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What to eat in the Metropolitan City of Bari? Top 14 Traditional Foods in the Metropolitan City of Bari

Last update: Sun Feb 16 2025
Top 14 Traditional Foods in the Metropolitan City of Bari
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01
Focaccia Barese
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This Apulian delicacy is traditionally prepared with a soft, yeasted dough that combines semolina, wheat flour, and mashed potatoes. It is usually topped with cherry tomatoes and olives, but some varieties occasionally employ other combination of ingredients, such as different vegetables, coarse salt, or rosemary.


Always baked in round tins, focaccia is usually doused in olive oil and is best served lukewarm.

MOST ICONIC Focaccia Barese

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02
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Panino col polpo is a traditional sandwich originating from the Bari area. This simple sandwich is made with a combination of octopus, bread rolls, olive oil, parsley, salt, and black pepper. The octopus is washed, brushed with olive oil, and grilled slowly over embers while being brushed with a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley as it cooks.


Once done, the octopus is placed into a split bread roll, and the sauce is drizzled over the top of the octopus. This tasty sandwich is common during Apulian festivals and it can often be bought on street stands.

MOST ICONIC Panino col polpo

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03
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Orecchiette con cime di rapa (orecchiette with broccoli rabe) is one of the most popular pasta dishes from the Italian region of Apulia, especially beloved in the region's capital, Bari. Orecchiette have a perfect shape for scooping up the chunky pieces of boiled broccoli rabe, or rapini - a leafy, green vegetable closely related to turnip.


This simple rustic dish is enriched with freshly grated, aged hard cheese (usually Pecorino Romano) and a sprinkle of crushed peperoncino flakes. Orecchiette con cime di rapa is best enjoyed immediately after the preparation, served with a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

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04
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Orecchiette alla barese is a traditional pasta dish originating from Bari in Puglia. The dish is usually made with a combination of orecchiette pasta, rapini (broccoli rabe), garlic, olive oil, chili peppers, and a few anchovies. However, there are a few variations on the dish, so the list of ingredients may vary.


The garlic is chopped, sautéed in oil, then mixed with the anchovies which are mashed into the oil with some chili pepper. The sauce is then mixed with the rapini and the pasta, and the dish is often seasoned with ground pepper before serving.

05
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Spaghetti all’assassina is an unusual pasta dish from Bari, unique for its method of preparation - risottatura style (because it's similar to the one used in making risottos). According to the Accademia dell’assassina, that means cooking spaghetti directly in a spicy tomato broth until caramelized, burnt, crisp, and infused with spicy tomato broth, all in a cast-iron pan.


The trick is adding the tomato broth gradually, so the spaghetti absorb it, then sizzle and burn a bit before each new pour. Although there is some dispute over the origin of this dish, it is mostly agreed upon that it was invented in 1967 by chef Enzo Francavilla in his Barese restaurant Al Sorso Preferito, which serves it to this day. 
06
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Sgagliozza is an Italian dish from Bari, consisting of rectangular (or square-shaped) pieces of fried polenta. The dish is made with polenta flour, water, salt, and oil. Once cooked, the dense polenta is left to cool and it is then sliced into rectangular pieces and fried until golden brown.


Sgagliozza is traditionally sold after the mass near the St. Nicholas Cathedral during the day of the saint, but it's also a staple during winter in the city, sold by street vendors and always served piping hot.

07
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Named after a town settled on one of the Murge plateau hills, pane di Altamura is a country-style sourdough bread that has been traditionally produced in the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani for centuries. It is made only with durum wheat dough, natural yeast, salt, and water.


Once the staple food of Murge people, these large loaves of bread were kneaded in Altamura's households, branded with the family name, then baked in community ovens. Since the loaves were supposed to feed whole families for one or even two weeks, the bread of Altamura had to be very durable, which is, even today, one of its most prized features. 
08

Cheese

GRAVINA IN PUGLIA, Italy
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Pallone di Gravina is an Italian cheese hailing from Gravina in Puglia. This semi-hard, pasta filata-style artisan cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's shaped into a ball, hence the word pallone, from the word palla. It's aged for a minimum of 4 months.


The shape of the cheese made it easier to hang it or transport it on donkeys' backs in the past. Underneath its hard natural rind, the texture is smooth. The flavors are strong and spicy.

09

Cheese

METROPOLITAN CITY OF BARI, Italy
4.1
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Traditionally produced in the provinces of Foggia and Bari, Canestrato Pugliese is a hard cheese made from sheep's milk. It is one of the most prized products of the Apulia region, masterfully crafted from December to May, at altitudes varying between 250 to 700 meters, where the Mediterranean climate creates optimal sheep farming conditions.


Canestrato is aged in reed baskets typical for the Apulian area, and while matured Canestrato has quite a strong piquant flavor and is more suitable for grating, the younger versions are much more delicate and should be paired with fava beans, pears, or crudités, and accompanied by rosé or dry white wines.

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Tiella di riso, patate e cozze is a layered dish consisting of rice, potatoes, mussels, onions, and tomatoes which are seasoned with olive oil, salt, parsley, pepper, and garlic. Originally from the city of Bari, this rich and fragrant dish with a crispy golden crust is very popular throughout Apulia.


Additional ingredients such as various seasonal vegetables, breadcrumbs, or Pecorino cheese may be used, and variations of the dish use different types of seafood. Tiella is also the name used for a round terracotta pan in which this dish is traditionally prepared, and depending on the area, ingredients that are used in tiella change - that explains why in some Italian regions a tiella is a type of focaccia, with or without a filling, and in others it is a stew or a layered casserole made with or without a crust.

OTHER VARIATIONS OF Tiella
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Cookie
GRAVINA IN PUGLIA, Italy
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Frozen Dessert
RUVO DI PUGLIA, Italy
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13
Pasta
MOLA DI BARI, Italy
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14
Cheese
GRAVINA IN PUGLIA, Italy
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TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.