Chichiripieno

The chichiripieno is a kind of country flat bread of Offida. It is a typical product of this village which organises every year a chichiripieno feast held to honour this delicious food, and every time, this event gathers thousands of people. 

The chichiripieno was born at home according to the custom of many women of Offida who used to give to their children a piece of bread dough during the home bread making. Children enjoyed to handle the dough and then baked it on the oven opening. 

This custom, which conveys the homelike atmosphere and the pleasure of the good table, has been exploited by the bakers of Offida who created, many years ago, a kind of flat bread called focaccia which is one of the most typical and savoury food of this region. 

“Chichi” is a dialectal word of Offida to say “focaccia” or “schiacciata” which is a kind of flat bread. It consists of a piece of bread dough rolled out to obtain a flat and thin sheet of dough with a rounded shape. Once the dough has been modelled, it is stuffed with tuna, anchovies, capers and minced peppers or ham, mushrooms and mozzarella. At this point it is ready to be baked in the oven. 

The high temperature operates on the surface, transforming a part of the starch in starch gum, which becomes brown while the remaining part of the starch roasts giving to the dough an hard consistency. So this product is fragrant and crunchy at the same time thanks to the poor quantity of crumb and a complete lack of rising. 

In the windows of bakeries or gastronomy shops of Offida the chichiripieno is daily produced and sold with an attractive packaging which permits to taste the delicious focaccia hot and fragrant. But the best opportunity to taste the chichiripieno for the first time is surely the feast organized every year by the Pro Loco in which the product is presented in many versions.

This event is also the occasion to learn the history of this typical food. An ancient rumour puts its origin down to Ottomans because chichiripieno looks like a kind of pizza with a very thin crust known by the Americans as “Lahmagiun” which could be the most ancient pizza.

Below some suggestions to learn how to cook chichiripieno.

The dough is prepared as the bread dough, but a bit of pork lard is added to make it more elastic.

When the dough is ready, start the stuffing preparation. The most famous stuffing is composed of minced yellow and red peppers, artichokes in oil, green olives, tuna, anchovies in oil, parsley, some capers and pepper. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin making two thin rounded sheets. Pour out the stuffing on one of the sheet, in homogeneous way, then cover with the remaining sheet of dough.

At the end, close carefully the borders and bake the focaccia in the oven (high temperature).

But the easiest way to have this delicious product is going to Offida and buy it in many artisan shops. Offida is a beautiful medieval village which offers to visitors, beyond its gastronomic specialities, culture, history and art.

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