Pancotto con Verdure Selvatiche e Pomodoro Pugliese
Puglia
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The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Puglia
II
Description
Stale bread cooked directly in a seasoned tomato and vegetable broth until it absorbs all the liquid and dissolves into a thick, porridge-like consistency — one of Puglia's most ancient dishes. Bitter wild herbs (borragine, cicoria, cime di rapa), tomato, garlic and olive oil form the base; the old bread is torn in and cooked until completely soft. Finished with raw olive oil and peperoncino.
III
The Thread
—Old bread cooked in tomato and vegetable broth until thick — the Tuscan version is more refined; pancotto is rawer and more peasant Tuscan
—Old bread rehydrated and cooked in fat with aromatics — fried rather than boiled, but same bread-as-main-ingredient philosophy Spanish
—Bread-thickened soup with olive oil, garlic and egg — the Alentejo version that is the closest cultural parallel to pancotto Portuguese
IV
Flavour Context
Sweet from the tomato, bitter from the wild herbs, richly olive-oily; the bread's starch gives body and sweetness; peperoncino adds heat — poor food of extraordinary flavour
Pillars V — VII
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