16 June 2008

Gourmet recipe: artichokes pie with Aosta Valley cheese fondue

Filed under: Traditional food & wine mountain — ebar @ 12:10

ricetta sformato carciofi con fonduta valdostana

Here’s a delicious mountain recipe which could be a good idea for your next dinner with friends.

Artichokes Pie
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients for 8 servings:
8 artichokes; 2 lemons; 1 spoon of flour; 5 eggs; the “besciamella” (white sauce) prepared with 60 g of butter, 50 g of flour and 1/2 l of milk; 100 g of grated ”parmigiano” (parmesan cheese); 2 bits of butter; 1 spoon of bread crumbs; nutmeg; salt and pepper.

Wash the artichokes removing the stem and the external leaves, cut them up removing the thorns and the internal “hay”. Dip them into the water with lemon juice.

Slice the onion and fry it in a pan with the oil; then add the artichokes, salt, pepper and cook for about 15 minutes. Let the artichokes cool, mash and put them in a nonstick pan with a bit of butter, then let them dry for some minutes. Meanwhile prepare the ”besciamella”: melt the butter in a small pot, add the flour mixing with a wooden spoon then add the milk and continue to mix over low heat. Salt, pepper and cook for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl join the artichokes, the “besciamella”, the grated cheese, the yolks (keep the egg whites), salt and pepper and a little bit of nutmeg. Mix well with the egg whites, previously whipped up. Baste a cake mould, dredge with bread crumbs and pour the artichokes mixture. Level the surface and add a little bit of butter. Bake the pie in a water bath at 180° for about 40 minutes. Let it cool and serve with the cheese fondue.

Cheese Fondue
Cook time: 15/20 minutes

Ingredients for 8 servings:
600 g of Fontina D.O.P. of the Aosta Valley; 2 glasses of fresh milk; 7 fresh yolks (eggs must be room-temperature); 60 g of butter; 2 teaspoons of flour; white pepper.

Slice up the cheese (slices must be very thin) and put it into a bowl. Cover the cheese with the milk and let it stand for 4 or 5 hours. Break the eggs and keep the yolks, everyone within its shell.

Melt the butter in a casserole, add the flour and mix for about a minute, then remove from heat and add fontina and milk. Warm up the casserole in a water bath and continue to mix with a small whisk until the cheese is just melted and creamy. Finally, add the yolks one by one and mix them one-one. When the sauce becomes dense, add some white pepper.

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