Tag Archives: Parmigiana

Whole Wheat Fruselle

Whole Wheat Fruselle

Whole Wheat Fruselle a
An unadorned fruselle

This is a round whole wheat loaf, baked, cut in half, then baked again. It’s thin, very dry, crisp and crumbly. It’s about 6 or 7 inches across. You can get them in a good bakery in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn or on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx.

Dip it in, or hold it under running hot water to soften it a little. Shake off excess water. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried oregano and drizzle with oil. You can stop right there and eat it as is or you can add:

  •  roasted peppers,
  • sun dried or fresh tomatoes,
  • tapenade,
  • shavings or provolone or parmigiana,
  • red pepper flakes,
  • struzichino,
  • etc.  (you get the idea)

Serve it with a knife and fork like any open face sandwich. I’d be very surprised to ever see this on a restaurant menu.

Whole Wheat Fruselle b

Grated Cheese

grated cheese 2

A few words about grated cheese…

Use Parmigiana, Loccatelli, Romano or whatever you like but don’t think you can put it on everything because it can conflict with and overpower delicate flavors. If you really want cheese, eat a piece of cheese.

Type can vary according to the sauce but NEVER, NEVER with sea food. Grandma said that was a mortal sin. Instead of the hard grating cheeses, try dry ricotta salada sometime or maybe a tablespoon of fresh ricotta in your dish before you put in pasta with tomato sauce. Instead of any grated cheese at all, try toasted bread crumbs. When Grandma couldn’t afford cheese this was a good substitute and on some dishes it’s better than cheese. I’ll explain how to make them in my next post.