Original Messinese Pitoni or Panzerotti.
After the typical Messinese focaccia and granita with cream, these are what best represent Messina’s street food.

This is the winning recipe from the 2024 Messintavola semifinals.

Messinese pitoni do not require yeast, they are characterized by the classic bubbles and their crunchy exterior, which gives them that “crunch” when you bite into them.
The originals are fried, but there are also various kinds, including baked ones.
They were created right after the war, when it was difficult to find yeast, so with a little flour, escarole, and garden tomatoes, with sheep’s tuma cheese and anchovies in oil, housewives started kneading to create this “pitone” that we lovingly want to export to the rest of the world.

The tomatoes are optional but originally were not included in the pitoni.
You will also find instructions for kneading with the Bimby.

If you want to see all the first course recipes click here

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Very inexpensive
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 8
Cooking methods: Frying
Cuisine: Regional Italian
Region: Sicily
Seasonality: All seasons

531.24 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 531.24 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 51.60 (g) of which sugars 5.54 (g)
Proteins 16.60 (g)
Fat 29.61 (g) of which saturated 11.72 (g)of which unsaturated 13.45 (g)
Fibers 2.54 (g)
Sodium 946.96 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

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4 cups all-purpose flour
2.1 oz lard
3/4 cup water
2.7 tbsps dry white wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
10.5 oz escarole
8 anchovies (in oil)
2 tomatoes (ripe optional)
14 oz cheese (tuma or provolone)
2 l vegetable oil
pepper
to taste oregano
to taste extra virgin olive oil

Tools

Deep fryer
Bowl large
2 Baking sheets
Colander
Cutting board
Knife

Preparation of Original Messinese Pitoni or Panzerotti

About an hour before, take out the lard from the fridge, it must be at room temperature,
Wash the escarole, let it drain first in a colander,
Then cut it into pieces and let it dry on a cloth.
Let’s start kneading.
In a rather large bowl or on a pastry board, put the flour,
the salt and the sugar.
Gradually add the water and the wine.
and gradually start mixing,
You will get a rather grainy dough, at this point add the lard in pieces, and continue kneading.
If you want, you can use a stand mixer.
If you knead with the Bimby, place all the ingredients for the dough: water, flour, salt, wine, sugar, and lard, and knead for 4 minutes on spike speed.
Compact the dough on a pastry board until you can form a loaf.
Grease it with vegetable oil and cover it with cling film. Let it rest for 1 hour
At this point, cut the loaf into 12 pieces, grease your hands with oil, and form balls, which you will let rest just as long as it takes to prepare the other ingredients.
Wash and then cut the tomatoes into small pieces, and let them drain in a colander as well.
Choose a nice piece of tuma cheese, alternatively, you can use provolone or scamorza.
Chop it very finely, and,
let the anchovies in oil drain.
On a pastry board, flatten the dough balls with a rolling pin, until you create …
Oval discs.
After you’ve flattened all the dough, it’s time to make the filling.
In a bowl, combine the escarole with the tomatoes and anchovies in pieces, the chopped tuma cheese, and season it like a salad, with salt, pepper, just a little oil, and oregano, mix everything well.
Put a heap of filling on each dough disc, concentrating it in the center.
Be careful not to let it reach the edges, otherwise they won’t seal.
Press everything down well.
Now put some water in a small cup, which you will use as an adhesive, and brush it only on half the edge of each disc.
Fold one edge over the other, and with your fingers press gently to expel all the air.
There, they’re all closed.
Now decide whether to use the fryer or the pan. In any case, the oil should be abundant, about 2 liters, and you must bring it to maximum temperature.
When the oil is hot, start immersing the pitoni 2 at a time, depending on the width of the fryer or pan.
You need to cook them until they appear golden, turning them as little as possible.
Let them drain on a sheet of paper towels,
Serve them hot and steaming.
Here are the Original Messinese Pitoni or Panzerotti ready.