Local gastronomy is very versatile and diverse due to the different cultures and communities which had passed through here each leaving their mark.
Lecce is situated in the Puglia region, which forms the heel of Italian ‘boot’. It is very popular with Italians as a summer holiday destination: attractive because of its hot climate, and also because of its delicious cooking. The land is fertile, and local dishes are among the most sought after in Italy.
Like much Italian cooking, Puglian cuisine is a fine example of ‘cucina povera’, ‘poor’ or peasant cooking; paradoxically, however, it is a cuisine rich in vegetables, olive oil, wheat and pulses, and seafood and it is extremely fresh, extremely modern, and extremely well balanced.
The local gastronomy has intense flavours and colours. The cooking is based on traditional recipes and the methods derive from a peasant tradition. The people who created these recipes were poor people who couldn’t afford to buy expensive ingredients, and who therefore based their cooking on whatever produce they could lay their hands on. They used seasonal produce they cultivated and picked themselves, for example peppers, aubergines, courgettes, potatoes, onions, or tomatoes. It is also true that the Puglia region has always been an unsettled land, having been invaded so many times there are other influences, coming from other places, that played an important part in its culinary traditions. All the different people who have been through here have influenced the local cooking. For example ‘cicera e tria’, pasta with chick peas, it is an Arab dish. But it is not only the Arabs: a lot of other cultures have come through here and left traces of their customs. So basically all these different people have influenced the local cooking. And the food is delicious!
Almost all Italian regions, even towns, have their own particular shape of pasta: ‘tagliatelle’ from Bologna, ‘strozzapreti’ (priest stranglers) from Le Marche, and Puglia is no exception. Its contribution is ‘orecchiette’, literally ‘little ears’, because of their supposed resemblance to babies’ ears. These button-like treats are typically served with melting sprouts of broccoli, or, in coastal parts, with pink shrimp, caught fresh from the sea. And all covered, of course, with lashings of green extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil is a basic ingredient of all our dishes. It is at the source of all Mediterranean cooking. It’s our strong point. Oil is the reason why, to this day, we are able to cook such good, wholesome meals.
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