I made this panzanella with friselle and quartirolo with gazpacho flavor exactly 12 days ago, and it was the first in a series, meaning we liked it so much that I made it every day for several days! It’s a fresh raw recipe, perfect for the sweltering heat of this time, and very quick to prepare. In short, ‘quick and good’ in one recipe. 🙂
The funny thing is that on that first day, I never intended to make a panzanella. I had planned to make gazpacho, for which I had specifically bought all the ingredients the day before.
The gazpacho is the ultimate in refreshing and restorative recipes, indispensable when it’s so hot. We love it, but it has one small flaw: it needs to be prepared a bit in advance to cool down properly. During this somewhat chaotic period for me, between work and moving, I just couldn’t fit in the proper technical times, and at lunchtime, I found myself without gazpacho.
Switching to plan B, I started chopping the vegetables with the intention of creating a deconstructed gazpacho, which then became – with the addition of the friselle – a gazpacho-flavored frisella, which in turn became – after adding the quartirolo – an interregional fusion salad (the importance of being a good titler! 😄). In the end, after serving it and starting to eat, I decided it’s a panzanella (!), but with the unmistakable gazpacho flavor.
Here it is, the exact photo, the very one, from that day, which I showed you right away on the fb page and in whose caption I wrote a fundamental truth: “I don’t know what else to invent to cook without turning on the stove”! 😄
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Fusion
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper (small, or half if large)
- 2 ripe tomatoes (large, or cherry tomatoes)
- Half cucumber
- 1 Tropea red onion
- 2 friselle
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- Half clove garlic
- basil
- oregano
- 1.8 oz quartirolo lombardo
Tools
- Peeler
- Knife
- Bowl
Steps
First, soak the friselle. Immerse them for a few seconds in water, then place them on a plate or at the bottom of a bowl and drizzle with vinegar.
👉 I indicated 1 tablespoon of vinegar in the ingredients, but in reality, I added it by eye. 🙂 Adjust to your taste.
Break the friselle into irregular pieces.
Wash and chop the tomatoes and bell pepper. Cut the tomato directly over the friselle, so the tomato juice is absorbed by the friselle.
🍅 If you use cherry tomatoes, just cut them in half. In this case, since cherry tomatoes have less juice, it can be helpful to moisten the friselle a bit more.
Peel the cucumber and chop it into pieces.
Slice the onion.
🧅 Tropea red onion is preferable, perfect for this type of summer recipe. You can also substitute it with golden onion, but in that case, I suggest soaking it in water and vinegar for about 15 minutes before adding it to the panzanella.
Season with extra virgin olive oil, basil, and oregano to taste (basil is essential), and possibly more vinegar.
At this point, the panzanella with friselle with gazpacho flavor is ready. I have made it several times in this version with only vegetables, and it’s delicious.
But we loved it with the addition of quartirolo, a cheese we really enjoy, especially in summer, and it makes this dish a complete meal. A complete meal also great to take to the beach (perhaps inside a nice and handy cooler bag 😉).
After breaking the quartirolo into pieces, mix and let everything rest for 5-10 minutes (perhaps in the fridge, just long enough to soften the friselle properly.
Enjoy your meal!!!!
Salt-Free Tips
There’s no need to salt this panzanella because the presence of quartirolo and friselle (if packaged) ensures the salt intake, as it is inevitably present in the two mentioned ingredients. Additionally, vinegar and onion help a lot to “trick” the taste buds. 😉
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Decrease salt gradually, your palate needs to get used to it gradually 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 intense-flavored condiments such as vinegar, wine, or balsamic.
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grilling, en papillote, steaming, microwave)
▫ Avoid putting the salt shaker on the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself an exception to the rule. It’s good for your mood 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.
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