PARMIGIANO REGGIANO TARTS WITH COTECHINO

If you follow Manu’s Menu quite regularly, you will remember me saying that Italians always have cotechino for New Year’s Eve.  It is like having turkey for Thanksgiving… it’s a given and something that can never be missing from our table.  I have shared with you a few recipes for it during the years… from the most classic Cotechino with Lentils, to the more modern versions – en croûte, as per my recipe in my eBook, or served with Italian style mash potatoes.  I even showed you how to make it at home, from scratch, just in case you could not find any ready made cotechino at your local butcher!  Today, I will show you yet another way to serve it.  We had this dish for New Year’s Eve and we all loved it.  It is great as a main dish (as it includes a little side as well), or as a sophisticated appetiser.  You could even use leftover cotechino to make this, as you only need a few slices.  The final result is very classy and it tastes delicious.  The Parmigiano Reggiano tarts are crunchy and crumbly on the outside and soft and flavoursome on the inside.  YUM!  Don’t skip the vegetables on the side as they help cleanse your palate and add a fresh touch to the whole thing.  Enjoy!

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Parmigiano Reggiano Tarts with Cotechino

The recipe for a classy Italian dish: Parmigiano Reggiano Tarts with Cotechino!

Course: Appetiser

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Author: Recipe adapted from “La Cucina Italiana – Passione e Tradizione a Tavola, Editrice Quadratum S.p.A. 2012 + RCS Mediagroup e Libri 2012.

Ingredients

Pastry

• 250 gms – 2 cups flour
• 125 gms – ½ cups butter
• 60 ml – ¼ cup cold water
• 1 pinch salt

Filling

• 50 ml – ¼ cup cream
• 40 gms – 2.5 tbsp flour
• 40 gms – 2.5 tbsp butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 450 ml – 2 cups vegetable stock
• 7 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

• 6 cotechino slices cooked as per the package instructions
• 1 leek
• 1 zucchini
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pastry

1. Put the flour, chopped cold butter, salt and water (add this little by little) in a mixer with a paddle attachment and knead until you get an elastic dough.
2. Make a ball, wrap it in cling paper and put it in the fridge for at least 40 minutes.
   

Filling

1. Mix the cream with the vegetable stock, warm them for 40 seconds in the microwave and keep them aside.
2. Put the butter in a non stick pot and let it melt.
3. Add the flour and whisk constantly until well incorporated.
4. Now start adding the vegetable stock and cream little by little, while mixing continuously. Do not add the next batch until the liquid is well incorporated.
5. Cook for 5 minutes then put the fire off.
6. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
7. Add 4 tbsp of the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and egg yolks and mix well until incorporated and smooth. Keep aside.
   

Tarts

1. Take the dough out of the fridge, place it on a sheet of baking paper and roll it into a 3 mm – 0.12 inch thick sheet.
2. Cut 6 circles of approximately the same size as your tart tins and put the dough in the greased tins. Press it down well and make sure you have dough at the sides as well.
3. Prick the dough with a fork and fill the tarts with the Parmigiano Reggiano mixture.
   
4. Sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmigiano Reggiano and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 190°C – 375°F for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Let the tarts cool down completely before un-moulding and garnisihng them.

Garnish

1. Cut the zucchini and leek into matchsticks and sauté with the butter until soft.
2. Season with salt and pepper and keep aside.
   

Assemble

1. Serve each tart warm, with a spoonful of sautéed vegetables and a slice of cotechino.