Period: Holiday package available every weekend from June to September.
Summer Experience: Mola di Bari is a land rich of tastes and ancient culinary traditions still alive today. The basic products of our cuisine come from both the land and the sea that with their high quality taste and genuineness have overcome local limits.
During the summer, the red of the famous tomato of Mola characterizes our agricultural fields.
Tomato perfectly satisfies the modern consumer needs because of its lacking in calories and adequate content of minerals; it's also rich of water and provided with hydrosoluble vitamins.
Moreover, our tomatoes are sought-after for their exclusive taste given to the tomato sauce that many women still produce at home, following the traditional recipe. The secret it's in the combination of this variety and the sunny Mediterranean weather, and also in the employment of a brackish water for the irrigation.
Once, water was taken from wells that were not so deep ,through the “noria”, a device made of two wheels cogged, moved by the force of a donkey.
Strolling through the Apulian farmlands, on foot or riding a bike, we can catch sights of the great spreading of vineyards which guarantee the production of dessert grapes, famous all around Italy.
Grapes, cultivated in Apulia since a long time, have antioxidant and depurative properties.
Summer is also the season that offers sweet and tasty fruit as the fig, that our farmlands have in abundance; the fig is gathered in summer to be consumed in winter, in jams or dried, or stuffed with almonds.
In ancient times, all the families used to preserve them, it was an occasion that involved also the young: the natural sugar held in those old delicacies gave a valid energetic contribution to face hard working days under the sun. Grandparents tell that they were the chocolate of the poor.
This tour will offer you the unique experience of visiting the places in which farmers cultivate our products, learning the various ways in which we prepare them, watching housewives
preparing them with the knowledge and the observance that comes from the ancient culinary tradition of Mola. The “Flavour Laboratories” will allow you to test yourself in participating actively and learning savoury recipes.
1st DAY
- Arrival in the morning and check-in in the accommodation (10:00 AM).
- Guided visit of the local wine basements and wine tasting accompanied by an expert sommelier (11:00 AM).
- Traditional lunch in the lodging or in established restaurant.
- Guided visit of the Angevin's Aragonese's Castle, Workshop - Museum of the Emigration of the South-East of Bari, Theatre Niccolò Van Westerhout , S. Nicola's Church
(6:30 PM).
- Dinner in a traditional restaurant (9:00 PM).
- Overnight in the accomodation.
2nd DAY
- Breakfast (by 10:00 AM).
- Historical-Naturalistic tour by boat, cocktail on board (1:30 PM).
- Excursion in the field of Mola ,visit of the tomatoes cultivated fields, break and guided visit of the S. Giovanni's rural church and of an ancient “noria” (6:30 PM).
- Return in the accomdation, lesson-laboratory about the preparation of tomato in pieces ,hang tomatoes, dried tomatoes in oil and tomato sauce. Dinner in the lodging (8:00 PM).
- Overnight in the accomodation.
3rd DAY
- Breakfast (by 10:00 AM) transfer to Rutigliano, walk in the old town center and visit of some local wineries (11:00 AM).
- Lunch in a typical restaurant (1:30 PM).
- Return in Mola ,walk in the old town, visit of a characteristic local dwelling (5:00 PM).
- Return in the accomodation , laboratory “Jams of Apulia” in which fig and grapes jams, dry figs with almonds and desserts will be prepared and tasted.
- Check out (by 10:00 AM of the following day).
SOME RECIPES THAT CAN BE PREPARED IN OUR WORKSHOPS
DRIED FIGS STUFFED WITH ALMONDS
Ingredients
1 kg
150g almonds
Bay leaves
2 lemon peels
Cloves
Preparation
Choose some mature figs, wash and dry them carefully without peeling them. Cut all the figs and place them on a board; leave them dry in the sun caring to turn them twice a day and in the evening retire the figs to avoid the damp. When they get brownish, stuff each fig with an almond (previously toasted in the oven at 180°C) , a pinch of minced lemon peel and cloves.
Bake at 180° for 15minutes on a baking paper. Once cooled, arrange them in a glass jar between bay leaves. Keep them in a fresh and dry pantry. Eat them, not before a month.
FIG ALMOND JAM
Ingredients
1,100 kg little and compact figs
100g almonds
2 lemons
A pinch of cinnamon
1 vanilla bean
300g sugar
Preparation
Wipe the figs, remove the stalk, cut them in the middle and put them in a nonstick saucepan alternating figs with sugar, almonds, juice and zest. Let them stand for some hours then simmer them. The jam is ready when its compactness is thick. Pour the hot jam into small jars, close them when the jam is still hot and keep them in a dry and dark place. Enjoy it!
FIGS AND CHOCOLATE TART
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry:
300g flour 00
100g butter at room temperature
100g sugar
1 egg+1 yolk
Grated zest
figs jam
50g dark chocolate
Preparation
Prepare the shortcrust pastry kneading quickly all the ingredients, when a compact and homogeneous ball is formed, wrap it in the cellophane and leave it in the fridge for about half an hour. Then, spread 2/3 of the pastry in a buttered and floured baking tray, distribute the chocolate previously cut into little pieces and at the end cover it with a generous layer of jam. Form some stripes with the leftover pastry to garnish the tart surface. Bake it at 170° C for about 40/45 minutes.
SUN-DRIED TOMATOES IN OIL
Ingredients
Red tomatoes
Salt
Vinegar
Garlic
Mint
Oil
Chili pepper to taste
Preparation
Wash well tomatoes, cut them in two pieces, sprinkle them with salt, place them on a board and leave them dry in the sun caring to turn them twice a day; in the evening remember to retire the tomatoes to avoid the damp. Once dried, wash the tomatoes with vinegar and place them in a jar seasoning them with garlic, mint and chili pepper. At this point press the content of the jar with a spoon or with the hands to eliminate vinegar residues from the tomatoes; add oil until the whole content is covered. Keep them in a dark place.
GREEN BEANS PASTA WITH TOMATO AND CACIORICOTTA
Ingredients
½ kg pasta
½ kg green beans
1 l tomato sauce
100gr good quality tomatoes
Oil
Onion
Basil
Cacioricotta or ricotta marzotica cheese
Preparation
For the sauce:
Pour a little bit of oil with minced onions in a saucepan, brown the onions and add tomatoes cut in pieces with a pinch of salt. When tomatoes are cooked, add tomato sauce and let them cook for about half an hour. Flavor the sauce with some fresh basil leaves.
For the pasta:
Boil water in a pot and then add cleaned green beans and salt. When the green beans are partially cooked, add spaghetti. When cooked, flavor spaghetti with the prepared sauce. Prepare the plate with spaghetti, sauce, cacioricotta and basil leaves.
TOMATOES STUFFED WITH RICE
Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
2 cups of boiled rice
1 pinch of oregano
1 fistful of capers
olive oil and salt to taste
Preparation
Wash the tomatoes and cut them in the middle. Scoop them out, pick the excluded pulpe and mince it. Mix it with rice, oregano and salt and stuff half of the tomatoes with this mixture. Put the tomatoes into an oven pan and sprinkle them with olive oil and bake at 180°C for at least 15 minutes, according to the tomatoes size. They'll be ready when their peel shows little wrinkles.
References:
http://www.lericettedellamorevero.com
http://www.salute-e-benessere.org/
-Piante spontanee nella cucina tradizionale molese, AAVV, Levante editori, Bari, 2009, p.173
-VV. Bianco, R.Mariani, P.Santamaria, Piante spontanee nella cucina tradizionale molese, Levante editori, Bari, 2009
-L.Sada, La cucina pugliese in 400 ricette tradizionali, Newton & Compton editori, Roma, 2001