Tag: Campania

Sfogliatella al casatiello, the tasty novelty for Easter – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Never tried it puff pastry with casatiello? The original idea came to the historian Lisita pastry shop who has chosen to pay homage to the gastronomic heritage of his land by creating aexclusive Sfogliatella with a new and delicious filling.

From the family memory album, Salvatore and Alberto Lisita they decided to revisit the great classic of the Sfogliatella starting from the filling, or rather the casatiello, to celebrate almost 60 years of activity. On one side the crunchy pastry, on the other the filling of cured meats, cheese and pepper: in the Sfogliatella al Casatiello both elements respect tradition for an unusual but fun combination of flavours, which in a perfect balance combines respect for the past with creativity of the future.

Everything you need to know about the Sfogliatella al Casatiello

We talked about this very special treat for Easter 2024 Salvatore Lisitathe founder’s grandson, who also gave us the recipe – for the more experienced.

How did the idea of a casatiello Sfogliatella come about?

«The idea of a Sfogliatella al casatiello was born with the aim of making the Sfogliatella, which has always been our strong point, a container of stories: tradition within tradition. The aim is to pay homage to the history of Campania pastry making and therefore also the history of Lisita and to do something unique for Easter. A period rich in meaning and traditions in Neapolitan culture, through a creative reinterpretation of two iconic dishes of the region: the Sfogliatella which is eaten all year round and the Casatiello”.

What are your customers’ comments on this?

«Customer comments have been extremely positive, with a particular appreciation for the difference in texture between the crunchy shell and the soft filling and for the creative reinterpretation of the new product. The combination of these two traditional symbolic products, the Sfogliatella and the Casatiello, has aroused great interest and satisfaction among customers, proving to have been a winning choice.”

What would the founder Salvatore Lisita have thought of this idea of going and touching a great classic?

«The founder, Salvatore Lisita, would probably have welcomed with enthusiasm the idea of merging two great classics of Campania pastry making, demonstrating an open mentality to innovation while always maintaining respect for traditional values. His passion for pastry making and his vision could have encouraged the exploration of new culinary possibilities, whilst remaining faithful to the rich heritage of Campania pastry making.”

Casatiello: grandmother’s recipe that you never forget – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

The casatiello it’s a rustic cake typical of Campania which is generally prepared during the Easter period along with other typical local recipes. Let’s discover the tradition and recipe of casatiello together.

Difference between Casatiello and Tortano

Many confuse casatiello with torteno even though they are not exactly the same thing because in the two recipes eggs are used differently. In fact, in the casatiello there are eggs they are a decoration and are positioned whole and raw on the surface of the cake, closed inside a cross of dough. In Tortano, however, they are used boiled, cut into small pieces and added to the dough.

typical neapolitan casatiello with salami and cheeseenzodebernardo

The tradition of the casatiello

This rustic stuffed with many delicacies is served as breakfast or snack during the Easter holidays. It is especially perfect for packed lunch on Easter Monday when you usually organize trips out of town. He’s getting ready the Friday preceding the Sunday of Easter because it must rise throughout the night and then be cooked on Saturday morning. It generally has the shape of one donutbut some prepare it in the shape of a cake.

Classic and revisited filling

The classic filling is based on salami Napoli type and mixed cheeses, but if you want you can also dare with something more. In some recipes, for example, you will find sausages and rapinis, and other typical ingredients of Campania cuisine. Do you want to dare? Try our contemporary Casatiello recipe.

