Cipolline Catanesi
(chee-pohl-LEE-neh kah-tah-NEH-zee)
Friday Night Street Food: Palermo in a Sheet Pan
Walk into a Catanese tavola calda at 8:00 AM, and you’ll find locals downing a cappuccino with one hand and a cipollina with the other. To include the undisputed king of eastern Sicilian street food in a chapter named for Palermo borders on provincial treason, but the flavor demands it. Traditional bakeries use a grueling 'half-puff' lard dough, but modern Sicilians and busy American parents share a brilliant secret: high-quality, all-butter puff pastry from the freezer aisle gets you ninety-five percent of the way there. The real magic lies in the slow, sweet, jammy stewing of the onions. Make the filling on a Sunday, and the smell of a Sicilian bakery fills an Ohio kitchen on a busy Tuesday in under thirty minutes.
Before you start
Make the onion jam ahead of time.
Making the filling a day ahead and chilling it guarantees your puff pastry won't melt during assembly, ensuring a flakier crust and an even faster weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- all-butter puff pastry14 oz
- extra-virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- Vidalia onions1 1/2 lb
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- tomato puree3 tbsp
- black pepper1/4 tsp
- sugar1/4 tsp
- deli ham4 oz
- low-moisture whole milk mozzarella5 oz
- egg1 large
Method
- 01
Sweat the onions into submission.
Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and salt, cooking very slowly for about 20 minutes until they completely collapse and turn translucent. Do not let them brown; they must surrender and become sweet and jammy.
- 02
Restrict the moisture.
Stir in the tomato puree, black pepper, and sugar. Cook for another 5 minutes until the mixture is dense and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and cool completely so it doesn't melt the pastry later.
- 03
Prepare the puff pastry.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Unroll the chilled puff pastry sheets and cut each into four equal squares.
- 04
Assemble the parcels.
Working one square at a time, place a folded slice of ham in the center. Top with a generous tablespoon of the cooled onion jam, then a small handful of the cubed mozzarella.
- 05
Execute the handkerchief fold.
Pull one corner of the pastry over the filling and brush the tip with a little egg wash. Pull the opposite corner to the center to overlap and seal. Repeat with the remaining corners to form a sealed packet.
- 06
Reinforce with the Catanese toothpick trick.
To prevent the pastry from bursting open and spilling its filling during the bake, insert a standard wooden toothpick straight down through the center where the four corners meet.
- 07
Bake until shatteringly crisp.
Transfer the parcels to the sheet pan, brush generously with the remaining egg wash, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and deeply golden brown.
- 08
Rest before serving.
Remove the toothpicks immediately upon exiting the oven. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes; molten cheese and onions demand respect, and a true cipollina is best enjoyed warm rather than boiling hot.
Notes
The true pastry is a mezza sfogliatura.
Traditional bakeries laminate a yeasted, lard-enriched dough like croissants. It's a labor of love for a lazy Sunday, but high-quality puff pastry is the universally accepted weeknight shortcut.
Beware the soggy bottom.
Native Sicilians warn against l'acquetta (the little water). Use dry mozzarella instead of fresh, and ensure your onions are cooked down until dense so steam doesn't blow out your pastry seams.