Rachel Roddy’s recipe for folded flatbreads with tomato, onion and cheese (scacce) | Food

This time 9 years in the past, we had simply arrived in Sicily. It was the start of our second lengthy summer season keep in my associate’s grandparents’ home in Gela, a metropolis on the south coast. The earlier yr had been the primary time in a few years that the home had been opened up and (due to the sensible expertise of one other cousin) made snug and just about absolutely purposeful. Not purposeful sufficient, although, to deal with being closed up for an additional eight months, so after we arrived in 2016 the oven, fridge and washer all had issues getting going. A lot in order that we changed two of them, however determined to do all we may for the cooker. Additionally, as a result of it actually was and is an extension of my associate’s grandmother Sara, who (I’ve been advised) would have hated me turning her right into a caricature.We known as a person who gave the Nineteen Seventies cooker a radical service and, after changing the gasoline tubes and valves, gave it the all-clear, whereas making it plain that this was virtually definitely a final reprieve. He left saying that whereas we should always take advantage of it, we shouldn’t make too many calls for of it. Being June, and in a small home in the midst of an industrial metropolis, demanding issues from a gasoline ring, by no means thoughts an oven, was not a precedence. So we used the oven solely often, and after we did solely very early within the day, to make varied issues, together with just a few recipes for this column and the primary incarnation of this week’s recipe, le scacce ragusane.Typical of Ragusa, which is about 70km from Gela, scacce means squashed, and refers back to the means the dough is wrapped and squashed round a wealthy filling of tomato, onion and cheese. The normal cheese is ragusano, a agency cow’s milk cheese (a part of the pasta filata stretched-curd cheese household) made within the provinces of Ragusa and Syracuse, and simply as efficient and attractive as cheddar, scamorza and provola. There’s additionally no cause you couldn’t add just a few anchovies to the tomato combine, too.In a lot the identical means as a pop tart, the filling might be molten scorching for fairly a while, so go away them to chill a bit earlier than biting into them, or go away to chill fully earlier than stacking and wrapping up in a clear tea towel to tackle a picnic. When they’re unpacked, they are often eaten entire, Cornish pasty-style, or minimize into thick slices.Folded flatbreads with tomato, onion and cheese (scacce)Makes 410g dried yeast, or 20g recent yeast50ml tepid milk1 pinch sugar500g durum wheat or plain flourOlive oilSalt400g ripe tomatoes2 massive onions, peeled and sliced1 pinch dried oregano200g ragusano, or cheddar, grated or minimize into small cubesStart on the dough by mixing the yeast with the milk and a pinch of sugar, then go away it to get up for 10 minutes. Add the flour, 220ml water, two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt, and produce all the things collectively right into a smooth dough. Knead, then cowl and go away to relaxation for 2 hours, or till doubled in measurement.Peel the tomatoes by plunging them first into boiling water for 2 minutes after which into chilly water, so the skins draw back simply. Quarter the tomatoes, scoop out the seeds and minimize the flesh into slender arcs.In a pan on a low warmth, soften the onions in olive oil with a pinch of salt, then add the tomatoes and oregano, and prepare dinner for about quarter-hour, till the combination is wealthy and thick.Lower the dough into 4 equal items, then, engaged on a flippantly oiled floor, roll and press every quarter right into a roughly 20cm x 30cm rectangle. Unfold among the tomato combine within the centre of every piece and go away clear a border throughout the sting – 5cm on the lengthy sides and 2cm on the prime and backside. Sprinkle over 1 / 4 of the cheese, then convey within the lengthy sides to cowl the filling. Fold in half like a e book, then pinch the highest and backside edges like a pop tart.Carry on to a baking tray, brush with oil and bake at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gasoline 6 for 40 minutes, till golden. Depart to chill earlier than wrapping.