Italian tart

December 8, 2009 - 8:46pm

dmsnyder

Torta di Patate

“The Cooking of Parma,” by Richard Camillo Sidoli is the kind of cookbook I most enjoy. It has many marvelous recipes from one of the greatest food regions of one of the greatest food countries in Europe. It also presents a culinary history of the region, integrating the history of local foods and their preparation into the broader history of Northern Italy.

Alas, I have hardly scratched the surface of the delightful repertoire of this Italian province's cucina, but I have repeatedly made one recipe: “Torta di Patate.” This open-faced, rustic savory tart was for me an instant comfort food – perhaps because it's what a potato knish really wants to be when it grows up.

Torta Dough

Ingredient	Amount
Flour	2 cups
Salt	½ tsp
Water	½ cup plus 1 tablespoon
Olive oil	4 tablespoons plus ½ tsp

Basics of torta preparation

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Then add the water and 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Mix to form a dough, but do not over-mix. The goal is not to develop the gluten.
Let the dough rest for at least 20 minutes. It can be left refrigerated overnight.
On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough thinly. (About the thickness of 2 sheets of paper)
Spread the remaining ½ tsp of olive oil in a 15 x 11 inch baking pan, and put the dough in the pan, leaving a 3 inch overhand on all sides.
Spread the filling over the dough, and fold the overhanging dough over the edges of the filling, leaving most of the center open.
Brush the torta with a beaten egg.
Bake until golden brown (about 25-35 minutes.)

Parma-style torta's can be filled with a variety of vegetable mixtures, and this cookbook gives recipes for several, including squash, rice and savoy cabbage. I've made them all, except for the torta di riso. We like the torta di patate best.

Filling for potato torta

Ingredient	Amount
Potatoes (russet or yukon gold)	2 ½ lbs
Butter	6 tablespoons
Onion, chopped	½ medium
Leek, chopped	2/3 cup
Parmigiano cheese, freshly grated	2/3 cup
Milk	¾ cup
Salt & pepper	To taste
Eggs	2 large
Torta dough	1 recipe

Procedure for preparing potato filling

Prepare torta dough, as above.
Boil, bake or microwave the potatoes until just tender.
Sauté the onions and leeks in the butter until soft but not browned.
Peel the potatoes and put them through a ricer into a large bowl.
Add the sautéed onions and leeks, the cheeses, milk and salt and pepper to the bowl and mix.
Beat the eggs. Add ¾ of them to the potato mixture, reserving the remaining quarter to brush the torta.
Assemble the torta as described above.