Scaccia Ragusana (Sicilian tomato and cheese pie)

Have you ever heard of Scaccia Ragusana? Yeah, me neither - not until I took a Sicilian cooking class, that is. Now that I know about it and, more importantly, know how easy it is to make, I must ask: WHY THE HELL HAVE THE SICILIANS BEEN KEEPING IT FROM THE REST OF US FOR SO LONG?! When you discover the magic of the Scaccia, you will understand the source of my frustration and anger.

Scaccia Ragusana [skah-chah ra-goo-sanah] is a traditional Sicilian cheese and tomato pie… well, it’s more of a roulade than a pie, actually. It starts with a quick yeast-less dough that gets rolled out as thin as possible. A simple tomato-basil sauce and grated Pecorino Romano cheese are spread on the surface and the dough is folded three times, getting a new coating of sauce and cheese each time. The end result is a rustic looking roulade with a crunchy outside and a soft, saucy inside. Fresh basil and garlic are the aromatics responsible for the intense flavor of the Scaccia. The pie puffs up while baking but deflates as you cut into it. It’s best eaten warm out of the oven, and I would know since I greedily ate half of it as soon as this photo shoot was over.

Recipe by Chef Richard LaMarita, Natural Gourmet Institute

(Yield: 1 pie)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 c water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 oz basil chiffonade (or just torn)
Freshly ground black pepper
About 1 c grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Procedure: Combine flours in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add salt and 2 tbsp oil and rub flour and oil together with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse peas. Start adding water, about 2 tbsp at first, and knead into a soft dough. Keep adding water and kneading until the dough is soft, smooth and no longer sticky. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rest at room temperature for 30 min.

Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in saucepan. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until thickened and reduced a bit, about 10 min. Add basil. Set aside to cool.

Heat oven to 500F. Cover a large work surface with a large sheet of parchment paper and transfer dough to surface, sprinkling surface with flour to prevent sticking as needed; the dough shouldn’t stick much. Cover dough with a second piece of parchment and roll into a large thin rectangle. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the dough and sprinkle with cheese. Fold left and right sides of the pie to meet in the middle, and top with more sauce and cheese.

Then fold top and bottom edges to meet in the center, and cover with more sauce and cheese. Lastly, fold the pie over into a roulade and transfer the pie onto a baking sheet covered with parchment. (Save remaining sauce for dipping later.)

Bake for 10 min. Reduce oven to 400F and bake until the dough is set and lightly charred, about 50 min. Cool before slicing and serving.