What constitutes heritage differs per country, per region and even per person. Because for us the Delta Works or the Wadden Islands may not be more than normal, for others they are wonders of the world. The opposite applies to the gourmet set, to which we Dutch react quite euphorically. Especially the mini slave finch! We were delighted when we ran into ‘our’ mini-slave finch in southern Italy. Though that was just a little different. We dived in and tell you all about the bombette, the southern Italian slave finch (we can’t help but see it that way).
What are bombs?
It’s almost starting to get annoying, talking about that southern Italian slave. But when you come across your own cultural heritage in a remote corner of the world, it’s just very special.
Okay, we admit: calling the bombetta a slavink is not fun for either product. Because the bombette is – certainly according to Italofielen (dirty word) – far above the meat package prepared on a gourmet set (also a dirty word).
Literally it means ‘little bomb’. This is due to the taste explosion that is released when you take a bite of it.
The bombetta is very similar to our slavink. That’s mainly because it’s a meat roll covered with a slice of pancetta. But the bombetta is certainly different from a slavink.
It is filled with melted cheese and pancetta. In addition, the bombetta is never longer than 3 to 5 centimeters. So perfectly ready to eat! They are usually packed in small paper cones, served on a slice of stale bread or strung on a stick.
You have to enter Apulia not long to look for the bombette. If there is a market or fair, the smell of grilled meat will automatically meet you.
In addition, Puglia perishes in the butcher shops with bombette. So it’s no secret that the bombetta is the proud representative of Puglia’s street food culture.
Where does the bombetta come from?
As we mentioned above, the bombetta is a traditional dish from Puglia. You know, that beautiful southern region with crystal clear water, white towns and where Italy is still real Italy.
Once was the bombetta street food, but nowadays they are served strung on sticks in the Italian butcher shops there.
Eating in a butcher shop?
Yes, in southern Italy it is perfectly normal to eat at the butcher. The inhabitants of the Valle d’Itria are known for their love of red meat and around the 60s, they wanted nothing more than to be able to eat meat any time of the day.
The butchers saw their chance and almost all opened a counter with a few tables where one could go for a ball from the fat at any time of the day. Or for the bombette.
The bombetta was an immediate success at the time. It was the perfect snack to work in (with a good glass of red wine, those butchers always had in stock) before going home to have the meal of mom to eat.
Especially in cities such as Martina Franca, Alberobello and Cisternino the bombette was (and is) a success. The story goes that the original bombetta is from Cisternino.
Make your own bombette? The recipe
A big advantage of the bombette is that they are super easy to make yourself. It could be such a bad Jamie Oliver dish as it only requires 5 ingredients: pork neck fillets, pancetta, caciocavallo, parsley and garlic. We don’t count salt and pepper.
Then it’s a matter of flattening the pork neck fillets, lather with salt and pepper, cover with a slice of pancetta and slices of cheese, parsley and a little garlic. Then roll the package tightly from the narrowest side of the fillet so that all ingredients remain in the meat. So don’t roll around stupidly, but pack a bit. Sides in, you know. Then prepare the bombette on a hot grill or else in a preheated oven at 200 degrees (about half an hour). Then you can string the bombette on a stick as in Puglia and serve it like that, but of course you can also do it separately. It’s your bombette party!
Variations on the bombette
Not every bombette is filled haphazardly with caciocavallo and pancetta, because of course the Italians sometimes vary as well. And because this is not pasta, that is also ‘allowed’. There are also bombettes where vegetables are rolled in, there is a variant with mortadella and so on.
This can of course also be done very easily, because the Italian cheese and meat products are often more richly filled than with us. W
which is also tasty: mortadella with mozzarella (sounds almost the same). Pecorino with prosciutto or cacioricotta (hard salty ricotta) with a salami. Or Gorgonzola with a prosciutto cotto and some syrup. There are many more combinations that can be created.
Where do you get the best bombette?
As mentioned above, the bombette are the true stars of the Valle d’Itria. Once they started as cheap street food and were sold to men with horses or farmers with their sheep, but today the bombette is in every (good) Puglia booklet and on every (good) Puglia website.
Where is the best place to eat the bombette? In terms of atmosphere and charm, you can visit a cozy fair during your holiday. Such an antique market (not one on a Sunday morning, but one in the evening) or another flea market and knick-knacks market in a small village.
There is always someone grilling and stringing bombette here. The lettuce finches are also doing well at the local weekly markets, but where is it a real Italian success? Just at the butcher itself!
Grab your rental car and drive towards Cisternino. The city that has declared itself a bombette paradise. Find a nice butcher shop in the old town and get information about the different types of bombette.
Order one or two skewers (depending on how big your stomach is), add some fries and enjoy! The bombette are grilled for you on the spot and you can take a seat in the adjacent restaurant, drink a nice glass of wine and eat the slavink.
And all without the smell of a gourmet set and unwanted visitors that linger in your house for another week.
Dining and Cooking