Cooking School In Puglia

Puglia, in the heel of Italy, is a fascinating region, still relatively unspoiled, with great quality food, wine and olive oil. It has many affinities with ancient Greece, and everywhere we see traces of the Romans, who built the great Appian Way, linking Rome to Brindisi, the port that led to Greece and the Middle East.

It is one of the most interesting regions  and its remote position in the ‘heel’ has helped to preserve its secrets. Ruined Saracen towers line the coast – remains of an early-warning system against sixteenth-century marauding pirates, and the large, local farmhouses used to hide women, animals and harvested crops behind strong fortifications. Occasionally the walls enclosed a citrus fruit garden, small church and  bread oven, and traces of drawbridges and portcullis can often be found. This was part of Magna Grecia and the great secular olive trees dominate the landscape where the sea is ever-present.

 Different holiday packages are available from my daughter, Caroline Edwards, who lives in Puglia.  

www.welcometopuglia.it 

Spring/early summer tailor made foodie breaks in Puglia

Market visits and foodie shopping

How to Get Here

In spring and early summer the market stalls are piled high with the freshest and most colourful produce. Artichokes, baby broad beans, the first peas and then tomatoes, courgettes, marrow flowers, peppers and  aubergines will be familiar items but the sunny climate and fertile soil of th e area give them an   incomparable taste. Other less familiar items such as cime di rapa (turnip tops), cicorie (batvian endive) and sponsali (a cross between a spring onion  and a leek) are equally delicious and used to great effect in the typical local vegetable based vegetable dishes. 

Puglia has a very long, unspoilt coastline and you are never far from the sea. Little fishing towns like Monopoli have a daily fish market or, in nearby Mola, you can meet the fishermen as they come in and buy fish and seafood directly from the quay.

Local cheeses include the mozzarella, ricotta and primo sale found elsewhere in the south of Italy but also local specialities such as burrata, similar to mozzarella but with a creamier centre, ricotta forte (an acquired taste) or the strongly flavoured canestra, which gets its name from the baskets in which it is matured. 

Historically Puglia was known as the breadbasket of Italy and a visit to a local bakery, most of  which will still use the traditional wood fired ovens is an unmissable experience, perhaps to buy savoury foccacia (similar to pizza) or crusty sour dough bread for a picnic lunch, or tiny hot panzerottini (little envelopes of deep fried  dough filled with mozzarella and tomato) to nibble as you wander round the market. Sweet items include pastries made with almonds and cherries , biscuits  and tarts with a ricotta based filling.

Hands on cooking lessons

 A variety of cooking lessons can be arranged (see below for examples),  and each lesson will include starters (antipasti) a pasta or rice dish and a dessert. Lessons may be restaurant based or take place in a local masseria or even your own villa or trulli (depending on your choice of accommodation).

Wine/oil/local produce tasting (see attached list)

Cultural Excursions (see attached list for a sample of the excursions on offer)

Accommodation

We recommend that you book one of our selection of charming villas, trulli or masserie (depending on numbers) as having your own space offers more flexibility and better value for money as well as allowing for the possibility of private cooking lessons in your own accommodation and adding a new dimension to market and shopping trips. All accommodation has the option of daily maid service and most have either a pool or direct beach access. If you prefer we can, of course arrange B  and B or 3-5 star hotel accommodation ,

Optional extras: Pampering spa treatments, yacht trips, bicycle hire, car hire, babysitting, childrens activities ( see also attached list)

Sample 5 day programme . 230€ per person per night based on four  people staying in private accommodation - the beautiful Trulli San Marco in Locorotondo (sleeps up to 10) or a selection of similar accommodation.  Includes everything listed below, all transport, lunch and dinner  (except on day 4 and lunch on day five) and airport transfers   

 Day one: pm arrival: Arrive and be met at the airport and taken to your accommodation.  In the early evening  explore the charming town of Locorotondo followed by  a welcome dinner with a tasting menu at a well known local restaurant.

Day two: Visit the nearby fishing town of Monopoli and explore the fascinating centro storico, or historical centre. Market visit (fish and vegetables) and visit to local bakery, cheese and wine shops. Return to the trulli for a picnic lunch. In the evening a hands on cooking lesson where you will learn to make a few antipasti, for example fave and chicorie (a delicious puree of broad beans with wild greens),  stuffed mussels  and zucchini alla poverella (a dish using courgettes and mint), two different pasta dishes, for example the local fresh  pasta, orechiette, with turnip tops (similar to broccoli)  and pasta cooked in the oven layered with tiny savoury meatballs, tomato sauce and cheese and then perhaps panna cotta for pudding.

Day three: Visit to Alberobello to see the famous trulli, visit the wine museum at an award winning local winery, followed by a guided wine tasting and then lunch with wine at an excellent local restaurant.

In the evening you will learn how to make foccacia (similar to pizza) and panzerotti in the wood fired bread oven at your villa

Day four: free to explore the area or choose from our list of excursions

Day five: In the late afternoon guided tour of Mola di Bari, a lively fishing town with interesting churches. Meet the local fishermen as they come back with their catch and buy the fish which will be one of the ingredients you will use in  a hands – on cooking class in a historic Masseria -  to be followed by the dinner you have cooked and wine.

Excursions and Activities (NB, there may be discounts for groups of 6 or more people)

Direct flight to Bari  via Rome or Milan