Tag: comfort food

Alpine-style Onion Soup (Zuppa di Cipolle alla Valdostana)

When it’s cold outside, my definition of comfort food is a warm and rustic dish. This soup totally qualifies as such, especially when it’s served in individual earthenware bowls that stay hot.

This preparation is characteristic of the Aosta Valley, a small Italian region at the borders with France and Switzerland, on the western Alps. It can be considered a variation of the classic French onion soup that makes use of Fontina, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese, which is local to the Aosta region.

As for the onion, the white variety works best thanks to the complex flavor it develops when roasted, which I find has hints of cabbage and fennel.

Part of the success of this dish is due to its layered construction and the resulting alternation of textures and flavors. Besides making for an appealing presentation and keeping the dish hot, the individual bowls also keep the layers into place.

Alpine-style Onion Soup (Zuppa di cipolle alla Valdostana)

Yield: 2 servings

Total Time: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Alpine-style Onion Soup (Zuppa di cipolle alla Valdostana)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 white onion, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 Tbsp white flour
  • 2 tick slices country bread
  • 4 slices fontina (or swiss cheese)
  • salt and black pepper
  • 2 earthenware soup bowls, oven resistant

Preparation

  1. In a pan, roast the onion in butter at medium heat for 3-5 minutes until golden.onion-soup_12
  2. Sprinkle with flour and continue roasting for a couple more minutes, stir gently.
  3. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes without a lid to reduce.onion-soup_34
  4. Meanwhile prepare 2 thik slices of fresh country bread, possibly with crust on one side. Trim them so that they fit tightly within the bowls.
  5. Adjust the onion soup with salt and pepper, then pour it in the two bowls.layering_12
  6. Add the bread, so that it lays overtop, crust downwards, barely touching the soup.
  7. Lay the cheese over the bread to fully cover it.layering_34
  8. Broil for 10-15 minutes until the cheese will be bubbly.
https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2015/12/alpine-style-onion-soup-zuppa-di-cipolle-alla-valdostana.html

 

Poppy Seed Potato Bignès on Braised Leeks and Taleggio

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

Poppy Seed Potato Bignès

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

    1. Boil the potato. Let it cool until lukewarm.
    2. Meanwhile, start preparing the sauce.
    3. Slice the leek in thin rings (fig. a) and sauté them in butter for 10 minutes (fig. b).
    4. 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).
    5. While the sauce cooks, start preparing the bignè.
    6. Put the water and butter into a small pan (fig. 1) and bring to a boil (fig. 2).
    7. Add the flour and stir constantly (fig. 3).
    8. Keep the mix on the heat until sizzling, and the mix detaches itself from the pot (fig. 4).
    10. Move the mix into a bowl, let cool.
    11. Add the egg and salt (fig. 5). Mix (fig. 6).
    12. Mash the potato with the ricer and add it to the mix (fig. 7).
    13. Mix everything until smooth, then stir in 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds (fig. 8).
    14. 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).
    15. Deep fry the bignès in olive oil (fig. 11) keeping the temperature at constant 180 degrees Celsius.
    16. When golden-brown, remove balls and put them to dry onto paper-towel (fig. 12).
    17. Finish preparing the sauce by adding the diced Taleggio to it (fig. d). Stir until the cheese melts completely. Adjust the salt.
    18. Serve the bignè while still hot on a bed of sauce.
    https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2013/12/poppy-seed-potato-bignes.html