A typical dish of the Apulian and Southern Italian tradition , born as a poor but refreshing dish, often used by farmers after a long day of work in the fields or even by our grandparents to cool down during summer meals.
It's a bread salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, seasoned with good extra virgin olive oil, salt, and oregano.
There are many different versions where you can also add red onion or boiled potato.
Depending on where you are, it is also called ciallédde, reaper's breakfast or acquasale , and is particularly widespread in Puglia and Basilicata.
There are actually two types of cialledda : the cold cialledda and the hot cialledda, which are prepared depending on the season.
This dish originally arose because in the past it was customary to prepare large quantities of bread every 15-20 days, but after the first week it began to harden.
What to do? Our grandparents were very inventive and tended not to throw anything away. With creativity and ingenuity, they came up with this recipe to continue using bread.
Cialledda is mainly prepared with the bread crust; in humble dishes, the crumb was and still is used to prepare meatballs, for example.
The ideal bread for this type of recipe is Altamura bread, perfect for its dark, crunchy crust.
How do you prepare cold Apulian cialledda?
Photo credits: Cook Around
Cold cialledda is a traditional dish that recalls summer, excellent to enjoy by the sea or during a boat trip .
The simple and authentic preparation is characterized by fresh ingredients, enhanced by a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to release all the flavors and aromas.
Here are the ingredients for 2-3 people:
- 200g of stale Altamura bread (alternatively, you can also use friselle)
- tap water to taste
- 200 g of cherry tomatoes
- 2 large white onions
- basil and oregano to taste
- a yellow pepper
- a cucumber or carousel (also known as a canciuffo or barattiere)
- extra virgin olive oil, we recommend our Picholine
- salt to taste
Procedure:
- Break the stale bread into pieces and place them in a bowl covered with a little water, leaving them to soak for a few minutes.
- Dice the pepper, slice the cucumber and thinly slice the onion and set aside.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes and put them in another bowl and season them with basil and oregano.
- Now squeeze the bread with your hands and transfer it to a larger bowl, add the seasoned cherry tomatoes and the yellow pepper.
- Mix everything together with your hands and season with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and salt.
The cold cialledda is ready to be enjoyed!
This is the basic version, to which you can also add cucumbers, olives, celery, or even protein sources like tuna, hard-boiled eggs, or cheese.
To make the onion more digestible, you can soak it in ice water for about 30 minutes before adding it to the other ingredients.
Our advice is to prepare it calmly in the afternoon if you want to eat it in the evening, letting it rest in the refrigerator so that all the seasoning is absorbed better.
The best oil to enhance the flavor of cold cialledda is our Blend or the Simone, Peranzana, Pichioline extra virgin olive oil.
The recipe for hot cialledda
Poor recipes , as we have already said, were created for each season.
Here is the hot cialledda , a timeless comfort food that will surprise you on the coldest evenings.
Ingredients for the hot cialledda:
- 200 g stale bread
- 70 g pitted olives
- 200 g tomatoes
- half a white onion
- an egg
- a few stalks of chicory or even turnip tops
- Picholine extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
Procedure:
- First thing to do: fill a pot with tap water and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, place the stale bread crusts in a bowl and prepare the dressing.
- Cut the onion into very thin wedges and add it to the coarsely chopped olives and tomatoes.
- When the water boils, add coarse salt and the previously chopped vegetables, to which you should add the chicory stalks.
- Leave to cook for 30-45 minutes.
- Once cooked, break the egg onto the bread and gradually add the seasoning.
- Mix everything together and season with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.
The best extra virgin olive oil to enhance the flavor of hot cialledda is Blend, for which we recommend using plenty.
Whether you decide to prepare the hot cialledda or the cold cialledda, we recommend using plenty of multivarietal extra virgin olive oil and moderate the quantities if using single-varietal olive oil such as Olivastro, as it is more bitter and may not be pleasant if used in large quantities.
Always remember that the right dosage of extra virgin olive oil is essential for proper harmony with food.
