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.
Other local dishes worth trying include bean purée served with chicory, pasta e cavoli, tagliatelle with cauliflower, and pasta e fagioli alla leccese, with whole and puréed borlotti beans and tomato.
One of the most distinctive main meat courses is pezzetti, pieces of horse meat stewed in tomato sauce with a variety of herbs. You’ll also find game and roasted or stewed lamb. Lamb offal is also used to prepare a kind of roll called turcinieddhri, and another popular dish is beef and pecorino cheese balls cooked in a sauce.
If you prefer fish, I can recommend bream baked with potatoes, swordfish cutlet, coated in flour and egg, and stewed octopus with potatoes and capers, or alla Pignata, cooked in tomato sauce.
An interesting fact: one of the typical sweet specialties in Lecce goes by the peculiar name of “pasticciotto”. Don’t let this odd name put you off: it’s a delicious short crust pastry filled with confectioner’s cream, or with a variety of other fillings. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll find it irresistible!
What can I say but… Buon appetito!
