The Sicilian Fried Pizzas of Zafferana Etnea

My memories are made of images and flavors, which always bring me back to those of a child and to Zafferana Etnea.

Called the "Pearl of Etna", due to its beauty and position at the foot of the volcano, it is a town with an ancient name and Arab origins, which in fact recalls the colorful pistil of Saffron, which blooms in the fertile volcanic soil in autumn. with impetus, like small sprays of lava.

Saffron is also a fundamental ingredient in Sicilian cuisine!

And every time I went up to Zafferana with my family, it meant that a Sicilian pizza was guaranteed! As were the walks to the belvedere, while the music of some concerts brightened the evening.

Zafferana Etnea is also known for many other typical products. Its honey, the tea leaves, the exquisite soft “skier's” biscuits covered in chocolate, so called because it was the favorite dessert of the Alpine Club skiers and of course the famous Sicilian pizza!
Sicilian pizza spectacle for sight and palate is a ritual that is consumed all year round, and is a "must-have" for lovers of fried food and typical local flavors.
The most sought after recipe is the secret one of a particular bar called Donna Peppina. Many have tried to imitate it and of course I too have been making my family version for years!
When the warm season begins, until early autumn, and vacationers and tourists go up to Zafferana to get away from the heat of the city, a dinner with the "Siciliana" becomes inevitable, where the locals compete for reservations and the result of this frenzy it is similar to a square in celebration!
Today I want to tell you the recipe of my "Siciliana"!

Sicilian fried pizza from Zafferana Etnea

For the dough:

• flour 0
• re-milled semolina flour
• milk
• water
• sugar
• brewer's yeast
• piece of lard for frying

For the stuffing:

• Sicilian anchovies in oil
• fresh spring onion or spring onion
• black pepper
• Sicilian black olives
• “Tuma” typical Sicilian fresh unseasoned cheese made from sheep's milk

• Preparation:

  My Sicilian is made with 0 flour and re-milled semolina flour, milk and water, a piece of lard, sugar and brewer's yeast, for the filling we need Sicilian anchovies in oil, a little fresh onion or spring onion, Sicilian black olives, black pepper and typical Sicilian cheese, “Tuma”, a fresh unseasoned cheese made from sheep's milk, which gives the pizza a creamy heart.

  The dough is worked like that for classic pizza, letting it rise until doubled, after you get balls to rise for another 15 minutes, then roll out the balls about 1/2 cm and stuffed with ingredients

  Sicilian and close the circles of the dough in a crescent, trying to seal the edges well to prevent the dough from leaking out during cooking.

  After waiting another 15 minutes, the time for making the pizzas, he plunges them into the lard ... and that's where the wonderful transformation into a golden pizza takes place, crumbly outside and with a soft and tasty heart inside. Alternatively, you can fry the sunflower oil, but I assure you that the difference is considerable! A delight!

  Honestly, the original Sicilian ones are preferable to home-made ones, but not only for their goodness, what makes a favorite and good food, in my humble opinion, is also given by many other aspects related to the territory, its people, memories that make it unique!
  My memories are always those of a child with the family: that every time she went up to Zafferana, it meant that a Sicilian pizza was guaranteed, as were the walks to the belvedere, while the music of some concerts cheered up the evening.
  The last memory before leaving was the smell of orange blossom and the wet earth of the freshly watered flower beds, summer was upon us.