Erminia has lived most of her 78 years in a small hamlet near Locorotondo. She is proud of her family, her home and her lifestyle and she loves to share these things with the peculiar foreigners who have come to live next door.

She and her husband Paolo grow their own olives and grapes and she has a vegetable garden. When she has a surplus she shares it with her neighbours and when she needs help she asks for it. She represents many of the things we love about the rural population of Puglia and we have learnt a lot about life from her.

Erminia stills prefers to cook over an open fire and many of the dishes she makes have been handed down through the family. We asked Erminia if it would be OK for us to photograph and record some of her recipes and she was pleased to share them with us. Under Erminia’s guidance we intend to build up over time a small library of some of the classic dishes of Puglia.

The dishes we have collected to date are set out in the links below:

Orecchiette. Erminia makes “orecchiette” the traditional pasta shape of Puglia almost every day of her life.
“Orecchiette” means literally “little ears” a name derived from their shape. “Orecchiette” is the only fresh pasta we know of which uses only flour and water and no eggs.

Click here for the recipe and photos

Fave. “Fave” is actually the Italian name for broad beans, but in Puglia it is also used for a particular mash like dish made with dried broad beans. The broad bean was one of the few beans indigenous to Europe before the discovery of America and it seems credible that versions of this dish go back many centuries.

Click here for the recipe and photos

Buon appetito!
Doug Duckworth

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