Pane Frattau
Pane frattau is an inland Sardinian dish made by layering broth-softened pane carasau with rich tomato sauce and grated pecorino, topped with a poached egg.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 480 kcal
Equipment
- •Wide shallow pan
- •Medium saucepan
- •Slotted spoon
- •Ladle
- •Four shallow serving bowls
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 58 g
- fibre
- 5 g
- protein
- 22 g
- calories
- 480 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion until translucent and soft.
- 2
Add the crushed tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then simmer gently for 20 minutes until thickened.
- 3
Stir in the torn basil leaves, remove the sauce from the heat, and keep warm.
- 4
Bring the broth to a very gentle simmer in a wide shallow pan.
- 5
Bring a separate pot of water with vinegar to a simmer and poach the eggs until the whites are set.
- 6
Submerge a piece of pane carasau in the hot broth for three seconds until softened but intact.
- 7
Ladle a spoonful of tomato sauce onto the bottom of each warmed shallow bowl.
- 8
Place a layer of soaked bread over the sauce, add more sauce, and dust heavily with pecorino.
- 9
Repeat the layering three times per bowl to create a compact stack of sauce-soaked bread and cheese.
- 10
Crown each stack with a warm poached egg and a final dusting of grated pecorino.
Chef's tips
Do not leave the pane carasau in the hot broth for more than a few seconds or it will disintegrate into mush. Use very fresh eggs for poaching so the whites stay compact and wrap neatly around the yolk. Warm your serving bowls beforehand to keep the assembled layers piping hot.
Ingredient substitutions
- Pecorino Sardo → Fiore Sardo or a mature Pecorino Romano, though Romano is noticeably saltier
- pane carasau → pane guttiau, though it already contains oil and salt
Storage
Best eaten immediately as the soaked bread softens further upon sitting; store leftover sauce separately for up to three days refrigerated.
Reheating
Not recommended for full assembly reheating; reheat tomato sauce and broth separately, then assemble fresh with freshly poached eggs.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Over-soaking the carasau in broth until it turns to paste rather than tender pasta-like sheets.
- •Poaching the eggs until hard, losing the rich yolk that creates the final sauce.
- •Using cold plates, which cools the thin layers of bread before serving.
Serving suggestions
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