Thanks for your comment. I never spent a lot of time on Franklin Ave. when I was growing up because we could get all of those treats either at home or at one of two or three huge pizzerias in Middletown. (Marino’s, Lastrina’s, for exampe)

I’m afraid I also missed out on Caserta’s the last time I was in Providence, but found some decent cudduruni at Palmieri’s, along with a boatload of homemade taralli.

Glad you enjoyed the recipe.

Best regards,
Skip Lombardi

But, the best version I ever had, was Caserta’s on Federal Hill ,in Providence, when I went there for college. This place has the best pan casalinga pizza in the entire country. The crust, brown, crisp and slightly oily from the crisco (many places use crisco for the bottom, not oil, simply becasue the dough will not spring back when you use lard, it grips and holds the dough in place, right to the edges.) The tomato topping a deep red, a bit dry in spots and heavy in others. And they finished this little slice of heavy with oil, and grated ROMANO cheese. Just wonderful. (love the fresh basil in your pic….smell it from here!)

Thanks for your comments. Actually, what you’ve described is a dish that my family called Schiacciatta. My grandmother would make it three or four times per year on major holidays; Christmas eve in particular, when my family held a huge open-house party. And indeed, the fillings were exactly as you’ve described with the addition of Veal, Potatoes, and Onions on very special occasions.

What I found most interesting is that Floridia is very close to Syracusa, but Schiaccatta–as nearly as I can tell–originated in Catania, about 70 Km. away. While it’s only about an hour by car today, it would have been quite a haul for anyone back in the late 1800′s. So I’m surprised–and delighted–that your grandmother would have known about it.

As for Cudduruni, please hang on to the recipe. It seems to be going the way of the dinosaurs in the mom & pop bakeries of Little Italy. We’re trying to keep the tradition alive.

Best regards,
Skip Lombardi

My Nanna, whose family was from Floridia, Sicily, but who grew up in Omaha, NE, used to make this for us as a way of using up leftover cooked vegetables. Our recipe is pretty different from yours, however, because our cudduruni is a filled bread, like a huge calzone, without cheese, rather than topped with vegetables. We fill ours with cooked broccoli, cooked potatoes, and sauteed onions and garlic. We serve it warm or at room temperature, and dip it in leftover tomato pasta sauce when we eat it.

It is definitely true that Italian cooking is evolving in all parts of the world. I for one, always introduce dishes of the past and people love them. Some of them are stuffed sun dried tomatoes, pumpkin in a viniagrette sauce, fried cheese, panelle, croque’ and gratto’ di patate, pasta al forno, etc., Let’s keep our culture alive with foods we grew up with.

What you describe is further proof that Italian cuisines are continuing to evolve wherever Italians themselves take root. Even as we write for this blog, we learn of delicious variations of classics. Thank you for writing to us. Our readers’ insights and comments enrich these pages just as your mother’s sauteed onions and cheese enhance her version of cudduruni.

Best regards,
Skip

In 2005, I visited Italy and met some distant cousins. They were generous beyond what I could have expected and they even invited me to a birthday party in Rome. In the local park, there was a tray of…pizza strips! It was a culinary connection to my roots found at a modest park in the Roman suburbs. It could have been a child’s birthday party in Rhode Island; instead it was in Rome. The cultural echoes continue through the food.