Today’s savory recipe from tradition: Neapolitan Easter tortano.

On Easter Day on Neapolitan tables, but now on many Italian tables, this rustic dish, along with the casatiello, are the undisputed kings of these festive periods.

The tortano is a rustic cake enriched with cold cuts, cheeses, and hard-boiled eggs directly in the dough that is made using lard, giving the outside a crispy texture. Tasty, fragrant, and melt-in-your-mouth soft, a real delight! Making it is quite simple, and I assure you that once you’ve tried it, you’ll make it on other occasions, not just during the Easter holidays but also for setting up a buffet or simply as a gift when you visit someone.

I will surely prepare it along with a nice Easter pie and some colombine without mold to put in my picnic basket on Easter Monday for a nice outdoor excursion.

Let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.

Ingredients for the Neapolitan tortano

300 g Manitoba flour
300 g 00 flour (+ more for rolling)
1.5 cups water
1.75 oz pecorino (grated)
1 tsp black pepper (plenty)
0.42 oz fine salt
0.14 oz instant dry yeast
2.8 oz lard
1 tsp honey
7 oz Neapolitan salami
7 oz pancetta (bacon)
5.3 oz provola cheese
3.5 oz provolone cheese
4 hard-boiled eggs
2.5 oz grated Parmesan

Tools

1 Scale
1 Stand Mixer
1 Rolling Board
1 Cutting Board
1 Knife
1 Bundt Pan
1 Measuring Cup
1 Rolling Pin
1 Saucepan

Let’s prepare the Neapolitan Easter tortano together

In the bowl of the stand mixer, pour the flours, the instant dry yeast, and the ground pepper and start mixing with the hook. In a small bowl, add the water with the salt and let it dissolve, then pour it slowly into the flour.
Continuing to knead, also add the honey and, when it is absorbed, add the grated pecorino and let it knead for a minute, always with the hook at medium speed.
At this point, start adding the lard, one small piece at a time, ensuring that the previous piece is well absorbed before adding a new one. Once all the lard is incorporated, let the machine work a little longer until the dough is well bound and wrapped around the hook, then turn it out onto a work surface, shape it into a ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 3 to 4 hours or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling, including the hard-boiled eggs, cold cuts, and cheeses. In a saucepan, place some water with the eggs and let them cook for 7 minutes from the boiling point, then drain them in cold water and peel them.
Take the salami, pancetta, provola, and provolone and cut them into cubes roughly the same size and set them aside in a small bowl. Also, cut the hard-boiled eggs in half, then into three wedges each.
When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and start spreading and flattening it with your hands, then, using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle, making sure the longer side is right to fill the circumference of the mold. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with a handful of Parmesan cheese.
Spread the cubes of cold cuts and cheeses on the dough, spreading them well to cover the entire surface, then add the hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle again with the grated Parmesan.
Starting from the long side, roll the dough onto itself, squeezing it slightly as you roll and being careful not to let the filling escape. Once you have a sausage shape, place the seam side down.
Take a 9-9.5 inch bundt pan and grease it well with lard, then take the tortano and place it in the mold. Grease the surface of the tortano with lard as well and let it rise for an hour or two in the turned-off oven. When it has risen, bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for 60 minutes. At 50 minutes, check that the top is not browning too much, if so, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking.
After the baking time, remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing from the mold and letting it cool completely. Meanwhile, take a photo of your Neapolitan Easter tortano and post it on social media tagging me (a curly girl who messes up instagram and facebook) and let me know if you’ll gift it to someone or take it with you on Easter Monday.