Breakfast pizza recipe as in Cagliari

Breakfast pizza recipe: a small introduction.

When you are visiting Sardinia, you might notice, particularly in the capital city Cagliari, that when you go to a coffee shop in the morning to have your breakfast, there is always a tray with round pastries, approx. 8cm diameter, made with puff pastry called ‘pizzetta’. These puff pastry pizza-like or breakfast pizza are served during the mornings nearby the sweet pastries and it is probably the only non sweet breakfast you can find in Italy.

The origin of pizzette is pretty recent, starting in the middle of the 20th century, when a pastry chef had some puff pastry left over from croissants. Instead of throwing it away, he decided to cut out some circles, put tomato sauce on, oregano and cappers and cover with more puff pastry. He was very pleased with them that he decided to sell them too. Since then, all coffee shops in Cagliari and other towns in Sardinia have them in their menu. It’s a success indeed!

Breakfast pizzette Cagliari style

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Good to know.

Some people add to the tomato sauce not only oregano and cappers, but also small bits of anchovies and small cubes of mozzarella, though it’s not in the norm or in the original recipe.

Delicious as they are!

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Ingredients 20 servings

1. Puff pastry, ready made, 2 rolls

2. Tomato pulp, chopped

3. Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp

4. Oregano, a pinch

5. Salt, a pinch

6. Cappers, 20

7. Anchovies in olive oil, 5 small fillets cut in bits (optional)

8. Egg, 1 beaten for glazing

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Let’s jump to the method

1. Get ready all ingredients.

2. Switch the oven on at 200° C.

3. In a bowl, mix the tomato pulp finely chopped with a table spoon of extravirgin olive oil.

4. Add a pinch of salt, oregano and put apart.

5. Roll out both packs of the puff pastry and with a 8 cm round cutter, cut 20 circles (10 for filling and 10 as a cover).

6.  Add 1 table spoon of the tomato mixture in the middle of 10 of the pastry circles.

7. Add 2 cappers each and spread with just a bit of the anchovy (optional). Anchovies are very salted, so a very small amount is enough.

8. Put on top of the pastry with the filling the remaining 10 pastry circles.

9. Press gently with your finger on the borders to close both pastries together to form the round pizzettas.

10. Now use the border of a 6cm glass, put it on top of each round pizzetta and press gently to seal it off completely, making sure not to break it.

11. Beat the egg and brush it on top of each pizzetta.

12. Bake a 200°C for 20 minutes.

13. Enjoy your breakfast or snack!

Breakfast pizzette Cagliari style