Italy's hottest, flattest, driest region is blessed with a long, beautiful coastline that's largely free of tourists and development. The heel and spur of Italy's boot produces radiant, sun-kissed fruits and vegetables, a mainstay of Puglian cuisine.

Because communication has always been easy in this flat countryside, Puglia's cuisine is fairly uniform, relying on the same ingredients throughout the region. Tomatoes, fennel, peppers, lettuces, wild chicory and onions grow well there and are eaten raw at the beginning of a meal or served at the end of a meal with fruit. Between courses, pasta takes center stage. The types and shapes of pasta, made from Italy's best durum wheat, are more numerous here than in any other area of Italy. The most popular cuts are maccheroni, spaghetti, cavatelli, tiny gnocchi, and the region's most famous creation, orecchiette ("little ears"). Pasta sauces typically contain cauliflower, eggplant, chickpeas, fava beans, and broccoli florets.

Sheep's milk cheese is another important component of Puglian cuisine, as is the bounty of excellent seafood (particularly oysters, mussels and clams) pulled from the Adriatic Sea.

Puglia is also reputed for its fabulous deep green olive oil, which competes with Tuscany and Liguria in quality. But grapes are probably the region's most important crop, as Puglia produces more grapes, both for eating and wine-making, than any other region in Italy.

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