Earlier this Spring I spent a few days in Puglia (Apulia), southern Italy among other things learning about the wonderful cuisine of the area. As Leonardo Di Bari, head chef at the Borgobianco Resort and Spa where I was staying explained, essentially Puglian cuisine can be defined as both “poor” and “rich” in that the principle ingredients simply came from the earth and the Puglian people added value to those ingredients and so the food became “rich”.

Focaccia bread and caciovallo cheese – seriously moreish!

Preparing sea-urchins fresh from the sea

Both pasta and bread are important in this unpretentious diet and one of my favourite traditional dishes served at the hotel was simply focaccia bread with cherry tomatoes and the lightly spiced Puglian cheese caciovallo. Another great accompaniment to focaccia bread, I’m told, are the sea urchins which you can see being collected at the village of San Vito, a few miles away. The café Giselda overlooking the little fishing harbour here is the perfect place to try this local dish, fresh from the sea and served raw with focaccia! I’ve tried sea-urchins before in Senegal and took a serious dislike to them, however, I was assured, that those caught here are delicious, so much so that I was actually disappointed when we were told we were too early and I didn’t get to try them myself (so the jury is still out on this for me!)

We couldn’t hang around as we were off to Polignano for lunch at the delightful restaurant, Infermento, where chef Marcello had prepared a hearty six course lunch for us – potato omelette, cheeses, various breads, pasta, and we hadn’t even got to the main course! And each course was washed down with a specially selected artisan beer to compliment the dish being served as chosen by our host, Giuseppe.

Burnt wheat bread and hand-rolled cavatelli pasta at Infermento in Polignano a Mare

An unusual traditional Northern Puglian ingredient in some bread that I came across during this visit is burnt wheat flour. The tradition arose when, after the farmers had burnt their fields, peasants collected wheat from the burnt stubbs and mixed it with white flour to make it go further. Today the wheat is toasted, rather than burnt, to produce a black flour with a distinct almost nutty flavour.

As well as delicious breads the region prides itself on its hand-made pasta, such as orecchiette (little ear-shaped shells) or cavatelli (small rolled-up shells) made with durum wheat – each piece is rolled by hand unlike many of the pastas typical of other areas which are made by machines. surprisingly eggs, which were once considered a luxury, are not used in traditional pasta of this region.

Later that day back at the Borgobianco hotel another six course evening meal was being prepared for us. The hotel serves a mixture of traditional Puglian and international cuisine all beautifully presented, using ingredients from a variety of small local producers who provide wonderfully fresh vegetables, fish, meat and cheese as well as olive oil and flour (white and burnt wheat flour). Indeed Puglia is very much an agricultural area producing much of Italy’s finest olive oil and wines.

Red mullet fillets with white pepper, rosemary and wild chicory – lovely to look at as well as to eat

The rocky interior is good sheep-farming country and lamb is commonly featured on menus and traditionally served at festivals. This also means that many of the regions cheeses are made from sheep’s milk. Puglia’s long coastline and strong fishing tradition provides an abundance of fresh seafood including red mullet, anchovies and mussels. The region also produces vast quantities of almonds which are used abundantly in desserts.

An extremely tasty mixed grill of Puglian meats with rocket salad

The superb array of quality fresh local produce mixed with a home-cooking tradition gives Puglian food its simple country character that is so full of goodness and natural flavour. Admittedly I only have to look at food and I put on weight but never-the-less I am ashamed to admit I put on 5 pounds in weight during my few days in Puglia – not because the food was particularly fattening, it’s just that I was offered so much of it and it was so very delicious that it was hard to say no! And of course I wanted to try everything that this wonderful region of Italy had to offer, including the home-made ice-creams, fine wines and great locally produced beers. Puglian cuisine does not yet get the international recognition it deserves and, although I did lose the weight I had gained (eventually) once I was home again, it is just as well I was only there a few days!

A huge thank you to chefs Leo and Marcello for delighting my taste buds (and expanding my waistline).

Last December when I visited the small West African country, The Gambia, I enjoyed a wonderful morning learning how to cook a traditional Gambian meal with the charismatic Ida in her family home. By lunchtime the smells from the cooking pot were driving us all to distraction and we were eager to tuck in to the feast we had helped prepare.

As we settled down on to the rugs that had been laid down on Ida’s patio I noticed a blue flip-flop nailed to a tree beside me. Curious!

Each country I have ever visited has its own set of customs and beliefs, some similar to those found in other countries and some that are unique to that particular country. For instance, in some countries, including Britain, it is believed to be good luck for a black cat to cross your path while in others, including The Gambia, it is very unlucky. I wondered if this flip-flop was to do with a local superstition.

When Ida joined us we immediately asked her and laughing she explained that it is believed that if you found a flip-flop on the street, brought it home and nailed it to a tree that had stopped bearing fruit, the tree would then start producing fruit again. She had always thought the custom ridiculous, however, when her prized avocado tree stopped bearing fruit she thought that she had nothing to lose and gave it a try. The next season, much to her surprise, the tree produced more fruit than it ever had before and has done ever since.

I’d love to hear from you if you know of any similar superstitions to this or if you have a favourite one you keep or a funny one you have heard of.

Ida teaching tourists to play an ancient traditional game from West Africa is this week’s travel snap. I love the expressions on their faces. Can anyone beat Ida?

I first came across the game of wuri when I saw a family playing it in a back street in Mindelo on São Vicente, one of the islands of Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa. A year later, this time on the island of Sal, some locals challenged me to play wuri with them. Most of the games I apparently won even though I didn’t have clue how!  Before I left the island I bought a wuri board as a souvenir but was somewhat disappointed that I didn’t understand how the game was played.

