CANASCIONE-EASTER TREAT FROM CIOCIARIA

Canascione is one of the real foods from the  Ciociaria area in Italy. My Mother made it at Easter. A friend from my Social Club gave me one so when I brought it home, Barb suggested for me to make one or two this year. I knew the ingredients but decided to call my cousin- mia cugina- Paola in Cassino to get the correct ingredients for an authentic one. It was actually fun to make my own. I was making the lasagna for Easter dinner so had the dough needed.

INGREDIENTS

10 eggs.
Flour- several cups.
200 grams Pecorino Romano cheese- formaggio. Grated.
Procolette or "Scamorza" cheese- one ball. Grated.
Parmesean cheese-grated. One small container or bag
1/2 cup Parsley chopped.
A dried sausage or two. Chop into little pieces.
Prosciutto slices are optional. Some people put some in the mixture.

DIRECTIONS

Make the egg noodles mixture. Use 5 eggs and flour to make to texture needed. See previous blog.

Roll pieces flat with a rolling pin. Each flat piece will be one canascione.

In a large bowl add the cheese and the additional 5 eggs to make 3 canascione. Use less eggs if making one and more eggs and cheese if making more.

Add the cheeses as per ingredients. Mix well.

Add the chopped parsley. I do not salt the mixture as the cheese has flavour. I have already salted the egg noodle mixture when I make it.

I made one canascione with the chopped sausage. Two just cheese and one cheese and sausage.

It should be a little thick.

Put the mixture on the flat egg noodle. Fold over and pinch the edges. If you do not pinch well, the ingredients could come out when baking in the oven.

I put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Scramble one egg and with a brush, glaze the top of the folded canascione with egg.

Cook in oven at 350 degrees. They take about 25 minutes. You may want to turn the oven up to 400 degrees to brown on the top. Check to see if done as different regions may need more or less cooking time.

The best part about the canascione is tasting it fresh from the oven.

It is usually sliced sideways across the folded pie and served cold. It can be like an appetizer or for a lunch on Easter Sunday before the big evening meal later in the day. It is usually made days in advance to have as an Easter treat. I think it is so popular because of the eggs. As we all know, the egg is a traditional Easter symbol in many cultures.
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