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The Sicilian Table: Scacce & Stories - Agata’s Recipe

Comfort food, whether it be a way of fulfilling a food desire and therefore satisfying a craving, or having an amazing ability to echo a connection with time, comfort food without a doubt generates contentment.  Preparing a comfort food that elicits a memory from our past is what Marcel Proust called a 'Proustian moment'; the journey of memory on which we go on and through that journey the resurrection of memories of those who cared for us in the past. These are dishes that we remember our mothers and grandmothers preparing - good food served at their tables that convey their love for us. Memories of when we knew beyond question that someone cared for us through the act of placing food in front of us and saying mangia! mangia! (eat!)  In this post, not only am I sharing a recipe for a Sicilian pie typical of the region of Ragusa, but also making a call out for any Sicilian friends out there who would like to be part of a project I am currently working on. More about this lat...
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Autumn - Pide with Figs, Ricotta & Vincotto

 



I am not too sure where Summer went but welcome my favourite season, Autumn. 

It brings golden hues, chestnuts, figs and wine making for Papà.  Now 90, he amazes me with his passion, drive and forward thinking.  I asked for a few bunches of shiraz grapes to be set aside for me - the next best thing to being a part of the whole process as we were away in Bright that weekend.  The intention was to dry them and use as part of a cheese board, but this time I decided to make a shiraz reduction which was drizzled over some figs and oven roasted with balsamic vinegar and cinnamon until caramelized. 

I had enjoyed something similar many years back at St Katherines, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Melbourne which is now no longer operating.  The caramelized figs were served in a pide with feta and ricotta which I loved so much. So, I searched to see if I could find the recipe, and to my delight Gourmet Traveller had featured it in their 2011 edition.  

The recipe asks for dried baby Iranian figs, but with fig season in full swing, I substituted them with my very small haul of fresh figs that I prepared as mentioned above. I also omitted the grated haloumi cheese, choosing to use what I had; but remember it added the salty aspect to the sweet pide.

The pide casing is a simple leavened dough rolled thin, then filled with fresh ricotta and a generous amount of those juicy figs spooned on top. An additional drizzle of vin cotto is a must before baking in the oven and garnished with some mint while still warm.


Pide with Figs, Ricotta & Vin cotto

Below is my simplified version of that recipe, still maintaining its integrity. I substituted the fresh yeast with instant yeast; and used fresh figs. 

Make 4 large pides.

Ingredients:

7 gm instant yeast dissolved in 300ml lukewarm water.

250 gm (1 2/3 cups) plain flour

175 gm firm ricotta, coarsely crumbled

8 medium ripe figs

25 ml vin cotto

5 ml balsamic vinegar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

To serve: mint & vincotto

For figs, wash and cut into quarters lengthways and then in half again. Place in baking dish lined with baking paper. Add vincotto, balsamic vinegar, and ground cinnamon. Bake in moderate oven until caramelized but not burnt. Set aside.

For pide dough, mix flour and ¼ tsp salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook to combine. With mixer on low speed, gradually add yeast mixture and knead until a soft, elastic dough forms (6-8 minutes). Turn onto a lightly floured work surface, divide into 4, roll into balls, place on a floured tray, leaving 10cm space between pieces, and stand to prove (1 hour).

Meanwhile preheat oven to 220C. Roll out each piece of dough to a 25cm-long oval and place each on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Scatter over ricotta and then figs on top, leaving a 1cm border, then fold in edges, pinching ends together to form a boat shape. Bake in batches, swapping trays halfway through cooking, until golden (18-20 minutes), scatter with mint and some more vincotto. Best served hot.

Enjoy!


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