Ready to get your hands dirty together with the Neapolitan chef Roberto Di Pinto to prepare one of the Neapolitan delicacies par excellence? The Neapolitan casatiello! Similar in dough to that of bread but flavored with a filling of salami like Naples and Pecorino, as well as a generous sprinkling of pepper, the Neapolitan casatiello is a rustic preparation that is the protagonist of Easter’s menu. The unmistakable feature? The fresh eggs encased in the donut dough and that the kids usually fight over at the table the day of Easter! Of course, every family has its own tradition, especially with respect to stuffing… the important thing is to be generous and abound in cheeses and cured meats! Arm yourself with the necessary tools to prepare a very tasty Neapolitan casatiello, starting with the most important: hands and… love!
Enrich your menus with the sweet cottage and with other Neapolitan savory delights such as the typical rustic babaThe tortanothe Neapolitan rustic chiena pizza and the inevitable pastiera!
Read the recipe in English
To prepare the Neapolitan casatiello, start by pouring the fresh brewer’s yeast into water at room temperature 1stir to dissolve it 2then pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook 3.
Also add the other fats: oil and lard 4. Start working the ingredients at low speed and gradually add half the dose of flour, helping yourself with a spoon 5. Once the flour has been absorbed and you have obtained a sort of batter, add the salt 6.
At this point, add the remaining flour all at once 7 and continue working at medium speed. The dough should have a soft consistency, but not excessively. It will take about 10 minutes of processing with the planetary mixer 8. Otherwise you can work with the planetary mixer for 5 minutes and the remaining 5 by hand on the worktop. Once the processing is finished, stop the mixer and transfer the dough to the work surface 9 just enough time to give it a spherical shape; let it rest on the work surface while you prepare the filling, there will be no need to cover it.
Remove the skin from the salami and cut it into not too thin slices lengthwise 10then reduce it into strips and finally into cubes 11. With a knife remove the crust from the Pecorino 12
and always make rather large cubes like those of salami 13: in this way salami and cheese will be felt in the filling. Take the dough, take a piece (about 80 grams) 14 and keep it aside: you will need it to seal the eggs on the casatiello later. Flatten the dough slightly 15
pour the cubes of Pecorino cheese and salami on the dough 16and work it with your hands until all the ingredients are incorporated (17-18).
Sprinkle everything with plenty of black pepper (preferably freshly ground) 19 and knead to absorb it 20. Handle the dough to stretch it into a loaf 21
And when it’s long enough 22, take a donut mold of 24 cm in diameter and butter it; place the loaf made inside the mould 23 joining and sealing the two ends 24.
Now place the raw eggs vertically in 4 well-spaced points of the casatiello, applying light pressure 25; then take the dough set aside and work 8 pieces to form loaves 26which you can place crosswise on the eggs to cage them 27.
Once finished, cover the casatiello with a clean cloth 28 and let it rise at room temperature away from drafts for about 1 hour, 1 hour and a half. Once the volume will have almost doubled 29 cook your Neapolitan casatiello in a preheated static oven at 170° for 75 minutes, placing the mold at the base of the oven. Once cooked 30, let it cool, then gently turn it out of the mold and place it on a serving plate. Your Neapolitan casatiello is ready to be shared with the whole family!
