Sicilian recipes

Two traditional recipes from Palermo: Sicilian rosticceria (the leavened brioche savoury pastries) and Sicilian pizza, that is Palermo-style sfincione — tall, soft and topped with onion sauce.

Sicilian rosticceria

Mini leavened brioche savoury pastries: rollò, mini calzoni, croissants (cornetti), pinwheels (girelle), pizzette and bundles (fagottini). The dough recipe is one and the same; each piece is then filled to taste.

Dough ingredients (about 30 pieces)

• 1 kg “00” flour
• 25 g fresh brewer’s yeast
• 500 g water
• 100 g lard
• 100 g sugar
• 30 g salt
• 1 egg yolk for brushing (optional)

Filling ingredients

• 4–5 frankfurters (for the rollò)
• 1–2 slices of cooked ham (per portion)
• 80–100 g tomato pulp
• 100 g mozzarella
• extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste

Method

1. Dough — mix the flour with the yeast (if using fresh yeast, dissolve it first in a teaspoon of water). Add the sugar, then the water and knead. Work in the lard a little at a time until the dough is elastic and smooth. Finally add the salt, shape into a ball and leave to rise at about 28 °C for 1 hour, until doubled in volume.
2. Shape the pieces — turn the dough out onto the work surface and divide it into pieces of about 50 g.
3. Croissants (cornetti) — roll the piece into a triangle (about 13 cm), fill the wide part with ham and scamorza, and roll up.
4. Mini calzoni — roll the dough out with a rolling pin, fill one half and fold it over into a half-moon.
5. Rollò — form a small rope of about 20 cm and wrap it around half a frankfurter.
6. Pizzette — flatten the round piece, top with a teaspoon of tomato sauce (seasoned with oil and salt) and a pinch of oregano.
7. Rest and bake — arrange the pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leave to rest for 40 minutes, brush with the egg yolk and bake one tray at a time in a well-heated static oven at 180 °C for about 20 minutes.

Sicilian pizza – Palermo-style sfincione

Sfincione is Palermo’s classic “pizza”: a tall, soft focaccia topped with onion sauce, caciocavallo, anchovies and oregano.

Dough ingredients

• 750 g “0” flour (or “00”)
• 250 g re-milled durum wheat semolina
• about 600 g water
• 25 g fresh brewer’s yeast (or 1 teaspoon dry yeast)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 30 g salt

Topping ingredients

• 3 medium white onions
• 500 g peeled tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 200 g semi-matured Sicilian caciocavallo
• 5–6 anchovy fillets in oil (to garnish)
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• a handful of oregano
• salt to taste

Method

1. Dough — mix the flours, add the yeast dissolved in the water and then the water a little at a time, kneading until you have a soft dough. Work in the oil gradually and finally the salt: it should be smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and leave to rise for at least 3 hours (it should quadruple in volume).
2. Onion sauce — slice the onions thinly and put them in a pan with the oil and the 2 anchovies. Cook for 5–6 minutes over high heat, then add the blended peeled tomatoes and cook over low heat with a glass of hot water for about 30 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich. Season with salt and leave to cool.
3. Stretch and garnish — take the dough and stretch it into a 40×40 cm baking tray greased with a little oil, spreading it with your fingers and tapping with your fingertips without breaking the air bubbles. Add the anchovy fillets.
4. First rise — cover with cling film and leave to rise for about 1 hour.
5. Top — first distribute the pieces of caciocavallo, then the sauce, the grated caciocavallo and the oregano. Leave to rise for another 1 hour.
6. Bake — bake in a well-heated static oven at 250 °C: 10 minutes in the lower part (in contact with the bottom), then move to the middle-upper part and continue for another about 10 minutes, until the topping is dry and the base is soft.

Sources: Sicilian rosticceria – Tavolartegusto · Palermo-style sfincione – Tavolartegusto