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Join our tour and you’ll have a taste of all the fresh, seasonal and traditional food of Puglia!

Join our tour and you’ll have a taste of all the fresh, seasonal and traditional food of Puglia!

Wine maceration is a fascinating and complex process that plays a fundamental role in the production of quality wines. The choice of technique, duration, and temperature are all key factors that influence the style and characteristics of the final wine.

Maceration is a crucial phase in the winemaking process that consists of prolonged contact between the grape skins and the must, the juice obtained from pressing. This encounter allows the extraction of color, tannins and aromas from the skins, giving the wine its unique and distinctive personality. It is during maceration that alcoholic fermentation is activated, but it is important to specify that these are two distinct but overlapping processes: maceration extracts compounds and aromas present in the skins, while fermentation transforms the sugars present in the must into alcohol.

If we had to answer the question “what is the most obvious effect of maceration on wines?” on the spot, we would say without hesitation “the color!”. Let’s start with a fundamental notion that not everyone knows: the color is in the skins and not in the pulp. The must, or juice, is the result of pressing the grapes and is always light in color. Only contact with the skins during maceration gives the wine its color. This explains why there are white wines obtained from black grapes (for example Pinot Noir) and this explains the difference between red winemaking and white winemaking: in red winemaking maceration occurs, in white winemaking it does not. Rosé wines are generally wines obtained from black grapes that have undergone a short maceration. The traditional maceration method involves fermenting the must with the skins in steel or wooden vats. This technique allows for complete extraction of color, tannins and aromas, ideal for obtaining full-bodied, structured red wines that can evolve significantly over time.

The duration of the maceration is a determining factor for the final characteristics of the wine. In general, for red wines, maceration lasts from a few days to 10-12 days, depending on the type of wine and the desired result. For some particularly tannic wines such as Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo or Amarone, it can even exceed 20 days up to more than a month of contact between must and skins. For white wines, in particular cases, maceration can last a few hours, with the exception of Orange Wines which can macerate for several days. Finally, from a few hours to a day for rosé wines.

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The bouquet for gourmands is the one composed of the most famous edible flowers in the kitchen: courgette flowers. A very appreciated and decidedly beautiful ingredient, donated by the earth, or rather by pumpkins and courgettes. They can never be missing from the spring table: fried in batter, stuffed in the oven, on pizza or with pasta, they are a temptation for the palate, and a pleasure for the eyes.

From the trusted greengrocer or at the supermarket, courgette flowers are purchased only if freshly picked: the petals must not be withered, have dark spots or wrinkles. Like any self-respecting cut flower (even if it is probably even more delicate), courgette flowers are easily perishable and can be kept for a short time. You behave just like with the bouquet of roses: after having purchased them, you put them in a vase with the stem in water. They must be cooked on the same day, or at most within two days, the time limit for them to keep the petals firm. You could also freeze them, but once thawed they would be soft due to the frost, so it is not recommended.

It takes a lot of delicacy to clean them. Cut the stem, open the corolla, and with your hands or a small knife remove the internal pistil (it is edible, but has a particularly bitter taste, so it is better to remove it). Quickly pass them under cold water and then lay them out to dry on a dishcloth. Then you move on to using them for various recipes.
Battered and fried, Roman style, they are mouth-watering. The most famous recipe, which has courgette flowers as the main ingredient, is undoubtedly that of fried courgette flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies with a crunchy batter. Those who do not prepare the batter can always do a triple pass in egg and flour: pass the flowers first in the flour, then in the beaten egg and then in the flour again, so they will be really super crispy. There is more than just finger food par excellence: courgette flowers can be eaten raw – in a salad or with a fish or meat carpaccio – or cooked, baked stuffed with cheese, vegetables, meat or tuna, or used in an omelette, to season pasta or in risotto. Another traditional dish? It comes from Naples: they are called sciurilli, and are zeppole with courgette flower dough (a cherry effect is guaranteed!)
Our spring flowers go well with everything in the kitchen: with eggs, in an omelette or in flans; with fish, not only anchovies in the filling of fried flowers, but also shrimp, grouper, sea bass, sole. They add a touch of color and a refined flavor to pasta. Any ideas? Try pasta with courgette flowers and bacon; or macaroni with bottarga and courgette flowers. They are a perfect (and colorful) ingredient for savory pies and mini cocotte, but also for the revisitation of a cornerstone of Italian cuisine: instead of aubergines comes the spring bouquet with courgette flower parmigiana. A delicate and perfect first course for a family lunch that will conquer everyone’s palate? Crepes with asparagus and courgette flowers or fried, baked, stuffed, in batter, as a condiment for spaghetti, macaroni or pizza. You can have fun with courgette flowers: here are 20 simple and tasty recipes to bring them to the table.

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Bread is an important element in a diet that includes all the nutritional principles and then it is delicious, especially when it is fresh and just baked. Apulian bread brings with it all the goodness of simple and genuine flavors that have made our Italian cuisine famous throughout the world. A few ingredients expertly mixed in a succession of ancient gestures that guard all the secrets of this timeless preparation.

In Puglia, Altamura bread is an unmissable product on the table. Crunchy, and at the same time soft. Crispy crust with an unmistakable hazelnut color and impeccable alveolation that makes the inside soft; a perfect contrast that determines its particularity.

