What’s gotten bigger over the last 20 years? (Besides my belly I mean.) I’d have to venture a guess that the proliferation of food in Pugliese Antipasto courses would take the cake. The antipasto course seems to have tripled in size since I visited Puglia 20 years ago for an archaeological survey of the region.
Our tour of Puglia included antipasti at just about every restaurant. One waiter advised us that one order for two was enough if we were going to order a pasta or secondo piatto. It was “abbondanza”, he said, an abundance of food.
Turns out it was an absolute mountain of food. One order for two and we couldn’t finish it—or eat for the rest of the day.
The picture of antipasti over there on the left might give you some idea of the abbondanza I’m talking about. There are four kinds of mussels in addition to a variety of other seafood and vegetables. After this course, we had a grilled fish and shared 4 giant grilled prawns. With 2 liters of wine and some mineral water and coffee after, the bill came to €60 for 4 people, tax and tip included. Imagine gorging on the freshest seafood imaginable on a table set maybe 100 feet from the beach for €15 a person including wine.
By the way, the folks in the picture are Francesco and Velleda Selvaggi. Francesco was a stained-glass artist in Puglia.