‘Caprese is the most tasty, patriotic ode to Italian cuisine. An insalata on almost every menu in Italy that opens your appetite for the meal to come. Our elevated caprese was born out of our love for local San Marzano tomatoes. We wanted to bring Lello’s take to this magnificent classic. What is schiacciata? We travelled to Italy recently to hone our Tuscan bread making skills.
Although nonno Lello was from Rome, we wanted to explore the ancient schiacciata. Ours is a 48-hour fermented Tuscan focaccia like bread using a special grade of flour and unfiltered olive oil,’ says Chiara Turilli, former food stylist and one part of the Turilli family who run Lello’s Deli and Scarpetta in Cape Town.
Schiacciata Ingredients
For the tomatoes:
1 kg ripe San Marzano or Roma tomatoes
4 squares of Lello’s Degli Schiacciata
4 balls of 125g fior di latte
Handful fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
1. For the tomatoes; trim the edge of the
tomato and cut in chunky quarters.
2. Finely chop the garlic, add a sprinkling of salt to make it easier to mince.
3. Add the tomatoes to a deep dish baking tray.
4. Lovingly sprinkle over the origanum with pizzazz along with the minced garlic.
5. Drizzle over a generous Italian amount of olive oil and season to taste.
6. Gently toss using your hands, we like to feel connected to our food.
7. Bake for 4 hours at 160 °C making sure to check and mix every 30 minutes.
Allow to cool completely.
8. To assemble the schiacciata, slice the square of bread in half and fior di latte into slices (use one ball per focaccia).
Tip: Use the slow roasted tomatoes as a pasta sauce. Simply add some pasta water and grated Parmesan cheese.
