Picciottelli& aubergine cream.
The crunch of the grissini, the silk of the aubergine.
5-10 min4-6 servings
Prep 5-10 min · No cook
Tested in Teresa's kitchen
Ingredients
For 4-6 servings
- 1 pack of Picciottelli
- 1 jar of crema di melanzane
- Extra virgin olive oil, to finish
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
- The zest of half an unwaxed lemonOptional
Method
4 steps, simply.
Revive the Picciottelli
If you like, warm the Picciottelli in a low oven for two or three minutes — they only turn crisper and more fragrant. It's not cooking, just a wake-up.
Dress the crema
Spoon the crema di melanzane into a small bowl. Smooth it with the back of the spoon, then hollow a groove in the centre and pour in a thread of raw olive oil.
Season with herbs
Scatter over a few thyme leaves and, if you like, a little grated lemon zest on top.
Arrange and serve
Set the bowl in the middle, the Picciottelli all around, and serve at once — everyone dips for themselves.
The small details that make the difference.
A few pointers before you start.
What are Picciottelli?
Savoury Sicilian crackers from Cotti in Fragranza, made with ancient wheat, olive oil and thyme, baked not fried — crisp and clear. The name comes from the Sicilian picciotto, "the young lad": they're made by the young people of the Malaspina institute in Palermo, a project named Italy's best food social project (Gambero Rosso). You serve them as they are, and everyone goes back for more.
What goes with crema di melanzane?
These crackers, first — the crisp and the silk answer each other. But it's just as good on toasted bread, stirred through hot pasta, or spooned onto a bruschetta. It's a round, silky aubergine cream, organic (ICEA), made in small batches: a single jar covers an aperitivo for six.
Can I prepare the aperitivo ahead?
Spoon the crema into its bowl a little ahead, yes, but finish it with oil and thyme at the last moment. Keep the Picciottelli in their packet until the last minute so they stay crisp — a soft cracker has nothing left to say. Bring the crema to room temperature before serving, the flavour opens up better.
Good things, to start with.
In Sicily you open the table with whatever is to hand, and the best is often the simplest: something crisp, something silky, and a glass. No cooking, no recipe to speak of — a bowl, a basket, the time it takes your guests to settle in. Everything rides on two things made well, set side by side.
Cotti in Fragranza Picciottelli are savoury crackers made with ancient Sicilian wheat, olive oil and thyme — baked, never fried, clear and crisp. You dip them into Madre Terra crema di melanzane, a silky, round aubergine cream, lightly smoky, made in small batches by the Apulian organic cooperative. The crisp of the cracker, the silk of the cream: that's the whole pleasure, and it fits in one bite. Behind the plate, two producers. In Palermo, Cotti in Fragranza turns baking into a springboard: its grissini come from the hands of young people leaving the juvenile justice institute, to whom the bakery offers a real trade — "Se non li gusti non li puoi giudicare," the producer says: don't judge before you've tasted. Madre Terra, for its part, grows and prepares organic in Puglia. Two producers, one plate.
- Picciottelli with Olive OilCotti in Fragranza · 150 gCHF 5.90
- Aubergine CreamLa Madre Terra · 200 gCHF 8.30Unavailable
- Extra Virgin Olive OilLa Madre Terra · 750 mlCHF 34.00
La Lettre
The panettoni's arrival, and one recipe a month.
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Gourmethica · Picciottelli & aubergine cream · gourmethica.ch/en/recettes/picciottelli-crema-di-melanzane