Gastronomy
The cuisine of Ostuni is based on typical products of local agriculture: olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, vegetables, cheeses that are mostly made from sheep milk, and fish. This simple cuisine, which is full of smell, colour and taste, is an expression of the simplicity of the people of the area extolling the virtues of traditional flavours. Flour based products play a very important role on the tables of people of Ostuni, beginning with bread, still cooked today in a wood burning oven, the “frise”, “la puccia”, “i tarallini”, without forgetting the pastas such as “li stacciodde” (orecchiette), “li strascenate”, “li lajanedde”, all made from flour of semola di grano duro, that are flavoured either with fresh tomatoes and with “caserecotta” (cacioricotta cheese), sometimes mixed with the flavour of “ricotta ascanta” (strong flavoured ricotta cheese).
The meat-based dishes, of the local cuisine, are almost always cooked on a grill such as for example capretto “young goat”, lamb and local sausages as well as “gnemmariedde”, (tasty kebabs made from goats’ innards).
Fish lovers can enjoy innumerable recipes, whose common denominator is the freshness of their main ingredients. One can sample tasty antipasti made from seafood, sea bream, red snappers, lobsters, all having lived on the marine life of the local waters and for this reason having a unique taste. Octopus is a principal ingredient of this celebration of taste, flavoured mostly with vinegar, “pulpe all’acite” and with fresh tomatoes and onion.
Part of this cuisine, are typical dishes like “li fave e fogghie o ncrapiata”, a puree’ made from wild beans and vegetables, “l’acqua sala” made with hard bread or frise in water flavoured with oil, onion, oregano and tomatoes and “li turde allu sunze”, thrushes flavoured with vinegar and bay leaves.
In this quick overview of Ostuni cooking, we should not fail to mention the typical desserts used in celebrations:
“li carteddate” (cartellate)
“li pettulu” (pettole) fried pasta cooked with yeast and,”li carteddate” (cartellate) flavoured with honey and mulled wine, “li percedduzze”, “la palomma”, a ring shaped pie of pasta and hard-boiled egg, “la cupeta”, crushed almonds mixed with caramelised sugar and apples and “li frisedde” a type of pasta covered with icing sugar (gileppe). These are accompanied with liqueurs like il limoncello, il nocino and il rosolio.
Among the local wines, two are D.O.C. (an abbreviation used for wines, to say that they are of high quality, whose production respects standards have been established by law): Biancostuni made from Impigno, Francavidda and Verdeca and Pagadebito grapes and Ottavianello wine made from Ottavianello grapes.
Another interesting tradition is that of “lu pete”, a wine made from the last pressing of the grapes with water; “lu moneche” obtained by sieving the dregs of the wine and the “vino con camedrio”, wine cooked with the addition of an infusion of slightly bitter tasting and stimulating herbs .
water.
