Cooking classes and vacations in Puglia Italy

In Puglia we don’t define ourserselves as vegetarian people, but we certainly eat lots of vegetables, legumes and dishes which would be perfect for vegetarians.

This may be due to the fact that in Puglia we produce lots of vegetables (in fact we are also known as the garden of Italy); or to the fact that, having a sunny and warm weather for most of the year, we prefer eating simple and fresh dishes, not rich in proteins and fats.

Lots of our dishes do not include any meat at all, but just cheese, eggs and vegetables: from eggplant balls (similar to meat balls, but made with eggplants instead of meat), to eggplant parmigiana, to fava broad beans and chicories.

When we do have meat, we would never have a steak (Puglia is definetely not the region where to go to if you like steaks!). Meat will always be a sort of side dish to all the vegetables we have at any meal: from zucchini, to eggplants and bell peppers prepared in all the possible ways.

One of the most interesting things about the cuisine of Puglia, is that even at the end of a meal we would have a plate of vegetables. If the French end up their meal with a plate of that delicious cheese, in Puglia we finish our meal with a plate of crudité: from cucumbers, to carrots and fennels (when in season). These are all vegetables that facilitate digestion. However, I would say that the main reason why we do that is to spend more time at the table!

If you come to Puglia, you find cucumbers at any market from June to October. They are very sweet and very different from the more bitter cucumbers you may find in other regions.

They are very delicious, dressed with just a bit of fruity extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. They are also very nice when added to a tomato salad.

One of the reasons why Puglia has become one of the most famous regions in Southern Italy is certainly the Pizzica or Taranta dance, which is very popular in the Salento area. Salento is the southern part of Puglia.

Also, the Wall Street Journal recently dedicated a wonderful article to the Pizzica dance, its origins and the Salento area.

If you have a chance to come to the Salento area from May to September, you may easily have a chance to attend a Pizzica dance event in Lecce or Galatina. Usually these events take place in the main square and are free to visitors. After a few minutes of hearing the pizzica music, it will be very tempting to start dancing!

Every August, there is also the famous Notte della Taranta festival which features events every night for the whole month, in the Grecia Salentina or Greek Salento, a part of the Salento area which includes towns such as: Melpignano, Martano, Soleto, Cutrofiano, Sternatia, Zollino, Calimera, Corigliano d’Otranto.  

The Grecia Salentina area was historically part of the Magna Grecia, dominated by the Greeks more than 2000 years ago. It still has a very strong Greek influence. The local dialect, for example, is very similar to ancient Greek and in fact it is called Griko.  Certain towns, such as Calimera or Gallipoli, even have names which show the Greek influence: in Greek Calimera means good morning; and Gallipoli means, beautiful town (this is all I remember from my Classic degree undergraduate: lots of Latin and Greek study!). At the entrance of Martignano, you find a street sign in Greek (Kalòs ìrtate) which means Welcome!

The Pizzica or Taranta dance was known in the Salento area more than 3000 years ago. It was a dance dedicated to Dionysos, who, in the Greek times, was a God celebrated with wine and dance.

The legend says that Pizzica dance was an acient and ritual dance to heal those women who got bitten by the taranta (spider), in the fields while harvesting the wheat.

The only way to release the taranta’s poison effect was for the woman to dance for several hours at the rhythm of the famous tambourine, tamburrelli.

In addition to the dance and the music, this exorcism ended with the woman’s pilgrimage to the Saint Paul Church in Galatina, whose water washed away all the spider’s effect. Galatina is still one of the most important towns as far as the pizzica or taranta concerns.

This pizzica is also known as “la pizzicata” (which means “the beaten woman”).

This dance is usually danced by a woman who wears a red scarf: the legend says that the spider was attracted by the red color, used by women durig the harvest. Lots of red ribbons are now used to decorate the tambourine.

During the dance, the woman, who is usually barefoot, moves her feet as if she is crushing the spider. 

All men play the tambourine and other women clap her hands following the music rhythm.

It is important to know that, in addition to this pizica, there are other three different kinds of dance: “pizzica del corteggiamento“,  or romance pizzica, which is danced as a couple. There is also the “pizzica dei coltelli”, the knives pizzica; and the “pizzica a scherma”.

