Apulian recipes
Bruschetta (toasted bread with tomatoes)
Bruschetta is found all over Italy , from Tuscany to Apulia. Its semplicity leaves nothing to hide behind. The secret of a successful preparation of this Apulian version is to find the freshest tomatoes, the hardiest bread (homemade, if possible), and the purest olive oil, preerably imported from Italy.
In Apulia this bruschetta would be served as an appetizer. It is raccomended as an accompaniment to the recipes for fish soup.
When serving bruschetta as a side dish, you may want to leave off the tomatoes, simply dousing the bread in olive oil and then rubbing it with garlic.
Serves 4
- One 8 -ounce loaf Italian or French bread cut into 8 slices.
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into thick slices
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh oregano
Arrange the bread slices on a baking rack and toast them in a moderate oven until browned on both sides.
When the bread is toasted, place the slices on a large dish and quickly rub the cut side of the garlic clove on 1 side of each slice.
Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top of each side rubbed with garlic.
Distribute the tomatoes evenly among the bread slices, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh oregano.
Pouring on another generous amount of oil at the end is optional.
Try to serve hot.
'Ncapriata (Purée of broad beans with chicory)
Serves 4
- 1e1/2 cups dried fave (broad beans)
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup extra vergin olive oil, plus extra for the chicory
- 1 head chicory, approximately
- 1 pound
Clean and rinse the fave well. Cover them with water and soak overnight.
Remove the outer dark shells and rinse the beans.
Put them in a pot, add enough water to cover, and start cooking.
As soon as they reach a boil, reduce the heat and, stirring occasionally, cook over low heat until the fave can be easily mashed (about 1 hour).
Turn off the heat, season with salt, and leave for 30 minutes.
Put the fave through a food mill of food processor, blend to a purée, and then beat in the olive oil.
Wash, trim, and cook the chicory separately in boiling salted water until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes, and drain.
Serve the fave with the chicory, with olive oil to dress the chicory in an oval plate.
Taralli Scaldatelli (Taralli bread)
Taralli are unsweetened biscuits (from the old French bis - cuits, meaning "cooked twice"), to be dunked in or eaten with wine as a snack.
The flavoring of taralli varies; in Bari they are left plain; in Taranto, they taste of fennel; and in Brindisi and Lecce, they are peppered.
For 3 dozen taralli
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 cup olive oil, warmed, plus extra to prepare the baking sheet
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, warmed
Mix the flour with the yeast and the fennel seeds. Fold in the olive oil and wine, which must both be warm.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it well until it is smooth and firm.
Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Take some dough and roll it out with your hands into a rope 1/4 inch in diameter.
Cut the rope into 2-inch lenghts, form each into a ring, and press the ends to seal them together. Continue this procedure until you have used up all the dough.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Place a large pot filled with salted water on high heat to boil.
Drop the taralli into the boiling water. When they come to the surface, lift the taralli out with a slotted spoon. Allow them to dry thoroughly on a dishcloth.
Bake the taralli on a large oiled baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve warm or cool.
Orecchiette e cime di rapa (Orecchiette with turnip greens)
Orecchiette, "little ears", are the most symbolic pasta of Apulia, a region famed for its pasta consumption. An orecchietta looks like a small shell, and is made by simple pressure of the thumb on small disks cut from a thick stick of dough.
The resulting hollow traps whatever sauce is used to flavor the pasta.
Serves 6
- 2 pounds cime di rapa (turnip greens)
- 1 pound dried orecchiette
- 1/4 cup salt, plus extra to taste
- 12 anchovy fillets packed in oil
- 4 teaspoons peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus extra to taste
Clean the cime, remove the stems, and use only the most tender leaves and tops.
Wash the greens well, and allow to drip dry.
Cook the orecchiette in plenty of boiling water with 1/4 cup salt.
2 minutes before they are done, add the greens to the pot, and stir.
While the pasta is cooking, rinse the anchovies well, and pat the fillets dry.
