The SALENTO PANCOTTO is a humble dish from the peasant tradition of Puglia. Naturally, as with all peasant recipes, there are variations in the preparation that differ from house to house, with the addition of one ingredient rather than another.
A very simple, economical, healthy and delicious recipe, it is based on two fundamental concepts of cooking: one is recycling — in the kitchen nothing is thrown away — and the other is imagination, which inevitably emerges when you have little.
But inside this dish there is not only bread and the other ingredients. There is the story of our grandparents, who considered loaves and long breads sacred and would never have wasted them. There is the story of the farming culture, when bread was kneaded and baked every two weeks, inevitably becoming hard, and you had to use ingenuity to make it appealing again.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb rapini (cime di rapa) (weight when cleaned)
- 3 slices stale bread
- 1 clove garlic
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup canned cannellini beans (drained)
- to taste salt
- 5 oz stracciatella (or burrata)
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- Ring mold
Steps
The preparation of the SALENTO PANCOTTO is, as you will see, an operation as simple as it is quick.
First, clean the rapini, taking the florets and the more tender leaves, wash them and blanch them for 5 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain them and reserve the cooking water.
Meanwhile, cut the bread into cubes and toast it in a pan with plenty of oil and the garlic clove.Add the drained beans and let them season well.
Add some of the water in which you blanched the rapini to the bread and add the rapini as well.
Season with salt and, if you like, finish with a little chopped fresh chili pepper.Once ready, place the pancotto inside a 3 1/8 in ring mold and press down firmly with a spoon, place some stracciatella on top and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
