Italy Puglia cooking classes and wine tours

It has been raining for all the past week in Puglia. This is not very exciting, since in Puglia we are sun-dependent, being able to enjoy a sunny weather most of the year!

Yesterday I, Marika, our Mom and our two cuisines went to visit our Nonna.
Of course the whole conversation was about the rainy weather.

It was getting a bit depressing! We were the 6 of us sitting around the kitchen table and by the big fireplace, complaining about the fact we never had such a rainy Carnival in Italy before.

Suddendly, our Mom stood up and said: “dai su! è Carnevale, facciamo le chiacchiere!” (it’s Carnival time, let’s make the chiacchiere pastries!”). 
She did not have to say twice. I and Marika started assembling the ingredients. Our Grandmother (who is usually a bit deaf) got really excited (she loves sweets!).
It was the most wonderful day! 

The chiacchiere never tasted like this before!  Of course the secret ingredient was the fun we had hand-making those pastries all together!

INGREDIENTS
500 gr flour
80 gr sugar
2 whole eggs
pinch of sea salt
3 tbsp liquor
1 grated orange zest
40 gr extra virgin olive oil
icing sugar (to decorate)

PREPARATION
Mix all the ingredients together with your hands as if you were making fresh pasta.
Let the dough rest for at least 1/2 hour. Make several rectangular sheets of dough. Use a pasta machine to make the sheets very thin.
Cut them into strips or small rectangular using pasta cutters (or a knife).

Deep fry in extra virgin olive oil (or bake in pre-heated oven at 350°F for about 15-20 min).
Sprinkle icing sugar on top.

There are many different recipes to make the Chiacchiere. Do you have any to share?

Enjoy the Carnival in Puglia!

If you come to Puglia you should definetely try the many different wines produced from the distinctive local varities, which are impossible to find in any other part of Italy.
Puglia is a region with one of the most ancient enological traditions of Italy. The region counts 25 DOC wines and many local grapes, including the now famous Primitivo. A few years ago Primitivo variety was cultivated with the only purpose of making bulk wines destined to other Italian and European regions, where wines were less robust and with less alcohol content.
Nowadays, thanks to the hard work of many oenologists and wine producers this grape has been revaluated and is now fully appreciated around the world.
Primitivo became famous when it was found out that Primitivo and Zinfandel have the same DNA.
Some researchers say that both Primitivo and Zinfandel have Balkan origins, from the Zagarese grape. They say that Primitivo grape was introduced in Puglia in the 17th century.
Other people say that the primitivo grape was introduced in Puglia much earlier by the Greeks.

The name primitivo comes from the fact that this grape ripens earlier than other varieties.
The current success is due to the innovation introduced in the vineyards, such as the early harvest and the very low yield per hectare so that the resulting wines are softer, more fruity and less aggressive in terms of alcohol.
Lots of wine makers still practise the manual harvest which results in higher quality of the grapes and so of the wines!

Primitivo is produced everywhere in Puglia, but the DOC areas for Primitivo are Gioia del Colle (where the different temperature between night and day lets the fruit ripen slowly and perfectly) and Manduria (where the wind coming from the sea contributes to keeping the fruit in good health and to its flavors). The wine obtained from primitivo is well structured, with flavors of ripen red fruit and minimum alcohol degree of 14%.

This grape has a strong and very distinctive character and Pugliese wine makers wisely prefer a short time aging in French barrels (instead of complying with the international wines with a stronger wood taste). This is a wine to be aged.
Today wines made of Primitivo show undeniable class in a style that stands comparison with its American counterparts.
Every last Sunday of May is a special day for those who love wines from Puglia. All wineries are open to visitors for free visits and tastings, while usually, it is not possible to visit wineries without an appointment.

For more info on our wine tours in Puglia please email at: info.stile@gmail.com

We got so excited that bravely decided to take a secondary road …..

……. suddenly the most beautiful olive trees were around us!

200, 500, 800 years ..or may be more…I and Marika couldn’t agree about their age.

Please help! How old do you think they are?

To contact us please write at info.stile@gmail.com

Today the stones of Matera are almost uninhabited, but right up until 1952, they housed 15 000 people until the Italian state declared that the inhabitants be re-housed due to sanitary regulations. The urban settlement which is dug into the rock at Gravina di Matera is the only one of its kind and consists of an intricate network of alleyways, steps, grottoes, arches, kitchen gardens, terraces and chimney tops. The hydraulics system is also completely unique in that it was dug into the ground where cisterns were created to enable the inhabitants to take advantage of a fresh water supply. The inhabitants of Matera slowly came to the surface, so to speak, building rooftops and small, kitchen gardens. A perfect example of historic art concerning human space carved into the limestone or ‘tufo’ rock face.
Towards the end of 1993, the Sassi of Matera were declared as part of the World Cultural Heriatge of UNESCO he patrimony for future generations of humanity’. The Sassi are renown as one of the 365 wonders of the world.

In 1994, Matera was awarded a prize from the European union for the best territorial urban programme. Many churches in Matera were erected between XIII and XIX centuries, the majority in Baroque style – evidence that the town’s people developed in unison with the grottoes. At Matera (55000 inhabitants) one may enjoy a variety of interesting historical influences as well as the ‘new city’.