Dining at Masseria Salinola
Over our three days and two nights at Masseria Salinola in Ostuni, we ended up eating all five meals here: two dinners, two breakfasts, and a lunch.
I absolutely loved having all of our meals just steps from our room, not having to research restaurants, or think about navigating a menu.
The night we arrived from Matera, with stops in Locorotondo and Alberobello, I already reserved dinner when I made the room reservation, because I wanted to try dinner at least once at the Masseria, having learned that eating in one is as much part of the experience as staying in one.
We asked our guide, who is from Ostuni, whether for our second night, we should have dinner in the town of Ostuni after our city tour with her, or return to Masseria Salinola for dinner instead. She said that our Masseria actually is quite well known for food, and besides a lot of restaurants in town might not be open in January. So we ended up reserving dinner on the second night as well!
Breakfast was included in the rate, and the lunch was part of the cooking class we also booked in advance.
All of our meals were served in the dining room which they called “Sala dei Camini,” in the house with the common spaces.
Our assigned table for the first dinner and breakfast was in this cozy alcove, near these displays of plates and one of the fireplaces.
On our second night, being the only guests remaining, we were “upgraded” to the table directly next to the fireplace!
That table was right in front of this cabinet of crockery.
Day 1 dinner
At check-in, we were already shown the dinner menu, on the sheet showing the programming of the day.
We were first served a bread basket which also included crackers and bread sticks. Daniele gave us a tasting of the olive oil that they also sold.
The appetizer was a “crepe bundle with broccoli” on a fondue of caciocavallo, one of the cheeses of the region.
First course was mezzelune filled with ricotta, in a pumpkin cream, topped with crispy bacon and a fried sage leaf. This was delicious! Good to the last drop.
The second course was a mixed grill, with roasted lamb, sausage, bombette, and potatoes. We had actually just had bombette sandwich in Locorotondo, where Flo told us all about these “little bombs,” made of thinly sliced meat wrapped around cheese and the wrapped around itself until it’s a little ball. So it can be cooked until very well done, and yet avoid becoming chewy because the meat is so thin. Poor Mommy got extra bombette to substitute for the lamb which she doesn’t eat, but there were so many that she couldn’t finish them!
Much needed to accompany such a meaty dish was the side salad of frisée lettuce and sliced chicory bulb. Very refreshing!
Dessert was a cannolo, filled with ricotta, dipped in ground pistachio and served on cream and drizzled with chocolate.
Day 2 breakfast
Breakfast was served buffet-style, or you could order room service for an extra charge (we saw them bringing some plates outside). But with the dining room so close, I much prefer eating here!
With just maybe one or two other tables besides us, the spread was absolutely amazing. Here were all of the sweet pastries.
Around the corner were homemade jams.
These condiments were interesting: artichoke in oil, olives, and very interesting flat pieces of eggplant in oil - these had a firm texture, not dissimilar to the artichokes.
Around the corner from that were salame, prosciutto cotto (ham), occhiello and caciocavallo cheeses, and “Ricotta di Masseria,” so ricotta that was homemade I guess. Next to that was a bowl of “winter tomato,” which I didn’t take.
There was also focaccia with tomato, frittata, croissants, and on a warming tray, boiled eggs (5 minutes, it says on the label!).
There were also whole fruit.
A closer look at their three homemade jams, shows that the flavors were pumpkin and lemon, prune plums, and fig.
To drink, there was regular and sparkling water (Daniele said that they themselves don’t drink the tap water here, because it comes from a well), orange juice, and an orange, carrot, and lemon juice.
What a lovely breakfast!
I had my assortment of sweet cakes and breads.
Some ham and cheese, focaccia, frittata, artichoke, eggplant, and ricotta with a bit of oregano on top. I learned at our one breakfast at B&B Dei Cardinale that I really enjoyed the fresh ricotta on bread!
I tried the pumpkin and fig jams.
And my go-to coffee order, espresso macchiatto.
