Recipe: Maccheroncini Zucchine, Limone e Burrata – A Taste of Summer in the Valle d’Itria

Where Summer Lives All Year

There’s a kind of light in the Valle d’Itria that makes everything seem still.
Olive groves shimmer like silver, the trulli houses gleam white against the blue, and the air smells faintly of fennel, basil, and sea salt carried from afar. In August, even the wind slows down — and in that stillness, food softens too. Meals become lighter, cooler, almost whispering in tone.

It’s here, in this pocket of southern Puglia between Locorotondo, Cisternino, and Martina Franca, that one of the region’s simplest yet most elegant dishes was born: Maccheroncini Zucchine, Limone e Burrata.

There’s nothing complicated about it — no elaborate sauces, no heavy cheese or meat. Just tender strands of pasta, ribbons of zucchini, a hint of lemon zest, and the cool cream of fresh burrata resting on top like the last sigh of summer.

It’s the kind of food that could only come from this land — humble, balanced, radiant with sun.

The Spirit of the Dish

Every region of Italy has its way of handling heat. In Puglia, summer cuisine is about levità — lightness. The secret is not to fight the season but to cook with it.

When the days reach thirty-five degrees, nobody wants ragù; they want freshness that still satisfies. Zucchini fills the markets then — small, tender, streaked with pale green, often sold with their blossoms still attached. Their flavour is subtle, slightly sweet, and earthy, like grass and almonds.

Lemon adds brightness — that clean acidity that cuts through olive oil and brings out the grain’s fragrance. And burrata, made just up the road in Andria, gives the dish its soul: cool, creamy, and almost liquid inside. It’s the dairy version of sunlight — gentle, glowing, alive.

Together they create a conversation: the warmth of pasta, the freshness of vegetables, and the soft coolness of cheese.
It’s not about contrast; it’s about harmony — the culinary equivalent of a long, slow afternoon.

The Pasta – Maccheroncini

Maccheroncini may not have the fame of orecchiette, but they are quietly perfect for this kind of cooking.
Short, ridged, and sturdy, they hold sauce without smothering it. Their texture allows olive oil and lemon zest to cling, while the hollow ridges catch bits of sautéed zucchini like tiny green confetti.

In Puglia, maccheroncini are a weekday pasta — less ceremonial than orecchiette but no less beloved. Made from pure semolina and water, bronze-drawn and slowly dried, they carry the taste of wheat with a soft, satisfying bite.

Their modesty makes them ideal for dishes like this — recipes where the ingredients don’t compete but accompany one another, each given space to speak.

Recipe: Maccheroncini Zucchine, Limone e Burrata

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 400 g maccheroncini (bronze-cut if possible) or Fusilli in my case
• 3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into ribbons or half-moons
• 1 clove garlic, gently crushed
• Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (preferably Coratina or Ogliarola)
• 1 small bunch fresh basil or mint, finely torn
• 1 ball (125 g) fresh burrata, cold from the fridge
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method

1. Prepare the zucchini
   Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds or ribbons. In a large pan, warm 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the crushed garlic over gentle heat. Add the zucchini and sauté for about 5–7 minutes, until soft but still bright. Season lightly with salt. Remove the garlic once it starts to colour.
2. Cook the pasta
   Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the maccheroncini until al dente. Reserve a cup of the cooking water before draining.
3. Marry the sauce
   Return the pan of zucchini to low heat. Add the lemon zest and juice. Toss in the hot pasta and stir gently, adding a splash of the reserved water to loosen the sauce and help the oil emulsify.
4. Finish with herbs and oil
   Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining olive oil and the torn basil or mint. Season with black pepper and adjust salt if needed.
5. Plate and serve
   Divide the pasta among plates. Tear the burrata open and place a generous spoonful on each serving. Let it melt slightly from the warmth of the pasta. Drizzle with a touch more olive oil and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

Serve immediately — the contrast of cool cheese and warm pasta is part of the magic.

Plant-Based Version

For a fully plant-based interpretation, the spirit of the dish remains the same — freshness, creaminess, and balance.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 400 g maccheroncini
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 150 ml cashew cream (see below)
• 1 small bunch basil or mint
• Salt and black pepper

Cashew Cream:
Soak 100 g raw cashews in hot water for 1 hour. Drain and blend with 100 ml water, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt until silky.

Method

Follow the same process as above: sauté the zucchini in olive oil with garlic, add lemon zest and juice, toss with pasta and a bit of cooking water, then finish off-heat with the cashew cream and herbs. The cream will melt into the sauce, giving it a luscious, dairy-free texture.

A touch of nutritional yeast adds a nutty flavour that gently mimics the depth of burrata without trying to imitate it.

6. Fun Facts

• Burrata was first created in Andria around 1900, when cheesemakers used leftover cream and mozzarella scraps to form a soft pouch — “burro” means butter in Italian.
• The Valle d’Itria sits at the meeting point of three provinces: Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto. It’s often called “the navel of Puglia” for its central position and rounded hills.
• Zucchini blossoms are often served fried or stuffed in the same area — the same plants that yield the zucchini used in this dish.
• Lemon in savoury cooking became popular in southern Italy during the 18th century, when citrus cultivation expanded under Bourbon rule.
• The best burrata is eaten within 24 hours of production — it’s never meant to travel far, which is why locals often pick it up in the morning and eat it the same day.
• In Puglia, pasta with lemon is considered a “women’s dish” — light, fresh, elegant — traditionally prepared for long lunches after market day.

The Poetry of Simplicity

Some dishes shout; others whisper.
This one barely speaks above a murmur — but it says everything about the Valle d’Itria.

It’s a bowl of shade on a hot day, the taste of stone and sunlight, a kind of edible stillness. It reminds you that Italian cooking isn’t about invention but intuition — knowing when to stop, when to let the ingredients rest and speak.

As you break the burrata and watch its cream fold into the lemon-slicked pasta, you can almost hear the summer cicadas outside, the clink of glasses, the pause before the next forkful.

Simple. Honest. Perfectly alive.
That’s Puglia — and that’s what Maccheroncini Zucchine, Limone e Burrata tastes like.