Going through my old recipe book, I stumbled upon this delicious dish – true comfort food, Italian style! An amazing entree where soft and creamy potato bignès, covered in nutty poppy seeds and deep fried are laid to rest on a bed of braised leeks and Taleggio! The dish is absolutely simple to make and a guaranteed success. The only challenge lies in finishing the two components more or less at the same time.
This recipe has been adapted from La Cucina Italiana (November 1997, page 58).
Poppy Seed Potato Bignès
Yield: 2-3 servings
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 big leek (or 2 smaller ones)
1 cup (250 ml) milk (for the sauce)
1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream (for the sauce)
10 oz (300 g) Taleggio cheese (for the sauce)
salt to taste (for the sauce)
For the bignè
1 small Russet potato (250 g)
1/2 cup (50 g) flour
1/4 cup (50 g) butter
1/4 cup (50 g) water
1/8 of a teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup poppy seeds
2 cups (0.5 l) olive oil for deep-frying
Preparation
Boil the potato. Let it cool until lukewarm.
Meanwhile, start preparing the sauce.
Slice the leek in thin rings (fig. a) and sauté them in butter for 10 minutes (fig. b).
Add the milk and cream (fig. c), and stew slowly for 30-45 minutes until thick (at that point take off the heat but keep warm).
While the sauce cooks, start preparing the bignè.
Put the water and butter into a small pan (fig. 1) and bring to a boil (fig. 2).
Add the flour and stir constantly (fig. 3).
Keep the mix on the heat until sizzling, and the mix detaches itself from the pot (fig. 4).
Move the mix into a bowl, let cool.
Add the egg and salt (fig. 5). Mix (fig. 6).
Mash the potato with the ricer and add it to the mix (fig. 7).
Mix everything until smooth, then stir in 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds (fig. 8).
With your hands, make walnut-sized balls, roll them over poppy seeds until completely covered (fig. 9). You should be able to make 8-10 of them (fig. 10).
Deep fry the bignès in olive oil (fig. 11) keeping the temperature at constant 180 degrees Celsius.
When golden-brown, remove balls and put them to dry onto paper-towel (fig. 12).
Finish preparing the sauce by adding the diced Taleggio to it (fig. d). Stir until the cheese melts completely. Adjust the salt.
Serve the bignè while still hot on a bed of sauce.
Part of the spirit of Cucina Povera (the Cuisine of the Poor) is frugality and eating anything that can still be eaten. For some ingredients, this even involves a special preparation or a process to make them more edible. And this is certainly the case with Parmesan rind, which is safe to eat, but too hard to chew.
I grew up in one of those northern Italian families that go through a lot of Parmigiano! It’s almost always sprinkled over pasta dishes and an essential component of risotto. Because of this, in our fridge, in the cheese drawer, there were always a couple of pieces of Parmesan rind which were saved for the next risotto. Parmesan rind can also be used to flavor soups, but in my family, we never used it that way.
For the use in risotto, the rind is added at the beginning of the preparation. As the stock is gradually incorporated, the rind releases flavor, while re-hydrating itself and becoming softer. When using a relatively young Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano (a different cheese, similar in flavor, but aged less), by the time the risotto is cooked, the rind will appear substantially thinned, and will be easy to cut with a knife or even the side of a fork. Although it might be an acquired taste for some, the rind will be absolutely delicious when eaten in small bites, along with the risotto. When using particularly aged Parmigiano Reggiano, instead, the rind will still be quite hard at the end of the cooking – if not chewable, of course, it should be discarded (in this case, the rind will be only used as flavoring).
Parmesan rind can be added to all kinds of risotto, but in the case of a radicchio risotto, it is even more desirable. Radicchio, a vegetable that belongs to the chicory family, has a bitter flavor which is especially pronounced when raw, but also present when cooked. Any bitterness can be dampened by adding some saltiness. Because of this, Parmigiano is a great pairing for radicchio. Some people, however, develop tolerance or even a liking for the bitterness of radicchio. If its bitterness is not a problem, thinly sliced fresh radicchio can be added to the finished risotto as a garnish.
Radicchio Risotto with Parmesan Rind
Yield: 2 servings
Total Time: 25 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2/3 cup of Carnaroli rice
3 cups of vegetable or beef stock
1 shallot, chopped
½ radicchio, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 glass of white wine (red can also be used for a stronger flavor and for color)
¼ cup of Parmigiano, grated
1 or 2 Parmesan rinds, scraped and washed
Some ground black pepper
Preparation
Bring the stock to a gentle boil in its own saucepan.
