Sardenaria: some history, my recipe and where to eat it.
Sardenaira is a historic dish, a gastronomical monument of the extreme western Italian Riviera, even beyond the France border. They say it dates back to the Middle Ages.
As many other ancient preparation it is called by different names.
It is called Sardenaira in Sanremo, probably because originally people used to put salted sardines on top (replaced with salted anchovies since the postwar period).
In Imperia it is known as Pissalandrea (Pizza all’Andrea), as a tribute to the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria born in Oneglia who apparently was a great admirer of the dish (if not even its inventor…as always happens with mythology …).
It is called Pisciarà in Bordighera, Pisciadela in Ventimiglia and Pisciarada in the upper Nervia valley. While in Apricale it becomes Macchetusa because it takes its name directly from the machetto, a sauce made in the mortar with salted anchovies.
Different names for a single product. I would call it pizza if it wasn’t forbidden in Sanremo. They call it Torta (litterally “cake”), to differentiate from the Napolitan pizza (created BTW many centuries after). Perhaps “focaccia” can also work well, a soft focaccia topped with tomato sauce.
Whatever its name, it is clear what it is: a soft base of leavened bread dough (be careful, two risings, the last one directly in the pan), with oil in the dough (like a focaccia) and then generously seasoned with tomato sauce, salted anchovies, capers, Taggiasca olives, jacketed garlic and oregano. In short, a focaccia that tastes Mediterranean!
What about onions? Controversial issue.
The original version – probably similar to today’s Pissaladiere in Nice – was white and indeed based on onions, salted anchovies, capers, garlic, olives and oregano. No tomatoes, because these latter were introduced into Ligurian cuisine only in the early 1700s after the importation from America and a long period of transition as an ornamental plant.
On the other hand, the traditional recipe of Sanremo, which in 2012 obtained the DE.CO. (Municipal Denomination of origin, a certificate of local authenticity of a dish) does not include onions in its strict Regulation.
Let’s say then that onions in the Sardenaira are a homemade variant, however very frequent.
Sardenaira and its many sisters have always been cooked in large rectangular pans and then cut into squares and served hot or cold, also as street food.
In this regard, I read that “the tradition of large rectangular pizzas cooked in the pan seems to have been exported to the United States by the Ligurians, rather than by the Neapolitans” (Alessandro Marzo Magno, Il genio del gusto, Garzanti, Milan 2014-2015, p.13 ). Very interesting don’t you think?
My recipe of Sardenaira
Here below my recipe of Sardenaira. It is topped with a tomato and onion sauce, ’cause I love the contrast between the sweetness of the onion and the saltinity of the anchovies and capers.
I baked it at the end of the summer and I prepared the sauce with the riper tomatoes and with a Belendina onion from Andora, a Slow Food Presidia of the Italian Riviera. It was excellent.
Sardenaira. The Italian Riviera pizza
Ingredients
For the dough
- 370 g of all-purpose flour
- 180 g of lukewarm water
- 7 g of salt
- 6 g of sugar
- 10 g of fresh brewer’s yeast or 5 g of active dry yeast
- 18 g of olive oil
- 25 g of oil to grease the pan
- [For a baking tray of 30×40 cm]
For the topping sauce
- 2 white onions
- 4 tablespoons of extra -virgin olive oil
- 1 can (400 g) of tomato passata
- 1 tablespoons of of Taggiasca olives (or other small black olives)
- 1 tablespoon of salted capers
- 5-6 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 3 salted anchovies
- dried oreganon t.t.
- salt t.t.
Instructions
For the dough
- Dissolve the yeast in 100 ml of lukewarm water taken from the total, add the sugar and mix well.
- Pour the flour into a bowl, make a crater in the center, pour the water with the yeast, oil and salt into it.
- Knead until all the flour has been incorporated, adding the remaining water a little at a time until you get a dough that stays together.
- Dust the work surface with flour, lay the dough on it and knead with your hands for 5 minutes until you get a soft, smooth and elastic dough. If it is too wet add some flour little by little.
- Let the dough rest in a bowl greased with oil and covered with plastic wrap for two hours or until it doubled in volume.
- Take out the dough, place it in the pan already greased with oil and spread it with your fingers until you reach the edges.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for another hour.
- During the raising steps prepare the sauce for the topping.
For the topping sauce
- Desalinate the capers in fresh water and rinse and debone the anchovies.
- Peel and finely slice the onions, then braise them in a shallow pan with 4 tablespoons of oil for 10 minutes.
- Add the tomato passata and cook on low fire until the sauce reduces by about a third, stirring often. Add salt to taste and let it cool down.
For seasoning and baking Sardenaira
- Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F).
- When the pizza base is ready pour the onion tomato sauce on top, add the olives, capers, anchovies fillets and unpeeled garlic cloves.
- Season with a little extra-virgin olive oil, add salt and sprinkle with the oregano.
- Bake for about 25 minutes putting the pan in the lower shelf of the oven.
- Sardenaira must be colored on the surface, soft, but with a well-cooked and crunchy base. Remove from the oven, cut into square pieces and serve hot or at room temperature.
Where to eat the best Sardenaira
In Sanremo:
- La Tavernetta: Via Palazzo 129 – View on Google Maps .
- La Teglia: Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi – View on Google Maps
In Imperia:
- Madamadorè, Via Andrea Doria 16 – View on Google Maps
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