Preparation

• In the bowl of the mixer pour:
  – the semolina or the whole-wheat semolina;
  – a pinch of baking soda;
  – the salt;
  – the oil;
  and start the mixer at speed 1.
  Continue working at speed 2 for about 10 minutes, adding the water little by little.
  The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be elastic and firm.
  Transfer the dough to a work surface and work it briefly by hand to form a ball.
  Dust the bottom of a bowl with a little semolina and place the dough ball inside.
  Seal the bowl with a lid or wrap it with plastic wrap.
  Let the dough rest at room temperature for about one hour.
  After this time, your dough without yeast will be ready to use.

• Heat the water: it should be lukewarm, not hot.
  Pour the lukewarm water into a measuring jug, add and dissolve the yeast.
  In the bowl of the mixer pour:
  – the semolina or the whole-wheat semolina;
  – the oil;
  and start the mixer at speed 1.
  Continue working at speed 2 for about 10 minutes, adding little by little all the water in which you dissolved the yeast and the salt halfway through mixing [so it does not come into direct contact with the yeast].
  The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be elastic and firm.
  Transfer the dough to a work surface and work it a little by hand to form a ball.
  Dust the bottom of a bowl with a little semolina and place the ball inside.
  Seal the bowl with a lid or wrap it with plastic wrap.
  Place it in a cool, dark place.
  [see photo 01]

  After about 4 hours from mixing
  Turn the dough out onto a work surface lightly dusted with a little semolina.
  Work it a few minutes by hand and reshape the ball.
  Place it again in the bowl, seal it and put it back in the same place.
  [see photo 02]

  After about 24 hours from mixing
  * after 24 hours the dough should be doubled or nearly so.
  Many factors influence the rise such as flour, yeast and environmental conditions.
  You can use it sooner but the long fermentation makes the dough more digestible.
  [see photo 03]

• Cleaning cuttlefish and extracting the ink
  On YouTube you can find a very clear video on cleaning cuttlefish which describes in detail how to recover the ink sac.

  Wash the cuttlefish under running water and pat dry with kitchen paper.
  Remove the eyes and the beak and extract the cuttlebone.
  Rinse again.
  Proceed to remove the viscera.
  After extracting the cuttlebone, part of the mantle (the cuttlefish sac) remains open:
  – cut the skin that covered the cuttlebone to open the internal cavity that contains the viscera;
  – gently extract the viscera, if necessary help with a small knife: eggs, milt and the ink sac in one block and then separately livers and gills.
  The eggs and milt of cuttlefish are a real delicacy.
  The livers are also edible.
  The gills should be discarded.
  Locate the ink sac and separate it gently intact so as not to disperse its contents.
  The sac walls are very thin and break easily so have a small glass or a little bowl ready in case you need to recover the content quickly.
  After removing the viscera, check that there are no residues inside the mantle.
  Skin the cuttlefish: consider that the skin is edible so this is not a necessary operation:
  – peel the skin by pulling it along the mantle from one side and the other.
  Wash the sac, externally and internally, and the tentacles thoroughly under running water.
  Pat dry with kitchen paper.
  The cuttlefish are clean and ready for cooking.

  Can cuttlefish ink be preserved?
  For the detailed step-by-step procedure you can read the tutorial by clicking on the following link: freezing cuttlefish ink in tomato sauce | without crystals and grains.

• Cut the bodies and tentacles of the cuttlefish into bite-sized pieces.

  In a pan warm a sprinkle of garlic powder and the chopped onion, sweat with a few tablespoons of water.
  Add the cuttlefish to the pan and brown them for a few minutes (3-5 minutes), just long enough for the water to evaporate but without overcooking them [the impanata will go in the oven].
  Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper, add the chopped parsley and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil.
  Let cool.
  You can leave the filling simple or enrich it according to tradition.

  For the traditional cuttlefish impanata add:
  – breadcrumbs or whole-wheat breadcrumbs;
  – grated cheese;
  – blanched and well-drained peas;
  and mix well.

• Your dough for Ragusan scacce, traditional or whole-wheat, is ready to be used in the preparation of the impanate.
  Once the filling is ready:
  – turn the dough out onto a work surface lightly dusted with semolina;
  – work it a few minutes by hand to regain elasticity and reshape it into a ball.

  

• You can proceed with rolling out and filling the impanate.

• For each impanata you need 2 dough balls:
  – dough ball of 120 g (about 4.2 oz) for the base – slightly larger in diameter;
  – dough ball of 70 g (about 2.5 oz) for the top – slightly smaller in diameter;
  [thanks to Giovannella, the mother of my friend Sara, for the tip about the dough ball weights].

  Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
  Roll each dough ball with a rolling pin, using a little semolina, until you obtain a disk about 3-4 mm thick (about 1/8–3/16 in) [not too thin, it must support the filling].
  If the dough tends to spring back, let it rest for 5 minutes and resume rolling.
  It’s a cycle of: flour, roll, flour, roll, rotate and so on.
  * for a regular shape cut the disks using cookie cutters, plates, bowls or lids.

• Spread the cuttlefish filling on the larger disk (base) leaving the edges free.
  Cover with the smaller disk (top).
  Seal the edges well by pressing with your fingers to prevent liquids from leaking during cooking.
  Fold the edge over itself to form the characteristic cord or rieficu, or simply close it as if it were a calzone.
  Prick the impanata with a fork in several places.
  * grandma’s trick: if you prepared impanate with different fillings, prick them with the fork embroidering the initials of the filling, for example: S for cuttlefish.

• [step-by-step images valid for any type of filling].

  Place the impanata on the baking sheet.

• Set the oven as follows:
  – temperature 356°F;
  – convection mode.
  Preheat well.
  Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden and check for doneness.
  * times and temperatures may vary depending on the oven and the size of the impanate.

  If the impanate begin to brown quickly:
  – cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper [wet and wrung out];
  – lower the oven temperature by about 18–36°F;
  and finish cooking.

  For a less rustic look brush the surface of the impanate with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

• Your cuttlefish impanate are ready.
  I recommend waiting until they are warm or cold before cutting so that the cooking juices set and the flavors and structure stabilize.
  Enjoy your meal!

  

• Cuttlefish impanate are a complete dish; add your portion of vegetables to compose a balanced meal or single plate that helps keep blood sugar stable.

• – eel or moray impanata;
  – salt cod impanata;
  – dogfish impanata.