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THE FOODS
Apulia is a long, slender region whose tip, the Salento peninsula, forms the heel of the Italian boot, consists of rolling plains and gentle uplands, sources of grain and the nation's largest volumes of wine and olive oil. Apulia has been known for abundance since Phoenicians and Greeks arrived and found Oscans and Messapians, some of whom lived in trulli, dwellings with conical stone roofs, already competent farmers. Although the Apulian diet draws its sustenance from the land, fish from the Adriatic and Ionian Seas lends enviable balance.
Vegetables figure prominently in pastas, soups, stews and salads. Apulia is the domain of the fava (the "queen of beans"), though artichokes, chicory, turnip greens, the "rocket" green called ruca or rucola, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant and peppers are indispensable. A curiosity are lampasciuoli, onion-like bulbs of notable nutritive value, whose bitterness brings a unique tang to Apulian dishes.
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THE WINES
Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot, is a long, relatively level region with a prolific production of wine. In the past, the region often surpassed Sicily and Veneto in output, though Apulia's former title of "Europe's wine cellar" no longer carries much weight.
As traditional markets for strong blending wines have diminished, Apulia's producers have increasingly put the accent on premium quality. Some have come forth with good to excellent wines: dry, balanced reds, whites and ros˜s, as well as sweet wines from a great range of grape varieties, both native and foreign.
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