Recipe SMACAFAM- Savoury Pie from Trentino Alto Adige – South Tyrol

[MypinchofItaly]

The Smacafam’s name gives away its true origins: this savoury pie is literally called ‘hunger killer’ (‘smaca’ roughly means to beat up and ‘fam’ stands for ‘hunger’) and was conceived as a clever way to prepare a meal that would sate just about anyone’s appetite by using ingredients widely available at any farm. It’s usually eaten warm over Carnival.

The most important ingredient in the Smacafam is the Luganega, a pork sausage typical of Trentino Alto-Adige. Various versions of both the Luganega and the Smacafam can be found also in the neighbouring regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

Fills a 26×30 cm baking tray | Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins

• Italian white flour 00 – Plain flour: 150 g
• Buckwheat flour: 80 g
• Milk: 500 ml
• Pork sausages, preferrably ‘Luganega’: 2 sausages (~150 g in total)
• Eggs: 2
• (optional) Parsley, fresh: a handful
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO): to taste
• Salt and pepper: to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Slice up the sausages’ casing and take out the minced meat inside. Crumble it with your fingers and incorporate it into the dough, keeping aside some small pieces for final decoration.

Make sure the milk is lukewarm before you proceed further. Combine the two types of flour in a large bowl and mix them thoroughly. Add the eggs, the milk, the pork, a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a bit of freshly ground pepper.

Mix the dough until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Grease a baking tray and place the dough on the tray, distributing it evenly until it covers the whole bottom of the tray.

Bake for 10 minutes, then add on top the sausage meat pieces you had kept on the side.

It has to get a crispy crust with a soft inside. Bake for 10 more minutes, let cool it down a bit and then serve.