Prepare the Parmesan rinds by scraping off the top of the rind, the part that would have been directly exposed to the air (fig. 1).
In a second, larger, saucepan, sauté the onion in 2/3 of the butter until translucent, then add the radicchio and continue cooking at medium heat until softened.
Add the rice and stir at medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Add the wine and the Parmesan rind (fig. 2). Set the timer for 18 minutes.
Keep stirring. When the rice dries out a bit, add some stock and go back to stirring (fig.3).
When the time is up, turn off the heat, add 2/3 the grated Parmesan and the remaining butter (fig. 4). Keep stirring for 1 more minute.
Serve in bowls, sprinkle with the rest of the grated Parmesan, some ground black pepper, and (optionally, if the bitterness of radicchio is appreciated) garnish with fresh thinly-sliced radicchio.
An unusual post for this blog, today. Three friends of mine have just competed in a pizza cook-off, and I had the honor to be the head judge 🙂
The contestants were responsible for bringing their own ingredients, including their pizza dough (which they made beforehand). To cook the pizzas, they all used the same oven, set at its maximum temperature (550 °F), with the same pizza stone.
We had two challenges: the first was on ingredients and technique; the second on the choice of the toppings.
For the first challenge, everyone made their best Margherita. Here is what each did.
The first contestant, Stefano, brought a slowly-leavened pizza dough which he had raising in his fridge for 2 full days (see below for his recipe). He used canned, peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes (which he seasoned with salt and olive oil), and fresh “bocconcini” mozzarella. The pizza was assembled and cooked for 7 minutes (until the mozzarella started to become bubbly).
The second contestant, Sandro, used his 1-day leavened dough. He blanched and strained fresh Roma tomatoes, which he then seasoned with herbs, salt, and olive oil. He also used fresh “bocconcini” mozzarella, but he adopted the strategy to add it to the pizza only during the last 2 minutes of cooking (out of the 8 minutes total). He then finished the pizza with basil leaves.
The third contestant, Samuele, also made a 1-day leavened dough. He used canned Molisana strained tomatoes, with some added salt. He used “bocconcini” mozzarella, added at the beginning of cooking, like Stefano’s. He finished his pizza with basil, a hint of Parmigiano, and a generous amount of olive oil.
Here is how this challenge went.
All three contestants used a bit too much tomato sauce. Stefano had the best dough of all three. Sandro’s dough was a close second. Stefano’s tomatoes were good but slightly under-seasoned. Sandro’s tomatoes had the most flavor but were a bit watery (possibly because he used fresh tomatoes). Samuele’s tomatoes were the best of all three, although he put a little too much salt on them. Overall, Sandro’s mozzarella tasted best: being it cooked just slightly, it kept its milkiness, tasting more authentic. Overall, Sandro won this challenge.
For the second challenge, the contestants were asked to show off their best toppings.
Stefano went with a proven combination: speck and fontina. He prepared his Margherita base, with fontina mixed in with the mozzarella. Half-way through the cooking, he topped up the pizza with slices of speck.
Sandro also used his Margherita base, to which he added sautéed onions and gorgonzola cheese. After the pizza was cooked, he topped it off with raw prosciutto.
At this point, we were all too full, and Samuele decided to drop out of the competition 🙂
Overall Sandro’s toppings were considered more creative and with a more distinct flavor then Stefano’s; also because Stefano’s fontina was too mild and we couldn’t really taste it. Sandro also won the second competition!
Stefano's Pizza Dough
Ingredients
Quantities per person.
200 g all purpose flour
125 g cold water
5 g salt
1.5 g fresh yeast (or 0.7 g dry yeast)
Preparation
I mix water and yeast until the yeast is fully melted. I then add half of the flour. I mix well, then add the salt. Finally, I slowly incorporate the rest of the flour, a bit at a time (it needs to be kneaded well, I use Kitchen Aid for at least 15 minutes).
I then store it in the fridge for 2 days in a sealed container. I add a film of olive oil to keep the dough from developing a crust.
The day of the pizza, I take it out of the fridge. I let it rest for another hour, then I divide it in equal portions, one per person. I put each portion in a different container to do the final leavening at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours.
