Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [298]
OTHER FILLINGS FOR SFINCIUNI
Sfinciuni are exceptionally good with vegetables in the conza, or filling. A few particularly apt combinations are described below. They all must be cooked in advance, which you should plan on doing sometime during the 3 hours the dough needs to rise.
Tomato and Anchovy Conza
Filling for 1 ten- to twelve-inch sfinciuni
1 pound fresh, ripe, firm plum tomatoes OR 1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained of juice and chopped
2 cups onion sliced very thin
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
6 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home as described), chopped to a pulp
Oregano, 1 teaspoon if fresh, ½ teaspoon if dried
LATER, ON THE SFINCIUNI
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup plain, unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted
AND
The dough made using this recipe
PLUS
A baking stone
Cornmeal
A baker’s peel (paddle)
A pastry brush
1. Use fresh tomatoes only when they are truly ripe, sweet, and meaty. If they answer that description, wash them in cold water, skin them raw with a swiveling-blade peeler, discard the seeds and all watery pulp, cut them into strips ½ inch wide, and set them aside. If using canned tomatoes, proceed to the next step.
2. Put the onion and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saute pan, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it becomes colored a light gold. Add either the strips of fresh tomatoes or the drained, chopped canned tomatoes, salt, 2 or 3 grindings of pepper, turn over the ingredients 2 or 3 times, and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the oil floats free of the tomatoes, about 15 minutes.
3. Turn the heat down to the minimum, add the chopped anchovy pulp, stir for a minute or a little less, then turn off the heat completely. Add the oregano, stir, and set aside to cool.
4. At least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake—the dough will have been rising for about 2½ hours—put the baking stone in the oven, and preheat oven to 400°.
5. Sprinkle cornmeal on the baker’s peel, then proceed to roll out the dough and assemble the sfinciuni as described, with the following adjustments for this particular stuffing:
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs over the bottom round of dough.
• Use a slotted spoon or spatula to lift the tomato and anchovy mixture out of the pan so that as much cooked oil as possible is left behind.
• When you have spread the tomato and anchovy over the dough, top it with 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs and drizzle over it 1 tablespoon of fresh olive oil.
Cover the filling with the remaining dough, seal the sfinciuni, brush the top layer of dough with water, bake it, and serve it as described in the basic recipe.
Broccoli and Ricotta Conza
Filling for 1 ten- to twelve-inch sfinciuni
1 medium bunch fresh broccoli, about 1 pound
Salt
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
LATER, ON THE SFINCIUNI
2 tablespoons plain, unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted
¾ cup fresh ricotta
¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
AND
The dough made using this recipe
PLUS
A baking stone
Cornmeal
A baker’s peel (paddle)
A pastry brush
1. Cut off ½ inch of the tough butt end of the broccoli stalks. Pare away the dark green skin from the stalks and the thicker stems.
2. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, add salt, and put in the broccoli. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes after the water returns to a boil, depending on the size and freshness of the broccoli. It will undergo additional cooking later, so it should be quite firm at this stage.
3. Drain and chop the broccoli stems and florets into pieces no larger than 1 inch.
4. Put the garlic and ¼ cup olive oil in a medium saute pan, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the garlic, stirring once or twice, until it becomes colored a light gold. Add the chopped broccoli, sprinkle with salt, and cook for 5 minutes, turning the