P
Italian · Basilicata
Pitta di Patate Lucana — Stuffed Potato Cake of Basilicata
Pitta di patate (or pitone di patate, the name varies by province) is the festive filled potato bread of Basilicata — a large disc of dough made from boiled and riced potatoes mixed with flour and egg, filled generously with a mixture of scarola (escarole), black olives, salted anchovies, capers, and peperoncino, then sealed and baked until golden. The potato dough is distinctive: softer and richer than bread dough, with a slightly sweet, starchy quality that contrasts with the sharp, salty interior filling. It is a preparation found throughout the agri-salato tradition of southern Italy — the potato used as a bread extender and dough enricher, a technique developed during periods of flour shortage.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the potato dough
1 kg
floury potatoes
boiled in their skins, riced while hot, cooled completely
Origin · FranceLekker · Vancouver →
500 g
tipo 00 flour
half the weight of the riced potato
Your own market
1
egg
Your own market
1 tsp
fine salt
Your own market
30 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
plus more for the tin and the top
Your own market
For the filling
800 g
escarole (scarola) or curly endive
washed, dried, cut into strips
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
garlic cloves
lightly crushed
Your own market
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
for wilting the escarole
Your own market
100 g
black olives
pitted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6
salted anchovy fillets
desalted under cold water, dried
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
capers
salted or brined; rinsed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
peperoncino (dried chilli flakes)
or to taste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Boil the floury potatoes in their skins until completely tender. Drain, peel while hot, and pass immediately through a potato ricer onto a clean work surface. Spread the riced potato and leave it to cool completely — no residual warmth should remain. The surface will feel dry to the touch.
2
Make the dough. Mound the cooled riced potato, add the 00 flour, egg, salt, and olive oil. Work to a soft, cohesive dough — it should come away from the hands cleanly without sticking. Rest, covered, for 20 minutes. The dough will feel supple and slightly heavier than a bread dough.
3
Make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat; add the garlic. Add the escarole strips and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10–15 minutes until the escarole is completely collapsed and all visible moisture has evaporated from the pan. This is where the dish lives or dies: a wet filling will turn the potato dough sodden from within; the pan must be dry before the escarole comes off the heat. Remove the garlic.
4
Off the heat, add the pitted black olives, desalted anchovy fillets, capers, and peperoncino to the collapsed escarole. Stir to combine. Leave the filling to cool completely before assembly — it should be at room temperature and show no steam.
5
Heat the oven to 200 °C. Oil a round baking tin (approximately 28–30 cm diameter) and line the base with baking paper; oil the paper. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Press and spread one portion into the tin to form a base 1.5–2 cm thick, bringing it up the sides. The dough should cover the base and walls evenly with no thin patches — thin potato dough tears under the weight of the filling.
6
Spread the cooled filling evenly over the base, leaving a border of approximately 2 cm at the edge. Press the second portion of dough over the filling and seal the edges firmly to the base by pressing and folding. Score the surface with a knife in a cross or parallel lines — the scores allow steam to escape and prevent the lid cracking or lifting. Brush the top generously with olive oil.
7
Bake at 200 °C for 35–40 minutes. The pitta is ready when the top is deep golden and the surface feels firm and set when pressed lightly at the centre. Allow to rest in the tin for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Pollino or Lucano highland floury potatoes in season; hand-packed salted anchovies from Cetara, desalted to order; small, wrinkled black olives from Basilicata or Calabria cured in brine without sulphites; estate-pressed Lucano extra-virgin olive oil.
02
Estate — Good-quality Italian floury potatoes (Bintje or Agria); salted anchovy fillets from a reliable importer; decent oil-cured or brine-cured black olives, pitted at home; brined capers from Pantelleria or Salina, rinsed well.
03
Market — Standard floury potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward); tinned or jarred anchovy fillets in oil, drained; pitted black olives from the deli counter; standard salted capers.
04
House — Any floury potato; jarred anchovy fillets; jarred stoned black olives; jarred capers in vinegar, well rinsed. The dish remains coherent at this level; only the depth of the filling's flavour is reduced.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The riced potato feels dry and cool on the surface before the dough is formed — no warmth or steam when a hand is held close.
◇Touch. The finished dough releases cleanly from the hands and feels supple without stickiness after its 20-minute rest.
◇Sight. The escarole filling is ready when no liquid pools in the pan and the leaves are fully collapsed and glossy with oil rather than steaming.
◇Touch. The baked pitta is done when the top surface feels firm and set under light finger pressure at the centre, with no give suggesting raw dough beneath.
◇Sight. The crust is uniformly deep golden across the top, with the score lines open and dry at their edges.
◇Where it lives or dies. The escarole filling must be cooked until every trace of moisture has evaporated from the pan; residual water will turn the potato dough irreversibly soggy from within.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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