Little Green Smoke-Tops!

Cime di Rapa al Forno con Patate, Pancetta & Scamorza Affumicato

Oven-Baked Cime di Rapa with Potato, Bacon & Smoked Scamorza

The "tops" that I mention in the title of this post are obviously the delicious "Cime di Rapa", also known as turnip tops and the smoke was the delicious smoke Scamorza cheese- what a great combination! The mild smokiness of the cheese goes so well with mild bitterness of the greens, that with a little chopped bacon and potato in the mix, it was all I needed for a really tasty, light supper this evening!

Yes, it has been a tough week, fraught with unexpected complications in the form of an operation and the recovery therefrom, being confined to bed most of the time and not being able to get in any fresh supplies... but I have managed somehow! And now that my stomach was finally safe and settled again, I decided the cime di rapa had been around in the fridge for long enough! Yes, they were still perfectly good- surprisingly so in fact! But still... it was Friday evening and time to clear that fridge out!

So pay attention now- because you might miss the details as to how to make this if you blink... it was so easy! I began by washing the greens and then cutting them into 2"-3" pieces and by scrubbing a small potato clean and cutting that into thin slices. So this was: maybe 3 handfuls of cime di rapa, 1 handful of finely diced bacon and that 1 sliced potato. Into a frying pan they went, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and just enough water so coat the bottom of the pan. Once the water was boiling nicely, I popped on the lid and popped over to the fridge to fetch the smoked Scamorza, which I then grated in the meantime whilst the potato slices, cime and bacon bubbled away...

After  3-4 minutes of cooking time, the cime were almost done, the potatoes had become transparent and the fat from the bacon had done its job in giving everything a light glaze.
I seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg and kept them on the heat until all of the excess moisture evaporated away. 

I then added the grated scamorza, some coarsely ground black pepper and a little more nutmeg and then popped my frying pan under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until everything became crispy and golden brown... including of course the leaves of the cime and cheese itself! And what more can I say? it was just simply delicious! But more than anything else it was simple! And I recommend you try it for yourselves!