Chicken eggs are one of the world’s most popular foods and have a significant presence in the diet of both Italians and North Americans. However, their aspect and the way they are consumed are substantially different between Italy and North America. In this article, I will list 5 of these differences, while also describing why eggs are an essential ingredient in cooking and a marvel of nutrition.
Color and nutritional/culinary properties
The first most obvious difference is in the color of the shell. In Italy eggs are prevalently brown; in North America, prevalently white (difference #1). What causes this difference? The color of the shell comes entirely from the breed of the chicken: white hens make white eggs, red and brown hens make brown eggs. So are Italian chickens indigenously brown? No, they are chosen by the breeders according to the preference of the market.
It’s interesting to see how the shell color preference varies around the world. As illustrated in the map below, it doesn’t have any obvious correlation to the geographical location – it varies more based on culture.
What about the color of the yolk instead? That depends entirely on the hen’s diet. If the hen is fed plants rich in xanthophylls (such as alfalfa or yellow corn), the yolk acquires a darker color. So, is Italian feed more conducive to producing orange yolks? Not really, similarly to the breed, the choice of the feed is driven by the preference of the customers: North America seems to prefer lemony-gold yolks, whereas Italy and most of Europe goes for deep orange yolks.
A dark yellow yolk and a lemony yellow yolk.
When eggs with pale yellow yolks and eggs with orange yolks are both available on the market, matching shell color is generally chosen to distinguish between the two: white for pale yellow yolks, brown for orange yolks.
Nutritionally speaking, all eggs are identical being designed to nourish the embryo until the chick hatches after 21 days of incubation.
Within the egg, the yolk and the white have substantially different properties and nutritional values, however. The yolk weighs about 1/3rd of the whole egg and contains ¾ of its calories in the form of proteins and aggregates of proteins-fat-lecithin. These aggregates give eggs their emulsifying properties: the amazing capacity to bind with both fat and water to create wonders like mayonnaise and Hollandaise sauce.
The egg’s white (or albumen) contains a similar amount of protein as the yolk, but the majority of those proteins actually have anti-nutritional value when eaten raw. While they are nourishing for the embryo, they inhibit digestive enzymes and prevent the absorption of vitamins and iron. The egg white also contains ovomucin, a protein with thickening and binding properties meant to protect the developing bird. Ovomucin is also very valuable in cooking: it helps keep together cakes and certain kinds of pasta (e.g. tagliatelle and lasagna), stabilize foams, and give a shiny finish to pastries.
Salmonella
Eating raw eggs is discouraged in North America. This isn’t because of the anti-nutritional properties of raw egg white, but because of the fear of Salmonella, a bacterial infection that can have serious health consequences.
An egg in the UK, with its British Lion mark.
Both Europe and North America have been exposed to Salmonella outbreaks, but they have adopted different strategies to counteract them. In 1998, the UK introduced a program called the “British Lion Code of Practice“. The initiative certifies egg farms that adhere to a stringent code of practice, which includes: vaccination for the hens, complete traceability of the animals’ origins, and complete traceability of their feed. It also mandates that each egg is individually marked with a code identifying the expiry date, the farm of origin, and the keeping of the hens (free-range, barn, or cage).
Since 2004, egg marking has been adopted by the European Union.
An egg in Italy. On the carton, a legend explains how to read the mark.
Despite overall improvements in the conditions in which hens are kept, North America still doesn’t apply the same stringent regulations and Salmonella infections are still quite common. As a result, North Americans are wary of raw eggs and the US FDA strongly recommends cooking eggs through or using pasteurized eggs. In Italy and in the rest of Europe such fear is much less prevalent (difference #2). Raw eggs are also traditionally part of popular preparations, such as homemade mayonnaise and Tiramisu, which makes them more culturally accepted.
Refrigeration
The fear of Salmonella also causes the next difference (difference #3). By law, in the USA and Canada eggs must be refrigerated in supermarkets and grocery stores. This policy is motivated by the fact that a contaminated egg is mainly harmless until the bacteria have had a chance to multiply and colonize the egg, a process that is slower at low temperatures.