In a saucepan, sauté the garlic in the olive oil with the red pepper flakes, then add the anchovies and cook for a few minutes over low heat, mashing the anchovies with a spoon until they dissolve.
Drain the pasta and greens when the pasta is "al dente".
Remove the garlic from the sauce, and pour the sauce over the orecchiette.
Season with more salt and red pepper flakes to taste, and serve very hot.
Frittata di asparagi (with Asparagus omelet)
Serve this omelette as a lunch or light dinner, with fresh bread.
Serves 2
- One 1/2-pound bunch wild asparagus, or 1 pound domestic asparagus.
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino or romano cheese
- Salt and freshly grated pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Wild asparagus (asparagi di campo, "from the field") are so thin and tender they don't need to be cooked before being added to the omelet.
Simply wash them; there is no need to cut them. If you are using domestic asparagus, cut the tips including 1 inch from the stalk, and cook them in boiling salted water for 4 minutes.
Drain, and proceed with the recipe. You can use the top 2 inches of the domestic asparagus stalk as well - just cut this part into 1-inch lengths and blanch along the tips.
In a bowl, beat the eggs well and mix in the asparagus, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet or omelet pan, and pour in the egg mixture.
As soon as the bottom is solidified and browned, turn the frittata over, and cook the second side to a golden brown.
Cozze gratinate (mussels au gratin)
Serves 6
- 3 pounds mussels in their shells
- 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped parsely
- 2 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Scrub and clean the mussels thoroughly. Put them in a heavvy pan over fairly high heat with 3/4 inch of water in the bottom, and cook, covered, just until they open.
Strain the liquid, saving 1/4 cup. Remove the empty top shell of each mussel, and place the mussels in their half-shells in a baking dish.
Mix the breadcrumbs with the mussels liquid, the parsley, the chopped garlic, the salt and pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil.
Sprinkle this mixture generously over the mussels. Pour the rest of the oil over the mussels, heat them in the oven for 10 minutes, and serve.
Fricelli al ragu' (Fricelli pasta with Meat Sauce)
Fricelli is wire-thin pasta, rolled into a spiral with the aid of a spit. The dough is the simplest combination possible, durum wheat and water. Here the fricelli are served with a mild meat sauce.
Serves 4
- 2 pounds top or bottom round roast, cut into 8 thin slices
- 3 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped garlic
- 1 and 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped onion
- 2 cups peeled and finely chopped carrot
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino or provolone cheese
- 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- Flour (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 ounces lean pancetta, chopped to yeld 3/4 cup
- One 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and finely chopped or put through a food mill
- 1 cup dry red or white wine
- 1 pound fricelli
Pound the meat slices between pieces of wax paper to make them even thiner and more tender.
In a bowl, mix together half the chopped garlic and onion (saving the other half of each for the sauce), and the carrot, parsley, cheese, breadcrumbs, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Sprinkle each slice of meat with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and put 3 tablespoons of the stuffing mixture in the middle of each slice of meat.
Roll each slice from 1 corner to its opposite corner on the diagonal, making as long a roll as possible, then fold over the ends, 1 at a time, toward the middle of the roll until they slightly overlap, making a packet that you can either skewer with a toothpick or tie with cotton thread to hold shut during cooking (some cooks like to dust the packets with flour at this stage).
In a large skillet, saute' the packets (involtini) in the olive oil, turning them until they are brown all over. When they are done, remove them from the oil, but leave the oil in the pan.
Saute' the chopped pancetta in the oil with the remaining onion and garlic over low heat until the onion is soft. Stire frequently and be careful not to burn the garlic. Then add the tomatoes and the wine, and put the involtini back in.
The liquid in the pan should just cover the meat; if it does not, add some hot water. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has been reduced and concentrated, and the meat is very tender.
When the meat is about done, cook the fricelli in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, and then drain.
Dress the fricelli with the meat sauce, but save a little sauce to go with the involtini, which are served as a second course.
Remember to remove the thread, if you used it, before serving the meat, 2 packets per serving.
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