Winter Gifts from the Garden: Savoy Cabbage and Cheesy Potato Bake Recipe

Savoy Cabbage Layered with Taleggio Cheese and Potatoes

It is finally spring and for those of us in the mountains it comes just a tad later than it does for most folks. I still have ample supplies of some of our winter staples like potatoes and savoy cabbage that we are using for a delicious result these days before all the spring delicacies take over. I thought I would share one of my favorite dishes combining these pantry staples. I am sure most of you are thinking of Easter with asparagus and peas and those sorts of veggies, but we are still having cooler temperatures here and sounds like we are not the only ones and this dish is one that I think is sure to please as it has just the right amount of comfort foodiness to it. Let me know if you agree.  

I made it the traditional way the first time in an oven proof pan in the oven and it was like a variation of scalloped potatoes, which will always make me think of my mom and growing up in southern Illinois. I added some parma ham once when I had some that need to be used up and I had some mozzarella as my only cheese, which worked out well with the ham giving it some needed salty element to the dish. I naturally have used all sorts of local cheeses because this is a recipe that lends itself to variations and innovation, so by all means feel free to add your own special touch.  My latest change has been to make it in a skillet on top of the stove without turning the oven on to great success. I do miss that crispy top crunch, but not enough not to make it when the oven is not part of the plan. This recipe is based on Antonio Carluccio's recipe that he used for one of his Italian sojourns that featured Piedmont. By chance it was one of the possible entertainment selections that was on offer on my flight back from the U.S. a few years back.  It was a great episode and a great reminder of a dish that is comforting to anyone and especially those of us from the former kingdom of  Savoie, where Savoy cabbage hails from. 

Savoy Cabbage from our garden and the stove top version 

Oh yes and if you are not familiar with Savoy cabbage, it is the one that is green and wrinkly. I find it to be mild and tender and certainly one of my favorites. It hails from this part of Europe and is a winter time favorite as it will keep under the snow for when you are ready to harvest it when needed. My in laws have always kept some all winter for not only our eating pleasure but also for salad for the chickens when she used to keep them. We aren't the only ones who like some greens in the winter. You can make this dish with regular smooth cabbage as well it just is a slighty different flavor and texture, but it will be almost as good, so do try and find the savoy cabbage if you can. but don't not make it if you can't.

I thought I would also share with you a little video I put together from our harvesting of the last of our cabbages a few weeks ago. We still have patches of snow dotted around now, but the "foehn" (warm strong) winds that have been howling for the past few days have helped the big patches evaporate rather quickly.   

This is me filming Fabrizio harvesting our Savoy cabbage a few weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy my second attempt at making a movie from my videos.

Savoy Cabbage and Potato Bake

(Cavolo Piemontese con Patate)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

650g / 1 1/2 lb Savoy cabbage, cut out the tough main rib* of the leaves leaving two halves of the leaves.

8 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (medium sized floury potatos, although red ones will work as well)

300g / 10oz Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced (or any other melty cheese, fontina, mozzarella and a little parmesan)

Some grated Parmigiano cheese to sprinkle on top and maybe between layers if you are using mozzarella

150g / 51⁄2oz butter for greasing your pans ( I didn't use it when I finished it in the skillet, although I did use a bit of olive oil.

salt 

black pepper, freshly ground

**I have added a layer of prosciutto crudo on occasion and used mozzarella and liked the results

Preparation:c

• Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
• Boil some slightly salted water in a sauce pan. 
• Cook the potatoes for about three minutes,in the salted water, then scoop the potatoes out with a large slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Plunge into cold water if you want to hurry them along and make them easier to handle when layering.
• Cook the cabbage for about five minutes in the same potato water until tender. Drain well*.

*You can retain the cut out cabbage rib and the boiling water for a soup if desired or you might want to use it for adding a bit of moisture to your dish as it cooks if needed or dispose of both as you see fit.

You can finish this dish in two different ways. 

• You will layer the cabbage, potatoes, cheese in a ovenproof pan or skillet depending on how you prefer to finish cooking this dish.
• The original recipe calls for baking it in a 9"/ 23 cm(approximately) oven proof pan, which will give you a nice crispy top when you bake it.
• You can also layer it all in a skillet and cook it gently covered adding milk or your leftover boiling water if needed, till all is bubbly and cooked through. 
• Grease the ovenproof dish generously with some of the butter.
• Arrange half of the potato slices, slightly overlapping, on the bottom of the dish, dot with some more butter
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange the cabbage and half of the cheese on top of the potatoes 
• Season with salt and pepper. 
• Top with the remaining potatoes and cheese. 
• Dot with the remaining butter.
• A generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese is a nice finish as well

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, removing the foil five minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove from the oven and serve.

Or cover your skillet with a lid and gently simmer on top of the stove until all is soft and smooth through. If you find the dish is too soupy, you can uncover it for a bit to evaporate some of the liquid. If too dry add some liquid as needed when cooking. 

I have made it both ways and enjoyed both. Sometimes you just don't have enough reason to want to turn on the oven and I am happy with the stove top results too. 

Hope you enjoy this dish.

Her's a stovetop version I served with some chicken strips I made

Hope you and yours will enjoy this hearty Piemontese dish. From our home to yours!

