Grandma's Design

CALABRESE PIZZA

GRANDMA

Silvana

COUNTRY

Italian Italy

ORIGIN

Calabria

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

Flour 1kg
Two whole eggs
Sugar 200 g
A glass of olive oil
A glass of Vermouth

For the filling:

Almonds 200 g
Walnuts 200 g
Candied orange pieces
Raisins
Sugar
Cloves
Chopped cinnamon
A glass of aromatic liquor (“Strega”)
Honey

HISTORY

Silvana is originally from Calabria, precisely from Catanzaro. The recipe is from the province of Cosenza where her mother-in-law is from and is called Calabrese pizza, or “pitta ‘mpigliata”. This dessert is traditionally prepared at Christmas. Her mother-in-law was particularly good at making this dessert, and used a type of wine called “vin cotto” (wine concentrated by cooking at a high temperature for a long period) which was produced from the must of the grapes and specifically kept apart to be later used for the Christmas pizza. So many were made at Christmas that they would last for the whole year; each family would make six or seven. Another typical dessert made at Christmas in this region are called “nepitelle” in dialect, they are similar to “panzerotti” cooked in the oven, but smaller, with a filling made from candied orange, figs instead of raisins and almonds.

More Minus

HOW TO

Begin with the filling. Mix the walnuts broken up into small pieces, the chopped almonds, the candied orange, the spices and the sugar in a bowl, and then add the liquor. Leave to rest for at least a quarter of an hour. Put a kilogram of flour onto a flat surface, add the sugar, two eggs then a glass of oil and a glass of Vermouth. Knead the ingredients together. Cut the dough in half.

Roll out one half to make a layer for the bottom of the tart. Roll out the other half to make strips of dough. Place the bottom layer into a greased baking tin, add the filling and place the strips of dough on top. These can be rolled to produce a rose effect. Bake in the oven at 150°C for 50 minutes. Once cooked, cover with honey that has been melted in a bain-marie.