Food Lover's Odyssey

Shopping & Eating Local in Italy - Farmers' Market in Lecce

 

 

My last morning in Lecce Claudia took me to the Farmer's Market.  During our day of cheesemaking, we found out that Azienda Padulana sells their cheese and yogurt there, and I wanted to have a little more of both before I left.  When I heard the words, "farmers' market," (referred to by Claudia and Ylenia as il Farmers), I expected an outdoor street market.  Not so.  This market is indoors, and looks much like a small grocery store.  It was, however, a true farmers' market.  The food, the produce, wine, cheese, meat, cured meats, jarred products, all of it is grown, produced, and packaged in Puglia and comes directly from the suppliers.  Actually, 85% of the food comes directly from the surrounding Salento province, and the remaining 15% from the other nearby provinces of Puglia.  While we were shopping, many of the farmers and local producers stopped by and some even said hello to us.

 

 

Slow food at its best, this market is part of the Campagna Amica Foundation that promotes bringing local, sustainable farmers & suppliers directly to the consumer.  Many of the outdoor food markets in Italy aren't necessarily true farmers' markets, with food coming even from other countries.  The market in Lecce is the first "stable" market of the foundation's kind, meaning it's there daily instead of only being a weekend or once-a-week outdoor market.  When we arrived, there were two clerks who were happy to help and answered my questions about the market.  The "Made in Salento" seal is on all of the Salento products, along with informational brochures from many of the producers. As one of the clerks pointed out, the brochures also provided contact information if I wanted to arrange visits. 

 

I left with yogurt, cheese, an artichoke spread, bread, and olives and walked the short way back to Lecce's Centro Storico for an early afternoon picnic.  The only regret I have is finding this market on my last day in Lecce. Next trip, I certainly plan to stop by daily and pick up different local specialties to taste.

 

 

 

For those traveling to other parts of Puglia and Italy, the Campagna Amica website (in Italian) has a wealth of information about where you can find similar Campagna Amica farmers' markets throughout Italy, along with address information about their partnering farmers and suppliers.  Most of the markets are weekend or once-a-week markets and not ongoing as Lecce's is.  If you're traveling in Rome, both Katie at Parla Food and Eleanora at Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino provide great posts and lists of true farmers' markets happening in Rome, in English.

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013! For this food lover's culinary tour, we'll be cooking with our beautiful Italian mamme and professional chefs. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region.  There are four tour dates available from which to choose! For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013! 

***Early booking discount: Book and pay by check by January 31, 2013 and receive a $200 discount off the tour price.****

 

 

Il Farmer’s (Agricola Nuova Generazione)
Via Nicolò Foscarini, 16
Lecce
Phone: +39 0832 217 538

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Cheese in Puglia - Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Lecce: The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

The Art of Making Pasta by Hand: A Pugliese Pasta Lesson with Nonna Vata

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

 Tour of Masseria L'Astore and its Frantoio Ipogeo in Salento

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

Sagne Ncannulate Schiattariciati - Pugliese Pasta with Schiattariciati Tomato Sauce

The Dish from Puglia: Ricci di Mare (sea urchins) from Porto Badisco

The Dish from Puglia: Friselle with Tomatoes

The Dish from Lecce: Rustico Leccese

 

Cours Saleya Market and a Picnic in Nice

 

One month down and two to go until winter's end.  Although the afternoons in California have been pleasant, the mornings have been as foggy as my head is when the alarm sounds. The morning drizzle and barren branches, along with the more treacherous tease of a short afternoon sun, have me in countdown mode.  I'm already dreaming of sunny scenes, sandy shorelines, picnics in parks and trees full of foliage.  With these thoughts, my mind floats to the Mediterrenean and last summer's trip to Nice. Photos of the Cours Saleya market reminded me of warmer times and vibrant scenes, both of food and flowers.

