Puglia's cuisine is deeply rooted in the region's agricultural tradition and sums up all that is best about Mediterranean cuisine. Many of the most representative dishes have their origins in "cucina povera", making use of whatever is at hand or that can be picked from the garden or even grows spontaneously. Top-quality local produce, including olives, tomatoes, artichokes, fava beans, chickpeas, courgettes, aubergines, fennel, peppers, onions, pork and lamb and some of Italy's best cheeses and a succulent range of fruits (Puglia is also a land of cherries, almonds, clementines, grapes and white honey melons) are combined and prepared in the simplest of ways, yet most delicious.

Freshness of ingredients is all-important as is the their provenance. A classic example of this is Puglia's most distinctive dish, orecchiette con le cime di rapa, little ear-shaped home-made pasta cooked with turnip greens. The pasta itself is made rigorously from durum wheat flour, water and salt. Eggs, once considered a luxury, are not used in traditional Puglian pasta-making. Simple in the extreme but absolutely yummy!

As with pasta, the local durum wheat is also used in Puglia's delicious bread. In more remote villages, communal wood-burning ovens still exist where local housewives can bake their own bread. Altamura, a small town in the north-west of Puglia was the first town in Europe to receive a DOP classification (Denomination of Origin of Production) for its bread.

For millennia Puglia has been predominantly an agricultural region, producing around 40% of Italy's olive oil and a large proportion of its wine (note: Primitivo and Aleatico). Vast tracts of the region's territory are given over to farming, whether it be crops or livestock, and many inhabitants continue to grow their own produce.

Puglia's rocky interior is ideal for sheep-farming and, in terms of meat, lamb reigns supreme! Feast days are characterised by the fragrances of roasting lamb wafting through the streets and most restaurant menus will feature at least a couple of lamb dishes. Horse meat is also very popular.

Puglia's pecorinos and ricottas are excellent as most dairy products. A must try: the burrata di Andria, a mozzarella like cheese, with a soft creamy stuffing, that has to be eaten within 24 hours of production - absolutely delicious!

Puglia's long coastline and fishing tradition bring large amounts of seafood to the table: red mullet, anchovies, gilt-head bream, mussels, sea bass and cuttlefish are featured in many recipes.

If you still have room after the main courses, Puglia's desserts will certainly tempt you. Many are almond based (the region produces vast quantities of almonds), often combined with honey or vin cotto di fichi (a kind of fig concentrate), while sweetened ricotta cheese sweets are also a local favourite.

Our country farmhouses are also a special treat when it come to scents and flavors: surrounded by fruit orchards, olive groves and vineyards, they will tempt your palate and quench your senses with the best home-made cuisine featuring only genuine regional products.