomatoes, clams and chile pepper, and mussels and capers.
Puglia is one of Italy’s largest olive oil-producing regions, along with Sicily, Tuscany, and Liguria. The olives are picked when they are fully mature in Puglia, rather than in Tuscany, where they are picked before they ripen. Because of this, Pugliese olive oil is stronger and more assertive than Tuscan olive oil. Tuscan olive oil may have a smooth, floral taste with a hint of artichokes, while Pugliese oil is usually peppery.