Originally it was kneaded by women in their homes, and taken to bake in public ovens. A real choral ritual was created, in which public and private life intersected at the scent of bread. To prevent the loaves from getting mixed up, the baker would mark them with the initials of the owner or head of the family, printed on an iron stamp. Only then would he put them in the oven. A main characteristic of bread, still appreciated today, was its durability, essential to ensure the sustenance of farmers and shepherds during the weeks they spent away from home, working in the fields or in the pastures, on the Murgia hills. Even today, bakers follow the ancient recipe handed down from generation to generation by farmers and shepherds, since the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were 26 fully operational ovens.

The first reference to the place of origin of the product can be found in book I, V of the “Satires” by the Latin poet Horace, who in the spring of 37 BC, while revisiting the landscape of his childhood, noted the existence of the “best bread in the world“, so much so that the diligent traveler takes a supply with him for the rest of his journey”. Another document dates back to 1420, which states the penalty for those who did not pay the bread tax for the clergy of Altamura. The traditional baking activity of Altamura is confirmed in “Gli Statuti Municipali della Città” written in 1527, whose articles relating to the oven tax were transcribed, edited by G. De Gemmis, in the Bollettino dell’Archivio-Biblioteca-Museo Civico, in the year 1954 (pages 5-49).
Today the quality of Altamura D.O.P. Bread is guaranteed by the Consortium for the Protection, invested with the functions of control, promotion and valorization of the DOP, as well as surveillance against any form of counterfeiting. By monitoring all the production phases, starting from the origin of the raw material, the Consortium guarantees the consumer the traceability of the product. It brings together farmers, millers and bakers.

The ingredients have remained unchanged over the centuries – durum wheat flour, sourdough, salt and water – as has the manufacturing process, divided into five phases: kneading, shaping, leavening, modelling, baking in a wood-fired oven. Altamura bread is perfect enjoyed on its own, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or with red cherry tomatoes and oregano. It is also perfect to accompany soups or fresh dairy products such as mozzarella.

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Spaghetti all’Assassina is the new hit of Bari cuisine. If before it was impossible to visit the Apulian capital without a taste of raw fish, today you cannot say you have been to Bari without having eaten this dish at least once. Born at the end of the 1960s, they immediately achieved great success, spreading throughout the city, but already in the 1980s they began to disappear.
Spaghetti all’Assassina have then gained almost international fame since 2013 thanks to the Rai fiction The investigations of Lolita Lobosco and the episode dedicated to Puglia of the Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy program by CNN.

The dish was born in 1967 in the kitchens of the Al Sorso Lavorato restaurant. According to an initial reconstruction, the owners of the restaurant found the recipe by acquiring the rooms adjacent to the first nucleus of the restaurant, a former rotisserie. On the wall of that kitchen they would have found a sheet of paper with this bizarre preparation. Remade by chef Sorso, the result was a dish so good that it was put on the menu. Due to the spiciness, the first customers called the chef “assassin“, a word from which the name of the dish later came.

Here are the ingredients and procedure to replicate at home, which includes, for 4 people, 320 g of vermicelli or spaghetti, 400 g of tomato puree, tomato paste, oil, garlic, sugar and chili pepper to taste. The original recipe recommends using pasta with little starch and avoiding bronze-drawn pasta. It starts with dry spaghetti, rehydrated through the risotto technique. However, to shorten the cooking time, there are also those who blanch the pasta. But tradition does not like shortcuts.
Bring a broth made with water, 300 grams of puree and plenty of tomato paste and salt to the boil. The sauce must have a bright red color and be tasty, while maintaining the consistency of a broth. Put 100 ml of oil, three cloves of garlic with the core removed and chili pepper to taste in the pan. The garlic is browned over a high flame, then a glass or less of tomato puree is poured (100 g). To correct the acidity of the tomato, a teaspoon of sugar is allowed. The tomato sauce is then distributed with a wooden spoon over the entire pan to reduce it. At this point the raw spaghetti is added, distributing it so that the pasta is in contact with the sauce. There is no need to rush to turn it: this is where the delicious crust is created. The spaghetti will begin to caramelize, but without carbonizing. At a certain point they will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan: this is the moment to start turning them, bringing up the ones that are already browned. Next, pour two medium-sized ladles of tomato “broth” into the pan. The liquid will sizzle and begin to boil, you need to let it consume, without turning the spaghetti. The cooking time will be indicated by the sound. In fact, when you hear the spaghetti sizzling, you need to cook for about ten seconds, allowing the “burning” process to continue.

Only at this point should the most burnt spaghetti be brought up, adding more tomato liquid. Each addition must correspond to the time necessary to make the preparation sizzle and then repeat by wetting the pasta with the sauce. From rigid, the spaghetti will begin to bend, in total it will take about 9 minutes. From the procedure you can understand why another of the stories surrounding the name Assassina comes from its cooking method. In fact, just like a killer, the cook “must make the pasta suffer” in its broth. The final result is a first course of calloused spaghetti with a crunchy part, given by the burnt pasta. The balance between the parts is a choice of the chef. When the Assassina is ready, it is brought to the table directly in the pan.

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