With the end of August the summer ends too. Of course, we know the regular calendar of the seasons, but August with its hot weather seems invite you to light hearted mood, to enjoy slower days, to cheer arrivals and make departures melancholy, before the serious month of September begins. Who live in South Italy or return to it, or visit South Italy for the first time, renew every year the spirit of that authentic time made up of local traditions and shared gestures that finds its concrete form around the table. The harvest is the main ingredient of ancient recipe and preserverd as legacy for the winter. In every house are produced preserves, jams, pickles, which are consumed throughout the year and formed a wealth of familiar flavors. Hence the idea of ​​this recipe, from the desire to transform nostalgia into a summertime compendium that cuddle our sunny memories. Frisella, an ancient bread of uncertain origins, which probably belonged to the Phoenicians, is a symbol of the gastronomic tradition of the lands of Puglia. Designed to last for a long time thanks to its double baking, it was favored by sailors on long journeys during which it was bathed with sea water. In the summer menus, proposed as an appetizer or to break hunger, it is accompanied with tomatoes cut into small pieces, oil and oregano. In the menu of Il Cortiletto the frisella is the crunchy base of delicate textures such as ricotta and sweet and sour red onions, in contrast with the flavor of the sun-dried tomato that sinks into the bite of the buffalo mozzarella. The flakes of ricotta cheese and the drops of emulsion of cooked grape must and balsamic vinegar aromatically close the palate.

After first taste will be obvious to ask yourself: who said that summer in Puglia is good only in August?

Ingredients: Frisella, buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, sweet and sour red onions, Sundried Tomato, Coratina Extra Virgin Oil, cacioricotta flakes, drops of emulsion of cooked grape must and balsamic vinegar.

Recipe by Paolo Laskavj, Ristorante Il Cortiletto, Lucera