WIth breakfast, one can also order eggs - I think from their own chicken coop.
I got scrambled eggs, but they weren’t the soft pillowy kind that I was expecting. They looked and tasted more like eggs that are broken into a pan and scrambled in a hot pan until well done, which is what I do when I’m too lazy to beat the eggs first!
Day 2 lunch
I’ll write about this in a separate post about our cooking class!
Day 2 dinner
Here was the menu for our second night, along with the day’s program. I’m pretty sure we were the only guests in the Masseria by this point, but they did put out the home made cakes and cookies at 4pm just for us!
As I mentioned earlier, on this evening we moved one table over to the one right next to the cozy fireplace, since I think the other guests had checked out earlier.
Complete with a holiday-themed centerpiece.
A lovely bread basket, again.
For the appetizer, they served the very typical fava bean puree with chicory, accompanied by fried black olives. This chicory was a step up from the version we had at La Uascèzze in Bari, because this chicory had more bite and flavor than the watery one in Bari. And the fava bean puree was a lot more tasty too - the puree was rather bland at La Uascèzze. I asked Daniele if it was 100% fava bean, and he said that actually they also added in potato too, which might explain the tastiness! And the fava bean used in the puree is from dried fava, not fresh, unsurprisingly for its color and texture.
For the first course, the menu said we would have orecchiette with turnip tops and anchovy breadcrumbs. But I think because we already had orecchiette for lunch at the cooking class, they switched to another shape, more resembling the maccheroni we saw in the cooking class, or cavatelli. Also delightful with more green vegetables.
For the main course, we had stuffed eggplant, baked in the oven. This was absolutely delicious! A highlight dish.
It was just so intensely flavored, but stuffed with just bread and eggplant and cheese, and served over a tomato sauce. My mom wondered if they served us this all-vegetarian meal (except for the anchovy breadcrumbs on the pasta), because she left some of last night’s mixed grill on her plate. I don’t think so! But maybe it was more practical to prepare such a dinner for their last night with guests? This was definitely a most memorable meal from the entire trip.
Accompanying the main course was another revelation. This side dish was of baked thistle (cardo) and cherry tomatoes.
We also eat thistle in Spain, but I’d only had it cooked under pressure with a ton of meat, chickpeas, and other ingredients in the stew called puchero, or braised all on its own, a specialty in the town of Teruel. So it’s always come out being extremely soft, like celery when it’s boiled until nothingness, taking on both the color and taste of the stew. This thistle, on the other hand, was still crunchy - and bright green! It was had a wonderful taste, and I loved being introduced to this vegetable in a new way.
For dessert, we had a cream and sour cherry pasticciotto tart. But this was unlike the cream-filled pasticciotto pastry we had in Bari, but more like a clafoutis: a bit firm in texture with cherries dotted throughout.
I’d love to have a repeat of this meal, anytime!
Day 3 breakfast
On our last day, I think we were the only guests left, yet they put out a buffet as if it were a full house!
The pastry selections were even different from the day before, for example these “briciolata with jam,” kind of like jam bars.
Tomato focaccia and frittata again.
And the cold cuts, cheeses, and yogurts.
I again got a full plate.
And today I ordered an omelette, which was filled with strong cheese. Again, like the scrambled eggs from yesterday, it kind of seemed like an omelette I would make, where the egg is well done and kind of breaks in the middle! I think next time I’d stick with the breads and cold cuts and cheeses, and maybe try one of the simple 5 minute boiled eggs, to get a taste of the fresh eggs. But that’s not a criticism of the cooked eggs, more, just a reflection that those are things that are more special or unique to me, things that I wouldn’t make myself.
One of the highlights of our Puglia trip was our stay at Masseria Salinola, and one of the most important parts of the whole experience was the food. I just felt so pampering to be able to walk a few steps to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not have to think about where to go or what to order, and have everything tasting amazing with eye-opening revelations in every meal!
