This video demonstrates how to make a favorite rustic Italian dish, the potato torta. Rich with butter and Parmesan cheese in a flaky crust, the potato torta is the perfect side dish or snack. It is a filled pie crust that you either make or buy, placed flat on a cookie sheet, filled to about 1 1/2 inches deep with the mashed potato mixture. Then the sides are folded up around the filling to keep in in place. It can be made on a round or square cookie sheet.
Filling for a 9″ cookie sheet:
8 large Idaho potatoes
4 large leeks
1 stick (8T) butter
2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 egg white (optional)
Like all rustic recipes, it is pretty simple and straightforward to make and you can adjust the ingredients to make it more to your liking with more or less butter, cheese, or leeks.
Lay the crust flat on the cookie sheet. Boil the potatoes. Sautee the leeks in the butter until they are tender and clear. Drain the potatoes and mash them with the leeks until they are smooth and lump free. (Don’t use a food processor or the potatoes will get too gummy.) Add the Parmesan, mix and spread evenly over the crust. Leave a good inch of crust free and fold it up and over the sides of the filling. Spread egg white over the top. Bake at 350˚F for about an hour until the crust is golden brown.
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Tavola di Valmozzola: rustic recipes from my grandmother’s Italian kitchen
Distributed by Splash TV
Produced by No Cents Films
Created by Susan diRende
Edited by Michelle Clay
4 Comments
I remember my mother making this for us fairly frequently. When she made it she always talked about how she learned the recipe from her grandfather who was from northern Italy and who was a professional chef in NYC. She also made a version with rice and spinach (or Swiss chard) but the potato was by far my favorite.
I love the video! I also love the music. . would anybody happen to know the name of this song?
My great grandfather was from Valmozzola. His wife my great-grandmother was from the next town over, Berceto.
How do you make this butter crust?