Saturday, November 18, 2023

Sfincione Palermitano



Hello everyone, today I'm going to introduce you to a great classic of Palermo cuisine, typical street food and always present on the tables of the people of Palermo during all the holidays. For the Palermitano Sfincione is like pizza for Neapolitans, it is not just food but a real work of art. The sfincione, which has anchovies, oregano, caciocavallo cheese and tomato as its main ingredients, perfectly expresses the flavors and smells of Palermo culture, a poor but truly amazing food. For me, GOOD FOOD is emotion and sfincione makes you excited twice, when still in the oven its smell fills the house, and when still hot you take the first bite, a unique experience.

Typical street food of Palermo's gastronomy. It is a sort of tall and fluffy pizza topped with a sauce of onions, Sicilian caciocavallo, oregano, anchovies and breadcrumbs. A unique delicacy with a rich flavor, delicious aroma, with a typical soft texture like a "Sponge" (just as its name indicates, which comes from Latin and means "Spongia") and slightly crunchy edges! Do you want to make it at home? Here is for you the Sfincione Recipe with all the secrets and tips.

Ingredients

For the dough
650 g Flour
14 g Dry brewer's yeast
660 ml water (lukewarm)
60 ml Oil
1 tsp Sugar
20 g Salt

For the dressing
2 kgTomato pulp
3 White onions
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
10 fillets Anchovies in oil
250 g Caciocavallo cheese (semi-matured)
250 g breadcrumbs

Preparation

In a bowl, mix the flour, add the brewer's yeast powder, the teaspoon of sugar and mix well, (if you use fresh brewer's yeast, dissolve it directly in a part of the water you need for the dough). Add the lukewarm water a little at a time and mix everything with your hands, as soon as you have incorporated all the water add the salt and oil, continue to mix until the oil is completely absorbed. At this point, transfer the dough to a lightly floured pastry board and knead vigorously for at least 10 minutes. You have obtained a smooth and homogeneous dough that is ready for the leavening phase, place it in a very large bowl, it must be at least twice as large. I let the dough rise by covering it with a very heavy blanket, it speeds up the leavening time and ensures the result. Then put the dough in a very large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and a cotton cloth, then wrap everything in a blanket. If you prefer, however, you can put it in the oven turned off with the light on. Let rise for 2 hours and 30 minutes, or at least until the dough has doubled in volume. In a large pot, bring plenty of UNSALTED water to a boil, and dip the tomatoes in it, leave them for about 60 seconds, then drain them, let them cool, peel them and cut them into cubes. In a frying pan heat a drizzle of oil and add two anchovy fillets and the three very finely chopped onions, cook over medium heat for at least 5 minutes, add a glass of water if needed, once wilted add the tomato, season with salt and pepper, add plenty of oregano and cook for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in a pan with plenty of oil. After the rising time, transfer the dough to a baking tray, lightly greased with olive oil, roll out the dough with your fingers until the pan is completely covered. Let it rise for another 30 minutes, this time directly in the oven with the light on. At the end of the last phase of leavening, start seasoning the Sfincione, add plenty of oil, anchovy fillets, diced caciocavallo cheese, 3/4 of the tomato sauce, 3/4 of toasted breadcrumbs and plenty of oregano, I recommend you be generous with oregano. Bake in a preheated convection oven at 200° C for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the remaining part of the seasoning, again the breadcrumbs and oregano, a last drizzle of oil and bake for another 15 minutes. Once cooked, cut the sfincione into square portions and serve hot or cold, success is still guaranteed. In Palermo it is a crime to eat sfincione without a GOOD BLONDE BEER OBVIOUSLY VERY COLD and I must say that the combination is definitely a winner. 

 

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