Rural Salento, the southernmost part of Italy’s “heel” that is Puglia, is not where one expects to eat vegan food.  Agriturismo Piccapane sits on the long, typically flat Pugliese road between Galatina and Cutrofiano, about 45 minutes southwest of Lecce.

As far as the eye can see, this is deep olive oil country: rows upon rows of olive trees just barely blow in the weak breeze of August, waiting patiently for the change in season that will mean their harvest can begin. The coastline is not far (though late summer’s dry air would have you think otherwise), neither of the Adriatic Sea nor the Gulf of Taranto, where Puglia’s coastal towns and larger cities seem to overflow with fish and seafood, whether at markets or on the seaside promenades where fishermen sell their fresh catches.