Zampina Pugliese
I
Origin
Altamura and Murgia plateau, Puglia
II
Description
Puglia's snaking barbecue sausage — a fresh pork sausage (shoulder and belly with 20-25% fat) loosely seasoned with tomato paste, pecorino, fennel seeds, black pepper, and a splash of white wine, stuffed into thin sheep intestine and formed into a continuous U-shaped or coil for grilling. Unlike other southern sausages, zampina is characterised by the tomato paste worked directly into the meat mixture, giving it a brick-red interior and a sweeter, more rounded character. Grilled over vine cuttings (sarmenti) in Altamura and the Murgia plateau.
III
The Thread
—Both are thin, fresh sausages grilled over charcoal with strong spice character — Merguez uses harissa and paprika for its red colour and heat, Zampina uses tomato paste and fennel, both achieving the same coil format and charcoal-grill presentation Moroccan
—Both are grilled pork sausages with paprika/tomato as the primary colour and flavour agent — Portuguese chouriço is smoked and uses smoked paprika, Pugliese zampina is fresh and uses tomato paste, both achieving the characteristic red interior through the tomato-pepper family Portuguese
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Flavour Context
Smoky, porky, with sweet tomato depth and fennel freshness — a sausage that tastes of vine wood and summer Puglia
Pillars V — VII
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