The super italian dish called Friselle

Guess what, Friselle is unknown to 99% of worlds population because it's non-commercial and the dish is not rocket science. I can bet with you that Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Olivier and many more celebrity chefs never came across this type of dish before. Friselle is a perfect and valid alternative to bread, it can be produced easily. I happen to make some in Singapore few days ago, it works simply because the ingredients are more or less the same. 

It is oven baked , then cut in half horizontally and it's then baked again in the oven. The looks of the frisella is with one smooth and one rough surface. Friselle are a staple food that was produced and acclaimed for its long conservation period and was therefore a valid alternative to bread, especially in those periods when flour was scarce.

The name with which friselle are also know in Apulia is “Pane dei Crociati” (Crusaders' bread) as it was certainly used to equip the Christian expeditions in their long travellings. A tradition for its consumption, from times past, was to dip friselle directly with sea water and with pure fresh tomato, which was squeezed to let the juices out. If you're wondering why the circular shape, it was not for the aesthetics: the hole at their center, allowed the friselle to be practically transported with a cord that was passed through them to form a sort of collier : that way they could either be hung for conservation or for comfortable transportation. Friselle were a typical travel-bread: that's why sea water was often used, or it was used as bottom for the fish soups, which were usually consumed during the days-long fishing expeditions in the open sea.

How they look like

Friselle have a characteristic shape, derived from their production process: they are typically circular and with a hole at their center. Oven baked twice and cut after the first baking, they always come in pairs as they are nothing else that the two halves of the same form. Characteristic is also the surface, rough where it's cut after the first baking, smooth where it's remaining form the original manual shaping of the dough. Sizes are variable: friselle's diameter and their holes' diameter can vary from 5-10 centimeters to 20 or more. 

The color depends on both the baking time and the flour composition (more or less wheat/barley flour): color can then range from light to (very) dark brown. I have checked a number of cookbooks and online sources, and friselle are made from just durum wheat flour, salt, live yeast cake and water. Another recipe that yields more calls for:

1 k (2.2 pounds, or about 8 1/3 cups) flour, ideally durum wheat flour

1 3/4 ounces (50 g) live yeast cake

1 cup of Water

A pinch of salt

In this case, begin by combining the yeast with a 1 2/3 cups (about 200 g) flour, warm water, and a pinch of salt, to make smooth soft starter loaf. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place for a half hour.

After a half hour, make a well of the rest of your flour on your work surface, and work the starter loaf into it, adding enough water to make a dough. Roll the dough into finger-thick 8-inch long (20 cm) snakes, make them into rings and set them to rise on a baking tin. Let them rise for 2 hours, and then bake them in a 400 degree (200C) oven for about a half hour. Remove them from the oven, Split them down the middle to obtain 2 rings from each frisella, and return them to the baking tin cut side up. Bake them for another 20-30 minutes, or until they are quite dry.

Craving for Gnocchi with Sage and Butter

Gnocchi is a very simple home made dish that brings a lot of joy to cook it for our loved ones. This Italian dish joins the family of the so called ''cucina povera'' cuisine of the poor due to it's simple and low cost ingredients. Nowadays Grocery stores and middle mens earn gigantic margins on it by simply selling Gnocchi to end consumers. 

During preparation, the Gnocchi's will resemble like dead bodies lying on a plate but don't worry because it taste simple, marvelous and I am very sure that you will be preparing willing to prepare Gnocchi again and again once tasted.

Again, there are plenty Gnocchi varieties and preparation styles existing, I have chosen to follow the style of my ancestors purely out of habit. You can either add more Butter, more Sage.. base it on Salmon, Tuna or add some meat stuff to it. It's really up to your imagination.. but here is how I do it. 

What is actually Gnocchi all about ?  Little dumplings made from potatoes, flour and egg. Not very exciting, you might think, but like real pasta made in the old-fashioned way, Gnocchi have a texture and flavour of their own which can absorb and complement other flavours. This recipe is very simple, served with just butter, sage and Parmesan. Always make the amazing Gnocchi the day you are going to serve them, because they will change in colour if left overnight.

Ingredients

275 gr Potatoes - just about two

95 gr plain flour, sifted, plus a little extra rolling

1 large egg, lightly beaten

salt and milled black pepper

For the sauce

8 fresh sage leaves

50gr of butter

garlic peeled and crushed

How to do it….

First place the potatoes, with their skins on, in a suitably sized saucepan, almost cover with boiling water, add some salt, then put a lid on and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender. Then drain well and, holding them in your hand with a tea cloth, quickly pare off the skins using a potato peeler. Then place the potatoes in a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed, start to break the potatoes up, then increase the speed and gradually whisk until smooth and fluffy. Now let them cool.

Next, add the sifted flour to the potatoes, along with half the beaten egg, season lightly and, using a fork, bring the mixture together. Then, using your hands, knead the mixture lightly to a soft dough – you may need to add a teaspoonful or so more of the egg if it is a little dry. Now transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and divide it into quarters. Now roll each quarter into a sausage shape approximately ½ inch (1 cm) in diameter, then cut it, on the diagonal, into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces, placing them on a tray or plate as they are cut. Cover with Clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes, but longer won't matter.

After that, using a fork with the prongs facing upwards, press the fork down on to one side of each Gnocchi so that it leaves a row of ridges on each one; at the same time, ease them into crescent shapes. The ridges are there to absorb the sauce effectively. Now cover and chill the Gnocchi again until you are ready to cook them. To cook the Gnocchi, firstly bring a large, shallow pan of approximately 6 pints (3.5 litres) of water to a simmer and put the serving dish in a low oven to warm through. Then drop the Gnocchi into the water and cook for about 3 minutes; they will start to float to the surface after about 2 minutes, but they need 3 altogether.

When they are ready, remove the Gnocchi with a draining spoon and transfer them to the warm serving dish. For the sauce, melt the butter with the garlic over a gentle heat until the garlic turns nut brown in colour – about 1 minute. Next add the sage leaves and allow the butter to froth while the sage leaves turn crisp – about 30 seconds – then spoon the butter mixture over the warm Gnocchi. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over and serve the rest separately.