Before you throw away that final stale slice of bread or the heel you by no means like to eat, I’ve a recipe or two for you.
And actually good ones. As an Italian-born foodie, I can let you know that Italians is not going to compromise on having a contemporary loaf of bread of their houses — which you may suppose means that yesterday’s stale bread is susceptible to ending up within the trash bin. On the opposite.
Repurposing substances and preserving food is central to my and so many different culinary traditions, so I all the time lean on tried-and-true methods to make a brand new meal out of one thing that might in any other case be wasted.
Those two or three tossed-out slices of bread add up: American shoppers produce practically 35 million tons of food waste at a price of about $261 billion annually, in accordance to ReFED’s latest report. That’s “with a B,” emphasised Sara Burnett, government director of ReFED, a nonprofit targeted on decreasing food waste.
There are so many Italian recipes utilizing stale bread as a base ingredient, utterly remodeling it into one thing extremely scrumptious.
This resourcefulness runs deep within the tradition, not simply in residence kitchens, but additionally in award-winning eating places.
“I did not learn ‘sustainability’ from a trend; I knew it at the table with my grandmother Clara in Monterado,” stated Michele Casadei Massari, CEO and government chef of Lucciola Italian Restaurant in Manhattan.
“Bread was sacred. If it went stale, it didn’t die — it evolved,” he stated. “She turned it into pappa al pomodoro, brothy, humble soups, and crumbs for meatballs and gratins.
“That reflex — never waste, always transform — is the most profound Italian lesson I carry into Lucciola daily.”
My personal great-grandmother, a Roman of Tuscan origin, would use stale bread rehydrated in milk to make her beef meatballs even more delicious or to fortify soups (ever heard of ribollita?), or to make pappa al pomodoro, a thick stew through which what was as soon as laborious bread turns into spoonable, flavorful deliciousness, thanks to tomato sauce.
Beyond the long-lasting pappa al pomodoro (see the recipe under), different basic Italian dishes centered round stale bread embrace panzanella, “yesterday’s bread revived with the joy of summer vegetables,” in Massari’s phrases. In this hearty salad, stale bread is made mushy once more with water and/or vinegar, and tossed with contemporary tomatoes, basil, onions, cucumbers and olive oil.
Another wonderful means to repurpose day-old bread is to make passatelli, “breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano shaped into tender strands for broth,” Massari jogged my memory. He additionally really helpful canederli, “mountain bread dumplings that make ‘enough’ into ‘plenty.’” Those can embrace cheese, cured meats, herbs and different flavorings within the dough. The dumplings are scrumptious in broth or served with a silky cheese sauce.
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These classics draw from what Massari calls “Italy’s original circular economy — quiet, joyful, and daily.”
Massari even applies a zero-waste philosophy to his tomato sauce. He makes use of the entire fruit (sans the core) by roasting it within the oven with shallots, oil and salt. (The recipe can be under.)
This methodology enhances the sauce to a brand new depth of taste, in accordance to Massari.
“The result is a deep, sweet-savory tomato with gentle shallot roundness,” the chef stated. “Nothing is wasted.”
The subsequent time you might have stale bread mendacity round, sure, you possibly can flip it into French toast or whip up an American-style casserole or make breadcrumbs or croutons, stuffing, or bread pudding. But after all, I like to recommend you go the Italian route with these recipes. Enjoy!
Chef Massari finishes the tomato sauce with Palazzo di Varignana cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil from a area close to Bologna, Italy, and Maldon sea salt flakes, which can be found in most grocery shops and on-line.
Yields about 5 cups
Ingredients
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5 ½ kilos ripe tomatoes (about 12 medium to giant), washed and cored
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2 medium shallots, peeled and halved
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3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or to style
To end
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2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
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Coarse sea salt flakes
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 levels Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
2. Halve or quarter tomatoes (skins and seeds intact).
3. Add shallots.
4. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle evenly with kosher salt.
5. Roast for 60 to 75 minutes till the tomatoes collapse, the skins calmly caramelize and the shallots change into mushy.
6. Transfer every little thing — tomatoes, shallots, juices — right into a blender/processor. Pulse to a easy, pourable sauce. (Do not over-purée; skins and seeds add pure physique.)
7. Remove from warmth. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil and end with a pinch of sea salt.
Serves 4
Ingredients
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3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to end
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1 small shallot, minced (non-compulsory)
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28 to 32 ounces Whole-Fruit Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce (recipe above)
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14-ounce day-old nation bread, torn into bite-size chunks
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3 cups scorching vegetable broth (Parmigiano Reggiano rinds welcome)
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Sea salt
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½ cup torn contemporary basil leaves
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Black pepper
Directions
1. Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pot.
2. If desired, add minced shallot and soften 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir within the tomato sauce and simmer for five minutes.
4. Add bread; fold in scorching broth a little bit at a time, stirring as bread dissolves.
5. Simmer gently till creamy and spoonable, 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Season to style with sea salt.
7. Remove from warmth and fold in basil. Let the soup relaxation 5 minutes.
8. Serve with a ultimate drizzle of remaining olive oil and a crack of pepper.
Francesca Giuliani Hoffman is an editorial producer for NCS’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
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