Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 100 glard, or 80 ml olive oil
- 1 tspsalt
- 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
- 250 mlwarm water
Greens filling
- 1 kgwild greens, or spinach and chard
- 4 clovesgarlic, sliced
- 4 tbspolive oil
- chilli flakes
- salt
Pumpkin filling
- 400 gpumpkin, roasted and mashed
- 200 gsquacquerone or stracchino
- grated nutmeg
Directions
- Rub the lard into the flour with the salt and bicarbonate of soda, then add the warm water and bring it together into a smooth dough. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Rest it covered for 30 minutes. Unrested dough springs back as fast as you roll it and you will never get it thin enough.
- Wilt the greens in salted water, drain them, and squeeze them genuinely dry, then chop and fry them with the garlic, oil and chilli.
- Squeeze the greens twice if you have to. Wet filling steams inside the dough and the cassone splits open on the griddle.
- Divide the dough into six and roll each piece into a round about 22 cm across and 3 mm thick.
- Spread the filling over one half only, leaving a clear 2 cm border all round the edge.
- Fold the other half over, press the edge down firmly, then crimp it with a fork or roll it over on itself to seal.
- Heat a dry cast iron griddle or a heavy pan over a medium heat, with no oil at all.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes a side, pressing down with a spatula, until blistered and browned in patches.
- If it puffs up dramatically, pierce it once with the tip of a knife to let the steam escape, or the seam will burst and the filling will run out onto the griddle.
- Eat it hot, straight from the griddle, folded in a sheet of paper. A cold cassone is a different and much lesser thing.
Technique
- Dry filling, dry griddle, eat immediately. Everything else about it is forgiving.
- It is piadina dough with a filling sealed inside, and it comes from the same Romagna and Sammarinese kiosks.
- Fillings follow the season: wild herbs in spring, pumpkin in autumn, and whatever the garden gave in between.
Substitutions
- Olive oil in place of lard, which is the modern version and slightly less short.
- Ricotta mixed with the greens if you cannot find squacquerone.
Variations
- With potato and rosemary.
- With sausage and onion.
- With tomato and mozzarella, which locals regard as a concession to visitors.
History
Romagna and San Marino street food from piadina kiosks, filled with wild herbs or pumpkin in season.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cassone?
Cassone is a street food from San Marino: piadina folded over greens or cheese and griddled shut, eaten hot. Romagna and San Marino street food from piadina kiosks, filled with wild herbs or pumpkin in season.
How long does Cassone take to make?
Cassone takes 30 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 cassoni. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cassone?
Yes, within limits. Olive oil in place of lard, which is the modern version and slightly less short. Ricotta mixed with the greens if you cannot find squacquerone.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cassone?
Rest it covered for 30 minutes. Unrested dough springs back as fast as you roll it and you will never get it thin enough.
