Filo’s Gattò di Patate

From http://inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Inspired by Filo’s delicious recipe)

Serves 6 – 8

1 lb. 10 oz. potatoes

3½ tablespoons butter

2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

1 oz. grated Romano cheese

2 eggs

2 oz. prosciutto (or salami), cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon minced Italian (flat leaf) parsley

½ teaspoon salt

Pepper

½ cup milk

Butter to grease the pan

Toasted bread crumbs (plain, not seasoned)*

2 oz. provolone cheese, cut into small cubes

3½ oz. mozzarella, cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 425˚.

Boil the potatoes and then peel them. (This is Filo’s method; I didn’t want to work with hot potatoes, so I peeled them before boiling them.)

Put the potatoes through a potato ricer. (If you don’t have one, you’ll have to just mash them.)

Blend in the butter, Parmesan, Romano, eggs, prosciutto or salami, the parsley, salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Add the milk and stir it well.

Grease a 10-inch pie plate or cake pan with butter and cover with bread crumbs.

Gently put about half of the potato mixture in the pan, spreading it over the crumbs. Put the provolone and mozzarella over the potatoes; cover with the rest of the potato mixture. Smooth the surface, cover with breadcrumbs, add some slices of butter, and put in the oven until the gattò is browned. It takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Let the gattò rest for 15 minutes; Filo says it will be too hot to eat right out of the oven. She also said it can be eaten cold.

Filo noted that some people put a thin layer of béchamel sauce over the mozzarella, but that seems a bit excessive to me.

*It’s easy to make your own bread crumbs if you have a food processor. Just tear some Italian or French bread into small pieces and process. Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 350˚ for about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Let them cool off. If you don’t have a food processor, you can buy plain unseasoned bread crumbs.