POSTCARD FROM... Puglia
Emiko Davies, one of our favorite cookbook authors, shares her best meals and bring-backs from the heel of the boot
HELLO FROM…
Oria, in between Brindisi and Taranto in Puglia.
I’M STAYING AT…
The stunning home of Julie Ann Marr and Francesco Creanza, who run cooking classes, Everyone at the Table, in Oria and Altamura.
THE BEST MEAL I HAD…
I love the bombette (beef involtini rolled up with ham and cheese and then crumbed) grilled on huge skewers in the wood-fired ovens at one of the “fornelli pronti” in the charming town of Cisternino. At Zio Pietro, you walk into the butcher shop, order from the meat counter (bombette are the local treat, but sausages and steaks and more are available too), then take a seat in the whitewashed alleyway and add on carafes of water and wine, whole jacket potatoes, grilled summer vegetables, and whatever else you want while you wait for your bombette. It’s a super casual meal, packed with great atmosphere and absolutely perfect for a meal with family or friends.
THE MOST FUN THING I DID…
It’s a toss up between refreshing dips at the unbelievably crystalline water of the Ionian Sea around San Pietro in Bevagna (we went to beach resort MurMur) and Campomarino (Tuareg was great) and a wander through the old, crumbling borgo of Taranto, which lovers of history and street photography will love too.
THE BOOK I READ (AND WOULD RECOMMEND)...
Honey from a Weed by Patience Gray is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s a cookbook, but also a memoir, and I love reading and re-reading her stories of the way of life in Puglia, where Gray lived from 1970 until her death in 2005, with her sculptor partner. This time of year I always make her double tomato sauce, inspired by the glut from the tomato harvest.
A THING OR TWO I LEARNED…
Don’t be in a rush in Puglia, there’s no point, just go slowly and enjoy the local rhythm and pace!
THE BEST THING I’M BRINGING HOME…
I can never resist visiting the Ceramics Quarter of Grottaglie and popping in to see Franco and his family’s ceramic shop, Nicola Fasano. I’m also bringing home this incredible stone milled durum wheat flour from Altamura for the silkiest pasta.
—Emiko Davies
Emiko’s latest cookbook, Cinnamon and Salt: Ciccheti in Venice—Small Bites from the Lagoon City, was published last month.