 

 
Flower Market of Cours Saley

 

 
Palais Cais de Pierla - Building Overlooking Cours Saleya and the Third Floor Apartment Once the Home of Matisse

 

The Cours Saleya, both a flower market and a food market every day but Monday, is on the street of the same name.  South of the maze of streets in the old town, the market fills the center of the large space that is Cours Saleya.  On offer is the usual street market fare of France, seasonal fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, etc.  Mediterrenean flavors and those from the South of France are also in abundance: socca (a chickpea flour pancake), marinated olives, candied fruits (fruits confit), marzipan, calissons, lavender, soaps, spices, herbs, and salts.  Perfectly located among cafes, bistros and shops that line each side of the market, and only one street away is the beach and the beachside Promenade des Anglais. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

After our day at the market, we opted for a picnic high above the town.  The Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill) east of Cours Saleya, is at the eastern end of the Quai des Etats-Unis.  You can climb the 213 steps or, for only a few euros, take the elevator.  The castle on the hill was dismantled in 1706 under Louis XIV, and later became a park in the 19th century. Besides picnics and wandering through the park, you can check out the observation deck for sweeping views of the Bay of Angels and Old Nice to the west, and on the port to the east.  You will also find a giant man-made waterfall, along with small ones throughout the park, and the former castle's ruins.  It was an ideal spot to enjoy our market fare with belle views of the city below and nature around us.

 

 

 

  
View of the Bay of Angels from Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau)

 

 
Overlooking the Cours Saleya from Castle Hill (Colline du Chateau)

 

 

After lunch, a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais and a few laps in the sea were definitely in order.  You know we had to make room in our bellies for dinner!

 

 

Benches along the Promenade des Anglais

 

 

Market Days and Hours:

Flower Market - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 6am to 5:30pm - Wednesday, Saturdays & Sunday: 6am to 1:30pm

Fruit and Vegetable Market - Every day but Monday: 6am to 1:30pm

Antiques Market - Mondays: 7:30am to 6pm (except for holidays or eves of holidays)

 

 

Related Posts:

Market Day in Sarlat 

Sunday at the Bastille Market in Paris

Favorite Parks in Paris to Picnic or People Watch

French Pastries and 10 Top Patisseries in Paris

Cooking Classes for the Culinary Traveler in Paris

The Dish from France: Viennoiserie

 

 

A Morning at the Rialto Market

I haven't found my dream gondolier yet, but I did find my dream fish market.  I spent the morning at the Rialto Market, which is most popular for its fish market located next to the Rialto Bridge in the Campo della Pescheria.  It's a place to watch the few real Venetians on the island go about their daily lives.  The vendors shout salutations to the nearby store owners as they go to their stands.  Some even place their lunch orders ahead of time.  And, the few Venetian housewives (casalinghe) and grandmas do their shopping for the day's meal and put their purchases into their rolling shopping carts.

I'm fascinated by the fish, their names in Italian, and how their displayed on ice.  Each fish is labeled with an F.A.O.  number.  This number indicates exactly where the fish was caught anywhere in the world.  I love to watch the vendors slice and dice the fish into fillets, and spent a lot of time staring in awe at the fish mongers at work.  I can fillet a fish but not nearly as quickly and efficiently as these guys do it.  

Along with the fish market, there is a fruit and vegetable market (Erberia). Summer fruits and vegetables are in abundance now, along with those beautiful zucchini flowers.  The fruit and vegetable signage also names the origins of the produce.  The Rialto Market is open from Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7am to Noon, a little later for the Erberia.  Get there early like the Venetians do in order to see daily life in Venice.

I have several ideas for dishes and am sure I'll be making a few more stops at the Rialto Market during my stay here, and might pick up some of those little snails, too. 

Campo dei Fiori

 

The Roman forum, Vatican, Catacombs, Trevi Fountain and everything else in Rome can wait.  Instead, I spent half the day in the market at the Campo dei Fiori.  Campo dei Fiori used to be a field of flowers, the literal translation of its name, but now it's the food market in Rome's historic city center.  They had sun-dried tomatoes, purple Roman artichokes, zucchini flowers, tomatoes, flavored pastas, herbs, meat, poultry, salumi, and about anything a cook could want.  They also have stalls selling flowers and some clothes, and you can pick up a jersey of your favorite Italian soccer team there.

