As for culture and history, even the culinary art is the result of many dominations that have alternated over time and also thanks to the climatic characteristics and the vegetation consisting mostly of olive trees and vineyards, Salento is famous in the world for wine and olive oil, a primary element of healthy Mediterranean cuisine. Oil from Puglia is special: a great extra virgin oil, perfect for any dish. The cuisine of Salento is rich in vegetables and legumes combined in simple and very tasty dishes but is only apparently humble and poor because in reality it is very nutritious and rich in flavors.
It is a must to taste the dairy products including burrata and giuncata, excellent as an appetizer.
Taralli are another staple of local cuisine such as pucce, soft sandwiches stuffed with olives, rustici, made from a thin dough baked in the oven and stuffed with white sauce, mozzarella and tomato, frise, hard “donuts” of wheat barley seasoned with salt, oil and tomatoes and pettole, small round pancakes, simple or stuffed, sweet or savory.
Broad beans and chicory is one of the great classics of the Salento table, together with ciceri and tria (chickpeas and pasta): the tria, one of the oldest known pastas, is cooked normally while a part is fried. Other typical and famous dishes are orecchiette with turnip tops, rice, potatoes and mussels, octopus alla pignata (stewed with sauce), turcinieddi (also called gnummareddi in Lecce) grilled rolls made from the entrails of animals.

Being located between the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea, in Salento you cannot miss fish soups, spaghetti with seafood, mixed fried fish, baked or grilled fish.
Concluding on a sweet note, the pasticciotto is perhaps the most famous local dessert, a shortcrust base pastry and filled with custard, followed by spumone (solidified ice cream with mixed flavors), mostaccioli (biscuits flavored with cinnamon) and typically Christmas desserts (purcedduzzi and 'ncarteddate).
All the flavors and traditions of the typical cuisine of Salento are accompanied by fine Doc wines, such as Primitivo di Manduria or Negroamaro, warm, intense wines that express the essence of this land and are known throughout the world.
The cuisine of Salento reflects the magic of an austere, simple, proud land, a unique landscape with a rich, exuberant nature that fascinates and accompanies us to the discovery of timeless farms and a myriad of typical local products.