Dispatch from Apulia

and a sampling of the marvels of this glorious part of Italy

To everyone new here, welcome. I’m Elizabeth, the writer of The Delicious Bits Dispatch, a weekly missive for the curious, blending discovery, reflection, and musings, always wrapped up with a seasonal recipe worth lingering over.

My love affair with Italy started at birth.

With a father born in Veneto, and a mother from Istria, with its mixed Italian heritage, Italy always felt like a home I didn’t really know but would recognise immediately the minute I got there.

Over many years and many trips back to this magical place, that sense of belonging, of being part of something I didn’t know before, has never failed to surprise me with a catch in my throat and a deep tug in my heart.

And although it’s taken me nearly a lifetime to make my way down to the heel of the boot, to Apulia, that same sense of belonging is here, waiting.

Tutto fa brodo

—Italian idiom; every little bit counts

If you’re not Italian, you might argue that the food is more or less the same, the imposing cathedrals in tiny towns equally mystifying, the fast drivers who are always in a rush to get somewhere so they can go senza fretta.¹

To see all of Italy as one is to lose sight of the nuances, the little things, that give it the richness of a thousand regions.

So let me share these subtle cues, these small but significant differences that make Apuglia a region apart. And let me remind you that I still have many days to spend here to find those beautiful gifts that I know will be uniquely Pugliese. With thanks to Richard, who took many of these beautiful photos.

Colour…

…in ceramics, on doorways, mosaic domes.

Bread…

…in all its guises. As friselle, tarelli, a whole grain grissini, an imaginative sauce for la cucina povera², a beautiful addition to soup or as a substitute for meat in polpette.³

Living things…

…in every corner, nook and alley.

Unique architecture…

And of course:

Beautiful things to eat…

…from chicoria, nespole, puntarelle, artichokes, agretti and salt cod.

I’ll be back next week with more of my impressions of this wonderful corner of La bella Italia. Until then, take in all the beauty that surrounds you.

A presto.

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1. Without hurry, at a leisurely pace

2. “The poor kitchen”, a traditional Italian culinary style focused on resourcefulness, frugality, and minimizing waste. It maximizes flavour using simple, seasonal, and inexpensive ingredients, such as stale bread, legumes, vegetables.

3. Any small, mixture of ingredients (meat, fish, or vegetables) rolled into a ball and cooked.

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