Italy, the UK, and other parts of Europe don’t have mandatory refrigeration. As a matter of fact, they have the opposite policy: refrigeration is forbidden until the eggs reach their final storage destination (the home fridge). The reason for the different policy lies in another important difference: in Italy eggs are unwashed! (difference #4) When eggs are laid, they are naturally covered with a thin film that makes the shell less porous and isolates it from bacteria that are present in the hen’s intestinal tract. This film helps preserve the egg by maintaining more of its water content, by avoiding CO2 perspiration (a byproduct of the loss of acidity that occurs when the egg ages), and by isolating the egg from off-flavors that it could absorb from the environment (e.g. the smell of other foods in the fridge). This protective film can easily be washed away by the natural condensation of the moisture in the air as it comes into contact with the cold surface of a refrigerated egg. Condensation is particularly harmful because it won’t just wash off the protective film, it will actually melt it in place and allow any bacteria that is present on the surface of the egg to get inside. It’s customary for Italians to wash eggs before using them should the shell comes into contact with the egg’s content during cracking.
Uses
Despite the differences in the hens’ breed and feed, eggs taste the same in Italy as they do in North America. However, traditionally, their role in the diet differs substantially. In Italy, eggs can be found, in various preparations, as lunch or dinner options. In North America, instead, they are mostly associated with breakfast (difference #5).
The names of the different cooking styles have creative translations in Italian:
– Sunny-side up → ‘occhio di bue’ (literally “bull’s eye”). – Scrambled eggs → ‘uova strapazzate’ (literally “overworked” eggs). – Hardboiled egg → ‘uovo sodo’ (literally “firm” egg). – Soft boiled → ‘alla coque’ (from the French word for “shell”). – Poached → ‘in camicia’ (literally “in a shirt”).
IncredibleEgg.org has excellent instructions on how to properly cook eggs in any of these styles, and others too.
As described in the article “Breakfast or Colazione?“, Italians prefer to start their day with something baked, along with coffee or cappuccino. Fried eggs, instead, are seen as an informal meal, often prepared in a frittata (from ‘fritto’, fried, generically indicating a dish in which eggs are cooked in a pan on a layer of fat). To prepare a frittata, the eggs are beaten with salt and pepper, and sometimes a small amount of milk or water. Often, additional ingredients are mixed in, either individually or in combination. Common add-ons include vegetables (e.g. onions, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus – all sautéed in advance), cheese (e.g. Provolone, Taleggio, Fontina, grated Parmigiano), and meat (prosciutto cotto – the Italian ham -, salame, sausage). In a frittata, the eggs can either be scrambled or set. When set, the thickness can vary between a few millimeters (like in a French omelet), and a few centimeters (like in a Spanish omelet).
Other than in frittata, eggs are the main component of a number of other Italian dishes:
Zucchini Frittata
Spaghetti alla Carbonara, a dish from the Rome region, where eggs are the main component of the sauce.
If you like blue cheese, but you haven’t tried Gorgonzola (), you’re going to love it. If you don’t like blue cheese, and you try Gorgonzola, you might very well start to like blue cheese! In fact, next to the traditional Piccante (pungent) variety, the milder Dolce (sweet) variety meets the palate of those who are not too fond of ‘blue’ flavors.
Do you blog about authentic Italian food? You may qualify for the coveted Cannolo Award! Check out the details.
The characteristic pungent aroma of Gorgonzola Piccante is due to the aromatic molds that, over a 6 month aging period, grow to fully inhabit it. As the cheese ages, it becomes compact or even crumbly because of its natural loss of moisture (down to 30-40%). This transformation also intensifies the flavor.
A slice of Gorgonzola Piccante
The Dolce variety instead (shown in the feature image) is only aged 2 to 3 months: it has only partially established molds and still contains high amounts of moisture (45%). This results in a cheese that is only mildly blue, and that is also creamy and spreadable.
Both the Dolce and the Piccante varieties are made from whole cow milk, and they have similar percentages of fat (around 25-30%).
Cheese production makes use of specific kinds of molds (Penicillia) that over the centuries were discovered capable of improving the flavor and the texture of the product. We now know that these molds are aerobic fungi that produce enzymes capable of metabolizing the milk fats and proteins, therefore completely transforming the cheese. These molds are perfectly safe to eat since they don’t release any toxins and even have antibacterial properties. The antibiotic penicillin, in fact, derives from a mold that belongs to the same family.
Out of all of the different kinds of Penicillia, only two are responsible for the characteristic flavor of the countless varieties of blue cheese: Penicillium glaucum and Penicillium roqueforti. Gorgonzola is traditionally made using the former, but the latter can also be used.
For easier distribution, the drum of is generally cut into 4 pieces.
