Piemontese Potato Casserole, or Patate Pasticciate: A rich, hearty Piemontese dish that will be quite nice in the winter months. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) potatoes
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups (120 g) freshly grated Grana Padana or Parmigiano Reggiano
- 3 yolks
- 8 ounces of ricotta (ideally seiràss, a salted, slightly fermented Piemontese specialty)
- 3 ounces (75 g) fontina, diced
- 3 ounces leftover boiler or roasted meat, diced
- Butter for greasing the pan
- Breadcrumbs for lining the pan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preparation:
Boil the potatoes in salted water until a skewer penetrates easily, then peel them and rice them.While they are cooking, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
Grease a pan, dust it with bread crumbs, and upend it to remove the excess.
Mix the butter, half the grated cheese, and two yolks into the potatoes, and use a little more than half of this potato mixture to line the pan.
Fill the pan with the ricotta, diced fontina, and diced meat. Season the mixture with pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (don't overdo it), and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over it.
Cover it all with the remaining potato mixture, and brush the surface with the remaining yolk.
Heat the casserole through in the oven to brown it. It can be served hot, warm, or even cool, which is what some say is best.