If you wish to receive more information about the pizzica or events in Puglia please write at info.stile@gmail.com

It’s the 10th August (and by the way, it’s my birthday!) and in Puglia we are enjoying a wonderful summer. The weather is just perfect, sunny but not too hot. Our white sandy beaches are more and more popular. And Puglia has become one of the trendiest and top destinations in Italy for food and wine lovers.
If you are planning to visit Puglia and you just found our blog, you may find interesting reading some of our favorite posts:

About Puglia

• aperitif time: raw sea urchins!
• millenary olive trees in Puglia
• how to order a meal in Puglia
• delicious figs from Puglia
• fresh burrata
• where to have the best seafood in Puglia
• best ice cream to have in Puglia if you want to be local: the spumone
• Altamura durum wheat bread
• food fairs in Puglia: delicious meat
• the taranta festival in Puglia
• trulli houses in Alberobello and Valle Itria
• best places to see in Puglia
• hiking in Porto Selvaggio

About Lecce

• Living the dolce vita in Lecce: what you should not miss in Lecce!
• frisella bread
• The Pasticciotto Leccese
• hand made mozzarella
• best espresso to have in Lecce

About Puglia food

• healthy and simple recipe with farro (emmer) and black mussels: a good carb to keep women healthy
• Italian Easter bread and focaccia
• traditional orecchiette fresh pasta with broccoli rabe: traditional recipes from Puglia
• red shrimps in sea salt crust: SO GOOD!
• durum wheat tagliatelle with mussels
• risotto with artichokes: simple and healthy recipe
• Lentils with orzo (barley)
• Ciceri and tria: tagliatelle with chick peas
• fava broad beans
• very healthy strawberry salad
• Christmas food traditions

About Marika and our family’s recipes

• making orecchiette pasta with our Mom and Grandmother
• Marika’s famous pear jam
• the secret Italian ingredient: Marika’s famous capers
• Marika’s famous lemon granita: so good that it deserved a whole review on Tripadvisor!
• Home made tomato sauce: our family way!
• Cutting salt by cooking with herbs

About our cooking classes and tours

• video of our cooking tours in Puglia
• our cooking classes and wine tours calendar

Puglia wines:

• Primitivo wine
• why Puglia wines are so good!

About Puglia’s slow lifestyle

• caprese salad or panini?
• Slow Mediterranean lifestyle in Lecce: it’s siesta time!

Having lived in so many different countries, I am lucky enough to have local friends almost everywhere. Whenever I take holidays from my cooking classes in Puglia and I travel, I always make sure I go and visit them. So I am very spoiled, because I get to visit the world with local people who take me to the most authentic places and best restaurants and order for me the most local and delicious food.

Whenever, it happened to me not to have such help I always been a bit disappointed with the food I ordered.

Loving food and wine so much, I can never have enough. Even when I am on holiday I am always interested in trying different foods and wines. I believe cuisine and wine are such a wonderful way to learn about the local culture and traditions.

Because Puglia is still an undiscovered place and because not many people speak English in best local restaurants, I thought it would be good to give some little tips and insights on what to expect in restaurants in Puglia and on how to order a meal in Puglia. So that you don’t run the risk of missing any of the wonderful culinary experience Puglia has to offer.

1. First, you need to know about Puglia and Southern Italy is that once you book a table, nobody is going to rush you! You can enjoy your food as slowly as you like. You can stay at the table 2, 3, 4 hours. Nobody will complain.  This is because food in Puglia is more a social thing than a way to feed us. We stay at the table for many hours but we eat very slowly. After a 3-hour meal, it may look like we have been eating a lot; but the talking has certainly been much more than the eating. This is a land of slow eating!
2. Second, in Puglia we take the idea of “local” food very seriously. This is not a new trendy concept for us. It has been the same way for thousands of years. This means that we only eat what is locally produced. Locally means: within 5 miles. To give you an example: Lecce is 6 miles from the sea. So nobody would order seafood in a restaurant in Lecce. We would only go and eat seafood and fish in Gallipoli or Otranto (which are by the sea and where it would be impossible to find any meat!). In Lecce the cuisine is based on durum wheat pasta, lots of vegetables, cheese and meat, but very little seafood (may be calamari).
3. Third, Puglia is not a place of famous chefs or fancy restaurants. Puglia is a place where most of the cooking is done by women in homes. It’s hard to have the authentic cuisine unless you go to someone’s home for a meal.  All the local recipes have never been written down and handed down by mother to daughter for generation. You now find lots of traditional restaurants who have become famous and mentioned in all travel guide books. However, you will certainaly find lots of tourists and a few locals in these places. If you cannot get invited to someone’s home for a meal, then ask to the locals, at the market, at the fish shop, in the street. Even if local people don’t speak English everybody will try to help!
4. Fourth, Puglia is very famous for the house starters (antipasti della casa). 

