Giro d’Italia ‘20 - Stage 19: Morbegno to Asti
I woke up this morning, relaxed and refreshed, as I decided to take a 4-day weekend and get some things done around the house that didn’t involve cooking. It’s been a fun, albeit frantic, couple of months of cooking with the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia...and getting a blog off the ground. Let’s not forget, the Vuelta (Spain’s road race) is coinciding with the last week of the Giro. Hopefully, I can add that race into the repertoire next year! However, what I did not expect, was to run into replays of prior stages when I turned on the coverage. On a typical morning, the race has started before I’m awake. So with replays, I was pretty worried that there had been a possible Covid outbreak and the ride had been cancelled. However, it turns out there was an uprising among a vast majority of the riders.
Today’s stage was supposed to be the longest, at 258 km. After over 2 weeks of racing, the riders’ bodies are starting to break down. Given yesterday’s grueling stage in the snowy Stelvio Pass, and that the forecast was for bitter cold and rain in the opening mountainous area, the riders staged a bit of a protest, not getting off the buses this morning. They were angry that such a long stage had been planned toward the end of the race, even if it was mostly a flat stage. With all of the worries of fall/winter weather, precipitation, road conditions which could be dangerous and lead to crashes, and trying to maintain one’s health defenses against a global virus, a majority of the riders decided it was too much to risk.
The race leaders had to scramble and adapt at the last moments. While upset at the riders' last-second chicanery (the race director said “[at the end of this competition] someone will pay for this”...ominous), they decided to cut the day’s stage in half and start from Abbiategrasso, a town just SW of Milan. Luckily, as today’s race spanned a vast swath of the Lombardy region, my dish was not impacted, but I did have to scramble...because I’m making a frittata!
Frittatas are versatile; you can add anything you want. To be transparent, it’s not like the frittata was invented in Lombardy, but it is Italian and today’s dish celebrates a Lombardian product: nutty, yeasty, and funky, tallegio cheese. Typically, I prepare massive and numerous frittatas when my extended family gathers at my parents’ house for the holidays. Since there are a few picky eaters among my nieces and nephews, I can vary the ingredients so everyone is happy. While typically served at brunch, this dish is completely acceptable to be presented for breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, and dinner...go ahead, grab that extra slice for a midnight snack. Plus, you’ll never forget the expression on your childrens’ faces when you serve them a frittata for dinner. Their little minds are blown! Since the stage ends in Asti, and I'm not working today, I decided to pop open a bottle of D.O.C.G. Asti Spumante...a great way to start my long weekend. Salute!
Frittata with Tallegio Cheese
While this recipe lists certain ingredients, which help highlight the star ingredient: tallegio, there are little rules when it comes to making a frittata. Other ingredients I’ve used are mushrooms, peppers, ham, bacon, sausage, salami, and even tomatoes (but only as topping, not a filling, that you cover in cheese and melt under the broiler - [chef’s kiss]). The only rules in frittata making are two-fold: pre-cook your veggies/meats and finish it open-faced, as opposed to folding it over like an omelette. Now, comes decision time: flip or broil. For me, I like to broil, because the cheese is on top. If you flip, yes the cheese will melt and cook but, it may stick to the bottom of the pan or smear. You can also easily monitor the level of browning when you broil.
3 leeks, white and light green part only
Onion
Celery rib
Potato ~½ lb
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 large eggs
Cream
Basil, 2 tbsp chiffonade
Parsley, minced
½ lb taleggio, broken up into small pieces, rind removed
Sliced green onion and minced rosemary, for garnish
Slice the leeks, lengthwise, clean them thoroughly, and give them a ¼-inch slice. Dice the onion and celery. Peel and thinly slice your potato, cutting any large rounds into quarters. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large (10-12 inch), non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and a pinch of salt and stir to coat everything with oil. Cover and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring midway and adding another tablespoon of olive oil. Uncover, lower the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking, stirring more frequently, until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, and remove the pan from the heat.
Meanwhile, scramble your eggs in a large bowl, adding a pinch of salt and pepper and about ¼ cup of cream and mix thoroughly. Stir in your basil and parsley. Once the vegetables have cooked, add them to the eggs and mix quickly and thoroughly to avoid pre-cooking the eggs. Add 2 tbsp of butter and a tbsp of olive oil to the pan, coating the entire surface, including walls of the pan, over medium-high heat. Then, add the egg mixture to the pan, breaking up the bottom and stirring the uncooked portion of the eggs from the sides to the middle and bottom for the first minute or so. Then, reduce the heat to medium, sprinkle on the cheese, and cook for about 8 minutes until the underside is set and a light crust has formed. To check the crust, simply shake the pan slightly. If the frittata is shifting cohesively, carefully peek under the edge to see the texture of the bottom.
At this point, it’s time to either flip the frittata or put it under the boiler. If you want to flip, place a large platter on top and invert the pan swiftly, but carefully, then slide the frittata back in the pan and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. If you broil, monitor the process to ensure the eggs get dark brown; but careful not to blacken/burn. Once cooked, place on your platter or a cutting board (and enjoy the “oohs” and “ahhs” from your guests), and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.
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Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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