Pugliese pizza rustica

With

Silvia Colloca

Puglian flatbread with capers, olives, spring onion and cherry tomato. Garden-driven.

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About this recipe

Silvia Colloca's Puglian-style flatbread topped with spring onion, capers, halved cherry tomatoes, black olives and chilli, baked until the edges blister. Cucina povera from the heel of Italy: bread dough, garden vegetables, good oil. Cut into rough squares.

The Puglian focaccia-pizza tradition (focaccia barese, the bread-pizza hybrid from Bari and Lecce) is the precedent for this dish. The dough is closer to focaccia than to Neapolitan pizza (higher hydration, slower prove, baked in a rectangular tray rather than a round disc); the toppings tend to be vegetable-heavy and tomato-forward rather than cheese-heavy and meat-forward.

The topping pattern is structurally important. Cherry tomatoes halved and laid cut-side up so they roast and concentrate (rather than steam) in the oven heat; capers and olives both rinsed of their brine first so they don't over-salt the dish; spring onion sliced thin and scattered through; chilli for heat. The whole topping gets a generous slick of olive oil before going in so the surface caramelises rather than dries out.

The rough-cut-square serving style is the Italian household move. Cut with scissors directly on the baking paper, irregular squares rather than neat slices, served piled on a wooden board with extra olive oil for dipping. A cold glass of Vermentino or a sparkling Falanghina alongside. Aperitivo food, lunch food, picnic food, eaten warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

For the filling:

1x bunch spring onions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Monini Organic extra virgin Olive Oil
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
½ cup Monini black Olives, pitted and halved
400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and black pepper to taste
Chilli flakes

For the pastry:

300 g plain flour
80 ml Monini Organic extra virgin Olive Oil
100 ml dry white wine
a pinch of salt
to finish
80–100 g thinly sliced D’Orsogna Dry Salami
extra olive oil and flaky salt for topping

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Line a 30 x 40 cm baking tray with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the olive oil and white wine and bring the dough together with your hands or a spoon. Knead briefly on the bench until smooth, cover, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Start with the filling. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced spring onions with a good pinch of salt and cook gently for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and sweet.
Add the capers and olives and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes and let them cook just long enough to soften and begin to release their juices, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the filling cool completely.
While the filling cools, roll the dough out very thin—almost see-through. Transfer to the lined tray, making sure there’s a good overhang on one long side so you can fold it over the filling.
Spread the cooled filling across about two-thirds of the pastry. Arrange the salami slices over the top. Fold the overhanging dough over the filling and gently tuck or crimp the edges to seal.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Let it cool slightly before slicing.
drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some extra salt.
It’s lovely warm, but just as good at room temperature

Silvia Colloca

Silvia Colloca is a Roman-born cook, opera singer and cookbook author who has spent the last decade documenting the regional cooking of Italy from her home in Sydney. She fronts Silvia’s Masterclass, working through the country one mother-recipe at a time. Her style is patient: fresh pasta by hand, long-rise focaccia, sauces built slow.