Casatiello… with speck

And I finally tried it! And I liked it so much!

When Easter comes Casatiello comes to my mind too late, and I always ask myself “Why did I miss it this time too!?”.

Well, I got it right!

For those unfamiliar with Casatiello, this is a Neapolitan rustic, that is a savory leavened pie, typical of the Easter period.

The recipe is that of “Chiarapassion”, but I could not resist and I made my variations in the filling. So let m present Casatiello from Trentino, a delicious synthesis of all that is good on the Italian table!

MAKES 1 CASATIELLO ( 26 cm diameter mold)

READY IN 6h 30’

INGREDIENTS:

21,1 oz flour “0”

1 cube of brewer’s yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

10,5 oz lukewarm water

1,7 oz lard

4 pinches of salt

5,6 oz lard at room temperature

5,2 oz Parmigiano cheese

Black pepper to taste

7 oz diced speck

5,2 oz Fontal cheese

1 teaspoon lard

4 whole eggs

1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk

STEP 1: MAKE THE DOUGH

Put flour, dissolved yeast, water, lard and salt in a bowl. Knead vigorously (by hand or with the food processor) until you get a uniform dough.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let rest at room temperature for a couple of hours.

STEP 2: ROLL OUT THE DOUGH

Sprinkle the pastry board with flour and place the dough on it

start pressing with fingers,

then rool it ot with the rolling pin to get a rectangle 1 cm thick.

STEP 3: ADD THE INGREDIENTS

It’s the time to fill the dough.

Spread a layer of lard (use ¼) on the sheet using the back of a spoon (if seems too firm, first soften it by stirring it vigorously with a spoon), then sprinkle with the Parmigiano and pepper.

Now fold the dough we say “like a book”: to do this, imagine dividing the rectangle into three vertical strips, take the one on the left and lay it on top of the central one. Continue by placing the right one on top of the central one.

You’ll get a very long rectangle.

Now press with your fingers and then with a rolling pin to recreate the initial rectangle of dough.

Continue with the filling based on lard + cheese + pepper and the subsequent “ a libro”fold for another 2 times (let the dough rest a little between one fold and the other, otherwise it will resist a little when you try to roll it out).

STEP 4: FILL

Now we have to make the last filling and fold of the dough (just like we did before).

Before starting, however, try to give the rectangle of pasta a fairly regular shape by cutting away the excess of pasta (please keep it aside! See step 6).