Featured holiday Mozzarella food holiday in Puglia Italy

Arrive at Bari airport, collect your hire-car and drive to your hotel in Savelletri di Fasano. Your hotel, the Masseria Torre Coccaro, gets its name from the Italian word for ‘farm’. Its situation beside abundant olive groves, fig trees, and other farms makes it the ideal spot from which to examine the culinary delights of Puglia. The hotel sits in a large estate overlooking the Mediterranean with a farm where a variety of vegetables, local fruit, unfiltered olive oil (hand-picked and cold-pressed the same day), jams and herbs are produced. The restaurant serves the vegetables grown in its own garden alongside the fish and pasta that Puglia is so excellent at producing and serving. The original masseria itself has been beautifully restored and now holds many of the hotel’s bedrooms. It is from the bedroom windows, and from the terraces that the beauty of the agricultural plains of Puglia can be admired. The hotel also organises cookery lessons where you can learn to cook the dishes and pastas of the region.

Your arrival at the Masseria Torre Coccaro marks the beginning of your culinary experience of Puglia. The main focus is, of course, on the Pugliese mozzarella, reputedly the best mozzarella in Italy, but there is such a wide range of hearty, homely dishes available in Puglia that it would be a crime to miss. Traditional dishes are characterised by their inclusion of lamb (although, recently increasingly beef), durum wheat, tomatoes, artichokes, beans, and onions. The Pugliese pasta is made without eggs, and usually hand-shaped into Oriecchiette, a little like small ears. The durum wheat used in pasta, and so prevalent in Pugliese cuisine, is also used to make bread, traditionally baked in the communal bread ovens that are still used in some remote rural villages. As a fresh cheese, the process behind making mozzarella is quite different to that of some other harder cheeses, such as Parmesan or Gouda, which take months to mature. Because the journey from milk to final product is a remarkably short one, the included tour of the mozzarella farm will witness the full process step-by-step; beginning with the cows and goats whose milk is the primary ingredient. A delicate procedure of exposing the substance to varying temperatures, stretching and knotting ensues, until the mozzarella is produced. The encouraged taste test at the end of the tour will signify the quality of the cheese. This holiday also includes a visit to Monopoli to explore its markets, in which you can taste the world-famous Italian gelato and the focaccia barese. This is a sensory and indulgent experience for the discerning eater who is keen to get to know the roots of the Italian staple cheese that is particularly popular in Britain. The rocky landscape of Puglia is ideal for sheep-farming, and thus the most popular, and most delicious, meat in Puglia tends to be lamb. Consider driving into Cisternino to seek out one of the rosticceria butchers who allow you to choose you desired piece of meat and then cook it in front of you on either a hot charcoal grill or in a wood-burning oven. The proximity to the sea of Savelletri, Bari, and Fasano, means that a lot of the seaside restaurants will specialise in seafood. Fish such as red mullet, anchovies, mussels, sea bass, cuttlefish, and gilt-head bream feature in several traditional Pugliese recipes and are always served unbeatably fresh. Many of the cheeses in Puglia, due to the abundance of rural sheep-farming, are made from ovine milk; meaning that cheeses such as pecorino and ricotta are especially good. An intriguing and unique soft cheese that is essential to taste while on your stay in Puglia is the burrata, which originated in Andria and is sometimes referred to as burrata di Andria. This cheese comes in many different forms but is generally recognised to be a kind of molten mozzarella. The leftovers from mozzarella production are mixed with salted cream and tied up in a sort of knot made of stringy mozzarella. The result is an exceptionally creamy, incredibly indulgent soft cheese that is fairly unique to the region. To finish off a meal in Puglia, be sure to try one of the almond-based desserts. These almonds are a key ingredient in many dishes due to the ease with which they grow on the rocky landscape and in the heat. The desserts will typically be served with a sweet honey or fig-concentrate, or a sweetened version of ricotta cheese. For cultural days out in the area surrounding your hotel, you may wish to drive out to the village of Alberobello, built with the iconic coned roofs and plaster white walls typical of the local Trulli architectural style. With the fir trees emerging from behind the top of the village, this place really has a fairytale aspect, and is worth visiting just for the memory of walking along the narrow winding streets past the hut-like shops. Closer to the sea, Torre Canne is a popular destination for those looking to soak up the healing properties of its thermal springs. Soul-Running in the Trulli Hills is an activity perfect for those looking to try to Puliese Primitivo wines. The fishing village of Savelletri, however, is attractive for its promenade and rustic beach club. Spend one of your days enjoying the sea and exploring the coves, or head further into the village to visit the Archeolido, and see the necropolis and open archaeological sites that are still being excavated. You may also wish to horse-ride on the beach, or dive and sail in the bays of Polignano. Alternatively, you may want to explore the Fasano Valley more freely, taking in the sight of Puglia’s formidable natural landforms.

Depending on the time of your flight back to London, spend more time exploring Puglia or drive to the airport and return your hire-car ready for the flight back.