Puglia – at the heel of Italy’s boot – has risen from humble roots to become a culinary powerhouse. Sophie McLean finds heaven on a plate, and in a beautiful old farmhouse
Granted, it is not the prettiest of drives from Bari airport towards Fasano. Indeed, Puglia, or Apulia as the locals call it, is often tarnished with the reputation of being northern Italy’s poor agricultural cousin. It is my first time this far south, and I’m not quite sure what to expect.
Winding our way on small roads along the Adriatic coast we scan row upon row of olive trees – a sea of green and blue punctuated by the odd whitewashed building. Finally, our car turns up a neat, bush-lined avenue and we arrive at our destination. Masseria San Domenico is a farmhouse transformed into a five-star boutique hotel, set deep in the heart of 100 hectares of century-old olive groves and pomegranate trees.
The Masseria is drenched in history: the main building dates back to the 15th century and was originally used as a watch tower by the knights of Malta. Since then, it has been family owned for 30 years and still functions as a family home. The furniture that decorates the bar and the 47 bedrooms is the same that was in the original house: canine motif cushions adorn upholstered antique chairs, and there’s an old record player, along with dark wood panelling. Outside is an old frantoio, or olive mill – the hotel uses its own oil in the kitchens, in its bath products, and even in its spa.
Being covered head to toe in olive oil and smelling of oranges, lemons and sea salt, the aromatics used in the spa treatments are gentle reminders of Puglia’s local industry. The region is home to a staggering 60 million olive trees, a sight to behold from high ground.
Apulia stems from the Latin apluvia – ‘land without rain’ – and 70% of the land is limestone based. This makes it ideal for growing olives, but also cherries, prickly pears and figs. It is also the perfect climate and soil for producing grapes – as shown by the vines that we pass on our way.
The villages here are like something out of one of Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Trulli houses adorn the narrow streets in nearby Alberobello – a place that means ‘tree of war’ (and not in fact ‘beautiful tree’, as one might imagine). This was Italy’s first illegal village – run under a feudal system before being set free by the King of Naples in 1797.
Among other things local delicatessens will offer you prickly pear-based sweet liqueurs and cacio sopressata – an unusual cheese that, once cut, reveals salami hidden inside it. Locals tell me it has been made this way to fool the customs authorities in years gone by. Wine bars in turn will offer you Nero di Troia, Negroamaro, Susumaniello and Verdeca – glasses brim full of local Puglian sunshine. We walk back down to Alberbello’s main street, clutching olive-infused foccacia.
In Ostuni, known as la città bianca (the white town), the Greek influences are difficult to ignore. Bright blues and white decorate the pretty streets and you could easily wander around for hours with a well-thumbed guidebook for company. The city was rebuilt by the ancient Greeks after Hannibal destroyed it between the first and second century AD.
Of course, it was the ancient Greeks who first brought the olive trees to this region – dubbed ‘the patriarchs’, here to guard the region’s staunchly proud people. We meet Antonello, whose family has been growing olives for seven generations. He takes us out to see some of his trees – what he calls ‘natural monuments’, like ethereal sculptures rising out of the ground. He shows us the knotted, gnarly humped mamellone (‘big breasts’) on those that are almost ready for harvest.
We are also led underground to the caves where his family once milled them and reflect on an industry relatively unchanged in centuries. Indeed, some of Antonello’s trees here date back as far as 3,000 years – meaning that we are still eating fruit from the same trees that fed the Romans.
This is living history at its most incredible – one that blends the rural landscape into its warm and authentic personality. And it remains a haven largely undiscovered by many. Go now before Puglia’s secret is out.
Masseria San Domenico costs from €300 per night, including breakfast but excluding taxes. masseriasandomenico.com
Gargano: aphrodisiac oysters
Not only does Gargano, on the spur of Italy’s boot, have ludicrous natural beauty to spare, but it’s prodigiously productive on the culinary front, too. Oil made from the area’s Ogliarola Gargano (labelled DOP Dauno) is legendary, while the local seafood – as you might expect – is out of this world. The distinctively flavoured oysters, in particular, are unmissable.
Brindisi: seafood mecca
Meat barely gets a look-in in Brindisi, where seafood – including swordfish, sea urchin and prawn – dominates kitchens and menus, backed up by fruit and vegetables from the fertile, sun-drenched land. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, try mandorla riccia (or curly almonds) from the town of Francavilla Fontana – roasted almonds with a knobbly sugar, vanilla and lemon coating.
The Trabucchi of Puglia: fresh catches galore
Dotted along the coast in Puglia, in particular the stretch between the towns of Peschici and Vieste in Foggia, you’ll find Trabucchi – elaborate-looking wooden trebuchets that extend out over the sea, originally built and used by fishermen to catch fish without the need for a boat. Today, some have been restored and exist as restaurants where you can eat catch fresh from the nets.
Bari: local flavour
You won’t struggle for chances to try orecchiette – Puglia’s tiny, ear-shaped pasta – anywhere in the region, but in Bari Vecchia, the city’s old town, you’ll find streets filled with women making the shapes by hand on wooden boards and stuffing them with the freshest ingredients they can find. Seek out orecchiette alla Barese (Bari style), which is traditionally made with a local type of broccoli called rapini.
