Pane Frattau

Pane Frattau is an good, traditional dish from Sardinia. It's made with layers of thin, crispy bread soaked in stock and layered with a simple tomato sauce, pecorino cheese and topped with a poached egg. It's unbelievably good and suited to breakfast, brunch….or any time of the day really!

This traditional Sardinian dish is seriously one of the most good things we've ever tasted and it's so simple to make.

It's made with a traditional Sardinian bread called Pane Carasau or Carta di Musica which translates as sheets of music because it's so paper thin and crispy.

You should be able to buy Pane Carasau online or in Italian food stores. It's rehydrated by dunking it for a second in warm stock then layering it with tomato sauce, pecorino and finally topped with a poached egg.

Burst the egg and spread it over the top of your Pane Frattau before cutting and eating. It's so good and something you'll want to make again and again.

See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos and tips. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Pane Carasau – you should be able to buy this online or in a good Italian food store (see the recipe card below for more details).
• Stock – traditionally, sheep or goat stock is used but you can also use vegetable or chicken stock (we used veg stock).
• Pecorino – Pecorino Sardo is traditionally used but can be tricky to find. A good alternative is Pecorino Romano (pictured above).
• Passata (aka tomato puree) – We love to use Mutti as it's good quality and readily available in most food stores.
• Eggs – when poaching eggs is important to use the freshest eggs you can get as it makes all the difference. If the eggs are old the white will separate from the yolk.

Visual walk-though of the recipe

Make the sauce

1. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a pan and add the 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves. Sauce the garlic for a few seconds until fragrant then add the passata (tomato puree) and a pinch of salt (photo 1).
2. Simmer the tomato sauce for 15-20 minutes until reduced slightly. Add the fresh torn basil leaves 5 minutes before the end. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed (photo 2).

Assemble the Pane Frattau

1. Heat the stock in a pot and keep warm.
2. Dunk a piece of pane carrasau into the stock (you can break it so it fits into your pot) and lay it on a serving plate. Continue with another 2 or 3 pieces to create one even layer (photos 3 and 4).
3. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the layer of bread and grate some Pecorino cheese on top. Continue the process another twice so you have 3 layers in total (photos 5-8).

Poach your eggs (must use fresh eggs)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Separate your eggs into two ramekins (one egg per ramekin).
2. Once the water is boiling turn the heat off completely. Submerge the ramekins one at a time into the water and pour the eggs into the hot water (see video or photos for reference). Try to remember which egg you dropped into the water first (photos 9-11).
3. Let the eggs poach in the water for 4-5 minutes then remove the first egg with a slotted spoon. Add the egg to the middle of the Pane Frattau (photos 12-14).

Tips for solid poached eggs

• Use fresh eggs at room temperature – this is a important tip for poaching eggs. If your eggs aren't fresh the white will separate from the yolks while poaching.
• Bring the water to a rolling boil – once boiling turn of the heat and add the eggs. No need to swirl the water or add vinegar.
• Add the eggs to ramekins – Add the eggs to individual ramekins. Lower the ramekin to the edge until slightly submerged in the water then pour the egg into the water (don't drop it from a height).
• Use a slotted spoon – a slotted spoon (pictured in photo 12) is the easiest way to remove the poached egg from the water and transfer it to a plate.
• Kitchen paper – if necessary, dab the egg with kitchen paper to remove any excess water. You can also wipe the bottom of the slotted spoon so you don't drip water on your food.
• Prepping in advance – if you want to poach your eggs in advance transfer them to a bowl of ice cold water straight away to stop the cooking process. When ready to serve pop them back into hot water to heat up for 1 minute.

Swaps

• Double the recipe – this recipe makes 2 generous servings but you can easily double it to serve 4-6.
• Make it spicy – for a spicy kick why not add some fresh or dried chillies to the tomato sauce. You could even add some spicy 'Nduja salami.
• Add onion – some recipes saute finely chopped white onion before adding the tomato.

More recipes you might like

Breakfast

Sauteed Tomato Breakfast Crostini With Poached Eggs

Bread & Savory Bakes

La Piadina: Italian Flatbread

Antipasti

Italian Farinata Chickpea Flatbread (La Cecina Toscana)

Bread & Savory Bakes

Brustengo (Umbrian Flatbread)

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

• 6.5 oz (180g) Pane Carasau ((about 90g/3oz per person))
• 1.5 cups (400g) passata (tomato puree US)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small handful fresh basil
• 2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
• 2 eggs (at room temperature (see notes))
• Pecorino Sardo or Romano (for grating)
• Salt
• Olive oil

Method

Make the sauce

1. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a pan and add the 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves. Sauce the garlic for a few seconds until fragrant then add the passata (tomato puree) and a pinch of salt.

2. Simmer the tomato sauce for 15-20 minutes until reduced slightly. Add the fresh torn basil leaves 5 minutes before the end. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Assemble the Pane Frattau

1. Heat the stock in a pot and keep warm.

2. Dunk a piece of pane carasau into the stock (you can break it so it fits into your pot) and lay it on a serving plate. Continue with another 2 or 3 pieces to create one even layer.

3. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over the layer of bread and grate some Pecorino cheese on top.

4. Continue the process another twice so you have 3 layers in total.

Poach your eggs (must use fresh eggs)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Separate your eggs into two ramekins (one egg per ramekin).

2. Once the water is boiling turn the heat off completely. Submerge the ramekins one at a time into the water and pour the eggs into the hot water (see video or photos for reference). Try remember which egg you dropped into the water first.

3. Let the eggs poach in the water for 4-5 minutes then remove the first egg with a slotted spoon. Add the egg to the middle of the Pane Frattau.

4. Repeat with the second egg, sprinkle each egg with a small pinch of salt and serve.

5. Traditionally, the egg is burst and spread over the bread before eating, enjoy!

Kitchen notes

1. Eggs make sure your eggs are as fresh as possible. This is an important tip for great poached eggs. They must also be at room temperature for best results.
2. Poaching eggs in advance if poaching in advance make sure you transfer the poached eggs to a bowl of ice-cold water to stop them from cooking. Pop them back into hot water for 1 minute before serving to warm up.
3. Double the recipe this recipe makes 2 generous servings but you can easily double it to serve 4-6.
4. Add onion some recipes saute finely chopped white onion before adding the tomato.
5. Make it spicy for a spicy kick why not add some fresh or dried chillies to the tomato sauce. You could even add some spicy 'Nduja salami.