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Golden fiadoni with fork-sealed edges, cross vents and a pale cheese filling.

Fiadone

Molise’s Easter cheese pies: golden half-moons of wine-kneaded pastry around a rich filling of pecorino, caciocavallo and egg, good warm or from the basket.

2 hr 5 min · Serves 8

  • Molise
Jump to the recipeWhat to serve with it

What this recipe gets right is the pastry: kneaded with olive oil and white wine as well as eggs, so it bakes crisp and flaky rather than bready. The filling balances a sharp cheese (pecorino) with a melting one (caciocavallo) and a little ricotta to keep it soft. Don't skip the small cut on top of each one: it lets the steam out so the seams hold.

Make ahead Bake the day before if convenient. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate within 2 hours in a covered container. Serve a portion at room temperature or reheat it gently.

Total
2 hr 5 min
Prep
50 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
8

One step at a time, with what each step needs.

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Fiadone

Total 2 hr 5 min · Prep 50 min · Cook 30 min · Serves 8

Method

  1. Knead the flour with oil, wine, 2 eggs, and salt into a smooth, supple dough. Rest 30 minutes wrapped.

  2. Beat the remaining 3 eggs (minus a yolk for glazing) and fold in pecorino, caciocavallo, ricotta, and pepper into a thick, spoonable filling.

  3. Roll the dough 2 mm thin and cut 10 cm rounds, re-rolling scraps once.Roll the dough 2 mm thin and cut 4 in rounds, re-rolling scraps once.

  4. Place a generous spoonful of filling on each round, fold to a half-moon, and seal the edge with a fork. Snip a small vent on top of each; a small cross-shaped cut works well.

    Small scissors opening a vent in a raw filled pastry with a fork-crimped rim.
    Snip a small vent in the top of the sealed pastry.

  5. Brush with the reserved yolk and set on lined trays with room to puff.

  6. Bake at 180 C until bronzed and the filling peeks proudly from the vents, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack at least 15 minutes.

Equipment

  • Rolling PinOur pick

    • Our pick

      J.K. Adams Maple French Rolling Pin

      For rolling the dough by hand and controlling its thickness.

      Shop
  • Round Pastry Cutter
  • Box GraterCoarse holes for the caciocavallo, fine for the pecorino.2 options

    • Our pick

      OXO Good Grips Box Grater

      For grating the cheese with the texture called for in the recipe.

      Shop

    • Cuisipro Surface Glide 4-Sided Box Grater

      Sharp, smooth-running faces that make short work of hard cheese.

      Shop
  • Baking SheetLine it with parchment and leave room for the fiadoni to puff.
  • Pastry Brush

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Estimated per serving

Calories
511 kcal
Protein
24.4 g
Carbohydrates
39.2 g
Fat
28.9 g

Per serving · 1/8 of the recipe Ingredient-based estimate; brands and preparation change the result. Wine alcohol retention estimated at 35%; drained ricotta uses a standard cow-ricotta reference.

Nutrition sources: CREA Centro di ricerca Alimenti e Nutrizione · USDA Agricultural Research Service · Consorzio Caciocavallo Silano DOP

Nonna's tips

  1. The vent is structural

    Unvented fiadoni split at the seam and weep cheese. The little cross lets the filling rise and announce itself instead.

  2. Balance the cheeses

    The three cheeses give this filling a mix of saltiness and softness. Drain the ricotta well and mix to a thick, spoonable consistency before filling the pastry.

  3. Seal the half-moons carefully and leave space between them on the tray.

    The small vent on top gives the filling room to expand as it bakes.

What to serve with Fiadone

A dinner from Molise, built around this dish. Change any course and the shopping list follows.

  1. Antipasto

    Fiadone

    This recipe

    2 hr 5 min · make ahead

  2. First course

    Cavatelli al Ragù di Maiale

    Hand-shaped cavatelli with a slow tomato ragù of pork ribs and sausage, finished with grated pecorino.

    4 hr · make ahead

  3. Main course

    Pampanella

    Molisani pork ribs coated with sweet pepper, chili and garlic, roasted under cover and finished with white wine vinegar.

    1 hr 55 min · make ahead

  4. Dessert

    Ceppellate di Trivento

    Crisp shortcrust crescents filled with sour-cherry jam and dusted with icing sugar.

    2 hr 25 min · make ahead

  5. What to pour

    Pour a young Tintilia del Molise, the region's own red grape: its spice and soft fruit meet the salt of the pecorino without weighing down the pastry.

Molise

Molise

Fiadoni are associated with Easter in Molise and neighboring Abruzzo. There are sweet and savory versions; this recipe makes savory cheese-and-egg half-moons.

The Molise guide

Shopping list

People at the table
8
On the table

To buy

  • Shop

Check the pantry

  • Shop
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Cook your way around Italy

Twenty regions, one dish from each. Cook one and its region goes on your map.

0 of 20 regions cooked

Made Fiadone? Stamp Molise.

Grilled arrosticini with small cubes of lamb on wooden skewers.Next stop · AbruzzoArrosticini1 hr 20 min

When you go to Molise

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One dish from every region

  1. Aosta ValleyFonduta Valdostana
  2. PiedmontAgnolotti del Plin Burro e Salvia
  3. LiguriaTrofie al Pesto Genovese
  4. LombardyRisotto alla Milanese
  5. Trentino-Alto AdigeCanederli in Brodo
  6. VenetoRisi e Bisi
  7. Friuli-Venezia GiuliaFrico con Patate
  8. Emilia-RomagnaTagliatelle al Ragù Bolognese
  9. TuscanyRibollita
  10. UmbriaStrangozzi al Tartufo Nero
  11. MarcheVincisgrassi
  12. LazioSpaghetti alla Carbonara
  13. AbruzzoArrosticini
  14. MoliseCavatelli al Ragù di Maiale
  15. CampaniaSpaghetti alle Vongole
  16. PugliaOrecchiette alle Cime di Rapa
  17. BasilicataStrascinati con Peperoni Cruschi
  18. CalabriaFileja alla ’Nduja
  19. SicilyPasta alla Norma
  20. SardiniaOgliastra-style culurgiones with tomato sauce

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Sources and citations (4)
  1. www.arsarp.it: Atlante dei prodotti tradizionali: paste fresche
  2. www.gransassolagapark.it: La Spesa nel Parco: guida agli acquisti diretti nelle aziende del Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga
  3. Ministero dell’agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste: Decreto 22 settembre 2022: modifica al disciplinare della DOC Tintilia del Molise
  4. Enoturismo in Molise | Enit S.p.A. (Italiano)

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