   

   House starters in Puglia may include from 5 to 20 different dishes, mostly made with vegetables, cheese, focaccia. They are all small servings to be shared (so 1 house starter can be for 4 people) but they can be a lot! If you want only ONE small starter, may be prosciutto crudo and melon, then make sure you ask for it. Otherwise the waiter will arrive with the many different house starters. After the house starters, we would only have either one pasta course or one seafood/meat course. We would always end a meal with fruit or dessert.
5. Fifth, salad in Puglia is a side course to our main course (meat or seafood). A waiter would be very suprised if you order a salad as a starter or with your pasta course. Alternative side courses would be other vegetables (but different from the house starters) or potatoes.
6. Sixth, every meal ends with a coffee, after which we also have the famous “amaro“, which is a digestive liquor (same concept of the limoncello or grappa). You can order it plain, or with ice cubes…..or the best way would be to have it on top of the spumone ice cream, which is the local ice cream in Puglia.
7. Seventh, servings are small in Puglia. House starters would be very small because they are supposed to be shared. Also pasta courses or main courses can be smaller than what you find in restaurants abroad.
8. Eight, traditional pasta in Puglia is made with durum wheat or barley or emmer. The local pasta is not made with eggs (even tagliatelle are not made with eggs). All local pasta include: cavatelli, orecchiette, sagne incannulate. However, we also eat egg pasta, such as ravioli, tortellini, lasagne, gnocchi.
9. Ninth, Puglia is not a region of big steaks. If you like steaks you have to go to Tuscany or the North of Italy. In Puglia we do eat meat but it would be lamb, veal and a bit of beef. Meat is always accompanied by vegetables (for examples: eggplants stuffed with ground meat). Therefore meat is more a complement to vegetables than a main dish. Local people in general eat very little meat and more seafood and legumes.
10. Tenth, we come to paying the bill! In Puglia (and in Italy) service is included in your bill. So there is no obligation to tip. However if you are happy with your food, then it would be very nice to leave a little tip: from 3 euro to 10 euro, depending on how happy you are.

Please

One of the best things to do when traveling on holiday to Puglia is attending a wine tasting tour and visiting the many excellent wineries the region is famous for.

For thousands of years Puglia has been a very famous region for its wines and viticulture. 2000 years B.C. the Phoenicians started producing wines in Puglia. Then the Greeks, more than 2000 years ago, brought the Negroamaro and the Aglianico. Also, the Romans really liked the wines produced in the fertile region of Puglia. In the 19th century Puglia was known as the “cellar of Italy”, providing big quantities of wines to Northern Italy and to other European regions.

When visiting Puglia wineries, you will be really impressed with the variety of indigenous and very ancient grapes.

Starting from the North of Puglia, you will find very interesting grape varieties such as: Nero di Troia, Aglianico, Fiano, Moscato di Trani, Bombino Nero and Bombino Bianco.

Going South, Salento is one of the most interesting wine areas for its grape varities and excellent wineries. Salento is the wine area around Lecce, including little towns such as: Cellino, San Pietro Vernotico, Squinzano, Guagnano, San Donaci, Salice Salentino, Alezio, Galatina, Leverano, Copertino, Nardò.

Negroamaro grape is among the most important varieties produced in the Salento area. Negroamaro was brought by the Greeks and is recognizable for its flavous and elegance.

Primitivo from Salento (so called for its early harvest) is another important variety produced for thousands of years in the Salento area. Primitivo has the same DNA of the Californian Zinfandel. In Puglia there are three different primitivo: Primitivo di Manduria, Primitivo di Gioia del Colle and Primitivo del Salento.

Three features make Puglia wines really unique and distinctive.

