toast a what? tostapane...

A tostapane? What's that, you ask? Where can you buy one? What do you do with a tostapane? Bruschetta is my favorite!

If you speak any Italian at all, immediately you realize what the word tostapane means.... Toast bread. It's a pretty simple concept! This square tin perforated grate is set directly on a gas jet (yes, you'll need a gas stove). You put a piece of bread on the screen and turn the heat on high. Turn the bread occasionally with tongs and within a few minutes, you'll have a toasted piece of bread with slightly smoky flavor. Leave it to the Italians to invents such a cool little contraption.

I love my tostapane and use it all the time for bruschetta and crostini. But trying to buy one in the US is pretty much impossible. Hey, if you find a source in the US, let me know!

Planning a trip to Italy? If so, make your first stop the hardware store. You'll be able to pick up a tostapane there. When I find them in a store, I buy the entire stock. They don't cost much, probably 5 or 6 euro each, but they make great gifts for your chef friends who have everything.

BRUSCHETTA

12 slices rustic country-style bread, 1/2 to ¾-inch thick
1 clove garlic, peeled
Your BEST extra virgin olive oil
Kosher, fleur de sel or Maldon salt

Place the tostapane directly on your gas stove over high heat. Place the bread on the tostapane in a single layer and toast until golden. Using tongs, turn the bread and continue to toast on the second side until golden. Remove from the heat. Rub one side of the toasted bread with the whole clove of garlic. Using a pastry brush, brush the toast with olive oil.

To serve, place the bruschetta on a platter.

Serves 6 hungry Italians

WARM WILD MUSHROOM, ARUGULA, AND BRUSCHETTA SALAD

Here's what you do if you don't have a tostapane yet. Imagine a garlicky crostini smeared with virgin olive oil topped with arugula, warm wild mushrooms, and a few shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano. Is it a salad? Is it a crostini? Who cares! It’s yummy!

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 small shallot, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms, (if unavailable, use button or cultivated mushrooms) trimmed, cleaned and cut in half
6 cups arugula
1 clove garlic
6 slices coarse-textured Tuscan bread
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
6 ounce chunk Parmigiano Regginao

In a bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, shallot, salt and pepper. Reserve.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil to the pan. Add the wild mushrooms and cook, stirring until golden brown and softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Toast the bread on the outdoor grill, under the broiler or in a toaster. Rub the toasted bread with garlic and sprinkle with salt.

In a bowl, toss together the arugula and vinaigrette. Place one piece of bread on each plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Divide the arugula between the plates and place on the top of the bread. Top with the mushrooms. Immediately shave the Parmigiano onto the top.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6

my upcoming class...rolling in dough

A friend from Australia, Gwenda, wrote to me. She remembered a "deep pie filled with lots of vegetables and cheese" that I taught her years ago on one of my culinary journeys in Italy. "It's gotta be torta rustica," I wrote back. She'd lost the recipe and was dying for a slice.

I have to admit that I love any kind of dough,-- whether it's pasta, pizza, bread, tarts... You name it. You probably won't see me do a gluten-free cookbook anytime soon. Can you imagine telling the Romans, whether it's today or a thousand years ago, they have to be gluten-free?

Dough,-- that's the inspiration for my weekend cooking class at the beginning of February in San Francisco. Friday night, we'll start with a meet-and-greet reception and then we'll be rolling in dough Saturday and Sunday. I still have a few spaces left if you're interested.

And in the meantime, here's your recipe Gwenda. Enjoy a slice!

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ITALIAN TORTA RUSTICA

Dough:
1 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water, 115oF
3 1/4 cups all-purpose white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Filling:
1 pound ricotta, drained in a cheesecloth-lined strainer overnight
1 1/2 pound greens, Swiss chard, spinach, mustard green, escarole, beet greens,
stems removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, thinly sliced
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 pound mozzarella, grated
1/2 pound fontina cheese, grated
3/4 pound assorted thinly sliced meats, prosciutto, salami, capocollo, mortadella

Dough: Place the yeast, flour and salt in bowl of the food processor. With the motor running, add 1 1/4 cups warm water slowly. Quickly add the olive oil and process until dough is smooth and evenly soft, about 45 seconds. If the dough is dry and rough and doesn't form a ball, add a tablespoon or two of water. The dough can also be made using the same technique in an electric mixer. Instead of processing the dough for 45 seconds, knead the dough on low speed using the dough hook. Place the dough in oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in warm place, about 70 to 75F, until double in volume, 1 hour.

Filling: Heat a large skillet and toss the greens with tongs until wilted. Squeeze in a towel to remove the excess moisture. Chop the spinach coarsely and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in frying pan over medium high heat and saute mushrooms and garlic until liquid from the mushrooms has completely evaporated, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and cook the peppers and onions until soft, 15 minutes. Add to the mushrooms and toss together. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg and greens. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine the mozzarella and fontina in another bowl and set aside.

To assemble: Place a 10-inch springform pan on a baking sheet and brush the inside with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Punch down the dough and divide it into two pieces, one which is three-quarters the volume and the other is one-quarter. Roll the larger piece into a 16-inch circle. Transfer to the springform pan and line bottom and sides with the dough so that it comes up and over the edges.

Preheat oven to 400oF. Place one-quarter of meat on the bottom of the dough and top with one-half of the combined cheeses. Next, layer one-half of the mushroom, pepper mixture on top of the cheese. Place another layer of the meat on top. Spread the wilted greens mixture over the meat. Repeat the sequence ending with the meat.

Roll the remaining dough to 10-inch circle. Brush the overhanging dough lightly with water. Cover with the top crust. Pinch the crusts together and crimp to form a decorative edge. With a sharp knife, cut two 1/2-inch vents in the middle of the top of the dough. Bake on lowest rack of the 1 1/4 hours. Cool 30 to 45 minutes before slicing.

Serves 10

Note: If the top gets too dark during baking, place a piece of foil over the top.

more surprises from lucca

And check out Aurelio's blog post!