Molds are often associated with cheese, but in most kinds of cheese, they grow only on the rind. In blue cheese, instead, the mold is encouraged to grow deeply into the cheese paste. Since Penicillia need at least minimal levels of oxygen to survive, in the production of Gorgonzola, the uncooked curds are left unpressed to favor the formation of fissures and cavities through which the mold will be able to breathe. In order to get an even more uniform growth of the mold within the paste, when the cheese is 3-4 weeks old, the rind is perforated deeply with metal needles. The mold ends up thriving on the walls of the holes, forming the characteristic green veining. In Italian, this process is called Erborinatura from the word ‘erburin’, which means ‘parsley‘ in northern Italian dialect, in reference to the similarly green color.
Origins
The exact origins of Gorgonzola are unknown, but they certainly revolve around a city that bears the same name, 15 km East of Milan, in the core of Lombardy.
Milan (green dot) and Gorgonzola (red dot) in the region Lombardy.
As early as in the 9th century, Lombardy was known for the production of a soft cheese called stracchino(1). There is evidence that the stracchino made around the town of Gorgonzola developed special characteristics that made it unique – likely it was contaminated with a particular mold which is naturally present in the caves where the cheese was ripened. The “stracchino of Gorgonzola” started being appreciated as a different kind of cheese, a delicacy that then became known in all of northern Italy.
Over time, the production of Gorgonzola expanded to other parts of Lombardy, but the city of Gorgonzola maintained its prestige until the middle of the 19th century. In 1840 writer Luigi Cattaneo wrote in his Milanese publication: Il Politecnico that “while the cheesemakers of the town of Gorgonzola kept the secret of the peculiar circumstances that make this cheese special, this cheese remained their almost exclusive privilege. But nowadays this cheese is produced in several other locations in Lombardy with the same good success, although the one that is made in the surroundings of Gorgonzola maintains higher commercial regard.”(2)
Since 1970, the production of Gorgonzola is regulated by its Consortium, and it’s limited to specific areas of Lombardy and Piedmont, as stipulated by its designation of Protected Geographical Status.
Uses
Gorgonzola and mascarpone “cake”.
Gorgonzola is commonly eaten by itself, usually spread on bread. The aged variety (Piccante) is sometimes paired with honey to counterbalance its intense body. For those who prefer more delicate flavors, a modern preparation exists that is even milder than Gorgonzola Dolce: a “cake” made by layering sweet Gorgonzola with mascarpone.
Gorgonzola is also widely used in cooking. The main examples see it used:
as a sauce for pasta or gnocchi, sometimes with the addition of walnuts;
in risotto, simply added when the rice is nearly cooked;
on pizza, alone or as one of the 4 kinds of cheese in quattro formaggi;
The wine pairings of Gorgonzola are somewhat difficult and a source of lengthy debates. There seems to be consensus, however, that the Dolce variety goes with fruity wines (Riesling, Pinot bianco, various novelli). The Piccante variety, instead, needs a stronger, sweeter wine, even fortified: various kinds of passito, as well as Port and Marsala. All agree that Gorgonzola goes well with beer, especially the Trappist kind.
Notes
1) Stracchino is a fat cheese whose name derives from the word “stracco” (“tired” in Milanese dialect), in reference to the fact that it was made with the milk of cows that were “tired” because of having just returned to the valley after spending the summer on higher pastures.
2) Luigi Cattaneo, On the way to produce the fat cheese called Stracchino of Gorgonzola, Il Politecnico 3 (1840), p. 309-322.
Addendum – Bloggers Recipes (from comments)
Thanks to my friend bloggers who accepted my invitation to share their best Gorgonzola recipes! Here is a clickable list compiled from their comments. Enjoy!
This vegetarian dish is inspired by the renowned Carbonara. I would not call it “Vegetarian Carbonara” though, as there is no such thing in Italy. If you are interested in the original Roman dish, many Cannolo Award winners have recipes for it, including Memorie di Angelina’s Spaghetti alla carbonara.
Aside from how it should be called, the dish that I’m presenting is absolutely delicious and fun to eat. Just like for Carbonara, the main execution difficulty is to find the right moisture balance: allow the eggs to firm up “just enough” and not more!
Egg and Smoked Scamorza Pasta
Yield: 2 servings
Total Time: 25 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
140 g spaghetti or other long dried pasta
2 eggs, beaten
100 g (3 ½ oz) smoked scamorza (or smoked provolone), thinly diced
3 Tbsp Parmigiano, grated
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Black pepper, freshly ground
Salt
Preparation
Prepare the ingredients (1), then start boiling the pasta in salted water for the time indicated on the box.
