The history of the frisella is divided between the maritime industries of Puglia and Calabria, which contend for its origin. But it is said that maybe it is 2000 or more years old and the Phoenicians brought it to our peninsula.
The frisella was born for a technical need, during sea trip you have to eat and the refrigerators did not exist. We needed foods that could last over time and frisella was perfect. It is bread half cooked, cut and then baked a second time. Frisella can therefore be defined as a bis-cooked bread and thanks to this system it can be stored for a long time.
For this reason, the sailors took it on board and could eat it during the entire duration of the voyage.
Its donut shape, then, made it suitable to be stacked and transported easily without too many breaks. Even today in many areas of Italy there are some religious celebrations in which stacked donuts are carried in procession before being eaten. Especially during the St. Antony the Abbot festival in January.
The first Romans did not know bread and ate wheat polenta. For corn, instead, we have to wait for a Genoese named Cristoforo.
Frisella lends itself to various solutions, it is also good in winter soups, but the classic Salento recipe is with San Marzano tomatoes, basil and olive oil.
But you can get to more elaborate solutions, like this my interpretation of the scents of summer sea.
Attention! For a perfect result, I do not soak the bread in water to revive it, but I use the pulp of the tomatoes only, of course it takes longer but the flavour changes a lot.
I enrich the frisella with baby octopus seared in water flavored with apple cider vinegar and I add some grilled and raw vegetables, to give a mix of acidity and freshness. Garlic and basil are essential.
In the glass I drink a Licosa di Castellabate, a Fiano wine cultivated by a small company that has its vineyards in contact with the sea.
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