Panada

A Sardinian standing pie built by hand, filled raw and sealed with a pleated lid.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb, lard.

Ingredients

• 600 g fine semolina flour
• 100 g lard
• 250 ml warm water
• 12 g salt
• 700 g lamb shoulder, in 2 cm dice
• 3 potatoes, in 1 cm dice
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves and a bunch of parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• black pepper

Method

1. Rub the lard into the semolina and salt, add the water, and knead 12 minutes to a firm, smooth dough. Rest it an hour under a cloth.
2. Mix the RAW lamb, RAW potato, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper. Nothing is cooked first.
3. Roll two thirds of the dough into a disc and raise the sides by hand into a straight-sided case 6 cm tall, pinching as you go. It must stand up unsupported — no tin.
4. Pack the raw filling in, pressing it level.
5. Roll a lid, lay it on, and PLEAT THE TWO EDGES TOGETHER in small folds all the way round. The pleat is both the seal and the way the pie is recognised.
6. Make one small hole in the centre.
7. BAKE IT LONG AND MODERATE: 180C for 1 hour 15 minutes. The filling goes in raw and cooks in its own steam inside the case, so a hot fast oven browns the crust while the lamb and potato are still hard.
8. Rest 20 minutes before cutting.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes