Program to accelerate professional figures in the circular economy for food
Circular Recipe by circular gastronome Alessia Dinatale
Summary
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation: 40 min
- Serves for: 1 person
- Cost: Low
Ingredients
- 100 g of stale bread
- Water or milk to taste.
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste.
For the dressing (your choice)
- 50 g fresh or peeled tomatoes
- Aromatic herbs (oregano, basil)
- Leftover cheese or cold cuts to taste.
- EVO oil
Proceedings
- Cut stale bread into pieces and place in a bowl. Add water or milk a little at a time until soft and workable. Allow to rest a few minutes, then squeeze lightly and add oil and salt.
- Transfer the dough to a small, lightly greased baking pan and press it with your hands until it forms an even base.
- Season with tomato, herbs and available ingredients, making the most of any leftovers.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 15-20 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and the edges crisp.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Cooking Pill
To get a more balanced tomato sauce , season it even without cooking with salt, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, garlic and basil. If the tomato is too acidic, you can add a pinch of baking soda: it helps reduce the acidity without altering the flavor, making the sauce rounder and more harmonious.
Circular kitchen and long cycle
This recipe represents an example of a long cycle, in which an already processed food such as bread continues its journey through a new gastronomic function. Stale bread, often considered a worthless remnant , is regenerated through soaking and reworking, becoming the base of the dish. This step allows the food’s life cycle to be extended without introducing new raw materials, but by working with what is already available.
The structure of the bread changes, adapting to a new texture and function while maintaining its identity. The long cycle thus manifests itself as a continuity of use, in which the product is not discarded but reinterpreted. The seasoning also follows this logic, welcoming leftover or seasonal ingredients, making the recipe flexible and adaptable to the domestic context.
The result is a dish that demonstrates how cooking can extend the value of food over time, turning an end-of-life food into a new culinary opportunity through simple, accessible and replicable gestures.
Photos by Alessia Dinatale
