It’s pronounced Sca-chada and it is one of our family’s favorite food memories from our childhood. Not quite a pizza or a calzone, Sciachiatta (also spelled Scachatta or Scacciata) is basically a savory Italian meat pie made with a homemade pizza dough and filled with seasoned meat (like ground pork) or Italian greens like rapini or escarole.
Not gonna lie, this weekend has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Not sure about your family, but it seems that a lot of issues arise at the same time. There may be long periods where I start to feel like everything is going along smoothly and all is well in our little world and then all of a sudden I feel like life is a juggling act and all the balls are about to fall to the ground.
When I start to feel like that, I like to run to my happy place – my kitchen. For some reason, I feel a sense of calm there. And I especially like to get my hands in some dough. Kneading dough – especially bread or pizza dough – can be quite therapeutic for me.
Making Sciachiatta or Sicilian Meat Pie
So that’s exactly what I did today. I hung out in my kitchen making Sciachiatta. This recipe was on my mind after talking to my beautiful cousin Cindy yesterday. She’s a great cook and has the same generous and kind heart like our Sicilian mothers and aunts. Maybe their food was so tasty because of all the love they poured into everything they did, including their food.
We got to talking about food, our love language of course, and Cindy was sharing some of our Aunty Connie’s tips for making Sciachiatta (or schachiatta, or whatever spelling you choose). We all remember and still dream about her food, and although we picked up a few tips along the way, unfortunately we may not ever be able to duplicate those marvelous tastes she created. But we can keep trying!
So here is a darn good version (if I do say so myself!) at using some of the tips my cousin Cindy shared, combined with a little Garlic Girl twist too. Like with just about any dish, many of the ingredients can be swapped out. If you’re not a big fan of meat, this dish is wonderful with lots of greens too!
Enjoy!
Sciachiatta or Sicilian Meat Pie
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 ½ ounce packet (or 2¼ tsp) I used Fleishmann's Rapid Rise. Each packet contains 2¼ teaspoons.
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pork Filling
- 2 pounds ground pork butt or Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4-5 garlic cloves minced or sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- Optional: 1 cup dandelion greens roughly chopped
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano thinly sliced
Instructions
- In mixing bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cups of the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt; set aside.
- In separate small container, stir together water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for several minutes until foam forms on top.
- Make a well in center of flour and add the yeast mixture; stir until combined. If using an electric mixer, add hook attachment and knead for several minutes until dough pulls away from the sides and has an elastic texture. If kneading by hand, roll out on to floured surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to large bowl. To that same bowl, add the dough and roll to coat dough in olive oil.
- Cover top of dough with plastic wrap and then cover the top of the bowl with a clean towel.
- Let rise for a least 90 minutes, until dough has doubled in size.
- Punch dough down and break in half to form two dough balls.
- If using right away, let rise another 30 minutes on counter. If using at a later date, place in greased plastic ziplock and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- To make filling, heat 1 tablepoon of olive oil in saute pan. Add red pepper flakes and garlic; saute about a minute. Add ground pork and saute on medium high heat for five minutes; add parsley, salt, black pepper, dandelion greens and continue to saute until vegetables are tender and meat is slightly carmelized; set aside to cool.
- When ready to make the sciachiatta, heat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Grease 9-inch shallow pie or pizza pan or dish with olive oil.
- Roll out both dough balls to about a 6-inch circle. With the first half, using hands, press and stretch dough into the bottom of the pan, and the bottom sides of the pan.
- Brush with a little olive oil and then add a layer of Pecorino. Spread a thick, even layer of the cooked pork (about an inch or more) and then top with another layer of Pecorino.
- With hands, gently pull remaining dough over the top to cover the entire top of the pie and dish. With fingers, tuck and pinch the dough down into the sides of the pan to seal the pie.
- With sharp knife, cut several one-inch slices in top crust (to allow for steam to escape).
- Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until crust is deep golden brown; remove from oven and let cool about 20 minutes before slicing.
That sounds wonderful. Will try it soon
Anders! So glad you’re going to try the recipe. You’ll love it. I suggest you use ground pork butt for the meat, but Italian sausage or even sliced meatballs work too! Hope all is well.
SCIACHIATTA Is a favorite family recipe for my family too. We use beef and pork, lots of different cheeses and sautéed sweet onions. Can’t wait to try your recipe. Always looking for delicious, hearty meals for the winter months. Thanks for sharing this!!
That’s awesome – enjoy!
Jodi
Somehow, your son has not had this? I would love to try this!
You would love this. I don’t know how it’s possible that you haven’t tried it. Uncle Judd made it a few times – his is yummy too. I’ll make it next time I’m down. <3
Wow learnt something new. Sciachiatta and Pecorino Romano Cheese. This looks fabulous. Never had much luck with baking, but this is worth a try.
I used to think I couldn’t bake, but I just kept doing it and now I love it! Making this dough is fun – give it a go! 😊
Thanks for the encouragement. I am gonna buy something called Organic Einkorn flour which I discovered the other day. Apparently it is the original wheat and might work well in this. Need to find out where I can buy Pecorino Romano Cheese. I am sure I can get it at Whole Foods or Sprouts.
Sounds great! And you will find Pecorino in those markets. I get mine at Trader Joe’s just because I use so much! Cheers!
I would say that with the original spelling you give, it would be pronounced more like “Sha-key-atta.” My Nonna used to make something similar with diced pork, coriander, a little squeeze of fresh tomato, some green hot pepper, parsley as the filling then pizza dough wrapped around it to make more of a “hand pie.” She then fried the hand pies in oil in a cast-iron skillet. We do our best to imitate them…
Ah, you may be right but I don’t think I know a better way to spell it! Lol!
