Apulia – a culinary round trip

Orecchiette – Apulian ear-shaped pasta

Orecchiette are THE pasta shape of Puglia. The pasta is traditionally formed by flattening small pieces of dough with a knife. It sounds simple, but it is a real art.

The Apulians traditionally serve their orrechiette with cime di rapa. This is a green leafy cabbage with florets reminiscent of broccoli. Why not try making orrechiette yourself !

Focaccia – the edible icon of Puglia

Focaccia with baked, sweet cherry tomatoes is the flagship of Apulian culinary culture. The wonderfully soft, airy dough is soaked in olive oil. Focaccia is not a pizza, but you could say it is the Apulian sister. Focaccia is the fast food of the region. People take one in their hand as a snack, eat it for dinner or as provisions for a day at the beach.

Here on the Gustini blog you can find lots of inspiration and recipes for focaccia, for example

• Focaccia with tomatoes
• Focaccia with olives
• Garden Focaccia

Burrata – Puglia’s cheese surprise

Burrata looks like the twin sister of mozzarella: soft, snow-white and shimmering like porcelain. The casing of burrata is also made from mozzarella. Fresh cheese curds are poured over with hot water and kneaded until the fibrous structure typical of mozzarella is formed. Portions are then cut from this fresh kneaded cheese, formed into small bags and filled.

The special feature of burrata is its heart. The inside of the small cheese bag is filled with stracciatella, a unique mixture of cream and finely shredded mozzarella. When you cut into the burrata, the creamy, milk-fresh stracciatella flows out. An incomparable treat!

Capocollo – marbled in red and white

The preparation has a long tradition in Apulia. The sausage is made from coarsely chopped pork neck. The pieces of meat are first cured by hand and then stuffed into a natural casing.

In Apulia, capocollo is therefore classed as an “insaccati”, or “bagged” sausage. The meat is pressed and seasoned. Finally, the parcels are tightly wrapped with string. This creates the typical cylindrical shape of the capocollo. The sausage is enjoyed very thinly sliced. Be sure to try capocollo on a panino!

Panzerotti – bulbous dumplings

Panzerotti are less well known in this country than focaccia. They are deep-fried pastries reminiscent of empanadas. Like focaccia, panzerotti are also Apulian street food. You can buy them from the bakery or pizzeria. They are crispy and filled with the typical ingredients of the region. Tomatoes and mozzarella are often hidden inside.

Primitivo – the wine of Apulia

Primitivo is the wine of Apulia. It also has many fans in Germany. But that was not always the case. The history of the grape variety in Apulia is many hundreds of years old. It is believed that the grapes once came to the country from what is now Yugoslavia. Over the centuries, Primitivo was then the wine of local farmers. At the beginning of our millennium, Primitivo was also discovered by northern Europeans and has been enjoying a unique triumph ever since.

Incidentally, the name has nothing to do with “primitive”, but refers to the early ripening of the variety: in Italian “primo” means the first, the word comes from the Latin “Primativus”. Primitivo grapes ripen earlier than other grape varieties.