Cooking
Holidays in Puglia, Italy with Authentic Adventures
Join us on 25th
October 2014 for a seven night break. £1,399 with no single supplement.
Many more
exciting adventures in 2015 including cooking holidays in India and Morocco.
Written by Cooking tutor, Ylenia Sambati
Puglia, in the south
of Italy is a delight to explore because it has all the right ingredients for a
first class culinary holiday. There are a few elements that will capture your
heart and inspire your imagination: among these, food, wine and lifestyle.
Puglia has a very
laid back pace of life. Its vivid colors and unique architecture, quiet country
roads, olive groves and farmlands will inspire and delight you. You will be
amazed by todays local culture of first class food, particularly olive oil,
farm fresh vegetables, wine and healthy Mediterranean food.
Prepare yourself for
sensory overload in Puglia: Greek influenced towns, the musicality of the
Italian language, the smell of the sea, the light of the Leccese stone, the
variety of wines, the warm locals and the sensational tastes of Puglia cuisine. Every day will be filled with memorable experiences that will make you
want to stay forever.
Pugliese cuisine relies
heavily on its local vegetables and wild greens, extra virgin olive oil, wine,
and wheat production. The region also provides much of the durum wheat for the
dried pasta in the South. Pane Pugliese and Pane di Altamura are both breads
famed in Italy and beyond. Puglia has a noted antipasto culture.
Restaurants usually parade six or more at the start of a meal. Other
places only serve antipasti: lots of fried dishes of course, but also many
interesting pickled items, and a number of antipasti that just emphasize the
local vegetables. Some of the most famous dishes of the region:
orecchiette pasta topped with bitter greens and also fried peppers and
lampascioni, a bitter bulb that is typically pickled,
pasticciotto, ciceri & tria pasta, fava bean purea and chicories.
Puglia is also
famous for its bread and focacce, and for the “taralli” and “friselle”,
flavored with the local herbs and spices.
Puglia was always a
prolific producer of wine and has often been referred to as the “wine cellar of
Italy”. Until a few decades ago this very stout and strong wine was exported to
the northern regions and to France to be used as “cutting” wine. The results
are spectacular, and wines such as Primitivo, Salice Salentino, Negroamaro,
Squinzano, Verdeca are now appreciated by the best sommeliers.
And Puglia is also
famous for its cheeses: the burrata, so creamy that it melts in your mouth
just like whipped butter, ricotta, giuncata, primo sale, Caciocavallo
Canestrato Pugliese, pecorino fresco, stracciatella and many more.
Puglia is packed
with whitewashed villages, diverse art and architecture, white sandy beaches
and a fascinating history of people interconnected with the land and the sea.
The land is host to olive trees and vineyards. The area sees blue sky days all
year round and typically has mild wet winters and hot dry summers.
Puglia is one of the
world’s largest producers of olive oil contributing around 70 percent of
Italy’s production and close to 15% of the worlds. They produce in fact some of
the best known extra virgin of great quality.
Under the expert
guidance of our friendly chef, you will learn how to prepare traditional
Puglian dishes, which vary according to the fresh ingredients available each
season. At the end of each session all participants eat what they have prepared
together, tasting great food and wine. Every day you will be guided through
different aspects of the Puglia cuisine: ingredients, techniques and
traditions, discovering their secrets and tasting new flavours.
Each day you will
explore a complete menu from appetizers to desserts. You will learn how to
prepare fresh pasta and the art of making sauces, tasty second dishes and
desserts.
For more information contact
Authentic Adventures on 01453 823328.
@AuthenticAdvent
