Cooking with Giuseppe – Casatiello Napoletano
There are two things that are synonymous with Easter in Napoli – Pastiera – the ricotta and wheat based pie that is like a cheesecake on steroids and its equally indulgent antithesis – the rustic and savory Casatiello. Think of them as the yin and the yang or the Adam and Eve of the Neapolitan Easter table.
A type of rustico, or a rustic bread, Casatiello is hardy, filling, and oh so satisfying. Something I would think of more as a comfort food for the cold, wet days of winter, here it is nevertheless a symbol of spring. Made only for the Easter holiday, its brother Tòrtano however is made year round.
Two breads cut from the same dough, the only difference between them – hard-boiled eggs. Perhaps symbolic of creation, I can only guess the addition of eggs to Casatiello render it suitable only for the Easter holiday. Made in a round pan similar to an American bundt pan, the shape is said to symbolize the crown of thorns.
The recipe dates to at least the 1600s and they say, the Napoletani that is, that it is not Casatiello without sugna (or strutto in Italian) - pork fat/lard. Served as part of the antipasti on Easter day, it tastes even better the next day, Pasquetta – Easter Monday.
The first step in any good Casatiello? The ingredients.
Flour, lievito - fresh yeast sold in little cubes, water, salt, pepper, and most importantly, sugna for the dough. Hard boiled eggs and an assortment of salumi and cheese inside.
And for these ingredients, it’s one stop shopping around the corner at Enzo’s – Salumeria Nuovo Fiore di Greco Vincenzo.
The thing I love about shopping local is that there is always a bit of back and forth between the shopper and the shop owner, be it the butcher, the fish monger, or in this case the salumiere, Enzo. Questions like ”what are you making and how much” so he can advise you on the right ingredients, the right quantities and more often than not he will give you his own personal recipe. In between all of this is usually a bit of conversation and just generally a good time.
To make Casatiello with 1 kg flour Enzo recommended “un mezzo chilo di misto,” – a 1/2 kg of assorted salumi and cheese. For our Casatiello Enzo chopped up some ciccioli, capicollo, salame napoletano, and pancetta coppata. Pecorino cheese is typically used but this time we are using a Caciotta di Avellino.
Ingredients
For the dough
1 kg flour plus extra for rolling the dough
1 cake (.6 oz) fresh yeast or one package or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
Warm water
Salt and pepper
About 4 tbsp of lard for the dough plus more for coating the dough
For the filling
1/2 kg assorted salumi and cheese
6 hard-boiled eggs
Cooking Method
Pour flour onto a work surface
Mix in salt and a very generous amount of pepper
Add yeast (if you are using active dry yeast you will need to dissolve it in about 1/2 cup warm water first)
Add water a little bit at a time, working it in until a soft dough begins to form
Add the lard and work it completely into the dough
Continue working the dough, adding water as needed until the dough is just slightly damp and very elastic
Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 1 hr
The Casatiello dough after the first rise
Meanwhile chop the salumi and cheese
Boil and chop the eggs and add them to the salumi mixture
After the dough has risen one hour, flour the work surface and roll it out into a large rectangular form.
Spread the salumi mixture across the length of the dough starting near the bottom of the dough.
Spread the filling out towards the bottom of the dough
Roll the dough up like a cigar, pinch the edges and coat them with lard.
Roll up the Casatiello
Bring the ends together to form a circular shape.
Grease the Casatiello pan with lard, work the dough into the pan and generously coat the top of the dough with lard.
Cover and let rise an hour.
Casatiello after the second rise
Bake at 160º C for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Buon Appetito!
A native Neapolitan, Giuseppe Topo is a hairstylist and one of the owners of Noi, Naples only English-speaking salon. A passionate cook, when he’s not styling hair Giuseppe can be found in the kitchen cooking up one of his favorite Neapolitan dishes.
Find all of his great recipes at Cooking with Giuseppe!
bravi! penso sia venuto davvero saporito questo casatiello!!! mi è piaciuto il video e grazie x la pubblicità!!!!
Grazie mille Debora e il piacere è tutto mio!!!
I love this recipe. Bread stuffed with meats is like heaven, on a plate!
It sure is!
faccio una piccola varazione – l’impasto piu molle e impasto il misto di salumi nell’impasto – cosi facendo i salumi vengono distribuiti meglio (per me).
e una buona idea Giancarlo di sicuro puo funzionare ti ringrazio del consiglio a presto.
Giancarlo, io infatti lo faccio come lo hai descritto tu e ci aggiungo il pepe. Inoltre, le uova le metto intere e con in guscio. Il tipico casatiello napoletano ha le uova con le croci.
Penso che domani faro’ un casatiello. Chi se ne frega che e’ Natale e non Paqua.
be!! cosa posso dirvi del casatiello!!! Mia mamma era una grande esperta nel farlo. Adesso anche io lo sono. Per chi mai la fatto incoraggio con tutto il cuore di farlo e non si pentira di avere messo la sua nuova ricetta al tavolo per la Santa Pasqua. Un saluto a tutti voi in questo website. Incoraggio ai novelli che non hanno mai provato a questa deliziosa website piena di roba che qui in america non hanno neanche un po di idea di cosa facciano in italia durante le Feste Natalizie and Pasquale. A voi tutti un grande abbraccio. For the people that don’t understand italian please try all these recipes that this website has on you won’t regret they are delicious and very different of what we are accostum to have here in America. Bye my friends
Prima di tutto voglio ringraziare delle belle parole e poi volevo dirti che quello che facciamo lo facciamo con tanto amore come tutti sanno quando lo si fa con passione tutto viene perfetto o quasi. Noi crediamo in quello che facciamo tutti possono provare e spero con altre ricette si possono anche divertire. Un saluto Giuseppe.
All these recipes! First genovese, then timballo, now casatiello… you are bringing back the best memories of my late mother’s cooking and the Neapolitan in me. I started with the timballo last week (very good, though I might have made the ragu’ a bit too dry) and will definitely continue reviving my repertoire with this old classics from my past!
So glad you are enjoying them Francesco!
This looks wonderful. I am bookmarking this.
Guiseppe, Hello, I am a food writer coming to Naples this week to write a story on Neapolitan food for the well regarded British magazine Prospect Magazine: (www.prospectmagazine.co.uk) I would love to bother you for a cup of coffee while I am there, if you have time (and of course I would be happy to mention your blog in my article). I arrive Sunday 29th April and will be there until the following Sunday. All help and advice is gratefully appreciated.
Wendell Steavenson
PS If you google me, you will see that my day job is writing about the MIddle East for the New Yorker Magazine; also I have written two books. Writing about food for Prospect is my happy sideline!
Thanks so much for your interest Wendell. If you contact me via email at administrator@napoliunplugged.com we can try and arrange a time for you to meet Giuseppe.
I am very interested in talking some cooking classes. Could you please email me with info on how to go about it. I will be in Naples, Italy the last two weeks in November 2012.