Lightly beat the eggs with the Parmigiano (2).
Roast the garlic in the butter at low heat for 5 minutes (3), then discard the garlic.
When the pasta is "al dente," drain it quickly then toss it back in the pot along with the garlic-flavored butter. Turn on the heat at low. Stir gently.
Add the beaten eggs and cheese, then continue to stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the eggs start to firm up (4). It's important to keep the eggs partly runny, as they will continue to cook in the bowls after being served.
Serve immediately covered with the smoked scamorza and some black pepper. The heat of the pasta will soften the cheese and melt it slightly.
Crostini (plural of: ‘crostino’, from bread crust) are rustic appetizers where toasted bread slices are used as a base for various toppings. In a way, a ‘bruschetta‘ can be considered a kind of crostino, but it’s generally not seen that way because of its stronger identity. Crostini may be also served as a snack or to accompany an aperitivo.
Most crostini share the same kind of base: a toasted bread slice, with fresh garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Countless toppings can then be added to this already delicious support. Here you will find the recipes for two of the most traditional ones: cannellini spread and stewed radicchio, both of which can be served either cold or warm.
Cannellini spread
The first topping is based on cannellini, a kind of white beans with a very thin skin, delicate flavor and a starchy texture. Cannellini are also used to thicken soups and in the famous Pasta e Fagioli.
Stewed Radicchio
The second topping is based on radicchio, an Italian vegetable that belongs to the same family of chicory, escarole, and Belgian endive, and with which it shares a bitter flavor. To counter the bitterness, radicchio is often generously salted and/or paired up with salty cheese (especially Parmigiano).
Two Kinds of Crostini: Cannellini and Radicchio
Yield: 8-10 crostini
Total Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Base ingredients
8-10 slices of ciabatta or baguette, toasted
1 garlic clove, pealed
Some extra virgin olive oil
Cannellini spread
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 sprig of rosemary, finely sliced
1 can of cannellini (~400g), drained
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Stewed radicchio
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 big shallot, thinly sliced
1 radicchio, sliced
2 Tbsp red wine
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp of Parmigiano, coarsely grated or slivered
Preparation
Base preparation
Toast or char-grill the bread making sure it doesn't dry out completely.
Rub each slice with the garlic (the roughness of the toasted bread will act as a scraper).
Drizzle with the olive oil.
Cannellini spread
Roast the garlic in the olive oil until golden.
Add the rosemary and the cannellini.
Cook for 5-10 minutes.
Mash the beans coarsely by using a fork.
Adjust salt and pepper.
Spread on the crostini and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Stewed radicchio
Roast the shallot in olive oil for a couple of minutes.
Add the radicchio and keep roasting for 2 more minutes.
Add the wine and allow it to evaporate.
Lower the heat and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the radicchio softens.
Adjust salt and pepper.
Place on the crostini and then sprinkle with Parmigiano.
Canederli are bread dumplings only found in the north-east of Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli, and part of Veneto), where they are served as a first course or as a main entree. Variations of this dish are common in all south-eastern Europe, where they are also served as an accompaniment to meat stews and roasts. The word ‘canederlo’, in fact, derives from the German and Austrian ‘knödel’ (dumpling).
Canederli can be considered part of ‘cucina povera’ (cuisine of the poor), as they are made of simple and inexpensive ingredients: stale bread moistened with milk and bound with eggs and a small amount of flour. However, the mixture is often enriched with cheese and Speck (a kind of smoked prosciutto also local to the north-east regions of Italy).
There are several variations of this regional dish, the following recipe describes one of the most common: filled with cheese. Once the dumplings are prepared and boiled, they are either served “dry” with melted butter or in broth.
Do you blog about authentic Italian food? You may qualify for the coveted Cannolo Award! Check out the details.
