Think On It

Barzottini

December 22nd, 2006

http://expatsinitaly.com/judith/?p=36 is a post in which was introduced a pasta recipe using leeks and pecorino cheese. Wednesday night I needed to make a substantial antipasto that could be served in the living room while I readied dinner. I called up Barb and mentioned two ideas and she voted for trying what follows. Why is there no picture? Because they were eaten up so fast I didn’t have time to shoot photos! I didn’t even get to taste them.

They were so popular that we had a discussion about what they should be called. Patrizia came up with Barzottini, because I live in a tiny hamlet informally called Barzotti.

Here is what you need to make them:

1 package of frozen puff pastry, which is pasta sfoglia in Italy. The package consists of two 30 cm square pieces here, which in total is about 2 square feet.

Leeks, which when cleaned and sliced about 1/8 inch thick will give you about 3 cups of slices.

Pecorino semi stagionato, which is not fresh but not long seasoned and become hard. It’s medium. You will grate it with a hand grater on the larger holes.

A little hot paprika or paprika forte.

Follow the package directions for thawing the pastry. I have learned not to walk away and forget it, because it becomes impossible to unroll if it gets warm. It also cracks all over if you try to unroll it too quickly. Don’t worry, this is the hardest part of the whole job, but you can do it ahead of time if your fridge is big enough to hold a cookie sheet.

Meantime, using a very big frying pan (mine is 45 cm or almost 18″ wide) heat some good olive oil and toss in the leeks slices. Sprinkle them with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook slowly, slowly over a reduced flame until they are well-browned and caramelized. N.B. caramelized means very nicely browned.  If you have not yet developed enough patience to do this, then microwave the leeks for a while until they are soft and then fry them, including the juices until they are quite browned.  Just cooked through will not do!  Taste and adjust salt so they taste deliciously leeky without being salty. You can do this ahead and put them into a plastic bag and store in the fridge.

Unroll the thawed pastry onto baking paper or parchment.

Using your hands, spread the cooked leeks over the pastry right up to the edges. I used my fingers like spatulas to spread them around. Sprinkle them sparingly with hot paprika– this is not meant to be spicy hot, it is meant to give them a deeper and more pronounced flavor.

Holding the grater over the pastry, grate the pecorino over the entire thing, covering it but not piling it up. Just a nice single layer is what you want.

Roll this up tightly. Using your sharpest knife, cut slices of about 1/2″ or 1.5 cm. Lay them near each other across the baking paper on a cookie sheet or placca. Stick this into the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

Preheat the oven to 200° C or 400° F. Slide the Barzottini into the hot oven and cook them about 10-12 minutes. I did it by sight. They don’t really brown much, but they puff and dry and they smell terrific.

Use a spatula to remove them to a napkin on a serving plate and serve hot. Stand back. I still don’t know what they taste like. I think they must be good.

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized, Food, Italy