An Appetite for Puglia is a gorgeous Italian food and travel book, with plenty of traditional regional recipes to try.
You’ve probably seen pictures of the trulli of Puglia – those funny little whitewashed buildings with conical roofs, which are found mainly in the town of Alberobello. But what else do you know about this region of Italy? -the one that forms the toe of the Italian boot. What are the main towns and attractions? And what do you know about the culture and the local cuisine?
An Appetite for Puglia
If the answer is “not a lot” then it’s worth treating yourself to a copy of An Appetite for Puglia by Christine Smallwood (pub. BDP, photographs Eddie Jacob, RRP £19.99). This lovely new book gives a real insight into Puglia by focusing on its food and its people. The author travels around the region, introducing you to areas as diverse as bustling Lecce – the region’s baroque capital - and commercial Foggia to the fishing port of Gallipoli and the remote town of Monte Sant’Angelo.
Puglian Cuisine
But rather than give guidebook-style descriptions of sites, she provides portraits of the people behind some of the best restaurants in Puglia. You meet the radiographer turned restaurateur; the chef who uses only olive oil, and never butter or cream in his cooking as they “don’t belong” in Puglia; and the French-trained chef whose boyfriend asked her to choose between him and cooking – she chose cooking. And, through them, you start to understand the distinctive Puglian cuisine and the local culture: as one restaurateur says: “It’s a short life. Stop running and enjoy it.”
Following each portrait, there are one or two recipes considered typical of the restaurant in question – and of Puglian food itself. From Antichi Sapori, for instance, in Andria is Acqua e Sale (Water and Salt). This dish used to be made by people from the poor farming communities, and was a way of using up stale bread. For a time, traditional dishes like this were out of fashion – as Pietro Zito, the owner of the restaurant explains: “If you ate food from your territorio you were transported to the past, and that meant poverty.” However people now appreciate the beauty of simple, regional dishes.
Pasta, Chick Peas and Taieddha
Puglian dishes feature plenty of fresh vegetables, fish and pulses, and An Appetite for Puglia is a great introduction to the cuisine. Other recipes for traditional dishes of Puglia include Composta di Pure di Fave (Broad Bean Puree), Pasta e Ceci (Pasta and Chickpeas) and Taieddha, a classic dish which has several different spellings and variations. The version in the book features mussels cooked with potatoes, courgettes and tomatoes.
You’ll also find modern versions of traditional dishes, a delicious pasta-filled aubergine dish and recipes for some delicious desserts too, such as a Cream and Almond Fig Meringue Pie and an indulgent chocolate fondant.
After reading this book you really will have an appetite for Puglia – all you need to do then is book your holiday to this fascinating corner of Italy – and perhaps go on a cooking course while you’re there.
