What is Cucina Povera? Meet the wild ingredients of Puglia on your breakfast tray

The soul of Italian food isn't found in Michelin stars — it's in the soil

There’s a reason people fall so hard for Italian food. No, it’s not the pasta (though yes, it’s sublime) — it’s the spirit behind it. Food here isn’t something separate from life. It’s stitched into every season, every family tradition, every childhood memory. It’s loud, messy, generous, and proud. But it’s also practical and shaped by the land in which us locals live. 

Enter cucina povera,  the humble backbone of southern Italian cooking.

Literally translating to "peasant food," cucina povera is the art of doing a lot with very little. Think beans and stale bread turned into rich stews, wild chicory gathered from the fields, sun-dried tomatoes, and a single onion cooked slowly until it’s magic. It’s about ingredients that grow wild, travel short distances, and transform through time-honoured techniques — not money.

Cucina povera in Puglia isn’t something people talk about in the past tense — it’s still alive in kitchens, in gardens and in the DNA of everyday meals. And if you’re staying at Borgomadre, you don’t just taste it at a trattoria; you wake up to it.

Imagine fresh figs on the breakfast table, warm focaccia from the local forno, eggs from a nearby farm, and olive oil so green and peppery it almost tingles. Now imagine eating that outside, barefoot, under a pergola, with the scent of rosemary in the air.

That’s how we do mornings here and you need to give it a try. 

Cucina povera in Puglia — Born of necessity, now a point of pride

Cucina povera was never about recipes, it was about resilience. 

In rural regions like Puglia, where families farmed their own land or lived off what they could forage, meals were built from whatever was available: seasonal vegetables, legumes, homemade preserves, and rarely, meat. Protein came from pulses and off-cuts, not prime cuts. Dishes stretched to feed many. Nothing went to waste.

Over time, this frugal approach evolved into something extraordinary — a cuisine of intense flavour, nutrition, and ingenuity. Today, many of Italy’s most beloved dishes come from this tradition: pasta e fagioli, ribollita, fava bean purées, bitter greens sautéed with garlic and oil, hand-rolled orecchiette with turnip tops.

In Puglia, you’ll find:

• Cicoria selvatica (wild chicory) sautéed until tender and slightly bitter

• Fave e cicorie – fava bean purée with sautéed greens, a staple in every local kitchen

• Pane di Altamura, a dense durum wheat bread that lasts for days

• Pomodori secchi (sun-dried tomatoes) packed with salt and sunshine

• Cime di rapa, turnip tops that bring a pungent, peppery bite to pasta

These may not look like luxury ingredients. But in the hands of someone who knows how to use them (AKA an authentic nonna) — they sing.

A breakfast worth waking up for

At Borgomadre we take breakfast seriously, but never too seriously. There’s nothing stiff or formal about mornings here. They begin slowly, gently, often with the sun warming the stone walls and the scent of rosemary or espresso drifting through the air.

You might wake up to coffee bubbling on the stove in the outdoor kitchen, or hear someone slicing warm focaccia just delivered from the local forno. Mornings here don’t follow a schedule. There’s no buffet line, no heat lamps. Just a table (or a tray) that mirrors the season, the land, and the pace of a place that knows how to linger.

Your breakfast tray might include:

• Fresh figs, prickly pears, or grapes from the garden

• Warm focaccia or pane nero from our favourite local baker

• Ricotta, burrata, or pecorino — all made within 20 km

• Organic eggs from a nearby farm, soft-boiled or scrambled in olive oil

• Yogurt with honey from a family-run apiary

• Jams made with stone fruit that only grows in this part of Italy

There’s no rush. The table is yours for as long as you like. Everything is served al fresco, surrounded by olive trees and that quiet kind of stillness you only find in the countryside.

Much of the magic happens in our outdoor kitchens — designed to bring people together and break the line between cooking and living. These spaces are an entire gathering place for our guests. A conversation starter. A spot where someone is always slicing something delicious or pouring a second coffee. With stone counters, wood-fired grills, and herb gardens within arm’s reach, our outdoor kitchens make even the simplest breakfast feel special.

Want to go bigger? We’ll arrange a private chef to come and cook a full Puglian breakfast with thoughtful, modern touches. Just imagine: soft poached eggs with tomato conserva and wild herbs, farro topped with roasted grapes and almonds, or grilled peaches drizzled in local honey.

This is a continuation of everyone's favorite cucina povera. Simple ingredients, prepared with love, eaten without distraction. 

Breakfast as it should be, always. 

From field to fork — Wild ingredients still shape the plate

The thing about cucina povera? It never fully left the fields. It’s still deeply seasonal, and wild ingredients still feature heavily.

What’s growing around Borgomadre?

Located in San Vito dei Normanni, Borgomadre sits in the heart of rural Puglia — close to the coast but surrounded by farmland. In every direction, you’ll find small producers, wild groves, and family-run gardens that supply the ingredients you’ll taste during your stay.

Depending on the season, our kitchen is stocked with:

• Chicory, purslane, wild fennel, and herbs picked from our own grounds

• Fresh almonds, foraged mushrooms, and artichokes

• Puglian citrus, including bitter oranges and lemons for preserves

• Heritage grains like farro and grano arso — often used in rustic baked goods

• Local tomatoes in all shapes and sizes, many sun-dried or jarred in oil for winter

Even the olive oil we use is pressed from trees that surround our villas. It’s as local as it gets.

Cucina povera, reimagined

While cucina povera has humble roots, today’s chefs are taking those same traditions and giving them a modern spin — not by complicating them, but by refining the technique and celebrating the integrity of each ingredient.

In Puglia’s best restaurants (and occasionally right on your villa terrace, with a private chef), you’ll find:

• Orecchiette handmade by nonnas, but dressed in a modern saffron butter with lemon zest

• Grilled octopus with pureed chickpeas and wild herbs

• Fava bean mousse with local bottarga and preserved lemon

• Bread salads made with ancient grains, roasted veg, and herbs from the garden

It’s a way of cooking that honours the past, without being stuck in it.

Cooking classes and market days

If you’re staying with us and want to get a little closer to the process, we can help arrange a private cooking class — in your villa or in a nearby masseria.

Learn how to make:

• Handmade orecchiette

• Fava bean purée with chicory

• Tielle barese (a baked dish of rice, mussels, and potatoes)

• Traditional preserves or pickled vegetables

We also encourage guests to explore the local markets in towns like Ostuni, Ceglie Messapica, and San Michele Salentino. These aren’t curated for tourists — they’re where locals shop. You’ll find everything from foraged herbs to wheels of pecorino wrapped in fig leaves.

And if you're not sure what to buy? We’ll happily go with you and walk you through it. 

A deeper connection to the land — and to the moment

There’s something quietly radical about sitting down to a table full of local food, prepared simply, and shared slowly. Especially in a world obsessed with speed and convenience.

Cucina povera reminds us that luxury does not mean excess. Sometimes, it’s a tomato that tastes like the sun. A piece of bread torn by hand. A breakfast that takes an hour because there’s no reason to rush or leave the table. 

At Borgomadre, this isn’t considered a curated experience, it’s just the way of life. The villas, the olive groves, the meals under the vines — they all reflect the same values: slow living, local connection, deep nourishment.

Regardless if you’re starting your day with a fig still warm from the tree or ending it with a bowl of chickpeas simmered in garlic and bay leaf, you’re tasting something real. And that, we think, is what travel is really for.

Ready to wake up to a Puglian breakfast worth writing home about?

Explore our villas, discover our curated culinary experiences, or let us help you plan your slow, food-filled escape to Puglia.

Explore Our Villas today →