First, some of the best wines in Puglia are produced using the “alberello” (literally “little tree”), which is a very old vine, which can date up to 100 years. This alberello vine produces very little quantity but excellent quality. Wines produced with the alberello vine are naturally smooth and elegant.

Moreover, Pugliese wines are refined for very few months in barrels, which most of the times are made of French oak. This is because Pugliese wines have such excellent flavours that barrels are only used to enhance the natural elegance.

Finally, in addition to the ideal Mediterranean climate, most vineyards in Puglia are planted along the coast taking advantage of the sea breeze.

For more information about our wine tours please contact us at info.stile@gmail.com

If you ever come to Puglia and Southern Italy you will certainly notice that there are many people and women in particular who live up to 100 years and in very healthy conditions.
Certainly the slow and relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle has a big influence on this: everybody goes back home for lunch, eats with the family and takes a little nap before going back to work at 5pm.

However, the Mediterranean diet is one of the main reasons why women and people in general, live so long. One of the most important features of the Mediterranean diet and cuisine is that people eat a combination of carbs, proteins, and fats at every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner). What is extremely important is that, everything is eaten in moderation and that focus is on GOOD carbs, proteins and fats.

In Puglia extra virgin olive oil is used almost for everything, even for sweets. Lots of vegetables are eaten at every meal. Proteins come from seafood and most of all from legumes which are eaten at least twice per week. Very little meat is used, sometimes once a week and always in small servings.

Lots of students attending our cookery courses and tours in Puglia are always impressed with the fact that we eat pasta almost every day and keep asking Marika, as a cardiologist, whether this is a healthy thing to do! Don’t we eat too many carbs?

It is true that in Puglia and Southern Italy we eat lots of carbohydrates. However we mainly eat those with a low glycemic index. Pasta in Puglia is made with no eggs, but just with semolina durum wheat and water. Also, we eat lots of grains such as barley, farro and rye and lots of fruit.

A recent study led by the National Institute of Cancer in Milan, shows that there is an increased risk of heart attack caused not by a diet high in carbohydrates, but by a diet rich in rapidly absorbed carbohydrates. 

This is a very simple and delicious recipe made with farro, a very good carbohydrate (which in English should translate into emmer). 

FARRO WITH MUSSELS, TOMATOES AND EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

INGREDIENTS

1 lb farro
2 lb black mussels
1 garlic clove
15 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup parsley
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch black pepper

PREPARATION

Cook the farro in water for about 25 minutes. Remove it al dente.

On the side pour in a sauce pan a few drops of extra virgin olive oil with the garlic clove and chilly pepper. After one minute add the black mussels and cherry tomatoes and everything cook.

Once the mussels are open, add the farro and finish cooking everything together.

Switch off the flame and add freshly chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil and black pepper.

Eat right away!

If you like this recipe, you may also want to read our other recipes: orzo and lentils and durum wheat orecchiette with tomato sauce and durum wheat orecchiette with broccoli rabe.

Contact us for more information at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to the Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School newsletter.

Puglia is certainly one of the best places in Italy where to go to if you like eating super fresh seafood, crustaceans and shellfish.

Because in Puglia, we also think that food should be local and eaten where it is produced, you will eat the best seafood in places, such as Gallipoli, Otranto, Polignano a Mare, Torre a mare, which are beautiful sea side towns.

When you look for best seafood in Puglia, there is something you should definetely not miss and that you can only find in Gallipoli: the famous big red shrimps from Gallipoli (which look more like prawns)!

The best way to prepare them is to bake in sea salt crust, as if it was a sea bass or sea bream.

BIG RED SHRIMPS BAKED IN SEA SALT CRUST

INGREDIENTS

2 servings
1 lb 3 oz big red shrimps from Gallipoli
coarse rock salt (as necessary)

PREPARATION

If you like this recipe you may also want to read how to make a dorade (or se bream) in sea salt crust.

For more information about our cooking vacations and cookery lessons in Puglia Italy please write at info.stile@gmail.com or visit our Stile Mediterraneo Cooking classes calendar page.

June is one of the best months to visit a food market in Puglia. There are so many colours and flavours as all farmers start selling their delicious and sweet summer fruit and vegetables.

