Salento’s food is typical of the Mediterranean diet and has ancient origins. The base products of gastronomy of this area are similar to the ones of the other countries around Mediterranean: olive oil, tomatoes, pasta, legumes, fish, a little meat, fresh vegetables and fruit. Salento dishes are mostly simple but extremely delicious: home-made pasta, cakes with honey, fried fish with tasty sauces, crunchy bread rolls, etc.

The local food is very nutritious and healthy due to the importance given to raw materials, both from land and sea. Some excellent typical dishes are: rice, potatoes and mussels (also called tajeddha), sea bream of San Nicola, roasted lamb, turcinieddhi or gnummareddhi (rolls of giblets), pieces of horse, pittule (balls of fried dough prepared at Christmas), rape ‘nfucate (fried turnip greens), pitta di patate (potato cake), eggplant parmigiana, potato croquettes, lu purpu alla pignata (stewed octopus), cicòre a minéscia cu llà pancetta de maiale (soup with wild chicory and pancetta), fried tomatoes, squid alla gallipolina, spaghetti with anchovy and breadcrumbs, fried zucchini flowers, sautéed mussels with pepper, fried artichokes, mussels au gratin, sautéed wild onions, bombette of Cisternino (breaded slices of veal rolled up with caciocavallo cheese), tripe with potatoes, pasta with sea urchins, blood sausage, municeddhe (snails), and many other classics of the local cuisine.

Salento’s desserts are real masterpieces and very often linked to religious worship, such as the lamb in almond paste and the cuddhura (a crown of sweet bread) for Easter; carteddhate (rose shaped fried cakes) and purceddhruzzi (small cubes of fried sweet dough covered with honey) at Christmas; donuts in honour of San Giuseppe; and also, taralli (crackers) with sugar, dried fig with almonds, copeta (almond brittle), mostaccioli (a sponge cake base with cocoa powder, candied citrus, almond paste, and chopped almonds inside), spumoni (moulded Italian ice cream with layers of different flavours), cotognata (sweet made with quince):

The entire territory is covered with olive groves, from which the delicious Pugliese olive oil is pressed. In many parts the rows of olive trees are alternated with large vineyards. Wine and olive-oil are two fundamental components of the Salentine cuisine.

Every season here tells a different story and visitors to Puglia wanting a gastronomic experience to remember will not be disappointed. Whether you visit in January for the Puccia dell’Ampa: a celebration of wood-baked bread, February for the Octopus festival, or September to join the Sammichele celebrations with a feast of zampina salsiccie sausage, your appetite is sure to be satisfied.

Whatever your budget or diet, Puglia’s gastronomic emergence offers something for all. From simple trattorias to Michelin-starred restaurants, this is Mediterranean food at its best.

See more at: http://www.salentodolcevita.com/en/territory/travel-tips/gastronomy-food-and-delights-in-puglia.htm

In San Pietro in Bevagna you can find several types of restaurants, bistros, pizzerias, sea-food restaurants and simple eateries. A simple but delicate food easily available all around Puglia, including on the seaside street eateries of San Pietro in Bevagna is the panzerotto. A panzerotto, also known as panzarotto, is a savory tunover which resembles a small calzone, both in shape and in the dough used for its preparation. The term usually applies to a fried turnover rather than an oven-baked pastry (i.e. a calzone). Panzerotto originates in Central and Southern Italian (typically Puglia) but is now popular in the US and Canada as well. The noun panzerotto comes from a diminutive of panza, a regional variation of Italian pancia (“belly, tummy”), referring to the distinctive swelling of the pastry which reminds of belly bloating in a figurative sense.

The most common fillings for this turnover are tomato and mozarella, but spinach, mushrooms, baby corn and ham are often used. Another filling is onion stir fried in olive oil and seasoned with salted anchovies and capers. A different recipe for panzerotti is panzerotti di patate (“potato panzerottis”), a specialty of Salento which consists of mashed potato croquettes.

How to make the perfect panzerotti:

http://www.agrodolce.it/2014/06/10/classifica-dei-10-migliori-panzerotti-fritti-del-salento/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9oFU5H6QKc