Your nonna’s hand pies sound amazing!
And I got your message (and fixed the error). 😊
When I was a teenager in a suburb of Columbus Ohio (1980-ish) a friend taught me how to make Scachata (never knew how to spell it) which was a pizza dough, a one pound tube of pork sausage, and a cup of Parmesan cheese. We rolled up up, more like a cinnamon roll, and baked for 45 minutes. Great memories of eating this while camping.
Here I am 40 years later, and my wife is in the mood for a pizza for breakfast (that’s why I love this woman). We made a traditional stromboli this morming because I couldn’t talk her into my childhood memory.
Now I’m searching online, going through many recipes, but none of them are close to what I recall as a kid, until now. THANK YOU for sharing this Sciachiatta recipe. Now I’m pretty sure I know what we’re going to do for dinner 🙂
That’s wonderful! Isn’t it amazing how those childhood memories of food stick with us? I’m not sure of the spelling either, but I do like this recipe. I hope you enjoy!
GG
It is so great to find a recipe! Where my mother grew up, in Lawrence, MA, this is a treat we would buy before heading home to Pennsylvania. It’s delicious and I have searched all over to find a recipe.
THANK YOU
Aw! My mom grew up in Lawrence, Mass. It was at my grandma’s house in Methuen where we enjoyed my aunt’s Sciachatta!
Garlic girl, you’re a godsend. Been looking forever for my late mothers recipe for sciachiatta. That I lived on as a kid. She never wrote the recipe down because she didn’t need to. Like most Italian mothers it was all committed to memory. Now that I stumbled across your blog I can finally scratch my sciachiatta itch. Thank you,thank you,thank you. Oh and by the way, I was born in Haverhill ma. And had plenty of relatives and family friends in Lawrence and Methuen. Shoutout to Ana lorro bakery and Fisichelli in Lawrence. Thank you again.
Aw! I’m so happy to hear that! I’m sure my mom would have recognized those Lawrence bakeries! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jodi
Rich, I grew in Haverhill, MA also. We used get some good Italian meat pies At “ALS” Pizza.
I grew up in Lawrence also. We’d go to Common St and buy our pizza and Meat pie as well as spinach pie. Small world. And this is a great recipe. I added black olives and lots of cheese too!
I love hearing that! And it is a small world! Next time I’ll add black olives and think of you! 😊
Sadly Napolis has closed. So I’ve been looking for the recipe. This is almost like my Nana’s (haverhill st in Lawrence, near Newbury). Will give it a try this weekend
Aw, that’s too bad! We all miss our Nana’s cooking, don’t we? Enjoy!
My grandmother grew up in Lawerence too! Her family had a “farm” where they grew food for their grocery store called “Pappalardo’s”. I wonder if your mom knew it
Aw, I love it. She probably did know it. Thank you for stopping by!
🤗
Hello!
Making this soon. Question though, if I just have a big ol jar of yeast, can you translate for me what this means? “2 1/4 ounce packets I used Fleishmann’s Rapid Rise”. How many tsp is this?
Thank you so much for your help!
Hello! I just updated the recipe to be it a little clearer. I used one packet of rapid rise yeast, which equals 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. Each packet is 1/2 oz. I hope that helps. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! Making today, I am sure it will be delish.
Making this for superbowl. First time making it my dad made all thje time
I guess I should have paid more attention.
Oh yay! If you think of it, let me know how it goes!
Could you possibly make these handheld?
Hi there. I think you should be able to make mini pies. I’d just try to make sure you put the right amount of meat filling for the size and thickness of the dough. Enjoy!
I am a Lawrence and Methuen person and I am happy I came across this recipe. I made it yesterday and it came out delicious!! I did use premade pizza dough for the crust but I was happy with my first scachiatta.
That’s so awesome! I miss going to see my aunts and grandma in Methuen!
Our Nuna made this pie with potatoes and capers. Have you come across that recipe by chance? We always called it Potato Pie. The potatoes were not mashed but cut. It was amazing!
Hello! It sounds so yummy! I would imagine you can follow the same basic recipe by add chopped potatoes and capers. I might try that the next time. 🙂
WOW I’ve only been looking for this receipe for about 60 years now. Used to get it at Stramondos on Union St in Lawrence on Saturday afternoons after movies at the Warner theater. A wedge for a quarter and a coke for a nickle
Went from Lawrence, to Newburyport, to Plaustow, to Tulsa, to Austin Texas, most people in the NE know what it is but the knowledge on how to make it stopped at the Mississippi River.
So thanks. VERY MUCH.
Aw, well, I hope you enjoy it! My mom was brought up in Lawrence!
I was thrilled to find this recipe! I just called it “Grandma’s meat pie” My paternal Grandmother was from Licata Sicily and moved to Brooklyn, NY, where we grew up. Although my Mom’s family was from Naples, she cooked mostly Sicilian dishes for us. One of them being Meat Pie. Mostly on Sunday evening after we had eaten our Sunday meal, earlier in the day, this was our “snack” in the early evening. It varies with other specialties, but this was on top of our favorites. Our recipe used ground beef and/or pork with a dash of tomato paste and provolone cheese. I never had it written down just winged it all these years. I am thrilled to have written instructions to leave my children and grandchildren!!
AND NOW I KNOW WHAT TI CALL IT!!!
Thanks so very much!!!! I look forward to reading your other stories and recipes…
Family traditions should always be continued, especially in this world we live in today….
Aw, that’s wonderful. Last month I was back east and my cousin Vinny made a couple pies for our Sicilian cousins reunion and they were delicious! He made his with ground pork butt and some veggies. I hope the recipe turns out for you!