# Casatiello, special Easter treat from Italy!



## RDG (Mar 9, 2006)

I hope this is the right place.....

Easter is coming on, and in South of Italy there is a very characteristic salted cake, very simple to do, but with a great taste.
In past centuries, most of inhabitants were farmers, poor people, and, in holidays, they had to use their fantasy, to change the looking of usual foods in new aspects. So, 

*Casatiello*

is born....

200 gr, Napolitan hot sausage
200 gr. Napolitan sweet sausage
200 gr. Sweet Provolone
200 gr. Hot provolone.
1Kg flour 00
25 gr. Yeast
100 gr. Lard
4 whole eggs
2 tspoons salt
water
(Note: the original recipe uses only *hot* version, both for sausage and cheese, but in this way is more….gentle )


EXECUTION
In a large pot, mix the flour with eggs , salt and some spoons of water. Add the yeast, melted in some water. Work with energy the mixture, that must become rather consistent. _(instead of this, you can directly buy the raw bread paste by a bakery, and add the yeast after). _
Just now, add the lard and mix again hard, till you have obtained an elastic and soft kneading.
Let it rest for half an hour. In the meantime, cut in little cubes all the cheese and sausages.
Now, mix them to the kneading, mixing them genly taking care to well distribute them 
Allow it to leaven for a couple of hours, and, in a next time, put kneading in a ring-shaped baking pan. High, please….
Let the volume become double, and brush with some egg. Over this, put four eggs (with the shell) in the kneading till half of highness: fix them with a cross of kneading. Put in oven at 180 °C for about 50 minutes, till the cake will be well golden.
Officially, you have to eat cold, but….warm is fantastic. In a meal, you generally eat only this: very nice with a very strong red wine.
Two words more about Neapolitan sausage: it’s a red sausage, long and narrow, not soft, but rather hard, like a salami. It’s produced in two versions: a sweet one, and a hot one. Even the sweet is rather…tasty, but the hot is explosive. I don’t know what you can find, but take something similar. Some years ago, I’ve tasted a mexican sausage, rather similar.


----------



## jpmcgrew (Mar 9, 2006)

RDG! Sounds really interesting.What is Hot Provolone? I've never heard of it before.


----------



## RDG (Mar 10, 2006)

Provolone is a cheese, reasonably hard, pear shaped, yellow golden skin. In Italy there are two types. 
In hot Provolone is used rennet of kid, and is seasoned very long, till to be used for grating (one year). In provolone dolce, the rennet is from veal, and the seasoning times are very short. If you want to eat it alone, i suggest to drink some wines as Primitivo di Manduria, or Bonarda dell'Oltrepo Pavese: they are strong wines, with a strong sweet taste. Sorry, I don't know what wines you can find. I'm compelled to give the names I know.


----------



## urmaniac13 (Mar 13, 2006)

Hot provolone, is it called "Provolone piccante" in Italian?  I don't remember a piccante version, I know there is a dolce and affumicato (smoked) version... I need to take a better look when I go to the Francia shop next time.. 
When we went to Campagnia last year we brought back some wonderful smoked provola (along with some mozzarella di bufala of course...), it was so much better than anything we get in Rome.  I know there are a few specialty shop for products from Campagna... I would imagine smoked provola can give it a nice flavour for this torta... what do you think?


----------



## texasgirl (Mar 13, 2006)

This sounds good! But, finding the ingredients equivalent might be interesting. LOL


----------



## RDG (Mar 13, 2006)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> Hot provolone, is it called "Provolone piccante" in Italian? ... I would imagine smoked provola can give it a nice flavour for this torta... what do you think?


 
Yesssss....or, at least, this is my translation.... hot=piccante.
I know that now a smoked provolone exists, but it's not so common: the "official" types are sweet and hot.
The smoked taste is something more. Why not? I never used it, but could be a good choice. Only, be careful: "provola" is not the same cheese than "provolone". Is more sweet, and the smoked one is generally made with  a chese called "scamorza". Totally different. In Campania, often, they call "smohed provola" the smoked mozzarella. If you find a smoked mozzarella.....ahhh...you MUST take it. It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful....

Texas, it's just for this that I've tried to give the indications of the "type" of the ingredients: I imagine that could be difficult to find them . Good luck, and good appetite....I'm sure you will thank me..


----------



## urmaniac13 (Mar 13, 2006)

Ah, doh... Rob I think what we got was scamorza affumicata... the picture you put in got me kinda confused... yeah, it was scamorza!!
Smoked, erm, smohed mozzarella??? mmm... the next time we go down there I will be on the hunt for this thing!!


----------



## Constance (Mar 13, 2006)

That sounds like a wonderful treat. Thank you for sharing.


----------



## RDG (Mar 14, 2006)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> Ah, doh... Rob I think what we got was scamorza affumicata... the picture you put in got me kinda confused... yeah, it was scamorza!!
> Smoked, erm, smohed mozzarella??? mmm... the next time we go down there I will be on the hunt for this thing!!


For information...
the first is scamorza, the second is mozzarella. And, about *smohed*....yes, my typing skillness is similar to my english.....))


----------



## urmaniac13 (Mar 14, 2006)

Grazie Rob... btw, when we go to Campania and buy them, should we say "mozzarella affumihata"??  (Interesting though... I noticed many Toscani do this too... I watched some films of Leonardo Pieraccione )


----------



## RDG (Mar 14, 2006)

viper....   
gentle, but viper.....


----------



## urmaniac13 (Mar 14, 2006)

*Read the PM, Rob!!*


----------

