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We can certainly say Puglia is an artichoke lovers’ paradise!

If you come to Puglia at this time of the year you’ll see artichokes everywhere: at the markets and at every street corner the farmers sell their fresh artichokes. All the locals buy to eat them fresh or to preserve in extra virgin olive oil, mint and cloves (delicious!!)…to be eaten in the summer on top of our fantastic bread.

The artichokes have many important nutritional benefits. In addition to being full of fiber and iron, they contribute to lower the blood cholesterol. In fact, by promoting bile secretion in the liver, they help reducing the LDL cholesterol.

In the 1970’s, European scientists discovered that the bitter taste of the artichoke is due to a plant chemical called cynarin, which has the ability to reduce cholesterol.

In Puglia we prepare the artichokes in so many different ways and I and Marika have them at least 6 times per week at this time of the year. One of Marika’s favorite ways to prepare them is with carrots, rice and parmigiano….a sort of risotto but more Mediterranean because we make it with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter.

INGREDIENTS
3 artichokes 
1/2 lb rice
2 carrots
1/2 onion
vegetable broth (as necessary)
1/4 glass white wine
3 1/2 oz very good Parmigiano
2 tbsp very good extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
black pepper

RECIPE
Clean the artichokes and the carrots and chop them in small pieces. Put them in a non-sticking pan at low flame adding a few tbsp of vegetable broth. Stir and add the onion, cut very fine.
Add the rice and stir very gently and not very frequently. Add the wine and after a few minute other broth, little by little when necessary.
Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
When the rice is cooked “al dente“, add the parmigiano. Serve and add the extra virgin olive oil.

The only issue we have with artichokes is pairing them with the right wine. What wine do you like having with artichokes?

We are back from three fantastic days in Milan where we attended an International Culinary Conference with some of the most important Italian, French and International chefs, such as Alain Ducasse, Moreno Cedroni, Andrea Berton, Frank Cerutti, just to mention a few.
I and Marika now have only one certainty! There is not a unique way to cook pasta. Each acclaimed Italian chef has his own theory on what the best way to cook pasta is.
Alain Ducasse even [...] Continue Reading…

Take the following test and we tell you what personality you have.
The test is free and will take only about 1 minute to complete.
Don’t spend too much time considering your answer, your first impression is what we need. Please be completely honest in your response.

QUESTION:
What is your favorite food at lunch on your work days?

A) a caprese salad with tomato, mozzarella cheese, basil, extra virgin olive oil….accompanied by two slices of bread?

OR:
B) a delicious sandwich, with a super [...] Continue Reading…

If you come to Puglia in February, you should definetely not miss one of the Carnival celebrations which take place almost everywhere in Puglia.
The Carnival in Putignano is one of the oldest, dating back to the end of the 14th century. It became very famous because it was the longest, starting on December 26th and ending on the Shrove Tuesday, in February.
This year there will be lots of concerts, exhibitions and events almost every day from January [...] Continue Reading…

If you travel around Italy, you will certainly notice that food and recipes change completely from region to region and most of the times also from town to town. Even pasta, which is always thought of as the typical Italian food, is made with different ingredients depending on whether you are in the South or North of Italy.

Pizza is certainly one of the few national Italian dishes. Pizza was first made in Naples, but now you find [...] Continue Reading…

Our guests attending our cooking classes in Puglia are always surprised at the fact that in the Pugliese cuisine we use garlic in a very delicate way.
Our guests’ usual comment after the first bite is: “mmmh…but I don’t taste garlic in my food!”. And we use to reply that if it did taste like garlic, than it would not be authentic Italian food (at least not from Puglia!).
I and Marika are big fans of garlic! We like it because of its flavor [...] Continue Reading…

As we start this new decade, which new wine trend do you expect to prevail in your country or worldwide?
After talking to several oenologists and wine makers during the wine tours we organize in Puglia, we have the impression the tendency will be towards wines which have less and less a distinctive wood – oak taste. Instead, we think wines will be appreciated when they reveal the unique flavors of the indigenous grapes (such as Aglianico, Primitivo, [...] Continue Reading…

There is one dish that cannot miss on Italian tables at midnight on December 31st.

This is the Lentil soup! Because they resembled coins, in the past they were thought to bring financial prosperity in the year to come. Nowadays, we associate them to general good luck, in any field. I and Marika had lentils for three days in a raw….just to be sure!

Usually lentils are prepared with cotechino (pork).
Instead, I and Marika prepared a much healthier [...] Continue Reading…

I and Marika don’t eat lots of sweets (apart from tons of the famous hazelnut ice cream from Lecce we already wrote about!).
However, we love the traditional Christmas sweets, just because they are really specific to this festivity and so we make them in Puglia only once per year. And this has been the same since always.
Our favorite Christmas sweet is a fish made of almond. In many families and countries it is a tradition to eat [...] Continue Reading…

One of the most typical fish from the Mediterranean sea is the Dorade.
If you come to Puglia, this is something you should not miss. Our favorite place where to eat is in Otranto, just by the Adriatic sea.
A dorade can be prepared in so many different ways.
I and Marika love the dorade baked in sea salt crust: this recipe allows us to appreciate the freshness of this fish and its particular taste.
We don’t add any flavor, herbs, [...] Continue Reading…