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The Puglia Coast

Posted June 22, 2009 by Sharon 3 Comments

Octopus salad with fennel and extra virgin olive oil.

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.

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

Filed Under: Food, Italian seafood, Italy restaurants, Mediterranean diet, Puglia, Travel Tagged With: italian culture, italian food, Italian seafood, seafood in Puglia

« Antinori’s Tormaresca in Puglia
Linguine al Limone »

Comments

  1. Kelley Ray says

    July 15, 2009 at 7:37 PM

    Hello. Hope all is well with you both. The MULE girls & I still rave about the meal you cooked for us in your home last year…we will never forget it.

    Looks like Italy was amazing again – despite the rain, which was the same story here.

    Dabbling in the blog thing myself and would love for you to give me any pointers.

    Enjoy your summer & tell Walter we said hello…

    Ciao
    Kelley

    PS My daughter accepted an offer for grad school in Europe… which means I get to go back as well!!!

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      July 21, 2009 at 9:23 AM

      Ciao, Kelley,

      Glad you are visiting SimpleItaly! Nice to hear from you.

      Reply
  2. Gwen says

    July 14, 2009 at 3:45 PM

    Wow, this looks like every meal i had in Puglia!! Rode my bicycle 260 miles, saw no cows, chickens or pigs….ate no beef, poulty or pork. The Italians know how to eat locally!!

    Reply

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