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Earthy flavors and the bounty of a terra awash in sunlight...pure Pugliese. Intensely flavorful fruit, an abundance of colorful vegetables, fresh cheeses such as mozzarella and burrata, and semolina pastas such as orecchiette and cavatelli are the base of the rich yet simple cucina Pugliese. Sanford D'Amato, chef of Sanford, in Milwaukee, WI heads our 2008 season. We celebrate the specialties of Pugliese cuisine during our trips with our Guest Chefs. Our menus' ingredients include both the bounty of land and sea: a variety of fresh and seasonal vegetables including eggplant, arugula, chickpeas, chicory and fava beans, hand-made semolina orecchiette with cime di rapa, and from the sea fresh mussels, clams and sea urchins. Biking through almond groves and vineyards to small fishing ports, or stopping to taste a ripe fig straight from the tree, we experience the true heart of Pugliese cuisine.
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• Focaccia making lesson and lunch at a masseria
• Learning the intricacies of making fresh orecchiette
• Views of the beautiful blue Adriatic
• Guided visits of Alberobello and Puglia's hidden sea caves
• Biking through winding farmlands dotted with trulli
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Highlights of our week include:
An afternoon in the kitchen to prepare antipasti pugliesi, such as panzarotti, fried breads filled with vegetables, cheeses, or meats.
Visiting an artisanal cheese maker to see the traditional techniques used to make burrata, a fresh cheese filled with cream and wrapped in mozzarella.
Stopping at a local frantoio, olive mill, for a tasting of the rich and fruity olive oil so important to the Mediterranean cuisine.
Hand-making orecchiette, the typical little ear-shaped pasta, in a beautifully rustic masseria kitchen.
Learning how to make focaccia, the tomato-topped flatbread.
Our trip begins near the coastal town of Monopoli. Our biking takes us past the stunning sea caves of Castellana, to the mystical trulli of Alberobello, and then to Locorotondo for a taste of the local white wine of same name. Next, we visit Ostuni before heading to Salento and the beautiful sea villages of Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca.
• Hotels include Il Melograno, a lovely Relais & Châteaux property overlooking the orange groves and Masseria Torre Coccaro, a magnificently restored 5 star masseria hotel near the coast.
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2008 Dates and Guest Chefs:
• May 11-18, 2008: Roberto Donna, Galileo, Washington, DC
• Sep 21-28, 2008: Francis Reynard, Consultant, New York, NY
• Oct 19-26, 2008: Sanford D'Amato, Sanford, Milwaukee, WI
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Dates: May 11-18, Sep 21-28, Oct 19-26, May 10-17, 2009
Length: 8 days/7 nights
Level: 1 B
Daily Mileage: 15-38 miles on flat to gently rolling terrain.
Cost: $5180
Single Supplement: $1000
Meals: All breakfast, all dinners but 2; picnic lunch.
Hotels: 16th c. masserie & a 5 star estate.
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