hips don't lie: Cookery courses in Puglia: Tasting the heel of Italy

By

John Kampfner

PUBLISHED:

07:41 EST, 3 March 2013

|

UPDATED:

07:42 EST, 3 March 2013

Several years ago my daughter bought me a pasta-maker for my birthday. I’m sorry to admit that I haven’t even taken it out of its box as I made do with the packet variety.

That’s due to change now that I’ve been to a cookery school in Puglia, the southern Italian region that boasts the country’s finest wines and most sumptuous food. And that’s some boast. I should say that the cookery school came to us at our holiday villa, in the shape of Anna Maria Chirone Arno, her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend – the two younger ones being there mainly to help with chopping and washing-up.

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A feast for the senses: The stunning town of Gravina in Puglia

Her cookery books are so popular they are translated into several languages (intriguingly that includes Japanese); her classes even feature on YouTube. Usually Anna teaches locals from her home in Lecce, one of Puglia’s most beautiful towns, but she also travels for holidaymakers.

We had tidied up the kitchen, to try to make a good impression. Just in case our villa wasn’t up to scratch, she had brought the chopping boards and the set of knives with her – indeed pretty much everything.

We were set to work on our first dish, called tajedda. Yes, that doesn’t sound very Italian, but it is. This part of Italy, the heel, has been influenced by Greek, Spanish and Turkish invaders.

The main ingredients are mussels, courgettes, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, rice, herbs and extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil must always be the best, Anna informs us. I was more worried about the potential carbs overload.

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Becoming a pasta master: John works on his culinary skills with Anna

I asked about pasta. You want pasta, she asked? Out came the flour (it must be a certain type), and off we set. Of all the dishes in this region, orecchiette is the most famous – pasta that looks like ears.

Anna rolled the mixture on the blade of a knife and then shaped the ears very fast on the tip of her thumb. My attempts were either limp or overstretched, but we persevered. I had more success making potato-based gnocchi, a process that included a flip with the back of a fork.

As for the sauce, Anna insisted that simplicity is best – fresh tomatoes, basil, mo arella and, yes, only the best olive oil.

Anna was on a roll. Next came a delicious dish with aubergines, and soon the table was groaning with food. The tajedda was a delightful concoction. The others were less surprising but equally tasty. My only quibble is that my teenage daughters wanted to participate more and admire less. The seriousness of the occasion once or twice took over.

Cookery courses are all the rage wherever you go, but in this part of Italy it seemed they were doing it everywhere. On a cycling tour past the area’s stunning whitewashed villages, we came across a number of farmhouses-turned-hotels. These masserias were packed with people old and young sitting at big tables creating their own pasta shapes.

We had made enough food to fill our fridge for days we hardly needed to go shopping – which was just as well as I could maximise my time lounging around by the gorgeous pool, or going to the beach or visiting Puglia’s many historic sites such as the town of Gravina.

I was pleased as Punch that I had also learnt some impressive new dishes. As for the pasta-making machine, I don’t need that now. I can do my own, from scratch.

Travel facts

Think Puglia (020 7377 8518, thinkpuglia.com) offers a range of luxury villas in Puglia with prices starting at £2,420 per week for a property sleeping six. It can arrange cookery classes from £65 per person for three hours, including lunch or dinner and recipe folder. British Airways (ba.com) and easyJet (easyjet.com) fly to Bari. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to both Bari and Brindisi.