Among the traditional Neapolitan dishes towers the Casatiello, prepared on the occasion of the Easter to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and often at Christmas as well. There are as many as two versions, sweet and savory, perfect for all tastes. The savory variant is more typical Neapolitan, while the sweet one is more common in the Caserta area.

The Savory casatiello is not the Tortano! There is often confusion between the two, but it is good to remember that Casatiello is prepared with whole eggs in the upper parts, while in tortano they are used to stuff the inside along with the other meats.

The Savory Casatiello

Casatiello salato probably dates back to Greek Naples. There is literary evidence for the existence of breads topped with various ingredients, including cheese, caseus then transformed into case in Neapolitan and then became casatiello, that is, small cheese bread.

This savory doughnut was served during spring festivals in honor of Demeter, or Ceres for the Romans, later becoming a symbol of Catholic Easter.

In the 1600s, the casatiello, along with the Neapolitan Pastiera, makes an appearance in the fable Cat Cinderella written by Giambattista Basile, officially entering the culinary scene in Campania:

"oh my good: what a mazzecatorio and what a bazzara that se facette! Where did so many pastries and casatielle come from? Where did the hates and porpettes come from? Where the maccarune and graviuole? So much that nce he could magnare n'asserceto formed."

A bread stuffed with cheese and cured meats, the savory casatiello is the King of the table during Easter lunch, unmistakable with its fresh eggs caged in the top of the doughnut-shaped dough.

The recipe

Here are the ingredients:

• 200 g of sourdough
• 250 ml of water
• 250 g of 0 flour
• 250 g of 00 flour
• 125 gr of lard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 120 g of bacon
• 150 g of salami
• 250 g of spicy provolone cheese
• 30 g of pecorino cheese
• 4 eggs

Put the sourdough starter, refreshed 2 times before using it, and room temperature water in a bowl. If you want to use brewer's yeast, dissolve 12 g of brewer's yeast with a little sugar and 30 ml of warm water. Add the flour and start kneading, then the lard, salt, pepper and knead the dough for about 20 minutes. When smooth, form into a ball, cover and let rise for about 12 hours until doubled in volume.

Then roll out the dough to form a rectangle to cover with the cold cuts and cheeses, roll it all up to form a cylinder, sprinkle the mold with lard and place the casatiello inside. Then form four hollows with your hands in which to place the typical fresh caged eggs.

The Sweet Casatiello

Some people think that this delicious dessert comes from Torre del Greco, others from the Amalfi Coast But it is certainly a recipe that has been handed down for generations.

Also called Easter cone, this cake has the characteristic of being prepared with the so-called criscito, that is, a yeast made from a dough that used to be passed from house to house.

The topping is a rainbow of colors because the white frosting is studded with tiny colored sprinkles, called devils. A particular custom, especially in small towns, is to bake casatiello in trusted bakeries rather than in one's own home, so as to facilitate baking time. In Neapolitan homes it is customary to prepare casatielli and pastiere in abundance during the Easter season so that they can be given as gifts to friends and relatives.

Usually this recipe is handed down from one generation to the next and in most cases we learn it thanks to our grandmothers who never give up tradition, waking up even at dawn in order to bake this delicious dessert.

The recipe

Here are the ingriedents:

• 500 g of 00 flour
• 4 eggs
• 220 g sugar
• 50 g butter
• 50 gr of lard
• 150 gr di lievito madre o biga (65 gr di farina 0 + 12 gr di lievito di birra + 30 ml di acqua + 1 pizzico di zucchero)
• 30 ml di liquore strega
• 1 buccia di limone
• 1 cucchiaio di essenza di vaniglia
• 3 gocce di succo di limone
• 1 albume
• 125 gr zucchero a velo
• confettini colorati q.b.

Nel caso in cui tu stia utilizzando il criscito sarà necessario rinfrescarlo 2 volte prima di utilizzarlo e usarlo 3/4 ore dopo l’ultimo rinfresco quando sarà al massimo della sua attività. Se vuoi utilizzare il lievito di birra, prepara una biga sciogliendo 12 gr di lievito di birra, un pizzico di zucchero in una ciotola con 30 ml di acqua appena tiepida, poi aggiungi 65 grammi di farina ed impasta fino a formare una palla, metti a lievitare in forno spento per 1 ora o fino al raddoppio.

In una ciotola capiente, monta le uova con lo zucchero, poi unisci la farina e il criscito (o la biga) e inizia ad impastare.

Aggiungi il burro morbido, lo strutto, il liquore strega, la buccia di limone e un cucchiaio di essenza di vaniglia e impasta tutto fino ad ottenere un composto omogeneo.

Disponi poi il composto ottenuto in uno stampo imburrato ed infarinato, livella bene la superficie e fai riposare in un posto caldo e lontano da correnti d’aria per 12/24 ore. Il tempo può variare in base alla forza del lievito, comunque sarà pronto quando raggiungerà quasi il bordo dello stampo.

Cuoci il casatiello dolce in forno statico a 170° per 50 minuti circa, quando ti sembra cotto fai la prova dello stecchino per essere sicuro.

Per la glassa mescola l’albume con lo zucchero a velo e le gocce di limone. Spalmala sulla parte superiore del casatiello e poi ricoprila con confettini colorati. Lascia raffreddare completamente prima di servire.

Cosa aspetti a prepararlo anche tu per il giorno di Easter?