Purè di Fave e Cicoria at Osteria Sguro
No dish tells the story of Salentine peasant cooking more honestly than purè di fave e cicoria — a silky purée of dried broad beans crowned with bitter wild chicory sautéed in local olive oil. Osteria Sguro, tucked into a vaulted room in the old town, does one of the most respected versions in Gallipoli.
The Dish and Its History
Dried fave (broad beans) were the protein of the poor across Puglia for centuries, and the combination with wild chicory — bitter enough to cut through the beans' earthiness — is one of those accidental culinary masterpieces that no chef could have invented on purpose. The purée should be dense enough to hold a spoon upright, golden with good olive oil, and served warm in a terracotta bowl.
At Sguro the fave come from local farms in the Salento hinterland, the chicory is foraged or sourced from the weekly market, and the olive oil is a cold-pressed Ogliarola Salentina — the region's indigenous cultivar with a peppery, grassy finish. Order it as a starter and you may find you don't need a main course.
What Else to Order
The menu at Sguro rotates with the season and the catch, but look for spaghetti ai ricci di mare (with fresh sea urchin roe) in winter and spring — a dish that tastes of pure Ionian seawater. The polpo alla pignata (octopus slow-cooked in a terracotta pot with tomatoes and capers) is another benchmark dish of the Salentine coast.
Pair everything with a carafe of local Primitivo or Negroamaro — both grown within 30 km of the restaurant — and finish with a pasticciotto, the Salento's beloved short-pastry tart filled with custard cream. It's a dessert so good it's eaten for breakfast elsewhere in Puglia.
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