A Pane Cunzato Bruschetta, and a Melon, Manchego and Anchovy One Too
A Seasonal Supper for June inspired by my favourite Sicilian sandwich
I am sorry to report that I am still desperately obsessed with everything I ate in Sicily on our very fabulous holiday (details here). So for our June Seasonal Supper we are celebrating 2 beautiful new additions to the summer roster - Tomatoes and Melon, and we are doing so in Bruschetta form inspired by a Sicilian masterpiece.
One of Sicily’s best inventions I think is the Pane Cunzato sandwich. It was our favourite beachside lunch, hitting all the right notes when you’re hot and hungry. Pane Cunzato, a name derived from Sicilian dialect, literally means “seasoned bread”. As is often the case in great Italian cooking this recipe came about from a need to use up stale bread and make the best of it. So people started drenching it in a herbed oil, soaking it with juicy tomatoes and seasoning the whole lot with cheese and anchovies. Genius, no? The modern day versions of this dish that I ate (and I ate a fair few) usually included capers too, and used a cheese called Primo Sale which is a salty, young, semi-hard cows cheese.
It really is a perfect bite - crusty bread, sweet tomato, salty cheese, briny anchovies and capers all brought together by the fragrant, floral oregano oil. I saw a few restaurants serving an open version of a pane cunzato, sometimes on large, round breads and some on oblongs piled high with toppings, including additions like onion, olives, tuna or swordfish, even hard boiled eggs. I decided to run with this idea and turn the pane cunzato into a large open bruschetta, perfect for an aperitivo or a supremely easy dinner. Primo Sale is hard to come by in these parts, so I’ve swapped it for Manchego which works beautifully.
And then, when I went to the grocers to buy myself some beautiful tomatoes I couldn’t walk past the beautiful smelling melons. If you asked me to pick between melons or tomatoes at this time of year I think it would be a bit of a Sophie’s Choice situation. I adore melon in all forms, but particularly those honey-sweet Cantaloupes that stink up the shopping aisles with their aroma. “Melon Dinner” is a frequent summer occurrence for me, although now I am pregnant it does need to be somewhat supplemented. Tomatoes and melon are not that far away from each other flavour-wise when you think about it, and actually make a beautiful combination. But I was struck by the urge to use the melon in the place of the tomato, for an even punchier, sweeter version of a Pane Cunzato. So, Melon, Manchego and Anchovy Bruschetta was born and my GOD is it good. You just need to trust me on this one and make it - it’s a real winner and would be so lovely as a starter for a dinner or drinks party with lots of crisp cold drinks.
The biggest star from both of these recipes that deserves it’s own mention is actually, in my opinion, the oregano oil. It is such a brightener, it really transforms the flavour of all the different elements and I will be making more to go on more things this summer, salads and sandwiches particularly.
NEXT WEEK - FROZEN PUDS! Both Strawberry and Melon Granita and a showstopping Toasted Almond Semifreddo with Chocolate Sauce
*Each recipe makes enough for half a loaf of ciabatta that has been sliced lengthways, a generous serve for 1 person as a main, or 4 as a snack*