Fave – king of the comfort food

Although the lovely weather is continuing here in Puglia, the evenings are cooler and providing a great excuse for some comfort food.  We even lit the fire the other night, but that really had more to do with somebody’s pyrotechnic tendencies rather than the cold.

With a diet rich in pasta and pulses, comfort food is not hard to come by here.  But a speciality of the area, and a favourite of nearly every visitor I know is Puree di Fave. Fave are broad beans and here you can buy them dried and shelled throughout the year.  If you can find them locally, they need to be without the brown coat and will probably therefore have split into their two halves; they are a very pale, creamy colour.

Making puree di fave is simple.  Soak the fave beans for at least 6 hours, then put the pan on the stove (you can use the top of your woodburner if it’s lit!) and simmer the beans with a sliced potato, for about an hour.  Don’t add salt at this stage.  Plan on about 100g of dried fave per person.  When the beans are soft and breaking up, and the water is almost gone, add about a tablespoon of olive oil per 100g of beans and starting beating with a wooden spoon.  This is when you need to get a friend with a strong arm to help!  Or if you’re not feeling tied to tradition, a handheld electric beater would probably be a good help too.  Also add a teaspoon or two of salt at this stage.

When the puree is smooth, serve with another drizzle of olive oil on top, with a green vegetable – usually chicory here, or grilled peppers.  Twists also include adding cooked prawns, fried croutons or chopped raw onion.

As with many customs in Puglia, the way Fave is served differs from town to town.  One evening a couple of years ago we were out with a group of friends who were discussing the different ways that people from Martina Franca and Ostuni served leftover Fave.  Keith and I looked at each other – What’s leftover fave?!  It doesn’t make it past the first meal in our house!

 

Puglia: the foodie guide | Italy – Times Online

This article from the Times is great, it sums up the essence of the cuisine here in Puglia.  There is so much that is wonderful about the food that it’s hard to know where to start – and even more, where to stop!  I’m always amazed at how many ways the locals can cook the same ingredients to produce dishes that are always interesting and varied.  Take the aubergine; for a start they grow the beautiful dark purple ones here which we are used to seeing, but also bright violet and white ones.  And when there is a glut of them through the summer the local housewives and chefs will pickle them, preserve them under oil, make pasta sauces, stuff them, all manners of antipasta dishes, Parmigiana of course (although this is really a Northern Italian dish) and aubergine polpette.  Polpette is the name used for meatballs, but being Puglia they are often made with just breadcrumbs, egg and seasoning and of course fried in olive oil.  Last weekend I was taught the following recipe by my good friend Paula.  Here you can’t just be given a recipe, you have to witness it being made.  I used to think that people were being obtuse when they couldn’t tell me how many grammes of this or that – but actually they really don’t know.  They just add enough so that it looks right, and looks like mamma used to make.

Polpette di melanzane

Put half a loaf of stale country bread in a bowl of water to soak.

Peel 1kg of aubergines and cut into 2″ pieces.  Boil in salted water, covering them with a plate to keep the aubergines under the water.  Drain and allow to cool.  Squeeze out the water from the aubergines by wringing handfuls between your palms.  (This is quite unattractive, and as Paula said, really something that you should do in private!)  When they are as dry as you can get them, chop the mush up so there are no big pieces.

Chop a handful of basil and add to the aubergine.  Squeeze out the water from the stale bread and crumble into pieces.  Mix the bread and aubergine together (about two thirds bread to aubergine).  Add salt, a handful of grated parmesan and an egg.  Mix all together and make into patties about 6 – 8 cm in diameter and 1 – 2 cm thick.  Coat in semola flour and fry in a pan 1cm deep of olive oil.

 

Puglia in September

The madding crowds have gone, the sun’s heat is no longer frying, you can eat at a restaurant without a reservation and find peace on the beach.  August is over, and with it comes one of the loveliest times here in Puglia.  Grape sagras (abundance festivals!) replace the summer concerts, and soon the new season’s wines will be with us…

 

Puglia Navigator

Driving in Puglia is something to experience. There are some strange rules of the road to learn, such as randomly giving way to the right; and some rules that are unusually optional such as one way streets and stopping at red lights. Then there are the locals that you share the road with, from the contadino in his 3 wheel Ape to the budding Grand Prix driver that is so close to you he might disappear up your exhause pipe. Having said all of this, the overriding experience of driving here is that it’s a bit of a game, but no one gets upset and people demonstrate ten times more patience than you generally experience on roads in the UK.

