The wool of our sleep: a tradition I will never abandon
In the large courtyard of our family home, we used to wash sheep's wool from mattresses and pillows. It was an ancient ritual that marked the passing of the seasons,...
Blog
Making Tomato Puree: A Summer Ritual Etched in My Memory
Today, I buy tomato puree at the supermarket like most people do. But until about twenty years ago, when I still lived in the countryside, we made it at home....
Harvesting and Cleaning Almonds
During the summer months, we harvested almonds. As a child, I remember seeing mountains of almonds piled up in my father’s warehouse, which was attached to the house where we...
Fava Beans: A Taste of Memory
My mother often prepared dried fava beans with wild chicory — a simple, rustic dish that was a staple in our home. I never once saw her remove the skins...
The oil and its use in the past
Olive oil appears in all recipes of modern cuisine, but in the past, even in Puglia, despite being the region that produces the most oil in Italy, it was not...
Stockfish and baccalà
The cod (baccalà) I buy at the supermarket, in the trays at the refrigerated counter, is absolutely not like the one my mother used to buy at the New Market...
The "Cocchia" (bunches of tomatoes hung up)
In this picture below I am in family's vegetable garden In Apulia, this is what they call the bunches of tomatoes hung up for winter storage Today, cherry tomatoes are...
Almond Harvesting and Cleaning.
During the summer, almonds were harvested. I remember, as a child, mountains of almonds in my father's warehouse, which was adjacent to and communicated with the house where we lived...
The origins of the nickname "Spigadolce"
My great-grandfather had the nickname "Spigadolce," and in the village, he was known more by this nickname than by his surname Fortunato. My mother told me that my great-grandparents had...
The "rasaul" (the dialect name from Andria for spatula)
It is an object forged from ancient culinary wisdom. The traditional spatula for making orecchiette is only produced in the northern Bari area by blacksmiths who craft it from wrought iron....