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What you should not miss when you come to Puglia: the pasticciotto Leccese! 0

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Stile Mediterraneo

There is one thing that you should certainly not miss when you come to Lecce in Puglia: the delicious Pasticciotto Leccese! There is no other place in Puglia or in Italy where you can have it! People from other places in Puglia come to Lecce on purpose to eat the pasticciotto.

Pasticciotto is a pasta frolla (sweet pastry) tart filled with lemon cream. Pasticciotto is the typical pastry that people in Lecce have for breakfast. If you want to do what the locals do in Lecce that’s what you should order, together with the espressino coffee, while enjoying the sun in the Santo Oronzo Square in Lecce.

In Lecce almost every coffee bar will serve the pasticciotto. However if you want to eat one of the best, you should go to Ascalone in Galatina (on the way South to Gallipoli).

I and Marika were recently interviewed by Sharon Sanders for a beautiful article she wrote about our Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School in Puglia and which was published in the Dream of Italy newsletter. In this article we share our secrets and travel recommendations for Puglia. We tell Sharon the story that when Cinzia lived in Milan, Ascalone refused to sell her a tray of pasticciotti to be taken back to the North with her. The baker wanted the pasticciotti to be enjoyed warm! Read the Dream of Italy Newsletter to find out more!

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

Tags: italian espresso coffee Italian pastries Italian sweets italy pasticciotto lecce things to do Puglia things to do
Category Cakes & Desserts, Favorites, Puglia, Reviews, cuisine, lifestyle in Lecce, things to do in Puglia, traditions, travel tips

Delicious pastries for the Sunday lunch! 1

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

There is no Sunday lunch in Puglia and in Lecce without the most beautiful and delicious pastries which include: babà with rum, cannoli with ricotta, bignè with lemon pastry cream.

Pastry shops start making fresh cannoli and pasticciotti very early in the morning and you can smell the savory lemon cream and pasticciotto from the street.

All the pastry shops get very busy around 12am, just before lunch, when everybody rushes to get the best pastries.

Even if you may choose among tons of different pastries, you have always the impression you are missing the best. Therefore all trays (in Italian “guantiera”) end up being very big.

The Sunday pastries are something not to be missed if you come to Puglia. Make sure you order yours before 12am.

For more information about Stile Mediterraneo cooking classes and wine tours in Puglia Italy please write at info.stile@gmail.com

Tags: Italian sweets Italy cuisine Italy lifestyle Italy Sunday lunch pastries Puglia traditions
Category cuisine, lifestyle in Lecce, traditions

Puglia food festivals: the bread sagra! 6

Posted on August 01, 2009 by Stile Mediterraneo

My and Marika’s favorite way to celebrate the Pugliese food and wine is to attend one of the many local sagre (festivals) taking place in the small towns, year round everywhere around Puglia.

Every town organizes a different festival: from the fig, bread, pasta, meatball, eggaplant, fish, to the watermelon and icecream! The sagra celebrates what’s in season and each town’s main traditional production.

The best sagre are of course in July and August.
Last night I and Marika went to the Bread fair held in a sea town, nearby Lecce. It was so much fun!

Everytime we go to a sagra, we must start trying the Almond Cupeta. That’s something we have always done, since we were very young.

Almond cupeta is a Torrone, made only with sugar and toasted almonds!

Then we headed to the bread area. Thousands of people were waiting for the warm “Pittule”: deep fried focaccia bread…..and of course for the “Pizzini bread“: bread made with onion, tomatoes, black pepper and olives.