Roman Stuffed Pizza Pocket (Trapizzino)
Trapizzino Say it: trah-peet-TSEE-no
Trapizzino is Rome's modern street-food answer to a sandwich: a triangle of pizza bianca dough baked into a hollow pocket, then split open and stuffed with a saucy Roman stew. The dough crisps and blisters like good pizza, while the filling — most classically chicken with sweet peppers — soaks into the soft interior. It is eaten standing up, from paper, anywhere in the city, and it is just as good made at home with a baking stone and a heavy pot.
Roman Stuffed Pizza Pocket (Trapizzino)
Trapizzino
Pronounced trah-peet-TSEE-no
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Level
- Medium
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: contains gluten. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
For the dough
For the chicken and pepper filling
Method
Make the dough. whisk the flour and yeast in a large bowl, pour in the water and stir to a shaggy mass. Cover and rest 10 minutes, then add the salt and olive oil and knead on a lightly floured counter for 8–10 minutes, until smooth, supple and springing back when poked.
Shape the dough into a ball, set it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm spot for 1 1/2–2 hours, until doubled in size and full of air bubbles.
Start the filling. pat the chicken dry and season with half the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the thighs skin-side down for 6–8 minutes, until deep golden, then turn and cook 3 minutes more. Lift out and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the peppers and cook 8 minutes more, until they slump and begin to color. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Pour in the wine and let it bubble away for 2 minutes, scraping the pot. Add the tomatoes and the remaining salt and pepper, return the chicken skin-side up, cover and simmer gently for 30–35 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.
Lift out the chicken, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat. Simmer the sauce uncovered for 8–10 minutes, until thick and glossy rather than watery, then stir the chicken back in with the basil and let it cool to just warm.
Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a baking stone or an upturned heavy tray inside for at least 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 3 oz / 85 g each) and roll each into a rough 6-inch (15 cm) square.
Fold each square in half diagonally into a triangle and press the two open edges firmly shut, then crimp them with a fork so no steam escapes. Set the triangles on a floured peel or tray, cover and rest 20 minutes while the oven finishes heating.
Slide the triangles onto the hot stone, 3 at a time, and bake 8–10 minutes, until puffed, golden and crisp at the edges. Cool 2 minutes, then slice open along one sealed side, prise the pocket apart and spoon in about 1/3 cup (80 ml) of warm filling. Repeat with the rest and serve at once.
Regional variant: Trapizzino with oxtail stew (Trapizzino con la coda alla vaccinaro)
The other classic Roman filling: brown 1 3/4 lb (800 g) oxtail pieces in olive oil, then braise them for 2 1/2–3 hours with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, a little tomato paste, white wine, crushed tomatoes and a pinch of cloves. Pull the meat from the bones, shred it and reduce the sauce until sticky, adding a handful of toasted pine nuts and raisins at the end. Fill the baked pockets the same way.
Cook's notes
- Keep the filling on the dry side — a watery stew will soak through the pocket and make it collapse.
- For a deeper flavor, let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and bring it back to room temperature before shaping.
- Bake in small batches and fill each trapizzino only when you are ready to eat it, so the crust stays crisp.
Serve with
Eat them hot from the paper with a cold beer or a glass of Lazio red; a supplì or two on the side is the proper Roman order.
Make ahead and storage
The dough can be cold-fermented for up to 24 hours and the filling keeps 3 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen. Bake the pockets just before serving and reheat filled ones at 350°F (175°C) for 8 minutes.
