By Gina DePalma

Calcione

I am especially fond of foods that straddle the line between savory and sweet, and Marche’s calcione might very well be my favorite example. These little crescents of tender, slightly sweet dough, stuffed with a mixture of aged sheep’s milk cheese and egg satisfy my salty-sweet cravings perfectly, but are also an example of well-balanced flavors, the result of local ingredients that are divergent, but brought together in a way that is completely harmonious.

Encasing fillings of meat or cheese in dough and forming little pies, envelopes or half-moons was common in the Middle Ages, eventually evolving into filled pastas, such as ravioli and tortellini that we know and love today. Calcione are the baked examples of this enduring theme. If you cross the border into Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria and you can find any number of variations, each using the local products found in those regions. Some versions are much sweeter, enhanced with grape must or nuts. In Marche and neighboring Umbria and Abruzzo, the cheese is always pecorino, made from sheep’s milk, while to the north Parmigiano-Reggiano is favored.

I’ve adapted the following recipe for calcione from a similar one you can find in my book, tailoring this version to match the traditional preparation found in Marche. Once you’ve mastered the simple format you can come up with your own favorite variation on the filling, but I find the basic combination of sweet dough and salty sheep cheese to be the most satisfying. Sometimes I like to liven things up with a touch of spice – a pinch of ground peperoncino or cayenne instead of black pepper is great for adding a little kick to the flavors.

These little nibbles are best enjoyed with local wines, the perfect partners for a glass of Jesi’s local Verdicchio or Rosso Conero.

Calcione

 Dough:
2 to 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 or 3 large eggs
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil=

Filling:
1 large egg
1 cup finely grated aged pecorino, or sheep’s milk cheese
A few grinds of fresh black pepper or a pinch of ground red pepper

Glaze:
1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix 2 cups of flour, salt and granulated sugar together in a large bowl, and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In another bowl, lightly beat together 2 of the eggs with the olive oil. Add the egg mixture to the well, and using a fork, gradually draw in the dry ingredients. If the mixture seems too dry, add the third egg. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a dough, and kneading them together with your hands and using the additional ¼ cup of flour if necessary. Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead it lightly until it is smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling by beating the egg well with a fork in a small bowl and then stirring in the grated cheese and black pepper. The filling should be moist, but not runny; you are basically moistening the cheese with the egg.

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Prepare two baking sheets by brushing them lightly with olive oil or spraying them with non-stick cooking spray.

On a well-floured work surface, roll the dough thinly, to a thickness of about 1/16 th of an inch. Using a round cutter, cut circles 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter, as close together as possible, discarding the scraps. (If your work surface is especially small, you can divide the dough into two pieces and cut the circles in two batches)

Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling onto each circle slightly off-center, and fold over the dough to form a crescent shape, pressing the dough together at the edge to seal. Using a toothpick, poke two tiny holes at the base of the filling mound; this will allow air to escape and prevent the crescents from exploding. For a decorative effect, you can press the tines of a fork around the border to create a pattern, or fold over the edges and crimp them around the center.. Place the calcione on the cookies sheets ½ an inch apart and use a small pastry brush to glaze each calcione with the beaten egg.

Bake the crescents for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the dough is lightly golden brown; rotate the cookies sheets after 7 or 8 minutes to ensure even browning. Using a spatula, transfer the calcione from the baking sheets too a cooling rack.

These are delicious served warm, or may be cooled and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 24 to 28 calcione

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