Italian cuisine has a tradition of savory pies, almost always made with vegetables. Are they perhaps the vegetarian cousins of Galician empanadas? The aunts of the Spanish Levant vegetable coca? It is clear that filling dough is possible not only in one country. In Italy, Pasqualina is known, which was exported and made a national dish in Argentina and Uruguay, and here we also publish the recipe for Calzone di sponsali from Puglia. They are recipes that respond only to the seasonality of vegetables, but are particularly common on the tables on Christmas Eve, when tradition dictates the absence of meat.
A savory cake – you can find it there under the names cake, focaccia, pizza, calzone or rustico – was always one of the appetizers at my family's dinner on the 24th. There was a lot of it and the cheese and dough make it tasty even for those who don't like vegetables .
I have eaten this cake with many different doughs: with bread dough – a kind of empanada -, with freshly bought puff pastry; An option if you have an irrational fear of dough, or with this matta pasta. Why it's called “Crazy Dough” I don't know, but it's the easiest and gets the best results that I know of. With flour, water, oil and a little time it becomes elastic and can be stretched into several layers. By brushing them with a little oil we achieve a slightly flaky effect with a lighter consistency and, above all, a more subtle flavor that puts the focus on the filling.
Time: 120 minutes
Difficulty: Be careful when turning on the oven
Ingredients
For 4 people
For the masses
- 300g flour
- 150g water
- 30g extra virgin olive oil
- 4-5g salt
For the filling
- 6 artichokes
- 250g ricotta or fresh Burgos cheese
- 60g grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
- 3 or 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
instructions
1. For the masses
Mix flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Mix with a fork and gradually add the water. Finish kneading with your hands until a smooth and elastic consistency is achieved.
2.
Divide the dough into four balls, cover with a cloth and let rest for an hour. In the meantime, you can prepare the filling – it needs to cool – or prepare it beforehand.
3. For the filling
Clean the artichokes: Remove the toughest outer leaves, cut off the tips and clean the stem. Halve them and then cut them into thin slices.
4.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the artichokes. Fry for a few minutes so that they absorb the oil well, add a pinch of salt, cover and cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until very tender. If they tend to stick together towards the end, add a little water and continue cooking. Let cool down.
5.
When the artichokes are cold, mix with the ricotta and grated cheese. Test the salt and add it if necessary.
6.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the bottom of a 24 centimeter diameter mold with oil and begin to stretch the layers of dough.
7.
Roll out the four dough balls one at a time until they are very, very thin. We can help ourselves with a little flour.
8th. Assembly
Once the first piece is stretched, we place it on the bottom of the mold: it should cover the edge and, if possible, overflow a little. Carefully brush this layer of dough with olive oil and continue rolling out the second dough ball.
9.
Cover the first layer with the second. Prick this dough base several times with a fork and fill it with the artichoke mixture.
10.
Pull out the third layer and cover it with the filling. Brush lightly with olive oil and apply the fourth coat.
eleven.
Close the edge of the cake like an empanada (if there is too much dough, you can trim it a little). To seal, prick the dough with your fingers, form a string and seal with a fork. As long as it's sealed, everything is fine.
12.
Brush the surface with olive oil and bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes. The cake is ready when the top is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Serve at room temperature.
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