Being Puglia and Southern Italy, also known as the “garden of Italy”, we produce all kinds of seasonal fruit and vegetables, which are also distributed to Northen Italy.

A fruit that is really special in Puglia in June is the ”fiorone” (literally, big flowers), which is a type of fig.

Fig season in Puglia is from August to September, where you can find the most delicious and sweet figs.

Fiorone are sort of early figs and you can find them only in June (their production last for about 2 weeks). They are much bigger than figs you find in August.

Even though they are a little bit less sweet than those in August, it is such a joy to be able to eat figs in June.

They can be green or black. The best and sweetest are the black ones. You only find them at the market.

You may also like our post on how to make dry figs with almond.

For more information about our food and wine tours in Puglia Italy please contact us at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to our newsletter.

Summer has definetely arrived in Puglia and we have been experiencing unusual warm temperatures for the whole week.

This also means that we can also finally find all the super delicious summer fruit.

Marika has been making all sorts of fruit salads, which not only are very delicious, but also very refreshing and healthy.

Today she made a fruit salad with cantaloupe melon and pineapple.

She says this is the best fruit salad to have on a very hot day, like today!

Due to its water and mineral content, this juicy and fresh salad made of cantaloupe melon and pineapple can help rehydrate our body on such a warm day!

Pineapples and cantaloupe melons are perfect for salads, juices, fruit cocktails, snacks and also if you like decorating with fruit. We tried to make a swan using just  toothpick!

Cantaloupe melons have lots of other health benefits. They are a good source of potassium and are rich in anti-oxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease. They are very rich in Vitamin C, beta-carotene and Vitamin B complex.

Pineapples also have many other health benefits. They are a good source of Vitamin C (which acts a powerful anti-oxidant against free radicals) manganese, calcium, potassium, fiber and bromelain enzyme (which aids digestion and the immune system).

What is your favorite summer fruit salad? How do you make it?

For more information about our cooking tours in Puglia Italy please check out our classes calendar or contact us at info.stile@gmail.com. 

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School in Puglia is rated # Best Thing to do in Puglia on Tripadvisor!

In three days the World Cup starts and everybody in Puglia is getting ready for it with lots of good luck rituals!
You may know that in Southern Italy we are very superstitious.
I and Marika will make this simple and delicious recipe to support our Italian team, the Azzurri!
It is made with rice, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes.
We chose this recipe because it has the Italian flag colours (white, green and red). We chose a blue plate like our Italian team’s t-shirt!

The deal is that if we win the first match (Italy vs Paraguay) on June 14th, I and Marika will be making and eating rice, zucchini and tomatoes on all the following matches …..until the final on July 11th!

RECIPE

4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

- 5 small potatoes (small size)
- 3 zucchini
- 7 oz rice
- 15 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 white onion
- pinch of sea salt
- a few mint leaves
- pinch of black pepper
- 1 3/4 oz cacioricotta goat cheese
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (intense fruity)
- 1 carrot
- 1 small onion
- 1 celery stalk
- water for the vegetable broth (as necessary)

PREPARATION:
First, prepare the vegetable broth, by pouring water in a pan and adding the carrot, onion and celery. Bring to a boil.
In a baking pan place a layer of potatoes, very thing sliced.
Add a layer of sliced zucchini, the mint leaves and the half onion, very thin chopped.
Add a layer of rice, the black pepper and the sea salt.
Top the rice with the halved cherry tomatoes.
Cover everything with the vegetable broth.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°F.
Once it is ready and still warm, add the grated cacioricotta goat cheese on top.
Serve adding the intense extra virgin olive oil on top.

If you like this recipe, you may also want to read our other posts on how to make risotto with artichokes and how to make orzo with lentils

And you, what recipes are you making for the World Cup?

For more information on our cooking classes in Puglia Italy please write at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to our newsletter.

Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School in Puglia is rated # Best Thing to do in Puglia on Tripadvisor!

The beauty of the cuisine of Puglia is that you can prepare very delicious dishes without spending too much time in the kitchen. As always, the key is to use fresh and very high quality ingredients. So basically if you want to save time in the kitchen, you should spend a little extra time looking for the right ingredients.

Today I and Marika want to share this recipe which we guarantee will impress your guests on a dinner party! We love this recipe, first because it is very tasty and second because you can serve it cold, so you can prepare it in advance and enjoy your dinner with your guests!

