Thinktacco

Yesterday my husband had so many raw shrimps that I couldn’t count. Here in Puglia raw fish is a delicacy that makes you fall in love!

The best restaurants can serve a variety of fresh, raw, seafood. I’m not writing about banal “carpaccio” prepared from various fish species or even octopus, but of unique tasting experiences that you can enjoy here only!

First of all shrimps or prawns. They have to be really fresh. Yesterday the restaurant “L’Isola che non c’è” in Andrano Marina (www.ristorantelisolachenonce.it) served virtually “swimming” shrimps! You could dress them with oil and lemon but better not. Their taste is sweet and delicate. The consistency of the pulp of a grape…

hen come “allievi” young cuttlefish (from a few cm to 10/12 cm) freshly caught, obviously gutted and skinned.

Small octopus called “moscardino”, well “arricciato” is a tasty and crispy snack… it is not very elegant to bite but fantastic by the sea in informal situations. In Bari anyhow is a must!

Other special but relatively common seafood in Puglia are “piedi di capra” or ”cozze pelose”, similar to mussels but with “potentiated” taste, and finally sea urchin, that gained a prominent place on the table and in the “image” of this territory.

The real gourmet can also appreciate raw real fish. Not just tuna or other big pelagic fishes but also the very small ones, immediately eaten by those fishermen that love fish. What’s better than a freshly caught red mullet?

The analogy with sashimi, nigiri-zushi or temaki-zushi is evident but we are talking about very local food traditions.

The first rule of recipes in Puglia is simplicity… what’s simplest than raw food then?!

Tourists have to be cautious. Locals are use to this food but visitor’s organism may react badly. Taste sea urchin and shrimps the very first day you land in Puglia, get used slowly. After a few days you will be ready to enjoy this food for real!

Dante's Inferno in the caves of Castellana: about 400 people, for the first night of the underground air show "Hell in the cave". The show was performed from the 27th to the 31st of December inside the Caves of Castellana!

The performance combined dance, voice, sound and lights in the natural scenery of the Caves. The show was a big multimedia exhibition embracing the entire natural environment as a performance space, where the dynamics of an innovative theater will drive the public into an extraordinary adventure in Dante's Inferno.

It was an evocative show. Not easy to follow since it took place all around the spectators. Some said only a prepared spectator can fully appreciate the complex work; but everyone can understand the great sacrifice required in the preparation and everyone surrenders to the charm of the place anyhow. The Caves of Castellana infuses anxiety, magic, wonder and mystery.

Maybe we will meet again in the cave next year, and we will not be alone! There will be Dante, Pier delle Vigne, Paolo and Francesca, Carmelo Bene, Vittorio Gassmann, Count Ugolino, and many dancers, acrobats, musicians, sounds, lights and colors.

http://www.hellinthecave.it/multimedia.php

http://bari.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/4226957/1/10

http://www.grottedicastellana.it/inglese/grotte.php

Rehearsals