 

I fell in love with the zucchini flowers.  Mainly because I don't see them at any Farmer's Markets in the San Francisco bay area.  (If anyone knows where to find them in CA, please let me know.) 

I asked the vendor how he would cook the zucchini flowers.  Batter and fry them was one way he suggested.  The other was to stuff them with tomatoes, mozzarella, and anchovies and bake them in a hot oven until the cheese melts.  Both ways I will try once I'm done being "little Miss Tour Guide," as my brother's been calling me and am in an apartment and able to cook.....oh, I'm so looking forward to that day. (June 8th is when I'll be at my apartment in Venice---with dependable wifi and a kitchen).

 

Besides the zucchini flowers, the sun-dried tomatoes were in abundance.  They had three kinds with the most expensive being the sun-dried pachino tomatoes (small and sweet tomatoes that come from the pachino region of Sicily).  I bought some of those for future use.

 

Campo dei Fiori is a definite stop in Rome.  Even if you don't have a kitchen while you're there. You can pack the goods up and ship them or bring them back home with you.  I met an American couple while I was there, who said they had a suitcase full of food goods they were bringing back with them.

Sunday at the Bastille Market

In Paris there aren't many places open on Sundays.  That's ok with me.  The streets are less crowded and there is much less traffic.  I can wander around without worrying about getting burnt by someone's cigarette or a car racing towards me as I cross in the crosswalk, two dangers I'm always quite conscious of during the weekdays.  It's now forbidden to smoke inside in France, so the smokers have taken to the streets.  On the weekdays, the sidewalks are, so I'm constantly dodging swinging arms holding lit cigarettes.

Today, I didn't have to dodge anyone, well that was until I got to the Bastille Market.  That's where all the Parisians go on Sunday.  The market has three aisles with vendors on each side and stretches about two city blocks.  The shoppers were crowded in the aisles, so instead of dodging cigarettes, I dodged rolly shopping bags. 

Even with the crowds, I still love everything about this outdoor market; how they display the fruits and vegetables, sometimes even jokingly (one of the fruit vendors positioned a few strawberries to look like alligators); the fish vendors with their whole fish laying on ice while they gut them right before you; the sour smell from the fromageries; the vendors who yell at you to buy their products; and the flower vendors who artfully stack whatever flowers are in bloom (and right now tulips were in).  Anything you want you can find at this market.  All the food groups are represented, and you can even get a quick hot meal.  There are roasted chickens, pig legs and lamb legs, several creperies, and there is even "Bob" the paella guy.  Need kitchen supplies---check, towels---check, Italian food---check, Lebanese food--check, beautiful clay dishes or a tangine--check, clothes----check, underwear---check (I saw panties piled into a five foot tall pyramid.)

I even got into a French version of "Who's on First?" with the olive vendor.  I wanted some tapenade, but the smallest container was a lot.  He said it would last, what sounded to me like "kahn jours."  I racked my brain trying to remember which number was "kahn."  I couldn't, so I asked him, "Quand jours?" (pronouncing it Kwan). He replied, "Oui, kahn jours."  We went around like at least three times, then an older gentlemen who was laughing, finally said to me, "Kanze, fifteen."  (What can I say, it's not a normal day in Paris without some sort of language/pronunciation problem.) 

I spent about 15 euros.  With that I got a wedge of some gooey and stinky Pont L'Eveque cheese, olives, tapenade, a head of lettuce, a few carrots, 8 slices of prosciutto, a roasted beet, and a half kilo (a little more than a pound) of super sweet strawberries.  I lingered at the market until almost closing, and found out that as it gets closer to closing time, the vendors start yelling out "specials," so the prosciutto was only 1.30 euros and the strawberries were a steal at 1 euro.  My purchases made a great meal for at least two.  With one of my leftover homemade baguettes, I made some crostini.  The sun came out later in the day, so I opened up my window and invited a friend to join me.   

Not a bad meal, huh? Both the prosciutto (all of it has been eaten) and the strawberries (I have plans for the leftovers---stay tuned) are probably the best deals I've ever got at a market, and it added an extra exclamation point to an already perfect day.  Have any you made one of those steal of a deals at an outdoor market?  What was it and where was the market?