Focaccia & Bread | Italy Puglia cooking classes and wine tours

Take a personality test with food! 0

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Stile Mediterraneo

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 yummy mozzarella…some juicy tomatoes with fresh basil and… that warm bread, crunchy outside and soft inside?

————————————–

RESULTS

If your answer is A):

You are a calm person and enjoy every moment of your life. Work is good…but that’s not the most important thing in your life! You are also very social and you enjoy taking a good break at lunch with colleagues and people you like.

You understand how important it is not just to eat well and healthy…..but also HOW you eat….(see below).

If your answer is B):

You are a very dynamic person and very successful at work. You are a multi-task person. Your typical day looks more or less like this:

-gym very early in the morning

-meetings at work in the morning

-shopping at lunch…while having a quick sandwich panino standing in the coffee bar

-meetings at work in the afternoon

-aperitif and then dinner with friends

————————————-

Many times already, you may have heard that we are WHAT we eat!

Lots of medical reaserch demonstrates that what we eat can have a huge impact on our health in the long run.

I and Marika believe that what we eat is really important….but that’s not enough! Also, HOW we eat can have a huge impact on our health and well being.

There is a BIG difference between a sandwich with tomato, mozzarella and basil; and a caprese salad with tomato, mozzarella, basil and bread…..even though they are made exactly with the same ingredients and quantities.

The difference is that the caprese salad is eaten at the table. May be you are chewing slowly and may be you are relaxing while talking to someone.

The sandwich is very likely eaten in a couple of minutes, standing in a coffee bar.

We strongly believe that the Mediterranean diet is good….but to be more powerful, it needs to be accompanied by a slower lifestyle.

What do you think? we would love to hear about your experience and thoughts.

Contact us for more information at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to the Cooking School in Puglia Newsletter.

Therefore we wish you have lots of Caprese slow moments with your friends….may be with a good glass of wine from Puglia!

Tags: bread Italy caprese salad focaccia mediterranean cuisine Mediterranean Healthy food Puglia Extra virgin olive oil tomatoes
Category Cheese & Mozzarella, Focaccia & Bread, Mediterranean Healthy food, Puglia Extra virgin olive oil, cuisine

Tell us about your favorite pizza in Italy 2

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Stile Mediterraneo

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 it anywhere in Italy. The pizza dough is always made with the same ingredients: water, yeast, flour, salt, extra virgin olive oil.
What changes from region to region is the thickness of the dough or may be the topping variety.

We are putting together a list of some of the best pizza places in Italy. Please tell us where in Italy you had your best pizza!

For more information please contact us at info.stile@gmail.com
Subscribe to the Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School in Puglia Italy Newsletter

Tags: bread Italy focaccia Italian cuisine Italy cooking pizza Puglia cuisine
Category Focaccia & Bread, Mediterranean Healthy food, Reviews, cuisine

Aperitif time in Lecce: the famous Rustico! 0

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

If you want to look very local in Lecce, you need to have an aperitif, before lunch, in the Sant’Oronzo square, like all the Leccese people!

Every day, at 12:0′clock an opera singer announces it is noon….and so aperitif time for the true Leccese people! we go to the Sant’Oronzo square to meet our friends, enjoy the sun and ….of course our aperitif before lunch.

The typical aperitif in Lecce is based on a “Rustico” and a drink, which is known as “bitter Campari”.

Rustico is a savory pastry made of pasta sfoglia (puff pastry) stuffed with mozzarella, tomato sauce, bechamel, black pepper and nutmeg and then baked in the oven.

It has a round shape with a diameter of 12 cm.

Rustico is something you can only find in Lecce and in the Salento area. In no other parts of Puglia or Italy you will find a Rustico.

Bitter Campari is an orange, non-alcoholic drink usually served with ice and a slice of orange. It reminds us of the English pims, but there is no mint and cucumber in it. It is also a bit bitter, that’s why it is called the “bitter Campari”.

Any coffee bar in the Sant’Oronzo square would be perfect for a rustico.

All the coffee bars would have the very local newspaper “Il Quotidiano” where you may find only news about events happening in the Lecce area (from politics, to economics, events etc).

Of course the most followed news are:

-Lecce soccer team

-weather in Puglia

-Horoscope!

