Tenuta Villa Oleandro

On the Gargano Table

   

The Gargano diet, rich and varied, is typically Mediterranean.  Fish features prominently, as do locally produced olive oil, meats, cheeses, vegetables, tomatoes, fruits and bread.  And of course all the usual imported produce, mostly from Italy.

BREAD   The region is famous for its sourdough bread which, once upon a time, every family used to make regularly.  In summer bread was baked in private country wood-fired ovens and during the winter months the local baker (there were many dotted about every town) would bake ready made loaves, for a small fee, in his own wood fired oven.  Pane Pugliese, in other words sourdough bread, is always made in round wheels of differing sizes and is readily available.  These days many different types of bread are also produced in a variety of shapes by some of the many local bakeries who also prepare and sell slices of fresh baked pizza, hot from the ovens.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL   The main oil production region is in the north east of the Gargano (Cagnano Varano, Ischitella, Vico del Gargano, Vieste).  Ogliarola Garganica is the most prevalent variety, many of these trees centuries old with huge girths, but other varieties are also given growing space: Coratina, Leccino, Peranzana and Rotondella.  The olive oil produced in the Gargano is said to be one of the best in Italy, indeed the world.

CHEESE   Small shepherded herds of goats and sheep are still commonplace and often block the path of motorised vehicles along the hill roads of the Gargano.  It is not unusual to come across a small herd of cattle wandering through the woods unattended, which, with great bells donging round their necks, you hear before you see.  These podolico cattle, and the rarer buffalo, provide the milk that goes into making some of the best cheeses in Italy, including Caciocavallo, Pecorino, Cacioricotta, Mozzarella and Ricotta.

PASTA   Despite the availability of excellent dried pastas it is not uncommon to make fresh pasta at home, especially for special days.  Pasta is made by old and young alike; flour, water and salt are the ingredients used (egg pasta is rarely made here).  The most typical Pugliese pasta shapes are orecchiette (little ears), shaped using knife and thumb; macaroni, traditionally made with the help of a square spoke from an antique umbrella; introccioli (short square spaghetti) and tagliarini (long square spaghetti), both made with the help of a chitarra (wire-strung cutting instrument).

FRUIT   Among the many kinds of fruits grown here citrus are by far the most important; including the Femminello del Gargano, the oldest lemon variety in Italy, the Melangolo Dolce del Gargano, the sweetest of sweet oranges, and the less common Bergamot.  Other fruits include many varieties of fig and pear; cherry; loganberry (black and white); loquat; prickly pear; pomegranate; apricot; walnut; and almond.

VEGETABLES   Chard, turnip tops, spinach, courgettes, fenne bulb, capsicum peppers and aubergines are favourites; cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli too.  Broad beans, French beans and pumpkins are enjoyed in season, whilst many kinds of dried beans, dried pulses and preserved vegetables add variety to the table during the leaner winter months.  The biggest local crop though is tomato - almost every household here makes their own passata, and they make enough to last the whole year.  Last but not least, garlic and chilli peppers are used liberally to flavour Gargano dishes.

MEAT   Although lamb is eaten more and more frequently, by far the favourites are beef, pork and goat, or rather kid.  The native Capra Garganica, recognisable by its long black hair, large stocky head, quiffed forehead, bearded chin and arching horns, is particularly well adapted to the territory it grazes freely.  The odd family of pigs can often be seen foraging under the trees, both in woodland and olive grove.  Wild boar, now present in large numbers, is hunted for its much-prized meat and is usually only available in restaurants.

SEAFOOD   Clams, mussels, cuttlefish, octopus and grey mullet are the varieties most commonly caught locally.  If you are really lucky you can buy them directly from fishermen on the beaches from which they work.  Oysters are farmed in Lake Varano so are plentiful here.  Other fish, predominantly Mediterranean caught, include anchovy, red mullet, cod, gurnard, sea bass, sea bream, John Dory, turbot, mackerel, tuna, swordfish, squid, lobster, crab, langoustine, prawn - the list is almost endless.

NATURES LARDER   The people of the Gargano have a passion for wild food and not only because it is free.  A variety of greens, herbs, fruits and nuts are collected for the table, many of which are now only known by the older generations.  Senape (mustard greens), borrage, cicoria (dandelion-like chicory), asparagus, oregano, wild fennel herb, capers, snails, quince, sorbola (service fruit) and hazelnuts, to name the most common.

Wild mushrooms are a particular favourite.  Many venture out into the forests and olive groves armed with sticks and baskets (and nowadays licences too) to seek out these highly prized ingredients.  From their hunting grounds, fiercely kept secrets, they will bring back Porcini, Chicken of the Woods, Chanterelle, Caesars Mushroom, Honey Fungus, Wood Hedgehog and many more.  So popular are funghi here that every autumn a fascinating exhibition is held in Vico del Gargano to display examples of the huge number and variety of funghi, both edible and toxic, to be found in the region.

LIQUEURS & PRESERVES   A tradition for preserving all kinds of foods in all manner of different ways was developed not only to preserve the glut at harvest time but also to ensure a varied and healthy diet during the leaner winter months too.  Salted black olives, green olives in brine, olives in vinegar; artichokes, aubergines, courgettes, wild grape-hyacinth bulbs, chilli peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, mackerel and tuna in oil.  All sorts fruit of jams, syrups of fig and carob bean, and of course liqueurs - Limoncino (lemon), Arancino (orange), Maraschino (cherry), Allorino (bay leaf), Nocino (walnut), Finocchino (fennel), Centerbe (a hundred herbs), coffee, chocolate and many more.