On my first visit to Basilicata, the staff at my hotel prepared this delicious tomato and bread salad for me one morning after they discovered I was interested in their regional cuisine. Cialledda fredda is similar to Tuscan panzanella; it’s also popular in Puglia where it’s called acquasala. The caponata salad of Naples is another variation on this theme. Traditionally Italians never discard stale bread, it’s always repurposed into another dish and the rustic bread of many Italian regions forms a great base for salads dressed with olive oil and the lightly acidic juice of tomatoes. Apart from these ingredients and a good pinch or two of salt, the rest is down to personal taste. I love cucumber in my cialledda as that’s how it was first served to me, but it isn’t essential, some cooks add olives and dried oregano too. This dish is called cialledda ‘fredda’ (cold cialledda) to distinguish it from cialledda ‘calda’ (hot cialledda), in which stale bread is combined with cime di rapa seasoned with dried chilli flakes. If it isn’t already stale, dry the bread out overnight or put it into a 100°C (210°F) oven for about 40 minutes, until dry. I use grape tomatoes most of the year as they’re ripe and tasty at times when other tomatoes aren’t, but if you’re making cialledda fredda in high summer when larger tomatoes are deliciously ripe, of course you can use those. Either way, a glass of savoury, citrusy New Era grüner veltliner is a delicious match.
Serves 2 as a side dish
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