-Lottery numbers

For more information about things to do in Puglia and Stile Mediterraneo cooking classes and wine tours in Puglia Italy please write at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to the Cooking School newsletter

Tags: Italian aperitif Italian lifestyle Lecce rustico
Category Focaccia & Bread, lifestyle in Lecce, things to do in Puglia, traditions

Altamura durum wheat bread from Puglia 4

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

Puglia is becoming more and more famous around the world for the Altamura bread. This bread has been the first, in the bakery category, to receive the DOP seal (Denomination of Protected Origin) in Europe. The DOP recognition is equivalent to the DOC one for wines.

Its unique taste is the result of the handmade method (a procedure which has been passed on generation after generation) but it is also the result of the specific climatic conditions.
This bread has a typical shape, similar to a hat and a unique yellow color. The crust is very crunchy, the breadcrumb is very soft and the bread can last for many days!

Its production has to follow a specific procedure: it can be made with the durum wheat semolina varieties: “Appulo”, “Arcangelo” which are produced in the Alta Murgia area, in Puglia.

The durum wheat grains can only be milled at the mills in the Altamura area.

The bread must be produced with mother yeast. The only other ingredients are sea salt and water. Water needs to be verified and certified every year, to make sure it answers specific criteria.

Kneading must last 20 minutes, after which the dough rests for about 2 hours in total.

The dough can only be baked in an oak wood oven at 250°C.

For more information about Puglia cuisine and our cooking classes in Puglia please write at info.stile@gmail.com

Tags: Altamura bread durum wheat italian bread Puglia cuisine semolina
Category Favorites, Focaccia & Bread, Mediterranean Healthy food, cuisine, traditions

Home made Focaccia bread! 2

Posted on August 09, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

In summer time every occasion is good to make a focaccia. It’s such an easy and delicious dish: you can prepare it for a last minute dinner or for a picnic on the beach. Also it is fantastic when it is warm as well as when it gets cold.

In Puglia (mainly in Lecce) a focaccia is usually a double-crusted savory pie, stuffed inside.

In the Bari area “focaccia” is more like what’s called focaccia in the rest of Italy. It’s just one layer of dough but very soft and thick. You may be tempted to add some mozzarella on top….but that’s not the authentic way!

You can only put green olives, cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and oregano!

The beauty of this focaccia is that it is so soft, because of the potato we add to the flour!

RECIPE: 4-8 servings

Ingredients
2 small potatoes
yeast
1 tsp sea salt
water (as necessary)
1 lb 1oz all purpose flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive
20 fresh and ripe cherry tomatoes
oregano

green olives

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and mash them in a large bowl.
Put the yeast in a cup and add warm water to dissolve it.
Pour the water with the yeast into the mashed potato. Add the all purpose flour and mix everything together.
Knead the dough. Add the salt.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour.
Take a baking pan, oil it and spread some all purpose flour on it.
Place the dough in the baking pan and add the cherry tomatoes on top, cut in halves and the green olives. Sprinkle the focaccia with dried oregano and sea salt, then drizzle with olive oil.
Set aside again in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
Place the focaccia in the preheated oven and bake at 425 °F for about 40 minutes.

For more information about Puglia cuisine and our cooking classes in Puglia please write at info.stile@gmail.com

Tags: focaccia italian bread Italian cuisine italian pizza Puglia cuisine Puglia recipes
Category Favorites, Focaccia & Bread, Focaccia, Bread & Pizza, Mediterranean Healthy food, Puglia Extra virgin olive oil, Recipes, cuisine

Frisella dry bread from Puglia! 0

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

Everybody knows the many different types of bread from Puglia: bread from Altamura, Matera, bread made with durum wheat, barley, rye, semolina etc. All these types of bread are made with different flours and in different shapes and size.

There is a very typical bread from Puglia that is a bit less famous, but that all the locals would have in their homes and eat regularly: the frisella dry bread!

Frisella is made with exactly the same ingredients used to make bread. However, frisella bread is baked twice in the oven, instead of just once. Because it is dry, you have to soak it in the water just for one or two minutes before eating it. The frisella can last for many months.

The best frisellas are made of rye flour, but you can also find made of durum wheat semolina.

To prepare the frisella, just soak the dry bread in water for one or two minutes. Dress it with cherry tomatoes, wild rocket, oregano a pinch of sea salt and a very intense extra virgin olive oil!

You need to eat right away and using your hands.

Please let us know if you ever try it! The best is the one you can have on the beach with a glass of good Negroamaro wine!

