Bari: Di Cosimo Pizzeria, picture expension.

I think Pizzeria di Cosimo, from Bari was one of my first posts on the blog, and since it`s been one of the most popular ones. Especially in the recent weeks, it was one of the most googled article from Wonderingchef. I decided to add some more photos, for the ones who are interested. Puglia is an up and coming travel points among bloggers and food lovers, the recent year has really done well for it`s popularity. And if you trust me, you`ll belive me it is worth to visit! Nothing is better than picking up some fresh giant green olives from one of the local markets, and pretty much eat your way trough the whole day! Also, after visiting New York, I have to say, Bari is one of the most cheapest places to eat around Europe, or pretty much anywhere!

So…. 3 pictures from Di Cosimo!

Picture 1: Since my first visit to Bari I`m addivted to Panzerotto. Small big, I don’t care as long as It`s fried! I’m not really a big fan of it`s ovenbaked version. I don`t know why , it`s just nothing special.  The fried version however, just had me at hello! It`s very similar to a hungarian langos – fried dough, but most of the time we eat it with sour creme and cheese. Well let me say the tomato sauce-mozarella cheese combo is even better. On this picture you can see a fried and an al forno panzerotto.

Picture 2: My latest discovery is pizza pana. It was fantastic! Also very simple, and I can`t believ I havent thought about it myself. This is pretty much, a simple pizza, with the tomato sauce basic, on top with fresh cooking creme. We have creme based pizzas here but that`s it, it`s never mixed with the tomato sauce, but it damn right should be! Try at home if you want, or at Cosimo, it`s even better:)

Picture 3; Pizza nd pizzella. Pizzella is a pizza, it`s just a small version. The food prices here are relatively small, price for a pizza is about 5 Euros, for a pizzella is 4 as far as I remember. I would suggest, if you are hungry order a panzerotto and a pizzella, so you can try as many things as possible. Also I pretty much described what Di Cosimo sells, These are the 2 items on the menu. Try and go early, otherwise you’ll be fighting for your food with the locals!

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Bari, Italy-Market Photography

Firts time ever, during the World Cup, when Italy was still in, I visited Bari. Ive been to Italy before, many many times, but this was the firts time I saw a place which is not crowded with tourists, and You can see the local side of the citizens. Bari itself isnt really interesting, its a port and university town, with a beautiful old-town area, and of course a seaside. But if You are a chef like me, or just like to eat and enjoy food, and You want to learn a lot, its almost perfect. Puglian cooking is nice, also very healthy. All around the city theres plenty  olive-farms, and fisherman`s huts, and daily markets in the city center. There are panetterias, cafes, restaurants on every step, You can easily tell, these people like their food.

Now well, my boyfriend took me to one of these markets, which is walking distance from their apartment, and conveniently closed down one whole street in the city. I love markets, I love their vibe, how people argue, and shout, and make fun out of each other. Also I like the look of the goods, going to a market for me is very inspirational, also sometimes I get a littlebit crazy, and I want to try everything at the same time, and I just keep running around the isles. This time, Im a bit extra excited, I havent been to a nice market since ages. After spending way too much time in an industrial city, where the only available food was the ready made microvawe stuff in the supermarkets, with “fresh” fruit and vegetables only known from fairy tales.

Ok, I have to admit. I think Im the first tourist these people saw in a long time. They dont understand why Im taking photos, am I from the goverment? Or the maffia? They keep talking to me, and I dont understand a word. I dont know whats going on, what have I done wrong? My boyfriend tells me, its not really common to have foreigners here with a camera, and barese people are not really trustworthy, as somebody always wants to screw the other. Ok, well we are in Southern-Italy anyway.  I keep taking photos, some people pose for me, and want to be in the picture, some people tell me off. Either way, its fun.

The goods here are fantastic. Some things are just so mediterranean, the figs, the zucchini flowres, the fresh mussles from the sea, and the big green olives. From where I`m from these things cost a fortune, and we re lucky if they are available. I wish I had a kitchen to cook at, I could feed an army with these.  At some things I just stop and stare, like the massive basils, that the guy is just throwing down the ground from his truck, or the massive fresh mussles from a very generous 2Euros/kg price. Also at this moment there are about 30 people making fun out of me or staring at me. Luckily I`m not alone.

Panzerotto heaven-Di Cosimo pizzeria

A few weeks ago i visited Bari, which is located South of Italy. I have to admit i had amazing food there, also I learned a lot, and was very much impressed about the city and its surrounding. So far Apulia/Puglia was very much unfamiliar, and was very surprised about the lack of tourism in the area. I’m very sure im going to refer to Bari in my upcoming posts, but first of all I would like to introduce you to the Panzerotto!

Many of you know Calzone, which is a pizza folded in half-baked in an oven. Theres not much difference with the panzerotto, but instead of the oven, its deep-fried in oil. Its dough is also a bit different, it’s somehow a bit lighter-but correct me if im wrong! Not only in Puglia, but all around in the country you can meet with the dish in different panetterias and forno-s (which means the oven itself). Most of the time they offer small panzerottos, 3-4 of those in the heath and you have a nice filling meal, also if you don’t pay attention, you can have some of the filling on your nice clean shirt-and im speaking from experience!

The filling itself can be very simple, a tomato sauce-mozarella duo, and as conservatives the italians ca be with their food, if we do a home made addition, we can be creative with inside.

