Scaccia ragusana
I owe this recipe for scaccia  ragusana to my mother, who on one of her raids around Sicily found this delightful “construction”, as I like to call such Sicilian bread recipes, and imported into our cooking school. In fact, as we explain to our guests, scaccia is just another way to make bread, as well as to use left-overs. You can put just about anything into the filling. This is the version we like:


 

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon lard or butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 of cake of yeast
pinch of salt

For the filling:
1 cups scant ricotta
1 cup of sausage meat
1 cup tomato sauce
fresh caciocavallo cheese or other cheese you like, grated or sliced
salt and peperoncino as needed
fresh mint leaves

Mix together thoroughly the first set of ingredients. The dough must be fairly firm but soft. Make a ball, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling in a bowl, mixing the ingredients together well.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, seeking to shape it into a square. The flattened dough must not be too thin or the filling will leak out.
Spread half of the filling on the dough, leaving a border of about an inch on all four sides. Fold the border inward to make a frame. Now fold the square in half again. Brush with egg, sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds and bake at 400° F for 30 minutes. Remove the scaccia from the oven, let it rest, covered with a tea towel, for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

A very nice alternative is the one below that I make when I’m in a “purist” vein and want to use unrefined ingredients. The crust is very crisp and tasty, and I prefer it, although the classical Sicilian recipe is made only with ground semola flour.

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Manitoba (Canadian hard wheat) flour
1 packet dried yeast
oil
1 egg
water, as needed
2 teaspoons of sugar
large pinch of salt

Filling:
Ricotta, sausage, grated eggplant and zucchini, grated Parmesan, mint, basil and a drizzle of oil


< Prev   Next >