GOURMET TRAVELLER LECCE Left: Lemon cream pastry. Opposite, clockwise from top left: inspecting grape at Claudio Quarta’s grapery; Hosteria alle Bombarde restaurant; chef Alessio Gubello; dark alleyways; The Awaiting Table cooking school; antipasti at Masseria Trapanà; mussels at The Awaiting Table; Hosteria alle Bombarde chef Rosaria Tannisi ‘The masseria produces more than 19 different types of produce which are put on the menu as they <strong>com</strong>e into season, including intoxicatingly fragrant citrus such as mandarins’ the ivory tower about him. However, as we make cappelletti Messicani (Mexican hat pasta), he contradicts the notion. ‘I love country pragmatism,’ he says. ‘I don’t have a ravioli maker but I do have a water glass. That will do.’ The best place to experience that country pragmatism is at Masseria Trapanà. However, it’s a bit of a paradox, as it’s also one of the most luxurious hotels in the region. Located 10km north-west of Lecce, it was recently built by Australian transplant Rob Potter- Sanders. As with many labours of love, there’s a touch of the obsessive, and Rob quips that he’s had postnatal depression since he finished restoring the property. Masserias are fortified plantation houses that pepper the landscape of rural Puglia. Not only was there the threat of foreign invasion on the peninsula, there was much infighting, so having a defensible farmhouse was essential. Situated within 61 hectares of olive groves, Trapanà is built above an ancient olive oil press and subterranean stable, which guests can visit. Upon entering its striking straw-coloured courtyard, though, there’s little to betray its former agricultural existence. Surrounded by six manicured gardens and a swimming pool, Masseria Trapanà offers nine elegant suites that pay homage to the Salento with details from Morocco and Bali, including outdoor baths and showers. Most interesting to us, however, are its kitchens. The masseria produces more than 19 different types of produce which are put on the menu as they <strong>com</strong>e into season, including intoxicatingly fragrant citrus such as mandarins, oranges, red oranges and lemons, from which they produce their own marmalade, limoncello and mandarinetto. The latter, a tart mandarin liqueur served ice-cold after dinner, is a potent digestif. Trapanà also produces medlars, almonds and walnuts. Next year, Rob plans to use the green, unripe walnuts to make nocino, a sticky dark brown liqueur. During the evenings, chef Maria Carla Pennetta demonstrates how to prepare local favourites such as purè di fave e cicorielle (broad bean and wild chicory purée). It’s one of the most popular dishes in Puglia and each chef puts their own st<strong>amp</strong> on it. Maria Carla pads hers out with potatoes, which makes it easier to digest. Her dishes are best enjoyed in the gardens, perfumed with the heady scent of citrus flowers in bloom. Trapanà is also well-positioned for forays to local producers such as boutique olive oil press Masseria Melcarne in nearby Surbo. The role of olive oil in Puglia cannot be understated. It was formerly exported across the world as l<strong>amp</strong> oil, creating incredible wealth for a handful of Pugliese. Most of the arable land was planted with olive trees, of which there are currently an estimated 60 million, making up 40 per cent of Italy’s olive oil production. Peppery with a light acidity, it emphasises the character of the dish it’s added to but it’s better to be sparing with it at the stove and generous at the table, as olive oil loses the nuances of its flavour at high temperatures. Grape is another thing the residents of the province take a fierce pride in. At Claudio Quarta’s grapery in Guagnano, just next to Salice Salentino, he produces a beautiful negroamaro, the grape variety of choice. It offers both fruity and bitter notes that make it the perfect <strong>com</strong>panion to many of the local dishes. Back in the city, chef Alessio Gubello clinks glasses. He argues the primitivo grape is for Puglia’s north – Manduria and Gioia del Colle specifically. Alessio left home at 19 to work in London and formed a friendship with top chef Francesco Mazzei while rattling pans at The Dorchester. However, like many other Leccese, the call of his hometown was irresistible, and he returned to set up a pasta shop with his wife Emanuela, who makes the freshest tria, triddhri, orecchiette, maccheroni, tortelloni and ravioli at Pasta d’Elite. Over lunch at Hosteria alle Bombarde, a beautiful little restaurant in what was formerly an armoury nestled in the city walls, Alessio introduces me to Valeria Lucatello, who has been running restaurants for 30 years. Valeria explains that historically, when a girl in the province reached her teenage years, the mother would spend the day picking olives in the orchard and the daughter would cook for the family. Rosaria Tannisi, her head chef, experienced that in her youth and has now been cooking professionally for more than 40 years. Rosaria’s practice shows. Her food is so perfectly flavoured that it invokes a dopamine rush. Ciceri e tria is a staple pasta dish made with chickpeas, boiled tria (pasta made from semolina flour and water), crispy fried tria and a tomato sauce. Alessio tells me that mignolata is ciceri e tria on a good day, enhanced with freshly caught squid, mussels and clams. Alessio has his own version, with a presentation that would do well in The Dorchester, 64 FOOD & TRAVEL ARABIA
GOURMET TRAVELLER LECCE
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