For more information on our culinary tours please write at info.stile@gmail.com

Tags: bread Italy cooking schools Italy Italy Cooking classes mediterranean cuisine Mediterranean Healthy food Puglia cuisine vegetables
Category Focaccia & Bread, Mediterranean Healthy food, Puglia Extra virgin olive oil, Recipes, cuisine

The roses cake….or the small panini 0

Posted on May 01, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

I and Marika are so excited to leave for one of our cooking tours. It will be lots of fun!
Before leaving, we would like to share with you one of our favorite recipes. It is similar to the local Focaccia from Lecce (but the size is much smaller). It can also remind you of some small Italian Panini.

We call it “The Roses Cake” (la torta di rose) because it reminds us of many little roses.

Ingredients for 5 people:
-250 grams flour
-1 yeast
-½ tsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-200 grams of fresh pecorino cheese
-5 tomatoes
-3 basil leaves
-Pinch of oregano
-1 tbsp capers
-3 anchovies

For the dough: melt in a cup the yeast with some warm water and the sugar. Pour the water with the yeast in a bowl with the flour and salt. Knead with your hands and let it rise for about 1 hour. Then, knead again the dough on a wooden board and cut it in small pieces, of 50 grams each.
For the inside: cut the tomatoes, cheese, basil leaves and anchovies in small pieces and dress in a bowl with oregano, olive oil and capers.
Roll out each piece of dough and place a spoon of tomatoes and cheese in the middle.

Fold the dough and close it very well.
Prepare a baking pan with some olive oil. Place each piece of dough one next to the other and let them rise for other 30 minutes.

Bake in the oven at 180° C for 35 minutes (350F).
Let us know if you make this recipe. It’s perfect to be used on the table instead of the regular bread.

For more information, please contact us at: info@stilemediterraneo.it

Tags: Appetizers bread Italy Cheese cooking tours Italy focaccia panini Puglia cuisine
Category Focaccia & Bread, Focaccia, Bread & Pizza, Italy Cooking classes, Recipes

Healthy spinach Focaccia for the Pasquetta Day 3

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

The “Pasquetta” Day is one the most exciting holiday in Southern Italy. Pasquetta is the day after Easter and literally means the “little Easter”.

All friends and families get together for a whole day outdoor. The tradition wants that one person offers his or her house at the beach or in the countryside; all friends bring something to eat and to drink to be shared with the others.

All friends of friends are welcome and so you can have about 200-300 people in the same house.

The Pasquetta day starts very early in the morning and ends very late at night: it’s all about eating and drinking (as if, we did not have any food on the day before, Easter!!) and playing soccer or volleyball with friends.

All people at any age attend the Pasquetta. For Southern Italians, it’s a tradition! Italians from the north, don’t believe how important the Pasquetta is for us!

This time, I and Marika will bring a ricotta and spinach Focaccia. We thought the focaccia would be perfect for a pic nic and also for all our girlfriends who like vegetables and want to be healthy!

This is the recipe (for 6 servings):

- 250 grams durum wheat flour;

- yeast (better the natural yeast);

- a pinch of sugar;

- 1 kg spinach;

- 150 grams fresh ricotta cheese;

- 70 grams parmesan cheese;

- 2 whole eggs;

- 1 garlic clove;

- pepper;

- salt;

- 2 tbp extra virgin olive oil

Spinach preparation:

In a big saucepan, cook the spinach with the garlic, a pinch of salt and a pinch of spicy pepper. Cook the spinanch at very low flame, stirring and covering with a lid. When they are al dente, remove the garlic, let them cool down and then reduce them in small pieces using a knife. Add 1 egg and the grated parmesan cheese.

Dough preparation:

Add some warm water to the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Mix together the flour with the yeast and water, 1 egg and the 2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil. Knead the dough. Add 1 tsp of salt to the dough.

Divide the dough in two pieces and with a rolling pin, make two thin and round layers.

Prepare a baking pan with some olive oil and breadcrumbs. Place the first layer in the baking pan, cover with the spinach and with some pieces of ricotta cheese. Place the second layer on top.

Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes at 180°C (350 F).

Do you have any similar Easter traditions?

Please let us know if you ever make this recipe.

For more information, please contact us at: info@stilemediterraneo.it

Tags: Easter recipes focaccia Italian recipes Italy Italy cooking Italy holidays Italy traditions Puglia cuisine Puglia recipes ricotta spinach vegetables
Category Cheese, Focaccia & Bread, Focaccia, Bread & Pizza, Puglia, Puglia Extra virgin olive oil, Recipes, Vegetables & Legumes, cuisine, traditions