It’s best eaten fresh, which is why it’s baked throughout the day, as the aroma of a focaccia right out of the oven is impossible to walk past without wanting to buy a slice. Burrata is the most famous cheese from Puglia and it’s a foodie highlight. Burrata with frisella salentina salad at L’Altro Baffo restaurant in Otranto. Vegetables are the cornerstone of Puglian cuisine as so much grows here and historically it was a poor region that couldn’t afford much meat. Your email address will not be published. These two ingredients can be served either side by side or mixed together, and they often come with a few slices of crusty, toasted bread for dipping. A similar dish to pizza rustica but mashed potato is used instead of dough for extra tastiness. When the sea urchins are as fresh as they are in Puglia, you don’t need to do much to them. You may be pleasantly surprised. Lamb and goat is the most common meat in Puglia, although you’ll find horsemeat on restaurant menus as well. We are vegetarian so we’re not the best people to advise about seafood, but I’ve heard that the seafood is actually at its best in winter. Also known as farru in the local dialect of Salento, where it originated, this is a more nutritious and heartier version of polenta, as it’s made with chickpea flour instead of the usual corn meal. Here are my top picks of plant-based dishes that are specific to the Apulian food tradition. Peaches in red wine. These fritters are essentially fried balls of dough and are especially popular around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when they are served up at Christmas market stalls and also sometimes in restaurants. Mussels are the most common seafood eaten in Puglia, but along the region’s beautiful coast you’ll find all manner of fish and shellfish eaten. Pasta in Puglia is made with durum wheat semolina, no eggs, and is usually handmade. Whereas in Rome or Venice you will have to jostle with hordes of other tourists, Puglia is much quieter.. This is a simple but delicious dessert that is also easy to make at home, should you wish. Join the Nomadic Vegan Community on Patreon! An incredibly simple pasta dish which makes the most of Puglia’s prized sea urchins, often brought ashore in Taranto. Our favourite was at Panificio Fiore in Bari’s labyrinth old town. You will also see some incredible historical and architectural sites, without the crowds. My partner and I are vegan at home/vegetarian when travelling and so your posts truly made us drool. nev-tagItalynev-tagPuglianev-tagVegetarian. In Lecce there are restaurants that specialize in seafood that will have seafood pasta dishes and by the sea it’ll be everywhere. The historic shepherding culture of Puglia also means there are plenty of sheep’s cheeses in the region, the most famous of which is Canestrato Pugliese, a hard cave-aged cheese grated over pasta dishes. It’s easy to tell the difference, because the sweet ones have an outer coating of powdered sugar. Ceca mariti -- a classic dish in Puglia cuisine. Regional food of Puglia Puglia is a flat, fertile, sun soaked region in southern Italy which, together with its iron rich soil makes it one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country. Indeed, for far too long, the foods and cooking styles of the south were undervalued, with preference being given to the French-style dishes of the north, flavored with cream and butter. You’ll find big bags of them sold across the region (and indeed, all of Italy). Here, you will have the chance to meet the friendly locals and see how they live. Fava beans mashed into a purée with some wild chicory (or other greens) on the side. Orecchiette, just one famous food from Italy’s Puglia region. The region of Apulia Italy, or Puglia as it’s called in Italian, is perhaps the best place in Italy for food. See our privacy policy. The architecture looks beautiful and the food is everything I could wish for. Vegetables are an incredibly important part of traditional Puglian cuisine, as meat and fish was often too expensive to eat on a regular basis. Vegetables are often preserved in oil and vinegar to be eaten in the colder months, a method known as sott’olio. One of the finest examples of cucina povera cooking perhaps in all of Italy, grano arso is an ingredient born out of poverty that is now championed by Puglia’s top chefs. It’s served steaming hot with a simple tomato sauce. The Nomadic Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.