Savory Crostada

Giada Di Laurentiis had made something similar to this during one of her older episodes; it's a great recipe to remember when you want to pull a meal together with items you have on hand. I live over 10 miles from the nearest fully-stocked market so these kinds are recipes have become invaluable to me.

I use Julia Child's basic pâte brisée, my favorite, but you could use any pastry dough you prefer; including store-bought.

Just as the typical sweet costada; the pastry dough is rolled out , filling is placed in the middle of the dough but not to the edges. The edges are then folded over most of the filling, then it is placed in the oven to bake.

The following is just a guideline; you can substitute ingredients according to what is in the refrigerator and pantry.

For this one I used cremini mushrooms, a mixture of finely diced yellow onions & shallots, sauteed then splashed with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Giada used mascarpone in her recipe; I didn't have any, but I had some cream cheese with sundried tomatoes and pesto in it so I used that instead, thinned with a little milk.

I added a diced tomato (squeezed out the seeds and extra juice so it wouldn't make the crust soggy.)

Giada suggests adding browned pancetta or bacon, again, none in my refrigerator so I used prosciutto cut into little squares, (I didn't brown it as it was very thinly sliced. I put it over the creamy mixture, along with the tomato) sprinkled that over right before adding the final layer of parmesan cheese.

Although I didn't make it exactly according to the recipe, it's the kind you can experiment with, making it very versatile. The technique, and the fact that it's flexible makes this one a standout. Very flavorful.

Pair it with a salad and you have a very nice meal.

Savory Mushroom Crostata/Crostada

4 Servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

3 tablespoons ice water

2 ounces diced pancetta

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or rosemary, oregano, parsley, or a combination)

1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover side dish vegetables (like sauteed mushrooms and shallots)

1/2 cup grated cheese (try a combo of smoked mozzarella and fontina)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a food processor combine the flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is finely chopped and the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

In a small bowl combine the lemon juice and mascarpone. Add the mascarpone mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times. Add the ice water and run the machine just until the mixture is moist and crumbly, but does not form a ball.

Do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Press into a disk, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook the pancetta in a small saute pan over medium heat until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the herbs and stir. Transfer the pancetta, herbs, and the pan juices to a medium bowl. Add the leftover vegetables, grated cheeses, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.

Place the chilled dough on parchment paper. Roll the dough out into a 12-inch wide circle about 1/4-inch thick. Spread the vegetables out in the center of the dough leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with Parmesan.

Fold the border up and over the vegetables forming a crust. Using a pastry brush, brush some of the egg over the crust. Transfer the parchment paper and crostata to a baking sheet.

Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

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A note about the plates:

I have received a couple of requests to describe the plates in some of my photos so whenever possible I'll try to note information about them.

These are glazed earthenware made in France, and were manufactured by Varages. The motif is that of fanciful bird, (in addition to stylized insects, flowers and leaves on the dinner plates.)

Now discontinued they command hefty prices on the secondary market, although they were available for a short time at outlets such as TJMaxx and Ross at bargain prices.

A couple of years ago an internet friend was kind enough to shop for a set for me to give to my sister-in-law. And shortly thereafter I was able to find a set of 6 each of the dinner and salad plates at a local tag/estate sale for a very reasonable price.

The pattern was also offered in blue and white; which is the original set I collected from TJMaxx. Again, inexpensively at the time.