April 12, 2020
Another Easter has come.
And another load of casatiello has been baked for the occasion.
I'm not speaking on nothern Italy's behalf, but I'm pretty sure I can state that with regard to the south of the country.
This is because the casatiello was created in Naples and, even though Italy is a very small country, every region has got different culinary traditions to respect on special occasions.
So if you are in Milan, for exemple, don't expect to find it on the table at the Easter lunch (unless you are hosted by one of the many southern families that moved up there).
But what is this Neapolitan casatiello?
It is basically a sort of bread with cheese and salami.
Nothing special so far.
But there is a classy touch you cannot miss. To make a proper casatiello you must embed raw eggs, with shell and all, on the top of it before putting it in the oven.
If you Curious Readers want to learn how to do it, here is the recipe for 8 people (you don't want to celebrate Easter with less than 6/7 guests, do you?):
- Water 375 gr
- Flour 00 650 gr
- Fresh Beer Yeast 10 gr
- Salt 15 gr
- Black Pepper just a pinch
- Lard (if you prefer you can use butter but don't ever tell a Neapolitan you did that) 25 gr
- Extra-virgin Olive Oil 25 gr
- Eggs 4
- Salami 150 gr
- Pecorino Cheese 150 gr
First of all put the fresh beer yeast in a cup half filled with room temperature water and stir it until it's melted.
Then pour the melted yeast in a bowl and add lard and oil. Add flour as well as salt little by little, always keeping on stirring.
The dough must become tender, which should happen after about 20 minutes of hand stirring.
Once you have obtained the right consistency, give the dough a spherical form and put it on your work table.
Now, focus on the filling.
Slice the salami (not too thin) and cut the slices into medium-seize dice.
Repeat the process with the pecorino cheese.
Go back to your dough, take away about 80 gr from it and put it on a side.
Flatten the rest of the dough and add the salami and pecorino dice in it. Work it with your hands until all ingredients are well embedded.
Dust the bread with black pepper and knead again, shaping the dough as a donut.
Put your bread in a 24 cm mold and finally embed the raw eggs on the top of it.
Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest for about one hour and a half.
The casatiello will be ready to go into the oven when its volume nearly doubles.
Bake it on the lower shelf at 170° C (347° Fahrenheit) for about 75 minutes.
Buon appetito!
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