The culinary spotlight really seems to shine on Napoli during the Easter season with traditional delights. Many are familiar with the Pastiera Napoletana (the customary sweet tart made with grano cotto, eggs and ricotta, flavoured with orange flower water) but there is also a wonderfully delicious and symbolic savoury dish prepared during the season known as Casatiello.
Casatiello is a leavened bread prepared during the Easter period. The dough is enriched with cheese (typically smoked scamorza and pecorino) and stuffed with an assortment of cured pork and cheeses (the particular mix varies from recipe to recipe). The dough is worked into a ring shape, placed in a mold, and then left to rise for several hours. It is typically prepared on Good Friday, allowed to leven, and then baked and eaten on Holy Saturday.
Its name is believed to be derived from the Neapolitan “caso” which is cacio in Italian proper, meaning cheese (Pecorino specifically) which as mentioned is part of the dough.
Symbolism is strongly attached to this stuffed loaf, much like many of the dishes prepared across the peninsula for Pasqua. Its ring shape is said to represent the cyclical nature of the Easter resurrection and of Christ’s crown of thorns. The hard-boiled eggs placed on the bread’s surface, not completely covered but visible, represent another important Easter symbol. Five eggs are place on the bread ring representing the five wounds Christ suffered during the Passion. The eggs are locked by two crossed stripes of dough, a cross shape, representing the cross upon which Jesus died.
If we go back for a moment to the selection of cheese, Pecorino, it too, is emblematic in this recipe. It is a cheese made from sheep’s milk that feeds the lamb, reminiscent of the lambs sacrificed to God in the Old Testament and of course the reference to Christ as the Lamb of God.
Earlier I cited the fact that the Casatiello is eaten on Saturday. It should never be eaten before Holy Saturday because of “S’adda sciogliere a’ Gloria,” which in Naples, is an expression that refers to the conclusion of the Easter mourning period. When the Easter candle is lit and the church bells ring celebrating the resurrection of Christ then the period of fasting ends. It is at this time when meats and desserts are returned to the tables and stuffed bread can be enjoyed. Casatiello is also a popular item that is packed up for a Pasquetta picnic or “Gite fuori porta” as the Italians say.
If your taste buds lean more towards savoury dishes then this King of Bread as it is also known, is a definite must-try for Easter (or picnic season) and easy enough to prepare if you use readymade pizza or bread dough. Buona Pasqua and Buon Appetito!
