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Fava beans and chicory: an ancient combination

Feb 10 2023

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Fava beans and chicory are two vegetables very common in Puglia: in our region, they are harvested and most used in winter time. They are usually cooked and paired together: this tasteful combo represents a traditional food that is being eaten since ancient times.

So where is this tradition from?

This tradition comes from Magna Graecia: it is the time when the Greek empire colonized southern Italia. And it was likely a custom brought there from the Greek people, that used to eat them, according to many literary sources. Aristophanes, a greek comedian playwright, mentioned these two ingredients combined already in 405 b.C., in his famous comedy “The Frogs”. He wrote that Heracles or Hercules, son of Zeus/Jupiter used to eat them in order to get more strength, while completing his famous 12 labors.

Is it still a custom to eat it?

The answer is yes, people are eating this dish especially in Puglia, where it is considered a humble dish, since its ingredients are easy to be found and simple to be cooked. It is commonly known as ‘Ncapriata, from the greek word “Kapiridia” and it is one of the healthiest vegetable recipes on Earth: that is because these two vegetables contain many useful substances for the human body and give a super-nutritious outcome when mixed together.

Indeed, the fava beans are rich of elements like vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibres, having antioxidant and energetic functions, while chicory has yet another series of vitamins and minerals, helpful to stimulate hunger, regulate intestinal functions, and have diuretic and detoxifying effects.

Its recipe is very simple and consists in making a purè with fava beans as a bed or side for the chicory leaves, that are usually simply stewed with olive oil, garlic and chili pepper. It can be eaten as a substitute to the main course, or as a side dish or yet as a single course.

A traditional comfort food

Nowadays, this dish is considered a winter time comfort food, easy to find everywhere in Puglia and very rich in flavors. So it is not just a healthy food, but it is also very appealing in all of its simplicity: it is a dish that makes people discover the taste of our land.

Posted by Editor · Categorized: General, Pugliese Recipes, Recipes, Seasonality · Tagged: Apulia, chicory, Especially Puglia, fava beans, fresh, Harvest, history, Puglia, seasonal, tradition, winter

Turnip greens: a must-have produce

Jan 31 2023

Credits to PugliaKitchen
Credits to PugliaKitchen

Do you know what turnip greens are? They essentially are the turnip flowers who still have to bloom. They are commonly used in Puglia, since ancient times, because it is a food very low in calories with antioxidant properties and rich in vitamins, polyphenols and other substances like folic acid, that is useful to recover from stress.

How did turnip greens arrived in Puglia?

Turnip greens are not native to Puglia and not even to Italia. According to some sources, its first seeds were imported in the Middle Age by the Genoese traders from the Far East, with the French being the first to cultivate these vegetables. Another theory states that turnip greens arrived later in the old continent, around the seventeenth century, under the name of Syrian cabbage. According to some historical records from that century, the first large-scale cultivation of turnip greens was found in the Kingdom of Napoli and our region was part of it.

What recipes can be prepared with turnip greens?

These flowers are usually harvested between the end of January and the beginning of February. The turnip greens are used to prepare a typical Apulian dish that in Italia everyone knows: orecchiette con le cime di rapa, i.e. orecchiette (small ears) pasta with turnip greens. They can also be eaten as a side to other dishes just stewed or sautèed in a pan with some olive oil, garlic and chili pepper or to be used paired with sausage or on top of a focaccia pugliese.

A symbolic food in Puglia

It is one of the most symbolic vegetable food eaten in northern and central Puglia during winter time, thanks to its nutritional properties and because of its good flavor: it tastes quite bitter, but also very delicate and it is rich in pungency. Therefore, turnip greens give a typical aftertaste to the dishes it is used for, that are subsequently enriched by its use. In conclusion, it is one of the most famous vegetables in our region, because of its adaptability to many recipes and its peculiar taste.

If you want to taste this vegetable and replicate the most traditional Apulian pasta recipe, you can click here and follow the making of it step by step.

Posted by Editor · Categorized: Pugliese Recipes, Recipes, Seasonality · Tagged: Apulia, cime di rapa, Especially Puglia, fresh, Harvest, history, orecchiette, pasta, Puglia, seasonal, tradition, turnip greens, winter

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