Canederli, the Italian Knödel
Yield: 4-5 servings
Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the dumplings
300 g (10 oz) stale bread, diced (which can be obtained by dicing 450 g of fresh bread and laying it on a perforated tray for 24-48 hours, covered with a tea towel) - it's important that the bread is fully dried out and crunchy
225 ml (1 scant cup) milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
60 g (½ cup) white flour
3 Tbsp (minced) flat leaf (Italian) parsley
200 g (7 oz) cheese, e.g.: Fontina, Raclette (smoked or plain), or Gouda (smoked or plain), diced
45 g (3 Tbsp) unsalted butter
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
3 liters (12 cups) of vegetable stock (for boiling)
To serve them "dry"
20 g (1 ½ Tbsp) (per serving) unsalted butter
10 g (2 tsp) (per serving) grated Parmigiano
1 small bunch of chives, thinly sliced
To serve them in broth
1 cup (per serving) additional vegetable stock
Some grated Parmigiano
Some chives, thinly sliced (optional)
Preparation
Put the stale bread into a large mixing bowl (1). Add the milk (2), the eggs (3), as well as salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Mix well and let it rest for at least two hours, covered with a tea towel, in a cool place or in the fridge. Stir occasionally to ensure that the mix absorbs the liquid uniformly.
After the two hours, add the flour (4), then the parsley (5), and the cheese (6). Mix gently.
Finely chop the onion (7) and fry it in oil and butter for ten minutes at medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Let the onion cool (8), then incorporate it into the mix (9).
Let the mixture rest for another half-hour covered with a tea towel. It should look uniformly moist and slightly sticky.
Using your hands, form the canederli by pressing together enough of the mix to make balls the size of a small orange (60 to 80 grams each). You should be able produce 14-16 balls out of the entire mix.
After making each ball, roll it in flour to seal the outside and prevent the canederli from sticking to each other (10).
When all the canederli are ready, re-roll them into flour and compress them a second time (11).
Have the vegetable stock in a large pot, well boiling on the stove.
Place the canederli gently in the pot (12-13), wait until the boil is resumed (14).
Boil the canederli for 12-15 minutes (they will be floating the whole time), then drain them gently.
If serving the canederli "dry", warm up the butter just enough to melt it. Place 3 canederli into each plate, pour the melted butter on them, then sprinkle with some thin-sliced chives, a generous amount of grated Parmigiano, and some freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Note: once boiled, the canederli can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
If serving the canederli in broth, prepare more vegetable stock (as the one used for boiling will be cloudy because of the flour). Place one or two canederli into each bowl, then pour the broth on them. Finish with some grated Parmigiano and (optional) chives.
In previous posts, we talked about Cucina Povera, the cuisine of the poor, now becoming “fashionable” in high-end restaurants. This is the case also for polenta – one of the simplest dishes ever conceived.
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Now traditionally made with cornmeal, different types of polenta have been feeding the masses since Roman times, well before the discovery of the Americas and the subsequent introduction of corn into Europe. Earlier polentas were made with millet, rye, spelt, barley, chickpeas, chestnuts or wheat flours.
Polenta cooker at a town fair
In Italy, polenta is a relatively common accompaniment to stews, braised dishes, and fried fish, often as an alternative to bread. In some parts of northern Italy, polenta becomes a more involved dish thanks to the use of different grains and to the addition of cheeses, milk, butter. This recipe describes one of the most renowned polenta spin-offs: Polenta Taragna.
Polenta Taragna is typical of Valtellina as well as of the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia. Its most characteristic trait is its dark color, due to the use of buckwheat flour (mixed with cornmeal). Polenta Taragna can also be recognized from other polenta-based dishes for containing substantial amounts of butter and cheese, mixed in right before the dish is served. The cheeses used in this preparation vary from region to region, but they’re commonly semi-fat, medium-ripened cow-milk cheeses (e.g.: Valtellina Casera, Bitto, Branzi, or Fontina). Polenta Taragna is served as a main course, or to accompany cold cuts and Italian pickles.
Polenta Taragna
Yield: 2 servings (as a main)
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 liter of water
120 g buckwheat flour
80 g cornmeal (fig. a)
75 g unsalted butter, cubed (fig. b)
250 g semi-fat cheese, cubed (e.g.: Fontina) (fig. c)
½ teaspoon salt
Preparation
Bring the water to a boil in the traditional copper cauldron or in a heavy-bottomed, stainless steel saucepan.
Slowly add the flours, while stirring constantly, until a lump-free mixture is obtained (figs. 1, 2, 3).
Cook at medium-low heat for 50-60 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the mix from sticking to the pot.
When the polenta is almost ready, add the butter and allow it to melt (fig. 4).
Finally, turn off the heat and add the cheese (fig. 5).
Keep stirring until the cheese has partially melted (fig. 6).
Serve in earthenware or ceramic bowls, or on a cutting board if used as a side.
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