Credit: Ed Anderson
Tomato sauce (passata): 1/3 cup
Extra virgin olive oil: 2 tsp
Sea salt: heavy pinch
Dried oregano: 1 tsp
All purpose flour: for dusting
Very cold store-bought puff pastry: 1 lb
Crisp, buttery, and irresistibly simple, these pizzette di sfoglia turn humble puff pastry into one of Rome’s most beloved bakery snacks. Best eaten warm, preferably on the go.
Excerpted from Rome: A Culinary History, Cookbook, and Field Guide to the Flavors that Built a City by Katie Parla. Reprinted by permission of Parla Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Roman bakeries or forni are known for turning the humblest ingredients into addictive snacks, and pizzette di sfoglia are the perfect example. These little puff pastry rounds are topped with tomato sauce and baked until sticky, tempting you from behind the glass alongside trays of rustic pizza bianca and golden supplì. The magic here happens as the sauce bubbles down, dripping off the edges, creating crisp, savory caramelization that seasons the flaky pastry beneath. Pizzette are best enjoyed slightly warm, straight out of a paper bag on the cobblestone streets outside the bakery, as generations of Romans have done on their way home from school or work.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line two 13 x 18-inch baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine the tomato sauce, olive oil, a heavy pinch of salt, and oregano in a small bowl.
- Dust your work surface and the puff pastry with flour.
- Roll into a rectangle approximately 10 x 20 inches and 1/8 inch thick.
- Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 32 rounds.
- Place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1/4 inch between each.
- Transfer the trays to the refrigerator and chill the dough for 15–20 minutes.
- Remove the first tray from the refrigerator and brush the center of each pizzetta with tomato sauce, leaving a small border around the edge.
- Bake until the pizzette puff up and turn golden, about 15 minutes.
- Repeat with the second tray.
- Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately, or cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container for up to three days.
