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Friscous was a discovery that thrilled not only me, but also my family. It is produced by a group of young people—Francesco, Paolo, Massimo, and Renato—from Gaele in Ruffano, Lecce, who created the start-up that made the Petramaré project possible. This product resembles couscous in appearance—so much so that it is called “Salento couscous”—but it is crunchy and does not need to be cooked. It is based on a selection of semolina and durum wheat flours, including Senatore Cappelli flour. Durum wheat semolina with a low gluten index, sourdough starter, and turmeric with its antioxidant properties.
After slow processing, the dough is left to rest for the time necessary for the sourdough starter to do its work. At this point, the product is shaped by hand and baked in ancient ovens fueled with olive wood. This is how Friscous becomes a low-calorie product, highly digestible, cholesterol-free, with purifying properties.
It needs nothing else: it can be added just as it is, crunchy, to land salads, sautéed vegetables, veloutés, legume soups, seafood salads, fish or meat tartares. The producers suggest this preparation: pour 100 grams into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of oil, and moisten with 70–80 ml of water at room temperature. This golden base can then be used to stuff vegetables, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, or meat.
As I said, my family found Friscous extraordinary, and my wife used it to prepare outstanding meatballs, giving them that crunch that meatballs usually lack.
