For us Tuscans, schiacciata con l’uva means grape harvest. It means that time of year when the vines are loaded with sweet, tasty grapes.
The magic of this dessert is precisely going into the vineyard and choosing the best grapes to put on it. It is the strong bond between us and nature that comes out (also) on occasions like this, (also) in the kitchen.
The preparation of schiacciata con l’uva is inextricably linked to memories of when Donatella was a child. And grandfather Giovanni would return from the fields with a few bunches of black Malvasia (the sweetest variety we have in our vineyard). And grandmother Zelina would washed and dried them with a dishcloth.
Then, she would inebriate the house with the unmistakable smell of this dessert, as it was baking in the oven. And every so often Grandma looked out to check its baking, which was obviously “by eye”.
Left to cool, it would become the perfect snack for Donatella and her cousins Maddalena and Serena. They were happy to interrupt their games to enjoy a slice of that flavour, so genuine and homely. Sweet, but not too much, because the dough is that of schiacciata (like a flatbread, from which it takes its name) and therefore balances the sweetness of the grapes.
The recipe of schiacciata con l’uva
This is a very simple and genuine cake, made with the ingredients that our peasants had at their disposal. What we are proposing here is not the classic recipe, followed by every bakery in the country, but is a more delicate and (if possible) even better family reinterpretation.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of black Malvasia
- 350 g of 0 flour
- 20 g of brewer’s yeast
- 8 tablespoons of sugar
- 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 6 g of anise
- a pinch of salt.
Procedure
In a bowl, slowly dissolve the yeast in a little lukewarm water (3/4 cup) and, while stirring, add the flour, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of sugar, the anise and the salt.
Let the dough rise by placing it for an hour or so in the oven, just warmed up but absolutely turned off.
After this time has elapsed, flour the table and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. The resul will be a very thin sheet (as we do for homemade pasta), giving it approximately the shape of the baking tin (rectangular or square is typical).
Grease the baking tin with a little olive oil and line it with the dough, leaving the excess outside the edges; place about 700 g of washed and dried grapes on top, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Fold the excess dough flaps over the grapes so that it is completely or almost completely covered, place the remaining grapes on top, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with another 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Place schiacciata in a hot oven (175°) and bake it for about an hour.
Pairing
Schiacciata con l’uva goes perfectly with a glass of Vin Santo del Chianti DOC Riserva, our sweet, amber-coloured, harmonious and velvety passito wine with intense notes of dried fruit.
