Catanese scacciata with broccoli and sausage, one of the great classics of Sicilian cuisine and grandma’s recipes, is a must at Christmas together with traditional sweets such as Buccellati, Biscotti al mosto cotto and Cuddureddi.
Scacciate are traditional savory pies made with an re-milled durum semolina dough, the same used to make bread. They belong to the family of Sicilian rosticceria and street food, they are a must of Catanese autumn and winter and are different from the Ragusana scaccia, being more similar to the Cudduruni lentinese.
There are summer versions too, but the season for them runs from late October to late December, when they take center stage at the big dinners on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. From October through spring, broccoli scacciate, potato scacciate, tuma cheese scacciate, chard scacciate and cauliflower scacciate become synonymous with celebration and conviviality.
Every family has its own way of preparing scacciate, its own version and tradition, but leavened doughs and seasonal vegetables are always present, sometimes accompanied by tuma, olives, sausage, anchovies, pecorino and much more.
Today I’ll show you how I make my version of the broccoli and sausage scacciata, a delicious peasant dish I’m sure you’ll love!
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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very economical
Rest time: 2 Hours
Preparation time: 40 Minutes
Portions: 12 slices
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients to make broccoli and sausage scacciata

3 1/2 cups re-milled durum semolina
1 7/8 cups water
2 1/3 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (or 12 g fresh)
2.2 lb broccoli
1 medium onion (about 3.5 oz / 100 g) onion (onion or more to taste)
to taste salt
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste black pepper
3/4 cup grated cheese (for grating, Parmesan or Pecorino if you like)
5.3 oz toma (Sicilian toma or a semi-soft melting cheese)
10.6 oz sausage (pork)

Tools

Bowl large
Baking pan 13 3/8 x 15 3/4 in (approx)
Oven
Parchment paper
Pan large skillet

How to make broccoli and sausage scacciata

Gather the flour in a bowl, add a little lukewarm water and the yeast, stir to dissolve it.
Add the sugar, the oil, and a little more water, stir and finish with the salt and the remaining water.
Work the dough roughly in the bowl, cover and let rest for ten minutes.
Prepare the broccoli: separate the florets from each other, then, with a knife, remove the tough and stringy parts.
Slice the stems lengthwise without cutting into the florets, place them in a large skillet, add the onion, black pepper, salt and oil, and mix.
Let them stew over very low heat for about thirty minutes, stir and turn off the heat.
Pick up the dough and work it in the bowl until you obtain an elastic and uniform mixture; simply bring the edges toward the center. This will take about 7–10 minutes. Alternatively, you can knead everything with a stand mixer or a bread machine.
Turn the dough out, shape it into a ball and place it in a warm spot to rise until doubled. It should take about 2 hours.
When the dough has doubled in volume, divide it into two parts without deflating it too much. Roll out one half of the dough with a rolling pin into a sheet no thicker than 0.2 in (about 3/16 in).
Line a baking pan with parchment paper and brush it with a little oil (this will add flavor to the base of the scacciata). Move the rolled-out dough onto the prepared pan.
Evenly distribute the broccoli, the toma cut into small pieces (if you can’t find Sicilian toma — which we call tuma — use mild provola or another melting cheese), the grated cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino or a mix), the crumbled sausage with the casing removed, a few black olives if you like, and sprinkle with a little black pepper.
Roll out another thin sheet of dough and cover the filling. Trim the edges so they match perfectly.
Seal the edges by folding the border of the dough inward. Make a large hole in the center and a few smaller holes with the tines of a fork so steam can escape.
With the dough closed, bake in a preheated oven at 446°F (ventilated/fan mode) for 20 minutes. As soon as the scacciata has taken color, lower the temperature to 356°F and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until the desired golden color is reached.
Remove from the oven, cover the scacciata with a cotton cloth and let it rest for at least one hour.
Bring to the table and serve sliced. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a suitable container and consume within two days.
For those who don’t know, tuma is a typical Sicilian cheese — a simple fresh pecorino, unsalted or only slightly salted.