Your next challenge is, of course, to find where you’re going. And this is where we can now help our guests. We’ve been spending the summer programming our new TomTom with all our favourite restaurants, shops and places to go. No more trying to explain how to find the Masseria to watch your mozzerella being made, the Trullo Solari TomTom will take you right there. Looking for that little fish restaurant right on the ocean, or the trattoria in the back street of Ostuni old town? Don’t worry, it’s all programmed for you! We want our guests of enjoy Puglia as much as we do, which is why we’ve made it easier to share some of our secrets…

An Ape in Ostuni old town

 

Mozzerella doesn’t come any fresher than this

Stretching curds to make mozzerella

One of the great things about being in Puglia is that there really are minimal food miles on your plate. Local food is the norm. When we first arrived I thought that this may become tedious, but eating only what is in season and locally grown is so great that we just don’t get tired of it. The markets are bursting with fruit and veg that are grown within 20 kilometres, and of course there’s normally something to harvest from the trees on the land.
For a real treat though, how about going to the local masseria to pick up your cheese? Masseria are old farm estates, mostly specialising in olives or dairy. A couple of kilometres from Trullo Solari is Masseria Nisi where you can greet the cows on your way in, then watch your mozzerella be made, stretched and tied into knots. You can be eating it within minutes. And just to top it off, the first of the figs are ripe on the trees. Delicious.

 

Castellana Cool

The caves really are awesome - and cool!

We’ve had friends staying with us this week, which give us an excuse to rediscover some of Puglia’s highlights. And with three small children, we were conscious of the heat. So we headed to Castellana Grotte, about 40 minutes from Ceglie to join one of the guided tours. As we descended the steps into the cave we were hit, first by the beautifully cool 18 degrees, and then by the awesome size of the entrance cave. It is 100m long, 40m wide and 60m tall. There’s a large natural opening at the top of this cavern to the outside, which lets a huge shaft of sunlight enter.

Throughout the tour, the stalactites and stalagmites wow you with their elegance and strength, and then amuse as you are encouraged to determine which worldly object they represent. Everything including an owl, a ballerina’s leg and (naturally) the Madonna are to be found.

The kids (all of us) loved it, and appreciated a respite from the 35 degrees outside. We were only outside again for ten minutes before we needed another ice cream though.

 

“Human Kind Cannot bear very much reality “- T.S.Eliot

“Human Kind

Cannot bear very much reality “- T.S.Eliot

And so taking Mr. Eliot at his word we all need to find a place in which we can escape the dreaded reality that surrounds us. Trullo Solari is a good place to start! Rolling hills, ancient, gnarled and twisted olive trees, beating sun, shady corners, cooling water and most importantly when you travel in a group – a bathroom for all!! ;o)

Places to visit – Martina Franca with it’s chic feel, good food and shops. Cisternino for excellent eating (try Bella Italia). Locorotondo for a wander and lunch at Trattoria Centro Storico (otherwise known as da Giovanni). Torre Guaceto for a pretty beach. Alberobello if you really have to! You can see much prettier trulli around the above towns and you don’t have to suffer the tourist tat hell!! As you may have guessed it didn’t leave much of an impression! If you’re feeling adventurous and you want to see some seriously blue sea head south for 50 minutes to Punto Prosciutta near Porto Cesareo or to Lecce for some baroque splendour. However, there’s always the temptation to just hang out by the pool, drink cocktails, read books and practice your pizza making skills in the evening. The place is truly wonderful and the guys have done a fantastic job of renovating it in a sympathetic and very comfortable style with everything you could possibly need.

If you want to escape from your reality, eat fantastic food, laze around, get some culture, see the most fantastic light you could possibly hope to find and stay in a wonderful place then you could do much worse. We loved it. You will too.

Toby

 

AccuWeather.com – Ostuni, ITALY – 15 Day Weather Forecast – Local Weather Forecasts

It’s hot.  Even Accuweather.com has had to come up with a new symbol for the forecast on Saturday – a melting thermometer!  A shiny sun just wouldn’t cut it.  At least there is some breeze today, although it’s a bit like being blasted with a hairdryer.

Great weather for doing nothing.  Loving the siesta…

 

History of Trulli

Just read this great article from The Independent about Alberobello and the history of trulli.  It supports my favourite theory of trulli that they were built so that they could easily be taken down when the tax inspector was due to visit, but this article has much more detail than I’ve seen before.

Also, I can’t argue with their view on the “tourist tat” in Alberobello, it really is in a class of its own.  If you want a pink sparkling model trullo, this is the place to come.  However, there are some quality retailers there.  On a recent visit with friends we found Gino Minerva who owns a wonderful shop – Tholos -  full of local specialities, beautifully packaged.  Gino also has a traditional trullo over the road which is staged as a traditional family home, as well as arranging gastro tours and tastings.  One of his tours includes a demonstration of mozzerella making.  We’re looking forward to putting some special packages together for Trullo Solari guests with him.

 

Puglia the new Ibiza?!

Puglia is often referred to as the new Tuscany, due to its increasing popularity.  It’s a term that we balk at a little as we relish the individual style of Puglia, and its diversity from the rest of Italy.  But of course we also enjoy the increased interest in this amazing area.  This recent article in The Guardian though has taken a new twist!  I can’t say that there is a big gay scene around here, but its great to see new cool bars and restaurants opening.  Can’t wait for an opportunity to head down to Gallipoli and check out some of those beach bars.