Winter has arrived and we want to delight your palate by telling you about the origin, history and recipe of a typical dish from the province of Ragusa that is prepared and consumed mainly during the Christmas period. We are talking about the Scaccia Ragusana!

A Journey Through Time: The Origins of the Scaccia

The dish was born as a main course on Sicilian peasant tables, a simple dish based on bread, vegetables and meat, often leftovers from lunches or dinners. Later, the recipe was enriched by adding potatoes. It became an important dish when Moncada himself, Prince of Paternò, wanted it among the many courses during the Christmas celebrations. Since then, it has been a tradition passed down for generations as a Christmas dish, but also as an Easter dish. Today, scaccia is very common on Sicilian tables and its preparation is artisanal or even better, home-made.

Scaccia is a focaccia made from a fragrant sheet of durum wheat semolina and a filling that varies depending on the area: in the Syracuse area it is prepared with potatoes, caciocavallo cheese and parsley, in the Catania area with tuma and anchovies, then there are those who add fried aubergines and basil to the tomato sauce, some stewed onions, some ricotta and sausage, some broccoli and cheese, some prepare it in simpler versions with tomato sauce, cooked ham and cheese…

Whatever your preference, scaccia will win you over with its authentic flavour and irresistible fragrance.

Why prepare scaccia at home?

• Keeping alive a thousand-year-old culinary tradition.
• Customize the filling according to your tastes.
• The pleasure of preparing a home-made dish.
Ready to get cooking? Below we offer you the classic version of the recipe, based on tomato puree, sliced provola, grated caciocavallo and dried oregano.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DOUGH:
REMILLED DURUM WHEAT SEMOLINA 400 gr
WARM WATER 300 ml
FLOUR 0 100 gr
SALT 10 gr
FRESH BREWER’S YEAST 7 gr
FOR THE FILLING
TOMATO PUREE 1 l
THIN SLICED PROVOLA 250 gr
GRATED CACIOCAVALLO 250 gr
DRIED OREGANO to taste
YOU ALSO NEED
FLOUR 0 qb
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL to taste

METHOD:
Sift the flours into the bowl of a stand mixer; dissolve the yeast in warm water, add it to the powders and start kneading with the hook.

Then add the salt and continue to work, until you obtain a smooth and well-strung dough; at this point, transfer the dough onto the work surface and gently spread it out with your hands, make a first fold, bringing a flap towards the center and proceed in the same way also on the opposite side, so as to form a rectangle.

Continue making the folds, overlapping the two short sides in the center of the dough.

Form a ball and let it rise, covered with a clean cloth, for about 3 hours.

Once doubled in volume, take the dough and divide it into two loaves of about 200 g each; roll out each loaf with a rolling pin on a floured work surface.

When finished, you should obtain a very thin sheet of dough, no more than 2 mm thick.

Spread the tomato puree evenly over the pastry, leaving the edges free, fill with the sliced provola and grated caciocavallo, and season with dried oregano.

Fold the pasta over the filling, seal the edges with your fingertips, season the resulting rectangle again with the tomato sauce, continue with the cheeses and oregano.

Then roll the dough up on itself , starting from the short side, to obtain a sort of parcel.

Place the scaccia on a baking tray, lightly greased with oil, with the closed part facing downwards, brush it with more oil on the surface and place in a preheated oven at 200 °C, in static mode, for approximately 30 minutes.

Once the cooking time is up, take the Sicilian scaccia out of the oven , transfer it to a cutting board and enjoy it piping hot.
USEFUL TIPS: To make it properly, it will be important to roll out the pastry well and above all 2 mm thin, so that the focaccia is crispy on the outside and well cooked on the inside.

You can enjoy it for a tasty lunch, for a dinner with friends or serve it at aperitif time, with a mug of cold beer. Or follow the Sicilian tradition and put it on the table on Christmas Eve.
All we can do is wish you bon appetit!