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If you are playing blackjack, you know there are times when you have to double down. I say “have to” because if you follow that rule, and some others, you actually can make money. You actually have an advantage over the house. It’s the only casino game where that is true. And if the casino catches you counting cards to apply this basic blackjack strategy, you will be shown the front door.

I know. Been there. And they would not let me take my complementary drink which I thought was tacky.

Heck, I still believe in doubling down. This recipes is just that. You cook pasta, put it in a pastry pie shell, surround with rich sauce, and bake it all up. That sauce is a combo of leeks, chicken livers, peas, ham, heavy cream and cheese. Oh, and the pasta should be cappelletti or tortellini filed with meat and cheese.

The recipe calls for peas, frozen but fresh would actually be better. You can make this dish in any season with frozen veggies or go fresh and local with, say, spring asparagus or late summer corn.

Needless to say, you don’t want to eat this the week before you go for your next blood tests. Unless you think you can visit that lab and double down.

This recipe is from As the Romans Do by Eleonora Galasso. The photograph is from David Loftus who makes As the Romans Do a work of Roman culinary art.

 


Cappelletti Pasta Cake with Cream, Ham, Liver and Peas

Yield: serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (ceps)
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 7 ounces leeks, trimmed, cleaned, and sliced
  • 5 ½ ounces chicken livers, trimmed, and chopped
  • 1 ⅔ cups frozen garden peas
  • 5 ½ ounces roast ham, cut into ¼-inch strips
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pound 5ounces prosciutto cappelletti, Bolognese tortellini or cheese and smoked ham tortellini
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
  • Unsalted butter, for greasing
  • 11 ½ ounces ready-made shortcrust pastry sheets, thawed if frozen
  • 1 large egg yolk, beaten
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Put the dried porcini into a small bowl and cover with ½ cup of warm water. Let soak for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the leeks and chicken livers and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the peas, ham, nutmeg, and the mushrooms and their soaking water. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil, add the cappelletti, and cook for 1 minute, or until they float to the surface. Quickly drain the pasta and tip it into the saucepan with the leek mixture, adding the cream and Parmesan as you go. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate with a little butter.

Roll out the pastry sheets and use one to line the prepared pie plate, cutting off the excess pastry but leaving an overhang of 1 ¼ inches around the edges. Press along the sides to ensure the pastry adheres well, then fill the pastry with the cappelletti and sauce. Cover with the second sheet of dough. Cut off the excess pastry, fold in the overhanging edges, and press with your fingertips to close.

Use the remaining pastry to cut out whatever decorative shapes you would like to adorn your pie.

Brush the surface of the pie with the egg yolk and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving with a simple green salad.

 


Source: As the Romans Do by Eleonora Galasso [Mitchell Beazley, 2016]