It wasn’t until a few years later when I was on an excursion in The Gambia, ‘Cooking with Ida’, that I discovered the simple rules of wuri. It was fun to see how the game brought out the competitive streak in all of us and while we waited for the fish benechin to cook we had a mini wuri tournament!

In case anyone else has bought a wuri board whilst on holiday but is uncertain how to play here are the rules, as explained by Ida.

Wuri rules
This is a game for two players. The board is divided into two parts, one side for each player and each side has 6 holes or pots. Before the game starts 4 beans are placed in each hole.

Players take it in turns to pick up the beans from one pot and place a single bean in each of the next pots in an anti-clockwise direction. Each player can only play with beans picked up on their side of the board.

If the last pot they put a bean into then contains 2, 4 or 6 beans (whether it is on the players side or their opponents side) the player wins those beans and puts them to one side.

If there are no beans on your side to play then you miss a go and continue missing a go until there are beans on your side again.

When neither player can play anymore each player counts up the beans they have won. The winner is the person who has collected the most beans.

The Gambia is known as the smiling coast of Africa for good reason and I love the smiles of this brother and sister playing around together at a Jola Festival where the brother was initiated.

You can read about the fabulous day I had and see more photos on my post Singing, dancing and some very loud bangs!

Previous Kat’s Travel Snaps

Once a year, about 70 days after the end of Ramadan, virtually the whole of The Gambia holds a barbecue!

This is the festival of Tobaski (also known as Tabaski or Eid Al Adha) when Muslim families ritually kill a ram in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son to God, who at the last minute exchanges Abraham’s son for a ram. It coincides with the end of the annual Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca, one of the pillars of Islam and very much encompasses another one of the pillars, the giving of alms. It is a great time to visit The Gambia as the excitement is contagious. On the morning of Tobaski when I was there a few years ago I remember there being a noticeable buzz in the air around my hotel (and I had three marriage proposals from the waiters before I’d even finished breakfast – which is a record even for The Gambia!)

The lead up to Tobaski can be a stressful time for some, as the cost of a sheep can typically be twice a manual worker’s monthly salary. The cost raises steeply as Tobaski approaches. Everyone is expected to wear their finest clothes, preferably new. All compounds (family homes) are thoroughly “spring” cleaned.

Even during breakfast at our hotel, there is an air of excitement. Many hotel staff wear their finest clothes - the ladies in beautifully embroidered dresses.

Every married man or head of the household is expected to buy a sheep (ideally a ram) or other suitable animal such as a cow, goat or even chicken if that’s all they can afford.

Tobaski is a public holiday and one of the major holidays celebrated by Muslims around the world. After open air prayers at the local mosque, families return home, kill their sheep and divide it into three portions, one to be kept aside for the family, one to be given to relatives and friends and one to be given to the needy. Indeed, the idea of sharing is the essence of the feast, bringing unity and harmony among family and neighbours and it is a day to forgive past wrongs.

It is also the custom to offer food to anyone passing by and it would be disrespectful not to eat something, even if only a few mouthfuls. However, it would also be disrespectful to finish all the food as this implies that the host has not prepared enough food.

As the festival approaches everyone starts collecting coins as after the feast excited children visit all their neighbours asking for Salibo (gifts). If you pass down the Kairaba Avenue at this time you’ll find it jam-packed with crowds of children around the ice-cream and cake sellers spending the “gifts” they have collected.

Waitresses join in the dancing to a local band.

In the evening children are allowed to stay up late, while the adults sing, dance and chat while drinking numerous brews of ataya (green tea) and the celebrations can go on for a few days.

..and so may I wish a ‘Happy Tobaski’ to all my Muslim friends and to all Muslims around the world.

To see more photos of The Gambia visit Travel with Kat on Flickr

For information on holidays from the UK visit The Gambia Experience

Last month I felt I needed a bit of a boost so I asked some friends if they fancied going to the New Forest for a few days camping. I had seen a singing weekend advertised in the Baka Beyond newsletter and thought it was exactly what I needed…  but it went way above and beyond all our expectations.

The weekend would be spent learning the songs of the Baka pygmies from South East Cameroon and their neighbours, the Mbendjele pygmies from the Congo. In the darkness of the new moon a celebration would be held to sing the forest awake known as Malobe. This would be led by Jerome* and Ingrid Lewis, who has spent three years living with Mbendjele and had been initiated into the ceremony and given permission to hold it here in England.

Our hosts, Su and Martin of Baka Beyond, have been visiting the Baka for over 20 years where they were initiated into their music and asked to take it beyond the forest. Throughout the weekend, Jerome, Ingrid, Sue and Martin all shared fascinating insights into aspects of the lives of these two tribes, their traditions, music and struggles of every day life.

The singing, percussion and guitar workshops were all great fun and by Saturday night we were all eagerly awaiting the Malobe that night although a little uncertain what to expect.

After a shared meal, we spent the evening singing round the fire and then walked into the forest. We were led to a clearing where we laid down rugs and blankets, sat down and huddled close together in the dark. It was an important part of the ceremony that it should be completely dark and everyone should be touching their neighbours so we snuggled up even closer together slightly uncertain of who was who!

..and then we sang.

It’s hard to explain the magic of that night as the lead singers controlled the group, building the intensity and emotions – stopping – building up again. Only to stop and then build it up again.

…and then the forest awoke (but I’ll say no more on that, as we were asked not to).

On Sunday… more singing, then lunch, followed by a bit more singing. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, every one of us singing all the way home with memories of a very special weekend.

Links to Baka songs on you tube

Baka Women singing Yelli
Baka in the Forest – yelli, forest harp and water drums

*Jerome Lewis
Lecturer in Social Anthropology at UCL