Pitta di Patate Lucana — Stuffed Potato Cake of Basilicata

Ingredients

• For the potato dough
• 1 kg floury potatoes, boiled in their skins, riced while hot, cooled completely
• 500 g tipo 00 flour, half the weight of the riced potato
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the tin and the top
• For the filling
• 800 g escarole (scarola) or curly endive, washed, dried, cut into strips
• 3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for wilting the escarole
• 100 g black olives, pitted
• 6 salted anchovy fillets, desalted under cold water, dried
• 2 tbsp capers, salted or brined; rinsed
• 1 tsp peperoncino (dried chilli flakes), or to taste

Method

1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.