I Vini
La Verdeca. IGT. Puglia.
Nero d’Avola. DOC. Sicilia.
Aleatico. IGT. Puglia.

Power point presentation: What is Southern Italy? A half hour talk on the south of Italy, putting it all into perspective.

Monday
9 – 10.30am: “The nose(s) have it! The olive oil taste test”

Learning the special technique of tasting olive oil and identifying the merits and defects to determine quality.

a. Discussion on the term and definition “extra virgin”

b. The complex nature of olive oil (chart)
- chemical
- organoleptic

c. The technique of oil tasting
- aroma
- flavour
- tasting
- terminology

d. Definition and analysis of principal negative and positive attributes in oil using the MICO sheet
- principal negative attributes
- principal positive attributes

e. Oil styles
- intense, medium and mild
- Varietal differences in flavour
- blended oils

f. Comparative tasting
- defective oil purchased from supermarket
- analysis of three monovarietal oils from Salento (Cellina di Nardò and Ogliarola Salentine)

1:00 Lunch

LUNCH MENU: Sautéed mussels with chili, mint and falaghina. Spaghetti con cacio e pepe. Totani gratinati. 7 herb salad. Poached fruit.

I Vini
Falaghina. DOC. Campania.
Greco di Tufo. DOC.Campania.
Malvasia Delle Lipari. DOC. Sicilia

4 – 5:30pm: “Plucking, shaking. And praying!”

A field trip into an antique olive grove in Martano looking into the traditions of production, and a modern commercial grove talking with the owner about the equipment used, the management, the problems and the various effects on olive oil quality. Inspection of equipment used to harvest olives.

7:00 to 7:30: The Elements Of A Cuisine: An Introduction to Our Local ingredients.

7:30-9:00 Cooking Lesson: Meat Cookery: Which cuts for which recipes, a Primer.

9:00 dinner

Dinner Menu:
The Carnivore’s Dilemma: Roasting An Entire Butcher Shop’s Worth of Meat, The Breezy Way. Rabbit. Chicken. Sausages. Pork. Ducks and quail. All together. The easy way to roast a massive feast’s worth of meat, bringing each cut to its culinary zenith with a minimum of effort on the cook’s part. Plus, using the same oven to prepare all the side dishes.

I Vini
Anna Lisa’s miuru. (A never-bottled ‘farmer’s style’ wine consumed from water glasses). Primitivo. 15% alcohol. And excellent.

Tuesday

10:00 Rich Man, Poor Man: What Wealthy Cultures Can Learn From The Poorer ones, Food-Wise. And why it is, exactly, that the world loves the foods of Italy so much.

10:30 to 11:00 Techniques and Gear: How to do more with less. How to feel at home in any kitchen. Feeling at ease with knives and heat.

11:00-11:30 coffee break with ricotta and honey tort.

11:30-1:00 From Dingo to Dog: An Introduction to the Wines of Southern Italy. What is Mieru? Why the newest glassware in the Southern Italian home has stems.

MENU:
Olives from Nuova Generazione. Pancotto (a sort of southern 'ribolita'). Grilled vegetables, seven kinds. Baked fruit with vincotto.

I Vini.
Fiano Del Salento. IGT. Puglia.
Frappato. IGT. Sicilia

5pm – 5:30 pm: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Pasta But Where Afraid To Hear The Answer: The History of Pasta. Discussions of Types. Cooking Techniques. Sourcing. How to Make Yours At Home Taste Like It Does in Italy.

5:30- 7:00 Pasta production.

7:00 to 8:00 “The olive tree. From the other side of the bottle”

Aperitivi and a twilight walk through the olives at Spongano, discussing the special botanical and agricultural characteristics of the olive tree.

8:30 Dinner.

Menu:
La peperonata. Zucchine. Melanzane. Tris di paste meridionali. (Three kinds of southern pasta shapes, each sauced accordingly). Polpetone (Southern Italian ‘meatloaf’). Homemade gelato.

I Vini
Aglianico di Puglia. IGT. Puglia
Aglianico di Taburno. DOC. Campania.
Aglianico di Vulture. DOC. Basilicata.

After dinner Power point presentation on the Italia SUD-EST, the quirky private train station that runs south of Lecce.

Wednesday

All day: “Time out!”

