Featured Cookbook

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1. Carrara Rice Pie (Torta di Riso alla Carrarina)

2. Meat Sauce (Ragu di Carne)

3. Fernanda's Pie (La Torta di Fernanda)

Book Description

If you like to mix reading and cooking, Cesare Casella offers a delightful blend of family reminiscences and recipes for Tuscan dishes in this charmingly written, culinarily opinionated book. Casella first came to the attention of food lovers while cooking at Il Vipore, the restaurant his parents started in a small Tuscan town near Lucca in 1964. Under his guidance, the restaurant won a Michelin star in 1993, the same year he moved to New York City to cook at Coco Pazzo.

... (more)

Diary of a Tuscan Chef

Authors: CESARE CASELLA,EILEEN DASPIN

Date: March 1998

ISBN: 0385485476

Publisher: Broadway

Hardcover

ORDER/INFO

This unusual pie is Lucca's most famous dessert. Every family has its own secret recipe, and if you go to any country fair or church dinner, there will be as many versions of Fernanda's pie as there are families participating.

Servings: 8

• 1 recipe (unbaked) Pastry Crust (Pasta Frolla)

• 2 cups water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 pound Swiss chard, well washed

• 2 cups cubed Tuscan bread, crust removed

• Scant 1/2 cup raisins, soaked overnight. in rum or sambuca to cover

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped candied citron

• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

• 1/2 teaspoon freah ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon rum or sambuca

• 5 tablespoons milk, as needed

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roll out the pastry dough 1/8 inch thick and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Tuck under the overhang to form a rim.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a low boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the Swiss chard. Cook until the greens are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well, pressing out as much water as possible. Transfer to a food processor and add the bread. Pulse until the greens and bread are well combined, and turn the mixture into a bowl.

3. Drain the raisins and add them to the Swiss chard along with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the egg, sugar, candied citron, pine nuts, black pepper, nutmeg, and mix well. If the filling seems dry, you can add up to 5 tablespoons of milk.

4. Transfer the mixture to the piecrust, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and serve.

Pastry Crust (Pasta Frolla)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) sweet butter, cubed

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 3/4 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• Dried beans or pie weights

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg mixture and work into a smooth dough. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for 3/4 hour before using.

3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a 9-inch pie plate and shape it to fit. Leave an inch overhang and fold it double around the edge to form a rim. Puncture the dough several times with the tines of a fork.

4. Completely cover the dough, including the rim, with a sheet of aluminum foil. Fill the pan with dried beans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven, discard the beans, and take off the foil. If the shell is too white, return it to the oven, uncovered, for a few minutes. Remove and let it cool.

More From This Book:

1. Carrara Rice Pie (Torta di Riso alla Carrarina)

2. Meat Sauce (Ragu di Carne)

3. Fernanda's Pie (La Torta di Fernanda)

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