It is season for calçots, and it is also season for sponsali. I’m not sure that calçots and sponsali are exactly the same plant, but I have many indications that they are: both are from the Aliaceae family, they look like a leek but the leaves are tubular and not flat, they are collected between December and the end of March -approximately, depending temperature, rain, etc- and are welcomed with great joy.
The sponsali -either spunzaliin pugliese– They are fresh chives that are collected at this time in the Italian region of Apulia. They can be prepared in the oven – just like calçots when you don’t have access to a grill of vine shoots – but the true meaning of their existence is to end up as a filling in an empanada.
I say empanada so that we understand each other, although in Puglia one would say Calzone either Focaccia. Every recipe for focaccia di cipolle either calzone di sponsali I have seen has a different dough: there are those who use semolina flour, others weak flour, who add cooked potato, some lard instead of olive oil… My conclusion: if you have a pizza or empanada dough that you like , use that one. If not, I propose mine.
The filling is as simple as you can imagine, the calçots are cooked in a pan with little olive oil: its own water will do the rest, and in about 15 minutes you will have a soft and sweet filling. To counterpoint this sweetness, you can use the triple A of southern Italian cuisine: olives, capers and anchovies. Black olives, the kind that taste of something: those from Aragón or even some Kalamata, as long as they are not the rubber pellets that are often found in supermarkets. Capers, better if they are in salt -you will have to desalt them, of course: pass them through water for a few seconds- but if they are in vinegar they are also worth (rinse them anyway). And the anchovies, chopped so that they fall apart together with the calçots.
It is not necessary to add all three at the same time either -if you are a vegetarian you can eliminate the anchovies-, and be careful with the quantities: what you want to achieve is a soft and sweet filling with some saltiness. So try, add a little, try again… and decide how far you want to go.
Difficulty
We only ask you to clean some calçots.
Ingredients
For 4-6 people
Your reference empanada or pizza dough or
- 500 g of flour of strength
- 5 g fresh yeast
- 320g of water
- 8 g of fine salt
- 50 g of extra virgin olive oil
For the filling
- 1 bunch of calçots (approximately 1 kilo, clean)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Rich black olives, Aragon or Kalamata type to taste
- Salted capers to taste (optional)
- 3-4 anchovy fillets in olive oil (optional)
Preparation
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Prepare the dough: in a bowl mix the flour with the yeast, water and salt. Incorporate everything, knead and at the end add the olive oil. It will take a while to get on board, and it will be easier if the job is done by a robot. But it can be done by hand, with patience. Let the dough rest in a bowl, covered, until it has doubled in volume. You can do this slowly, leaving the dough in the fridge.
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Prepare the filling. Clean the calçots: cut the roots, remove the outer layer and the greenest part (you can take advantage of the green leaves that are in better condition in an omelette, a soup or something like that). Cut the calçots lengthwise in half, then in half again, and finally into large pieces.
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In a wide skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, add the calçots and cook over low heat, stirring often. Cut the olives into pieces and, if using, the capers and anchovies, and add them to the pan. The calçots will be ready in 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
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Prepare the empanada: heat the oven (up and down) to 180ºC.
Divide the dough into two parts, for the base and the lid. Roll out the base as thin as possible, and line a large mold well greased with olive oil with it. As an alternative, the empanada can be assembled without a border, directly on the baking tray. Fill with the calçots. Roll out the other dough and close the empanada, making a few holes in the lid with the tines of a fork.
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Bake about 40 minutes, until the empanada is well golden.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Defender of the Cook by sending an email to [email protected].
#Calçots #pie #calzone #sponsali