Gilda’s Conch with Fresellini fra Diavolo

Scungilli con Fresellini fra Diavolo di Gilda
This is the famous Scungilli recipe that my mother would make for us about once every other month. Scungilli are conch – a type of shelled fish that bottom feeds from the ocean. Most people buy the scungilli already prepared in cans. If you live in a big urban area, they should be available at your Italian grocery or supermarket. If not, there are excellent online stores that do great business – one is ibfoods.com. There you can even get the fresellini, or the rock-hard little Italian breads that Gilda would complement the dish with. By the way, Gilda usually got the peppered fresellini, but you can also get the plain ones.
Gilda kicked this up a notch with spice – she used the peperoncino piccante tritato (red pepper flakes) in the sauce and then had the peppered fresellini. When I make this dish now, I don’t put in the peperoncino and don’t use the peppered fresellini. It is just as delicious with the plain ones, and I offer the peperoncino and pepper to those who want it – I even keep the peppered fresellini on hand – fresellini keep forever as long as they stay dried.
It brings to mind the bread closet at the house in Syosset where Grandma used to keep the stale Italian bread and the fresellini. The closet was right near my bedroom which later became part of the den. She would use a grinder to make our bread crumbs – I recall all the stacked bread on the top shelf – the closet had the comforting aroma of a bread bakery – as a kid I used to open the door at times just for the pleasure of it all – what we would call today aromatherapy, I guess!
Today I do something similar – I use my lower oven as the old bread keeper; it keeps it stale and dry and ready to use at any time.
Speaking of ovens, there is nothing like making your own bread products. In Napoli, Italians frequently have a similar hard bread called freselle – they are easy to make and can be stored indefinitely. They are good as crostini, bruschette, and even bagel chips! The recipe here is for a whole grain freselle – give it a try!
Freselle di Napoli
Ingredients:

About 2 lbs of flour, ¾ of which is whole grain wheat flour, and the remaining part all-purpose white flour

About 23 oz of bubbly mineral water, room temperature

2 T of extra-virgin olive oil

2½ T of active dry yeast
2 T sea salt
Any herb or spice (optional)

Preparation:

Make this at least two days in advance of when you anticipate using the fresellini. Mix about 3 T of the whole grain flour with the yeast and about ½ c bubbly mineral water. Let is breathe in an earthenware bowl for about 2 days.
Then, gradually add flours, salt, oil, [herbs or spices], and as much of the bubbly mineral water as necessary to obtain smooth and elastic dough. Work it together as the Italians would – with force and passion – for at least 10-15 minutes, beating the dough repeatedly on a lightly floured surface. Put the dough in an oiled bowl large enough to hold it (figure there is rising) and let it rest covered for 5-6 hours.
Take the dough and form sticks of about 2 inches thick and 6½ - 7½ inches long, and turn it into a ring (like for a bagel). Spray all the rings you’ve made with water and let them rest for at least two hours.
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Bake for about 20 minutes. Take out the rings with heat-resistant gloves and cut them in half length-wise (like splitting a bagel). Place back into oven and bake until they are hardened (like biscotti). Let them cool on a rack, and then store in paper or cloth sacks/bags in your bread closet/pantry.

Ingredients for the scungilli con fresellini fra diavolo for 4:
2 large cans of sliced scungilli, drained
7-8 toes of garlic, crushed and coarsely cut
2 t dried or 3 sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves minced
Sea salt to taste
2 t sugar
6 c of your favorite tomato or marinara sauce (commercially made or home-made)
1 – 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes, drained, seeded, and diced
Pepper or peperoncino piccante tritato (red pepper flakes – optional)
A bunch of fresh Italian parsley and basil, chopped into small pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil
12 fresellini (3 for each person)
Preparation:
In a deep frying pan with heated olive oil sauté the garlic and oregano on medium flame (don’t let garlic burn). Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, [pepper or peperoncino], and sugar, and bring to a simmer. Add scungilli and let simmer for ½ hour. Just before serving – about 15 minutes in advance, add the parsley and basil.
Serve in a soup-type bowl, with three peppered fresellini at the bottom of bowl and 1½ cups of scungilli sauce on top of the fresellini. Wait about 10 minutes before serving the guests to allow sauce to seep through fresellini. May I suggest a primo piatto of a little pasta prior to serving the scungilli – this way no one will have to wait for their scungilli, and your guests will think of you as the perfect host/hostess.
This recipe is the fra diavolo version – for the non-spicy version, nuke the pepper/peperoncino and use the plain fresellini.