Sunday 13 December 2015

Just a Flash in the Pan!

Crespella Croccante alla Polenta con Radicchio Tardivo, Salami al Barolo, Zenzero, Salvia & Timo 
Crispy Polenta Pancake with Radicchio Tardivo, Barolo Salami, Ginger, Sage & Thyme


Is it a pancake? Is it a flatbread? Hmmm- that's pretty hard to answer! Is it easy to make and totally delicious? Well- that's a little easier! The answer is yes!

The truth I suppose, lies somewhere in-between. This is a savory pancake, enriched with polenta, to give it a firm, wholesome texture - then topped with some wonderful, unusual, delicious stuff to brighten up even the dreariest of Winters! And, oh- those colors!


This took a little extra "prep work", in as much as that I soaked the polenta for a couple of hours before making my little pancake, but otherwise- this was whipped together in les than half an hour!

As usual, this was improvised from what just happened to be in my fridge today... so it's a lucky coincidence that I should have had such delicious treats there- haha!


So- here they are, all lined up- my simple little ingredients!

1 small radicchio- I was lucky enough to find this lovely "Tardivo" variety yesterday, with its beautiful thin leaves- but you can use regular radicchio of course and cut it into strips. Then- salami. Again, any salami will do, because basically you just want the saltiness and the meatiness and bite- but I was fortunate enough to have bought this exquisite example that was infused with Barolo wine- oh, yum! Otherwise- 2 cupfuls of polenta, 2 eggs, fresh sage and thyme, a little ginger, salt, pepper, nutmeg and olive oil.


This is great hot or cold- and you can take my word for it, because it still tasted awesome, even after I had taken my photos and sorted them for you good people!


I have to share a little close-up of this beautiful, Barolo salami with you- because i can't share it for real. I don't know if doing so should make me feel better or worse! Hehe! But no- I regret nothing!


As I already mentioned, I soaked 2 cups of polenta in 2 cups of water for about 2 hours- this gave it a chance to absorb the moisture and to swell up a little. I could have boiled the polenta for a while and let it sit and cool too... but this was an experiment and it worked fine. maybe I will try the other option next time.

I added my 2 eggs to the polenta, seasoned generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg and stirred it together to form the batter for my pancake. Simple.


I finely sliced 3 good sized sage leaves, cut the radicchio from the stalk and separated the leaves, thinly cut around 15-16 slices from the salami and grated the ginger. And then I was able to begin.

I poured the batter into my hot frying pan, which I lightly coated with olive oil first, then spread out all of the other ingredients before it began to set. I started with the radicchio, then the salami and then scattered the sage and ginger on top. I added plenty of freshly ground pepper and a light sprinkle of salt to the radicchio only, then let it sit and cook and set, until the outer edges changed color slightly and I knew that the base was set.

I then popped it into the oven to finish baking for 10 minutes or so at 200°C. In that time, the radicchio will wilt down a little and the ginger will begin to crisp-up and get toasty- and those are great flavors that they add into the mix!


Once the salami had crisped up, the surface had begun to go brown and the radicchio had wilted down nicely- it was ready to serve! I added a generous sprinkle of fresh thyme to "lift" the flavors with a fresh note and added some fresh sage leaves for a final, finishing touch!


And all I had to do then was to cut it up, serve it- and hold on to my taste buds!


These are wonderful, wholesome Winter flavors that blend together wonderfully! And a whole new idea to add to my ever-growing repertoire! I look forward to making the next one... I wonder what I shall next time? wink emoticon

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