From north to south of Apulia discovering the most popular street food
With the term street food (in Italian “cibo di strada”) we indicate those foods, salty and sweet, prepared, served and consumed in the street, often cheap and hearty. An ancient practice that in Italy has its roots in the regional culinary tradition. Every city has its own delicacies, and Puglia is no less so. Here we make you discover the genuine Apulian street food.
Foggia and Gargano: scagliozzi and paposcia
In Foggia it is used to prepare “scagliozzi”, squares of polenta fried in abundant oil, then salted, to taste hot and crispy. You find them in the “friggitorie” (shop where you buy fried food), while instead in Bari (where they are called sgagliozze) they are prepared mainly in the old town by women of Barivecchia. Another goodness of the north of Puglia, precisely Gargano, is paposcia, a bread-pizza of elongated shape, baked in the oven and stuffed usually with cacio ricotta cheese and rocket, but it lends itself well to any combination.
Bari and its province: focaccia, “popizze” and
In all of Apulia you can taste panzerotti, similar to Neapolitan calzone, stuffed with mozzarella and tomato and other variants; but if you are in Bari you must eat the focaccia, found in every bakery: a tasty mixture of semolina, boiled potatoes, water and extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with tomatoes and olives, so good that you eat from aperitif to dinner. In Bari vecchia there are the oldest bakeries in the city, where to eat a “stick” (piece) or a “wheel” (an entire shape) to be shared with friends. Always in Barivecchia you can taste, in addition to the sgagliozze, “popizze” or “pettole”, balls of soft pasta dipped in boiling oil and seasoned with salt or sugar. In the countries of the province on the sea you eat the sandwich with roast octopus; and for the bravest ones, there is “raw”, which is raw seafood eaten on the street near the marina: pupils (small cuttlefish), “tagliatella” (squids cut into strips), sea urchins, mussels, octopus and “taratuffi”; (a sea truffle species). All watered by beer.
Valle d’Itria, carnivore’s Heaven
In the wonderful Valle d'itria, home of trulli and whitewashed villages of lime, it is used to consume meat directly in the “fornelli”, butchers with charcoal attached where to sit and taste the famous bombette, pork capocollo rolls stuffed with cheese, garlic and parsley, with a thousand variations. Staying to meat theme, very popular are also the “nghiumridd”, morsels of lamb offal wrapped in the gut, flavored with laurel. They are typical of all Puglia, the same but with different names.
Salento: rustici, pasticciotti, pucce
When you say Lecce you think to Baroque. But also rustico, a snack made of puff pastry, stuffed with béchamel sauce and tomato sauce. An excellent snack, or a quick meal, to finish with a delicious pasticciotto, typical cake with pastry and pastry cream. For bread lovers, there are pucce (or pizzi), small sandwiches with tomatoes, onions, oregano and olives added to the dough.
