Octopus salad prepared with fennel, red bell peppers, extra virgin olive oil and coarsely ground black pepper.

Chill rain and high winds aren’t exactly a siren song call to the beach. When Walter and I visited Puglia this spring, the region was experiencing the wettest primavera for scores, perhaps hundreds of years. (The longevity of the record seemed to grow with each subsequent local we met).

While we didn’t get to wiggle our toes in warm sand, we did sample a taste of the sea at Il Vecchio Forno, a very good seafood restaurant in the shore town of Barletta on the Adriatic coast north of Bari.

A gratin of mussels blanketed in breadcrumbs and olive oil.

We savored many courses, all prepared simply from pristinely fresh seafood. Most memorable are a gratin of mussels, fish fritters, fried anchovies, octopus salad, seafood risotto, and a grilled spigola (sea bass) with lemon.

Il Vecchio Forno

Via Cialdini 61

Barletta, Puglia

Sharon (center) with Rosalba De Carlo (left) and Cinzia Rascazzo at Alle due Corti ristorante in Lecce.

In the baroque town of Lecce, Walter and I meet two dynamic women who are fighting for their lives. Not literally for physical survival-although it may come to that-but for the endurance of their culinary tradition. They may be of different generations but their focus is the same: To preserve the traditions of Pugliese cooking.

If you think this sounds melodramtic, consider this: A McDonald’s sits in the historic Piazza San Oronzo in Lecce, a town that up until a few decades ago was a relatively remote outpost in southern Italy. The food of this area was the now much-lauded ‘Mediterranean diet.’ But, back to our heroines. . .

Thirty-something Cinzia Rascazzo, with her sister Marika Rascazzo, operates Stile Mediterraneo, a custom tour business that focuses on Pugliese culture, cooking, olive oil and wine.

Rosalba De Carlo is a generation older. She’s the proprietor of the esteemed Alle due Corti ristorante where we are lunching with Cinzia on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. We are honored to be eating here and meeting Rosalba. In 2008, she was recognized as an exemplar of the gastronomic culture of Salento, the southern tip of the Italian “heel” during an Economic Sustainability Conference in conjunction with UNESCO and ISNART (the national institute of tourism research).

Seated in the cozy backroom, we ask Cinzia to choose dishes for us. She explains that we will be eating mostly vegetables because Lecce sits inland, away from the coast. (I smile to myself because the distance to the Adriatic Sea is probably no more than 10 miles, practically beachfront property by U.S. standards.) “There is a Spanish influence, similar to Catalan, here in Lecce,” Cinzia says.

Dishes are served in locally crafted terra cotta plates. The peperoni agrodolce are slowly cooked in olive oil and a bit of sugar until they almost melt. Vinegar and bread crumbs complete the preparation. “The Pugliese put breadcrumbs on everthing,” Cinzia explains, laughing. And with good reason. Pugliese bread is renowned because it is made with the superior hard durum wheat that is cultivated in the northern part of the region.

Local pastas are also made from durum wheat mixed with water. We sample orecchiette (shaped like little ears) in a green vegetable puree and strascinate (ragged curled strands) in a tomato sauce.

Polpettone (balls) prepared from eggplant were a revelation. So light, so flavorful. The eggplant is peeled and cooked then passed through a food mill. It’s mixed with grated aged pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, and egg, shaped into balls and deep fried in olive oil. (Full disclosure: After returning home, I asked Cinzia to share a recipe via e-mail. I tried but I couldn’t replicate the taste and texture. Some dishes must be eaten in their place of origin and I think this is one of them.)

Probably the most amazing tasting that day was ‘ncapriata. Made from only three ingredients-fava beans, chicory and extra-virgin olive oil-this is the poster child of Puglia’s cucina povera. Just beans, greens, and oil but when the base ingredients are so distinctive, and the cooks know how work magic, the results are spectacular.

Cinzia shares her recipe and gives this advice for enjoying ‘ncapriata. “The chicory and fava beans are meant to be eaten together! You can also serve them with small pieces of traditional durum wheat bread. You can add more extra virgin olive oil at the table.”

‘Ncapriata  (fava bean puree and wild chicory)

Makes 5 servings

1 pound dried peeled fava beans

Salt

2 pounds wild chicory or cooking greens such as dandelion, mustard or curly endive

1 whole garlic clove

Red pepper flakes

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for garnish

Place the beans in a large bowl and cover generously with cold water. Soak for at least 8 hours.

Drain and rinse the beans. Place them in a large heavy pot and cover with fresh water. Place over low heat. When the water starts boiling, skim the foam from the surface with a spoon. Discard the foam. Continue skimming and discarding the foam as long as it appears. Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for about 2 hours. The beans will gradually dissolve into a puree. If the mixture is too thick, add water from time to time if needed.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the greens. Chop them coarsely. Add to the boiling water. Stir and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain the greens.

Return the same cooking pot to medium-low heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, the garlic and pepper flakes to taste. Cook over low heat for about two minutes. Add the greens, stir and cover. Cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Season to taste with salt. Remove the garlic and discard.

When the fava beans are completely dissolved, remove from the heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil (or more if you like) while stirring with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt. Thin with some water if needed to create a very thick puree.

Ladle the fava puree into one side of a pasta bowl. Place some greens next to the puree. Drizzle with a bit more oil at the table if desired.

Coming next: More about Stile Mediterraneo plus a recipe for ciceri e tria (chickpeas with tagliatelle).

Ristorante Clemente in Sulmona offers the genuine dishes of Abruzzo.

We weren’t being fair to Ristorante Clemente. We knew it . . . but we couldn’t help ourselves. We had allotted one night, one dinner in Abruzzo, a region in which neither of us had passed time. We sought to “taste Abruzzo” in that one meal. No small order.

We were in the small city of Sulmona on our way to Puglia. Our Ital’guru Fred Plotkin, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, picks Sulmona as his “Classic Town” of the mountainous region east of Rome. Ristorante Clemente appears first on his “Dining List” and his description appealed to us. For insurance, we inquired of our hotelier and a local barista where we should dine. “Clemente,” they both answered. We even scouted out the restaurant location, tucked on a tiny back street, so we’d have no problem finding it later in the dark.

So it was that Walter roused me from a my nap at 7:15 p.m. so we could arrive when the doors opened for dinner service. He worried that a place this touted would fill up fast. No such problem transpired. Upon entry, we were invited to choose our own table and selected one deep in the rear of the main room under a splendid stone vaulted ceiling. Stone and gesso walls the color of cantaloupe cream, exciting food-related art work, photos of family members and a couple canvasses and prints of Sulmona created a cozy setting.

Chef Clemente Maiorano (right), son Alessandro (left), and another sous chef in the Clemente kitchen.

Chef/owner Clemente Maiorano, with warm brown eyes and salt-and-pepper Julius Caesar haircut-greeted us with a one-page menu. We asked if we could place our appetites in his able hands. He seemed pleased and disappeared through the archway into the kitchen. The waiter took over and reminded us how perfect service in Italy can be. Not obsequious, not aloof, just professional.

read more about Ristorante Clemente