Serves 6
Notes
This recipe belongs to Dane Laurenti, a dedicated captain at Felidia until his retirement. Besides being a talented captain, he is an excellent cook. We still make pancetta, prosciutto, wine vinegar and other good things when cooking dinner on weekends.The dough for this crostata, or savory tart, is easy to roll out and the filling is inexpensive and easy to make as well. At my house we make it whenever we expect guests, or just the family, to come over, and we never have leftovers. People just keep walking by the plate, picking up a piece or two, and popping it into their mouths. This is my daughter Tanya’s favorite when she is expecting guests, because it can be made in advance and kept warm in the oven, ready for passing as an hors d’oeuvre with a glass of prosecco. There’s one important step to note here: since squash is a watery vegetable, and rice is dry and starchy, they need to steep together. Steeping allows the rice to extract most of the vegetal water from the zucchini, softening the grain enough to cook during the baking time, and the result is a moist, creamy, and flavorful filling. For the change of seasons, the zucchini in this recipe can be easily replaced with winter squash, making it a festive fall-winter recipe.
Ingredients
- crostata dough (see here)
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 4 cups shredded fancy zucchini (from about 1 pound zucchini, trimmed)
- 3 large eggs
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups ricotta cheese, preferably fresh
- 2 cups chopped trimmed scallions (white and green parts)
- 1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- 1 egg yolk, beaten with a few drops of water or extra virgin olive oil for the crust
Directions
Make the crostata dough. In a large bowl, toss the rice and zucchini until evenly distributed. Let stand 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper until blended. Combine the egg mixture, ricotta, scallion and Parmigiano-Reggiano in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the rice and zucchini and mix at low speed until blended. (Alternatively, the mixture can be beaten by hand with a wooden spoon.) Add the half and half and mix until amalgamated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 18- x 12-inch baking pan with sides about 1/2-inch high. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 22- x 16-inch rectangle. Flour the surface as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Fold the dough into quarters, center it over the prepared pan and unfold it. The dough should overlap all the sides by about 2 inches. Pour the rice mixture into the dough-lined pan and smooth it into an even layer. Fold the overhanging dough over the filling to form a two inch border on all sides. Brush the dough lightly with the egg yolk or olive oil. Bake until the filling is firm in the center and the crust is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool the crostata about 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve warm.
