Recipe: Erbazzone – Bringing Italian Cooking Home!

It was a whirlwind week of almost too much Italian food….almost. 😉  Continuing on our intimate food tour, we sampled and savored prosciutto, culatello, authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, and an array of red wines. At times we were invited into the kitchens to sous (can that be a verb?) and learn first-hand secrets to the impassioned cooking of the Emilia Romagna region.  With an apron tied around your waist and your hands in fresh dough, the pace of a food tour slows to an easy cadence as you appreciate the techniques involved and continue to sip your wine as if to assist the absorption of culinary know-how.

 

We spent an afternoon at Ca’ Matilde, a fine restaurant as well as bed and breakfast in the countryside of Emilia Romagna.

We dabbled in the kitchen of Ristorante Locanda and walked through the surrounding farmland at the golden hour, accompanied by the Innkeepers’ dog. After appetizers on the sunny veranda, we sat down to a many-course meal which included the delicious Erbazzone we had helped create.  It stood out for me enough to beg the recipe and I’m happy to report I successfully converted and translated the recipe sufficiently to make it at home back in the states!

I’ll list it first in its purest form, and then I’ll share my quantity conversions along with some – cough – shortcuts I took liberties with.  Hey, I’m a busy business owner. 😉 And I suspect many of you have your plates full as well.  Pun intended.

By all means, go for the original authentic version and enjoy the wonderful, lovingly folded crust.  I know me.  And I know that a recipe may never come to fruition in my home if I plan on insisting on every the painstaking detail. So I went with puff pastry. :}

Original Autentico Erbazzone Recipe

Ingredients for the dough:

250 grams of flour

50 grams of butter

olive oil

salt

Ingredients for the filling:

80 grams of chopped bacon

1 onion

100 grams of grated parmesan cheese

1 kg chard

1 egg

1 garlic clove

chopped parsley

black pepper

 

Preparation

Sieve the flour on a wooden board and place in the center softened butter in small pieces, a spoon of oil and salt.

Knead until you get a soft and smooth dough (eventually add some water). Let it rest for half an hour at room temperature covering with a napkin. Wash the chard and boil it in a little bit of salted water.

Drain, squeeze and chop it into big pieces. Put a little oil in a large Teflon pan with the whole garlic (that you’ll take out later), bacon, chopped green onions, and chards.

Let it sauté nicely so that the flavor comes out, then take the garlic out and add the chopped parsley.

Let it cook for a few more minutes and then take it off the fire. Add the egg, the parmesan cheese and some pepper, mixing very fast. Flatten the dough and make two discs: one that is the diameter of the baking pan and a second one wider.

Oil the baking pan and fill it with the larger disc. Fill with the filling made of chards and cover with the second disc. Seal the side very well and the press the dough with a fork. Spread the chopped bacon on the surface. Bake it at 180° for 45-50 minutes until the surface is of a nice golden brown color

Serve warm.

Bake at 350F

My Corrupted Simplified Amurkin Erbazzone Recipe

Dough substitute: Puff Pastry (I’m sure other pre-made doughs will work here)

Ingredients for the filling:

Olive oil

3-4 oz of chopped bacon (I used Pancetta and chopped no-nitrates bacon for a nice mix)

1 onion, chopped

1/4 pound or 3.5oz grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/4 pounds chard

1 egg

1 garlic clove (husked but not chopped)

chopped parsley (Italian flat leaf is best)

black pepper (freshly ground – I insist! 🙂 )

 

Wash the chard and blanch it (boil it in a little bit of salted water). Drain, squeeze and chop it into big pieces. Put a little olive oil in a large Teflon pan with the whole garlic (that you’ll take out later), most of the bacon (reserve some to top it), chopped green onions, and chard.

Let it sauté on medium-high heat nicely (8-10 minutes) so that the flavor comes out, then take the garlic out and add the chopped parsley.

Cook for a few more minutes and then take it off the fire. Add the egg, the parmesan cheese and some pepper, mixing very fast. Separate and unfold the puff pastry dough and make two sections; one that is the size of the baking pan and a second one wider.

Oil the baking dish (glass or ceramic is best) and fill it with the larger section of dough. I used an 8″ x 8″ ceramic casserole dish but I think a 9″x11″ would be fine so long as you check for timing, as the cook time will likely reduce a bit. Fill with the sauteed chard mixture and cover with the second section of dough. Seal the side very well and the press the dough with a fork. Spread the chopped bacon on the surface. Bake it at 350° F  for 45-50 minutes until the surface is of a nice golden brown color.  Serve warm. (Reheat leftovers in an oven or toaster oven rather than a microwave which kills any bread or pastry)

Buon appetito!

This was an experimental recipe conversion and any tips or discoveries for improvement are welcome! Feel free to comment with your results and suggestions, and let me know if you ambitiously created the autentico version.

**I’m thrilled to share this Conversion Calculator!  It’s a must for any traveling foodie – or even a domestically adventurous chef seeking fresh ideas from “fern” countries. 🙂

If you liked this travel recipe post, check out these other offerings:

Travel Recipe: My Spanish Madre’s Gazpacho de Sevilla

Romancing Emilia Romagna – with a Big Bib!

By Popular Demand: My Coveted Fall Recipe for Baked Mini Pumpkins

I was invited to tour the Emilia Romagna region by the Emilia Romagna Tourism board with a small group on a food tour.  All experiences – and photos – are my own, unless I’m in them. 🙂