Name: Pizza Chiena (Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie)
Yield: Makes one 9 × 13 × 2-inch (23 × 33 × 5-cm) pie, about 24 2-inch square servings
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: One 9 × 13 × 2-inch (23 × 33 × 5-cm) pan, brushed with oil; 4 large eggs; 6 large eggs; 8 ounces (225 grams) soppressata or other peeled, dried sausage, thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off); 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Egg wash: 1 egg well beaten with a pinch of salt; ⅓ cup olive oil; 1 pound (450 grams) fresh Italian basket cheese, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices; 8 ounces (225 grams) thinly sliced prosciutto; ½ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano; 1 pound (450 grams) fresh mozzarella, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ cup water; 2 pounds (900 grams) whole-milk ricotta; ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; 8 ounces (225 grams) capicola, thinly sliced

Preparation info

Makes one 9 × 13 × 2 inch 23 × 33 × 5 cm ) pie, about
24
2 inch square servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Modern Baker

By Nick Malgieri

Published 2008

About

“Pizza chiena” is Neapolitan dialect for what would be called “pizza ripiena” or filled pizza in Italian. Originally this pastry was made like a giant turnover with a raw pizza crust—the type used for a standard large individual pizza in Naples—and filled with ricotta and cured meats before being folded over and baked. It is the ancestor of what pizzerias now call a calzone. By and by, the pizza crust was transformed into a pastry dough, though there are some versions of pizza chiena that u