As always we got inspired by what’s in season now in Puglia and Italy: the fresh green peas!

You also need very small calamari. Please note that it is very important the calamari are fresh and not frozen.

RECIPE

4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

- 500 grams fresh green peas (small size)
- very small onion
- 8 small calamari (fresh and small)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (medium fruity)
- 2 slices of artisan durum wheat bread
- 1 tsp sea salt
- pinch black pepper

PREPARATION:

In a pan, soften the onion with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. Clean the green peas and cook them at very low flame and with the lid. Add the sea salt. After 20-30 minutes, remove them from the flame and let them cool down before reducing into a purea with the food processor.

On the side, wash the calamari and cut them in small strips, lengthwise.  Sautée the calamari just for a few minutes at very low flame.

Cut the artisan bread in small strips and bake in the oven for a few minutes, until it gets crunchy. Once it is ready, drizzle with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil on top.

Pour the green peas purea on a plate. Place the calamari strips on top and drizzle with a little more extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle a pinch of black pepper on top. Serve with toasted bread.

Enjoy!

What’s your favorite recipe with fresh geen peas?

For more information about our cooking classes and cookery tours in Puglia please write at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to our newsletter.

There is no better month to savor the wonderful Mediterranean cuisine of Puglia than May. It’s almost summer and there is so much variety of fruit and vegetables, colors and flavors.

However, Puglia is not just good food and wines. It’s also a place with lots of history.

If you are in Puglia this week in May there is a wonderful Arts event you should not miss: the Cortili Aperti (Open Courtyards) taking place in Lecce, next Sunday May 16th, 2010. This is the 16th edition.

All the historical palaces in the old town of Lecce, belonging to the local aristicratic families and usually closed because privately owned, open their big doors to visitors and tourists.

Only their gardens and courtyards can be visited, unless you know someone in the family running these palaces (which have beautiful frescos inside!). 

Most of these palaces were built in the 1600s from the local pietra leccese stone. The influence of the Spanish, ruling the area, is evident in the architecture.

For the whole day, lots of events take place in the wonderful courtyards and gardens: from classic to jazz music concerts, to exhibitions.

There are 23 historical palaces and 4 churches (San Leucio, San Giovanni di Dio, San Sebastiano, San Francesco della Scarpa) open to visitors.

There are thousands of people who come to Lecce to attend this event, happening evey year, only for one day in May. Best would be to arrive early in the morning!

And of course when you are in Lecce don’t forget to taste the wonderful local food and wines from Puglia!

For more infomation about our gourmet tours in Puglia Italy please write at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to our newsletter.

Read more information about the Cooking and wine tour at the castle or write at info.stile@gmail.com

Burrata is a cheese traditionally made in the North of Puglia (Bari and surroundings). For burrata lovers it has always been impossible to find a cheese artisan who could make Burrata in Lecce and in the South of Puglia. In Lecce the tradition is to eat the super delicious and juicy mozzarella, known as fior di latte.

Today I went to my favorite cheese artisans with the beautiful ladies attending my cheese artisan and market tour. You cannot immagine what a wonderful surprise when we found out they were going to make burrata in front of us!

The burrata was made with the same dough used to make the cow milk mozzarella. First, the dough was very well stretched and kneaded by hand (we don’t use any machine in Puglia).

Then, the dough was filled with lots of mozzarella strips and cream.

Finally, the burrata was closed with a string, immersed in water with salt and let it rest.

The cheese artisan told us that today he had the best weather condition to make the mozzarella.

We tasted the mozzarellas and we could not agree more.

What do you think of burrata?

For more information about our cooking classes , cheese and market tours in Puglia contact us at info.stile@gmail.com or subscribe to the Cooking School in Puglia Newsletter.

We wish  a very Happy Easter and Pasquetta day to all our readers!

What are your plans for the Pasquetta day? Weather forecast in Lecce and Puglia predicts we are going to have a very beautiful and warm Easter Monday. So very likely we will have our traditional picnic on the beach this year!

For those of you who don’t know about it, the “Pasquetta” Day is one the most exciting days in Southern Italy. Pasquetta is the Easter Monday and literally means the “little Easter”  ….basically it’s another excuse to keep eating, drinking and meeting friends!