Torta di Patate e Funghi con Lenticchie
March 2, 2010
On 2/28/10 I was looking through Lidia’s book to find the next thing I could make, preferably without having to buy too many ingredients. I found a recipe for Torta di Patate e Funghi con Lenticchie: Potato Mushroom Cake with Braised Lentils. The only thing I had to buy especially for it was mushrooms and leeks, since I had everything else on hand. I used French lentils (the variety known as du Puy) rather than the traditional lenticchie di Castelluccio. I was also intrigued by the idea that the sauce was a braise of lentils—I had a feeling that this would be a useful recipe within a recipe that I could use elsewhere.
The recipe is constructed in two parts that are then brought together at serving. Finely chopped onion, celery and carrot are cooked with garlic in oil, along with tomato paste to form a base for the lentils, which can easily be eaten on their own as a soup. (The recipe left me with extra lentils and they made a lovely lunch.) Potatoes are boiled until just tender and sliced and combined with browned mushrooms, parmesean and leeks to form a rustic cake. I strayed from the recipe a bit, in that I finished the dish in the oven, rather than flipping it over to cook on both sides (I use a cast iron skillet, which is heavy so that makes that whole flipping business a bit precarious).
Torta di Patate e Funghi con Lenticchie
While this did take a while to make because of the separate cooking steps involved, a lot of it was able to happen with minimal attention from me, while I stayed nearby and attended to other business. The final dish was wonderfully complex–the browned mushrooms played beautifully against the lentils which is a combination I will have to remember. The vegetables provided sweetness, and the potatoes were very tender and velvety by the time they were done and provided a wonderful base for the other flavors. They also absorbed some of the sauce after being plated in the best possible way. Another success!