A free day to honour your palate with a well-earned rest, think of something else other than olive oil, explore the extraordinary Salento coast, take a boat to the grottos just a few kilometres away, or simply laze by the pool and read a book. Those that want to take off for the day can ride the Italia SUD-EST to another city, returning late to a staff prepared dinner. (Those that would like to cook can come at 6:00).

DINNER MENU:
La Grigliata: Thinking Beyond Red Meat. Grilled spring onion Cassimperio (‘pinzimonio’), with 6 choices of Extra Virgin Oil. Spaghetti con i frutti di mare al cartoccio. Grilled fish, stuffed with herbs from the castle’s garden. Hand-made extra virgin mayonnaise. Wilted greens with garlic and lemon (done on the grill). Atypical vegetables. Hazelnut cupeta (brittle).

I Vini
Fiano di Avellino. DOC. Campania.
Inzolia (Insolia). IGT. Sicilia.
Marsala. DOC. Sicilia

Thursday

Morning: “Past romance and latest technology”

A visit to a high technology extraction facility. Discussion by the head of the Terra D’Otranto DOP organization on the certification of regional oils.

Then the exploration of an historic underground oil extraction site guided by international authority Prof. Antonio Monte, showing the giant leaps in oil making over the centuries.

And finally the inspection of a commercial olive pickling plant and the tasting of locally made olive products.

LUNCH MENU: Picnic in Otranto

Impressive sandwiches on the beach or marina. Grilled vegetables on pane di Altamura with smoked scamorza (and optional, home-made peperoncino paste). Handcut potato crisps (chips) fried in extra virgin oil. Fresh fruit. After the swim, gelato at Martinucci’s, one of the most famous artisanal gelato-producers in Southern Italy.

I Vini (Niente vino ma invece...)
Ice cold Nastro Azurro on the beach.

Afternoon: Visit to Otranto

5:00 – 5:30: “Slippery tricks of the trade”

Visit to a supermarket in Otranto to inspect the olive oil shelf and learn how to interpret labels and recognize the tricks of the olive oil trade and how to be one step ahead of the hype and sleight of hand.

7:00 to 8:30 cooking.

DINNER MENU: A tasting of Southern Italian salumi. Le orecchiette d’orzo con le cime di rapa.
Roasted kid with potatoes, castle herbs and smoked goat’s milk cheese.
Torta di Mandorla.

I Vini
NERO DI TROIA. IGT. PUGLIA.
CERASUOLO DI VITTORIA DOC. SICILIA.
MOSCATO DI PANTELLERIA. DOC. SICILIA
LIMONCELLO.

Friday

9.30am – 11.15am: “A tavola tutti!”

Formal tasting of blended and varietal oils from the Salento region and related discussion. Then into the kitchen to discuss how to select the
right oil for the right dish, and the best ways to use olive oil in the kitchen.

a. Analysis of the menu and the selection of the most appropriate oils for the dishes selected.

b. Discussion of the correct storage of oils and the best way of handling them in the kitchen.

c. Tasting of the selected oils and the assignment to the dishes on the menu

LUNCH MENU: And A Kilo of That Green Stuff: Rethinking The Bounty of your Garden and Farmer’s Market. We’ll use the great Pugliese dish of Fave and Foglie to learn how a few simple techniques can change the way we think about vegetables. Stone fruit under red wine.

Fave e Foglie, La Versione VIP.

Primitivo di Manduria. DOC. Puglia.

5 – 6pm: “And to cap it all … ”

An unguided tasting by participants only of all olive oils used during the week and the selection the best varietal and the best blended oils. Evening cocktails with selected producers from the region and announcement of winners.

Presentation of course certificates to participants.

DINNER MENU: Una bruschetta semplice, annointed with the week’s Winning Oil, as chosen by the students. Hand made pasta. Lu Falsumagru (A massive rolled ‘sausage’ of Southern Italian goodies). Roasted figs with bay leaves, almonds and red wine.

I Vini
Cirò rosso. DOC. Calabria
Sussumaniello. IGT. Puglia.
Salice Salentino. DOC. Puglia.

Saturday

9:00 Return to Lecce train Station, where students can depart or transfer to pre-arranged B and B in the historic Centre.

9:00 Press dinner (optional). Historic centre of Lecce.

A Note from Silvestro Silvestori on The Olive Programmes.