THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE, The Wonders Of Local Cuisine

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to the wonderful flavors of Lecce, which offers a superb variety of typical dishes. 

The most common starters include lampascioni, bulbs resembling small onions that are boiled in water and vinegar and served in oil. You can also enjoy artichokes or zucchini flowers fried in batter, and the delicious eggplant rolls, filled with cheese and mortadella and baked in tomato sauce. Eggplant is also used to make the tasty fried balls flavored with mint that are another local specialty.

If you’re a seafood fan, you’ll enjoy the cozze arraganate, Mediterranean mussels baked with breadcrumbs, capers and parsley.

The most typical first courses feature hand-made pasta, especially the famous orecchiette, served with turnip greens, mussels or alla Sant’Oronzo, with eggplant and mozzarella. The specialty par excellence of the Salento, however, is Ciceri e Tria: fresh pasta, similar to tagliatelle but without eggs, partly fried in olive oil and partly boiled along with chickpeas, or ciceri. Another local favorite is Sagne ‘ncannulate con la ricotta forte, a twisted fresh pasta served with tomato sauce and aged ricotta, with a strong, sharp flavor.

Maccheroni pasta is also made by hand in Lecce, and you’ll find it served with a variety of sauces....