Here’s a quick finger food idea that brings together three regions: mini Salento friselle simply seasoned with dried Pachino cherry tomatoes and Lombard Quartirolo cheese cubes.

The mini friselle were part of the gastronomic “booty,” now almost gone, brought home after our last trip to Puglia. It’s a real shame we didn’t stock up more! These mini friselle were really good! We tried them both soaked and dry, and they were excellent both ways. Dry, they resemble real croutons, like granetti or toasted bread slices, so we crunched on many of them even plain, as well as filled. In short, it was one of those purchases that deserve another trip. Since we discovered Salento, we can’t think of anything else but going back!

I also bought the dried tomatoes in Puglia. Of course, they’re not from Puglia but from Pachino, but I mean, can I find PGI Pachino and miss the chance to bring them home? You decide! 😀

I found the Quartirolo here, in the kind of store where you don’t expect to find PDO products, but you do and buy them immediately without thinking twice. I didn’t know this cheese, well, yes, of course, I knew it by name, but I never had the chance to taste it, for some reason. Now I’ve promised myself to buy it more often, I liked it so much 🙂
It’s a soft, slightly aged cheese (but I found out it is also made with longer aging), delicate and light, slightly crumbly but compact enough to cut well without crumbling.

Do you like my new little tray? I bought it thinking of using it for pastries, but I couldn’t resist… 😀

👇 Update: Here are other recipes where I used the same tray! 🤪😄👇

mini friselle with dried pachino and quartirolo

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 4 Hours
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking methods: No Cooking
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All Seasons

Ingredients

Puglian friselle (mini size)
dried cherry tomatoes (PGI Pachino)
Lombard Quartirolo
oregano
extra virgin olive oil
garlic
oregano
marjoram
chili pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Tools

Plates dessert

Steps

First, season the dried cherry tomatoes:
☝ It will take a few hours of marinating, so I recommend preparing them in the morning, or at lunchtime at the latest, to serve them in the evening.
👉 If you don’t have time to marinate them, they are still great as is, seasoned without soaking, as they are very small and thin. For example, I used them without soaking in a pasta dressing (like this one) and on a focaccia (like this one). However, for these mini friselle, I find the marinated ones more suitable, as they are softer and more aromatic, thanks to the seasoning.
To season them, proceed as I described in this recipe. In that case, they were also Sicilian cherry tomatoes from Catania.
After draining and drying the Pachino, place them in a glass jar, season with minced garlic, oregano, and marjoram (or the aromatic herbs you want, thyme, mint, or basil are also good), chili pepper, and oil, just enough oil to moisten them (it’s not necessary to fill the jar with oil, if kept in the fridge they still last for several days).
Mix, close the jar, and let it rest for a few hours.
When preparing your finger food, it will only take a few minutes:
Moisten the mini friselle by quickly passing them under a trickle of running water.
Cut the Quartirolo into cubes.
Arrange the mini friselle on a plate or tray and decorate them with the seasoned dried cherry tomatoes and cheese cubes.
Finish as desired with a little drizzle of oil and oregano.
Serve.
Great as an appetizer, perfect to accompany your aperitif, or as a simple yet tasty snack.
Variation: this dried cherry tomatoes + Quartirolo combination can also be used to season classic friselle, it won’t be finger food anymore but it’s worth a try, trust me.
Check out this recipe of mine and try to enrich the rocket sauce (I’ll put a photo below for you) with some dried tomatoes and crumbled Quartirolo… you’ll taste the goodness!! 😉

Salt-Free Tips

Salt-Free No need to add salt in this recipe, all ingredients are already salted!

If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually decrease salt, your palate needs to get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granule
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that don’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally, break the rule. It boosts morale and helps you persevere.

If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.