Day 16, Saturday, Altamura and Matera

What a difference in pace between the two portions of our trip.  Our Melton Seminar was a fabulous learning experience - one in which we engaged with a lot of Italian educators and historians.  We traced the history of Jews in Italy from the 2nd century through to modern times and learned so, so much.  But the pace was grueling, which we knew from previous Melton Seminars.  Out the door by 7:30 or 8:00 AM every day and finishing as late as 10 PM on some nights.  In addition, the walking was at much too fast a pace for me.  The guide, Marina, finally slowed down toward the end of the trip when everyone else started to complain, but we were physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by the end of the Seminar.  This is not a complaint - we expect Melton Seminars to leave us this way and, in fact, the Seminars attract people who want this "total package" of experience.  

Now we are on VACATION!  Despite the write-up by Classic Journeys of a "walking tour" of Apulia (the English version of Puglia), our guide, Ido, describes it as an "eating tour" of Apulia.  Yes, there is walking, but it is at our pace and generally the emphasis is on culture, people, history, and, of course, food.  The earliest we have started our touring day is 9:15 and we can stop and have coffee whenever we are too tired to go on.

Today we traveled by van from Bari to Altamura, site of a working farm which we toured.

       

       

A family (mother, father, and six children) own the farm and run a B & B, as well as giving cooking lessons and tours. They make their own cheese there - pecorino, ricotta, and mozarella and we had a tour of the cheese making facility.  

                            

                                            Scamorza cheese on aging rack

                            

                                            Pecorino cheese on aging rack

                                  

                            

                         The oldest son shows us a huge wheel of aged pecorino.

We went to the large country kitchen and met the mother, Maria, who promptly put us to work making our lunch.  We noshed on pecorino cheese and homemade wine while we took orders from Maria on how to chop, grate, mix, and create the specialties her grandmother had taught her. When we started, I noticed a pitcher of extra virgin olive oil on the counter that was filled with at least a liter of oil.  By the time we finished making the dozen or so dishes for lunch, the pitcher was empty!  

                              

                                         Maria shows us how to chop vegetables.

                               

                                       The kitchen hearth with peppers hung to dry

                                

                                        Peter uses a Foley mill to prepare dessert

                                

                           Sheila helps Peter, while Eric watches Joyce chop vegetables

                                

                                      Yes, Eric, you do, indeed need to mix this up!

                                

                      Eric mixes up the batter with surgical skill and great concentration.

                                

                       Victor watches as Maria demonstrates how to make Focaccia bread.

                                

                          Victor attempts to copy Maria's instructions on potato slicing

                                

                                                   Sheila adds eggs to a dish

While the focaccia, main dish, and dessert were baking, we went for a stroll around the farm to see the cypress trees, olive orchards, sheep, and pigs.  Around 1:30 we sat down to the most heavenly of meals - course after course after course.  For me the highlight dish was the homemade orecchiette pasta with a sauce of homegrown cherry tomatos, oregano, salt, and olive oil.  

                                 

                     Our tour leader, Ido, displays a tray of homemade orecchiette pasta

Every ingredient was fresh from the farm.  I know the Mediterranean diet is a healthy one, but I've never had so much cheese, salt, and olive oil in my life.  The cooking lesson was fabulous - even if Maria spoke no English and we spoke no Italian.  Pantomime, laughter, and gesture was all we needed to make it a success. I hope to try to imitate some of the cooking methods she used when I return home (albeit with less oil!). One dish that I can adapt was an eggplant "roll" that was similar to an eggroll.  Before we arrived she had thinly sliced egglplant that she dipped in egg, salt, and flour, then quickly fried in oil (think Pam!). 

                             

We then placed mozzarella cheese, herbs, and some sort of root vegetable sliced into very thin strips on top of each eggplant "pancake" and rolled them up. They were placed in a heavy frying pan, dotted with butter, and sprinkled with pecorino cheese.  With a lid on top, Maria warmed them just before serving.  Divine!

                                 

We left Altmura with full bellies and headed in the van for Matera, a unique, historic city.  Amazingly, none of the six of us had ever heard of Matera, but it is designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site.  I was so exhausted that I skipped dinner and was asleep by 7:30, which was really 6:30 since we turned the clocks back. I slept soundly until the next morning!