84 km from Palermo in the hinterland of the western tip of Sicily, stands a beautiful town of medieval origin nestled on a slope in the valley of the Sosio river, Chiusa Sclafani which owes its name to Count Matteo Sclafani who in the 300s built an imposing castle here. castle on the ruins of an ancient Saracen fortress. Known as the town of cherry trees, to the point that those from Chiusi are called Cirasara by the inhabitants of nearby towns, Chiusa Sclafani benefits its economy from extensive cultivation of cherries of the cappuccia variety with very large, dark red fruits uniform that got the double recognition But the town is also known for a gastronomic specialty with an unusual name: Ranza and Sciura, a cross between a focaccia and a Sicilian pizza, of Arabic inspiration, whose name derives from the ingredients with which it was originally prepared, la ranza, or middlings (the ranza is the sickle with which the wheat is cut) and the sciura, i.e. the flour flower, in the occasion of the milling of the wheat, to which every year a festival is dedicated which attracts many enthusiasts for this tasty preparation with an ancient and genuine flavour.
The name is composed of ranza, meaning bran and sciura, meaning the flour flower
Un poor food, therefore, but very tasty which has fed generations of farmers. Excellent for an aperitif but also complete with components for a trip out of town The secret della Ranza and Sciura is in his dough and processing technique, which allows stratification, enriched by the seasoning. Today it is made with the same bread dough to which a little olive oil or lard is added. The dough is rolled out in three layers inside a pan and seasoned with marjoram, onions and salted sardines (sometimes also with pepper, oregano and crumbled sausage), then sprinkled on the surface with grated cheese and baked in the oven for about half an hour.
A multi-layered Arabic-style flatbread filled with marjoram, onions, sardines, grated cheese, and sometimes sausage
The original version - as always happens with products of ancient gastronomic tradition of the countryside, was much poorer. Then the time and creativity of the bakers did their job until the tasty and tasty current version. It's easy to prepare, why not try it? Here is the recipe
Ranza and Sciura recipe
Ingredients
1 kg of durum wheat flour;
25 g of brewer's yeast;
50 g of grated caciocavallo;
20 g of marjoram;
5 anchovies in oil;
Onion;
Extra virgin olive oil;
Salt.
Method
Mix the flour with the brewer's yeast dissolved in a little warm water. Add the oil and a little salt. Work until the dough is compact and elastic. Make three loaves and leave to rise for a sufficient amount of time.
Roll out the loaves with a rolling pin into thin sheets. Cover a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange the first layer and season with marjoram, sliced onion and anchovies in oil. Place the second and third puff pastry on top and season in the same way. Finally sprinkle with grated cheese.
Heat the oven to 180°C and cook for 30 minutes.
