Pisarei the typical Piacenza dumplings.
The preparation of pisarei, a typical recipe from the Piacenza area, is simple; it doesn’t require extensive study, just a little time. The ingredients needed are very few: white soft wheat flour, breadcrumbs, and boiling water, nothing more. I’ve kept this recipe for a long time, given to me by old friends many, many years ago. Surely born to make use of leftover stale bread, in times when leftovers were valuable and nothing was thrown away, like every traditional recipe, it has various versions. I make them this way and they are delicious!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: Serves 8
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 24.7 oz Flour (0 or 00)
- 10.6 oz Breadcrumbs
- water (boiling)
Preparation
Heat up some water, there is no exact quantity, but heat plenty, about a liter, so you won’t run out during preparation. Heat until it reaches boiling, but do not let it boil and evaporate.
Mix the flour and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. When they are well mixed, start adding boiling water, little by little.
Mix the dough with a fork and add water until you get a dough with a consistency similar to handmade egg pasta.
Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it by hand on a floured surface. Be careful not to burn yourself; the dough might still be very hot.
Cut the dough into pieces with a knife, roll it out and form small rolls. Stretch them thinner with your fingers, like you do for potato dumplings, but smaller, about half an inch in diameter.
Cut the dough into pieces a little over half an inch and press each one with your thumb, forming a hollow inside and rolling it slightly on the well-floured work surface.
Pisarei are cooked for a few minutes in salted boiling water, until they float to the surface. It will take about 10-15 minutes if you cook them freshly made.
Piacenza Pisarei
You can also prepare these dumplings the day before and leave them to rest on a drying tray for pasta, covered with a clean cloth. In this case, they will probably dry a bit, and it will take a few more minutes of cooking.
