What's for Dinner Tonight? - Sciachiatta or Sicilian Meat Pie

It’s pronounced Sca-chada and it is not quite a pizza or a calzone, Sciachiatta (sometimes spelled Scachatta) is a savory Italian pie made with a homemade pizza dough and filled with seasoned meat or Italian greens like rapini (broccoli rabe) or escarole.

The shop we used to order it from changed their recipe, and unfortunately it was not for the better. I went on a search and found this recipe from Garlicgirl.com. It is even better than what we used to get from the Italian bakery.

Like most recipes, many of the ingredients can be swapped out. If you’re not a big fan of meat, this dish is wonderful with lots of greens too!

Sciachiatta

Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup lukewarm water

1 ½ ounce packet (or 2¼ tsp) I used Fleishmann's Rapid Rise. Each packet contains 2¼ teaspoons.

Pork Filling

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds ground pork butt or Italian sausage

1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon black pepper

4-5 garlic cloves minced or sliced

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

Optional: 1 cup dandelion greens roughly chopped

1 cup Pecorino Romano thinly sliced

• In mixing bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cups of the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt; set aside.
• In separate small container, stir together water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for several minutes until foam forms on top.
• Make a well in center of flour and add the yeast mixture; stir until combined. If using an electric mixer, add hook attachment and knead for several minutes until dough pulls away from the sides and has an elastic texture. If kneading by hand, roll out on to floured surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to large bowl. To that same bowl, add the dough and roll to coat dough in olive oil.
• Cover top of dough with plastic wrap and then cover the top of the bowl with a clean towel.
• Let rise for a least 90 minutes, until dough has doubled in size.
• Punch dough down and break in half to form two dough balls.
• If using right away, let rise another 30 minutes on counter. If using at a later date, place in greased plastic zip lock and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• To make filling, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in sauté pan. Add red pepper flakes and garlic; sauté about a minute. Add ground pork and sauté on medium high heat for five minutes; add parsley, salt, black pepper, dandelion greens and continue to sauté until vegetables are tender and meat is slightly caramelized; set aside to cool.
• When ready to make the sciachiatta, heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  
• Grease 9-inch shallow pie or pizza pan or dish with olive oil.
• Roll out both dough balls to about a 6-inch circle. With the first half, using hands, press and stretch dough into the bottom of the pan, and the bottom sides of the pan.
• Brush with a little olive oil and then add a layer of Pecorino. Spread a thick, even layer of the cooked pork (about an inch or more) and then top with another layer of Pecorino.
• With hands, gently pull remaining dough over the top to cover the entire top of the pie and dish. With fingers, tuck and pinch the dough down into the sides of the pan to seal the pie.
• With sharp knife, cut several one-inch slices in top crust (to allow for steam to escape).
• Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt.
• Bake for about 30 minutes until crust is deep golden brown; remove from oven and let cool about 20 minutes before slicing.