I’ve been a bit lax at the blog writing, lately…
We’re obviously still cooking and eating, but we haven’t been making a lot of noteworthy dishes – one can only write so many times about a plate of spaghetti or a salad.
I’ll admit to a bit of laziness in the kitchen… the hips and knees have been out of warranty for some time, now, so I’ve been on my butt more than on my feet. [If the warranty gods cooperate, the first of the replacements will be on May 14th. But that’s another story for another day…]
Last night’s dinner was an old standby as well, but with a fun addition.
Sausage and Peppers, and Onions – Italian comfort food. Sometimes with potatoes, sometimes with eggs scrambled in. Sometimes served in a roll, sometimes just on a plate.
And sometime – at our house, anyway – on an Italian flatbread called a piadina.
There are about as many ways to make a piadina as there are ways to make a pasta sauce. Most recipes I’ve seen call for lard, although newer ones use olive oil. Some call for milk, some call for yogurt or sour cream, some no dairy at all. I always use lard, because I always have lard in the freezer, but the only wrong way to make them is to not make them!
I used a variation of a recipe I got from Milk Street many moons ago. It’s quick and easy…
Piadina
adapted from Milk Street
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup lard, room temperature
In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Process to mix. Add the lard and process until combined, about 10 seconds. Add the sour cream and water. Process until the dough forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a ball, then cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
Roll each dough ball into a 6″-7″ round. Brush lightly with olive oil.
Heat a skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles immediately, 4 to 6 minutes. One at a time, place a dough round in the skillet and cook until the bottom is charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook for about another minute.
At this point, you’re ready to eat. They’re not pocket breads like a pita so they can be used as a wrap as with a tortilla or layered as with sandwich bread. We just tore them apart and used them as utensils like an Ethiopian Injera with our Sausage and Peppers.
I grilled the sausages. I sliced the potatoes with a mandoline, drizzled them with olive oil, and added salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some Italian seasoning, lined them up on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and baked them in a 425°F oven. While they were cooking away, I fried onions and peppers together.
When everything was done, I mixed it all together and sprinkled some pecorino romano on top.
And there are leftovers for lunch!