Casatiello recipe

Ingredients

1 kg of 0 flour
2 sticks of brewer’s yeast
100 g of lard
400 g of mixed cheeses
400 g Napoli type salami
4 eggs
Salt and Pepper To Taste

Method

Melt first two sticks of brewer’s yeast in a glass of warm water.
Then arrange in a fountain 1 kg of flour on a pastry board and place the dissolved yeast in the centre, 100 g of lard, a pinch of salt and pepper and warm water just enough to create a smooth and homogeneous dough. Knead the dough for about ten minutes in a planetary mixer or by hand, beating it vigorously on the pastry board. Then leave it rise for two hours inside a lightly oiled container and covered with a cloth.
Meanwhile, cut into cubes 400 g of mixed cheeses such as spicy provolone, parmesan, emmental and fontina and 400 g of Napoli type salami.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper and fill the dough with these ingredients once it has been rolled out with a rolling pin. At this point you can follow two paths: either work the dough again and mix it with cheeses and cured meats, or you can roll the mass on the filling creating a long roll and placing it inside a donut mold greased with lard and lightly floured.
Then place them on the surface of the donut eggs well washed and dried and close them with dough crosses.
Let everything rise for another hour and then cook at 180° for an hour until the surface is golden and the casatiello comes away from the edges of the mould. Serve it warm, but it is also delicious cold.

Water and coffee: which before and which after? The expert answers – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Water and coffee: which one do you drink first and which one do you drink after? And then, is drinking water always necessary in this case? After all, when you go to a bar there are no rules: there are those who serve it (usually in the South) and those who don’t, or those who only serve it natural or only sparkling. Yet there is a rule. In fact, there is more than one rule. The first already clarifies many things: «A glass of water should always be drunk before coffee”says Mauro Illiano, professional taster, founder of “Napoli Coffee Experience”, member of the board of experts of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition and, among other things, editor of the first guide to Italian coffees and roasters.

When do you drink water with coffee?

First water and then coffee, therefore, and it is not a matter of taste or preference. «Water – explains Mauro Illiano – cleans the oral cavity. Except for the first coffee in the morning, provided it is drunk on an empty stomach, during the day coffee is often drunk after eating or drinking something else. With a little water you eliminate any possible contamination that could affect the tasting experience: you can perceive all the scents of the coffee, both through taste and smell.”

What is the purpose of water with coffee?

The tasting of coffee, in fact, is not limited to the moment in which we drink it: it continues afterwards, and also through the aroma of the blend as well as through its flavour. «After drinking coffee, its lipid part – which is the same that remains on the cup or on the walls of the spoon – also remains in our oral cavity and its scents then return retronasally, sometimes even for an hour. It is one of the many pleasures that coffee gives. Drinking it with your mouth clean from a sip of water is a simple way to not deprive yourself of it”, Illiano further points out.

Why shouldn’t water be drunk after coffee?

On the contrary, obviously, all this does not happen if water is drunk after coffee: «TheWater aids swallowing and therefore if you drink it after coffee it makes this pleasant sensation disappear says Illiano. However, if it often comes naturally to drink after drinking the cup, there is a reason: «It happens when the coffee is not good: it is burnt or too bitter for example. In these cases needing to drink is a natural and unconscious reaction: it serves to cleanse the mouth of unpleasant flavors and odors. It is precisely for this reason that it is often said that drinking water after coffee, when you are on the balcony of the bar, is rude towards the barista: he could interpret it as a way to tell him that he did not prepare us the cup we would have liked to drink .

Still or sparkling: which water to drink with coffee?

Among the things to know for optimal coffee tasting, there is also that What makes the difference is the water: when you drink it before coffee, it must be natural. «A low-mineral or sparkling water alters the approach to the palate, enhancing the hardness. That is: it makes the coffee taste more bitter if it is bitter, or more acidic if it already tends towards sour.”

Should chocolate be eaten before or after coffee?

Not just water, however: not infrequently, especially at the bar, coffee is served with chocolates or biscuits. What to do in these cases? «Except for particular pairing experiences between food and coffee, they should not be eaten before or after because they alternate the perception of the taste of the coffee: a very bitter chocolate can make the coffee perceived as less bitter than it actually is, and vice versa. A biscuit is even worse because it is generally very sweet: the shock of flavors that can result risks ruining the experience.”

Gordon Ramsay Recipes