So one night my boyfriend took me to this place called Di Cosimo pizzeria, in Bari. When i first saw the place i knew we are not talking about a romantic candle-light dinner. The place itself located on the bottom of a big concrete building, the only way you could actually spot it, was the crowd infront of it. Inside its even worse, there are people everywhere and the shop itself is pretty small, ofcourse you need to pick a number. The chefs shout out the number who is next, there are about 20 orders infront of us..ok at least i can take a better look on, what makes this place so popular. Theres not much choice on the menu, You either order the deep fried panzerotto or its oven baked partner, or some pizzas, theres about 6 different kind on the menu. Later on an other night i tryed the gorgonzola pizza…. if you like the cheese, its a must try! Its so many of us in there, some people already taking some place in the kitchen right behind the deep frier. Most of the orders are for take-away, but theres a small room behind the kitchen, you can have your meal there if you want. Its steaming hot, some people scream for beer or water while they wait. It sure has its atmosphere. To be honest i wasnt really hungry before we got there, but looking at all those amazing pizzas in and out of the owen for hal an hour, sure brings my apetite! Also they are increadibly fast, a pizza is ready within 3-4 minutes in the steaming hot forno, and You can see, the people who work there have experience.

My boyfriend tells me his been coming here since he was a boy, and always the same people ran the place, everybody having their own section and duty. One of them is making the pizzas, other two gets the panzerotto dough ready, somebody fries them, an other guy is responsible for the goods inside the oven, and there’s one person talking with the public and collecting the money. I’m being shy with taking photos, of course nobody speaks english and they are making fun of me in italian. “If you live in Bari, You know this place” explains my boyfriend to me, the popularity also comes because of the “big-size” panzerotto they make, eating one of those is almost like a complete meal.

After all of this i wasnt even surprised to find even Youtube videos about the place!

Mult heten Del-Olaszorszagban, Bariban jartam. Nagyon jokat ettem, es rengeteget tanultam, illetve teljesen lenyugozott a varos es megyeje.Szamomra idaig teljesen ismeretlen volt Apulia/Puglia kornyeke, es meglepoen keves turistat lattam ezalatt a 10 nap alatt mig ott voltam. Bari-ra meg biztosan vissza fogok terni mas posztokban de most elsosorban a Panzerotto(i)-rol szeretnek irni

Sokan ismerik a Calzone-t ami igazabol egy felbe hajtott toltott pizza. Ez a Panzerotto eseteben sincs maskent, de a kulonbseg az, hogy olajban sutik ki. A tesztaja is egy kicsit mas, konyebben emesztheto. Nem csak Pugliaban hanem orszag szerte is lehet vele talalkozni panetteriakban vagy fornokban (a forno maga a kemencet jelenti, igy is szoktak nevezni a peksegeket). De legtobb esetben a kicsi panzerottikat talalhatjuk ott, 3-4 darab belole mar eleg is. A toltelek nagyon egyszeru szokott lenni, paradicsomszosz es mozarella parosra eskusznek de egy kreativ szakacs tehet hozza barmit. Amugy az olasz peksegek nagy rajongoja vagyok, imadom a focacciakat, a supplikat, imadom a crocchetta di patate es a mindenfele rantott dolgokat .Receptek hamarosan

Aztan egyik este a baratom elvitt a Di Cosimo nevu kis pizzeriaba. Amikor eloszor meglattam a helyet, tudtam hogy nem romantikus vacsorarol lesz szo. Az uzlet egy lakotelepi haz aljaban talalhato es mar elotte hatalmas tomeg gyult ossze, mikor el kezd esni az eso, ez a sok ember mind probal a kis pizzeriaba beferkozni. persze szamot kell huznunk. Nem sok valasztasi lehetosegunk van, vagy rantott panzerottot kerunk vagy kemenceben sultet, illetve van kb 4-5 fele pizza is. Minden szo szerint az orrunk elott keszul. Annyian vagyunk, hogy mar mi is a konyha reszei leszunk, egyesek mar csak az olajsuto mogott kapnak helyet. A legtobb ember elvitelre rendel, de hatul helyet is foglalhatunk ha gondoljuk. Rekord mennyisegu embert szolgalnak ki, kb 3-4 perc alatt kesz egy pizza a forro kemenceben. Hiaba a gyorsasag, fel orat biztos, hogy sorban allunk, kozben be-kiabalos modon lehet uditot vagy sort rendelni, mivel bent biztos van vagy 40 fok, szuksegunk is van ra.

A baratom kozben elmondta, hogy o mar gyerekkora ota jar ide. Es mindig ugyenezek az emberek vittek a helyet, es mindig mindenkinek meg volt a maga feladata. Az egyik kesziti elo a pizzat vagy a  sult panzerottot a masik ki-be helyezi a kemencebel, az egyik csak penzt szed, harman pedig rantanak es csomagolnak. A tomeg engem kozben olaszul szivat, hogy miert is fenykepezek, meg se fordul a fejukben hogy nem vagyok helyi. “Ha Bariban elsz, ismered ezt a helyet” nepszeruseguket meg az fokozza, hogy ok nagy panzerottot keszitenek, ami egy kiados vacsoraval er fel.

Amikor  hazajottem, mar meg se lepodtem nagyon, hogy a helyrol mar youtube-on is talalunk videokat.

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