New Year, New Recipe: Chestnut Soup/ Zuppa di Castagna

I must say I think I'm really starting to embrace the Italian ways. Why is that you ask? Because here it is the 10th of January and I'm just now getting back into the swing of my blog on the same day as when the majority of Italians are back to school and work. I'm kind of liking that La Befana (January 6th) and the bridge thing that makes the Christmas holiday stretch out to finish after the weekend following the Thursday Epiphany holiday. Confused? I don't blame you. Suffice to say that the festival of lights, winter solstice, Christmas, New Years, Epiphany and  all of the darkest of  winter holidays are now officially over and I'm joining in the Italians "back to work" today with a new post on my blog. Aren't you glad you asked?
This year I am planning a makeover on BBV to make it easier to find past posts that hopefully I'll be able to split up into various categories for your reading pleasure. Thanks for stopping by. Do feel free to leave a comment or two as I look forward to hearing from you as that is one of the best parts of having a blog, the people that stop by.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for another hearty winter soup, Zuppa di Castagna or Chestnut soup. I will be the first one to admit that it perhaps isn't the most attractive of soups to the eye, but you can dress it up with some sour cream, yogurt, leek and bacon toppings to kick up the eye appeal. I would say it is an intriguing mixture of flavors that when I tasted it at the Martini and Rossi museum's inauguration of the Strada Reale Dei Vini Torinesi, I was immediately intrigued and determined to either find a recipe or recreate the dish myself. I have gone the recreating it myself route, as I find that with much of our cuisine here in Piedmont, many of the recipes are not written down. With a few tries, and some inspiration from some similar recipes around the Internet, I think I have recreated it as best as I remember it. This is a great way to use up any leftover fresh chestnuts you might have kicking around your refrigerator. Chestnuts have pretty much disappeared from the markets, but you can still find fresh cooked ones at the grocery stores. I used some dry ones that were begging to be used from my pantry and so I have given directions for dried chestnuts, but fresh in the shell or vacuum packed will work just dandy. I found a variety of combinations of chestnuts paired with butternut squash or other ingredients on recipes around the Internet that were more colorful or a richer version of this soup. Mine however is more in the tradition of the "la cucina povera" (poor or simple cooking) of the alps. Our woods here are full of chestnuts and potatoes are always our best crop in the garden. This combination is closer to the soup I tasted here. I used dried chestnuts, but I would have readily used fresh or already cooked ones if I had had them on hand and paired them with our garden potatoes as the base. I garnished with whatever might be on hand in a typical alpine pantry, a grate of Toma cheese, but more likely some heavy cream or a dollop of soft fresh cheese or hard grating cheese. Here, you will find fresh Tomini, which is a type of ricotta but stracchino, crecenza or mascarpone would do very nicely. I used my homemade yogurt, which gave it a nice tang and cut through the richness of the chestnuts. Naturally, Greek yogurt, creme fraiche or sour cream would all be most acceptable additions. When it was served as a part of the aperitivo offerings, it was presented in tall clear crystal cubes with a dot of cream.  I included that presentation in my photos as well as I found it a fun and different presentation that  added interest to the buffet.  I have added some typical toppings that make a nice addition to the soup for variation and contrast and is what we like to add to many of our different hearty winter soups. Sauteed leeks, crispy pancetta, bacon or garlicky herby crostini/ croutons or maybe even roasted pumpkin seeds. I think you get the idea. The toppings almost make for a completely different soup. So have at it, and use those lingering chestnuts for a comforting winters day soup.

Zuppa di Castagna /Chestnut Soup
Serves 4

200g dried chestnuts (about 8 oz) or fresh* you'll need more to compensate for the hulls
½ lg onion (100g/ 4 oz) sliced in medium pieces
1 lg carrot (80g/ 3oz chopped in to half moons
1-2 celery stalks (80g/ 3oz) chopped
2 bay leaves
2 medium potatoes (275-300g/ 10oz) peeled and cubed
1 Lt of water to cover, approximately

olive oil to saute´ all

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnishes
yogurt

2-3 large leeks (250g/ 9 oz) sliced into rounds or half rounds



Clean and rinse your chestnuts. 
Cover with hot water and let set for ½ hour or so.
Saute the onion, carrot and celery in a sauce pan or a pressure cooker like I did, till the vegetables become fragrant and start to pick up some color.
Add the soaked and drained chestnuts along with bay leaves to the vegetables.
Cover with water and bring to a boil.
If using a pressure cooker, cook at pressure for about 20 minutes. If cooking in a regular sauce pan cover a simmer till soft. Should take at least an hour. Chestnuts should be very soft. You might need to add water it it evaporates and gets too dry.
Cool the pressure cooker down. I do this quickly by running it under cold running water to lower the pressure faster.
Open and add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook until all is soft.
While all is cooking, saute´ your sliced leeks in some olive oil until crispy.  Sprinkle a little salt over the leeks. Set aside as a garnish.
Buzz the soup till smooth with a hand immersion wand, food processor or blender, adding additional reserved liquid if needed. I don' t mind if the soup isn't perfectly smooth as I prefer a bit of texture.
If your soup looks to be really soupy, you might consider draining off some of the liquid and reserving to add back in if the soup turns out to be too thick. It's easier to add needed liquid back in than to try and thicken the soup after you have creamed it. It will have a tendency to stick and burn if you try and reduce it after you have blended it.
Adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve in bowls with a swirl of yogurt and a generous sprinkle of crispy leeks or any other favored topping.

Cooks notes

* Check out Ciao Chow Linda's richer Leek and Chestnut version and her method of using

fresh chestnuts here.
Other possible additions or toppings
Greek yogurt, creme fraiche or sour cream
Ricotta, stracchino, crecenza or mascarpone
Crispy pancetta or bacon cubes
Bread cubes sauteed in a pan or browned in the oven with olive oil/butter, garlic, sage, rosemary or oregano, basil, whatever suits you. I tend to use rosemary and sage in the winter.
Toasted salted (or tamaried) pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds or a mix of all three.