U RecettAriel
Purpettùn de faxolìn,
Polpettone di fagiolini,
Green beans tart
This dish (called "Polpettòne di fagiolìni" in Italian), is very popular. Polpettone in the rest of Italy means meatloaf, but in Liguria there is no meat in sight.
It was usually served in the summer, with a tomato, cucumber and onion salad.
600 gr. (1lb) boiled potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces
600 gr. (1lb) string beans
1 tablespoon Ligurian extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, green heart removed, minced
2 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat) parsley, minced
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fine unflavored bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 175 C/ 350 F degrees. Set two pots of water to boil. Add a little salt to one of them. Then add the potatoes to that pot, cook for about 20 minutes, drain, and mash.
In the other pot, cook the string beans for 12 to 15 minutes (thin ones less, thicker ones more). Drain, and then chop them coarsely.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add the string beans, parsley and marjoram. Cook for 2 minutes, until all of the flavors have combined. Remove from heat and let cool.
Once the beans and the potatoes have cooled, combine them in a bowl. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano, eggs, ricotta, salt, and pepper, and combine the ingredients well.
Grease a 12-inch round glass oven-proof baking dish with a little olive oil. Sprinkle in some bread crumbs, but not too many (perhaps one-quarter of the total amount). Then spoon in the string bean mixture and smooth the top with a spatula.
If you wish, you can score the top to form a pattern - Ligurians typically create diamonds. Top with the rest of the bread crumbs.
Bake for about 45 minutes and serve hot, warm, or cool.
|