This recipe for torta di porri (Tuscan leek pie) comes from the Florentine chef and food historian Giuliano Bugialli. He is one of my favorite Italian cookbook authors. But he’s is relatively little known, particularly as compared with his near contemporary Marcella Hazan.
Bugialli produced a number of wonderful cookbooks, some beautifully illustrated, some not, but all grounded in solid scholarship and a deep knowledge of his subject. That’s a rarity among ‘celebrity’ chefs. His definitive work was also his first: The Fine Art of Italian Cooking. He originally wanted to call the book The Fine Art of Tuscan Cooking, but his publisher rejected the title, because at the time (1977) it was considered too esoteric. Times have certainly changed since then!
Bugialli’s books do suffer a bit from excessive chauvinism and a related anti-French undercurrent. But we should remember that, at the time Bugialli was first writing, ‘gourmet’ food was equated more or less exclusively with French cuisine. Italian food was still very much under-appreciated. Most people outside of Italy did not realize that Italian food went beyond pizza and red-sauce pasta. I can remember one Francophile friend in law school telling me, with total confidence, that while Italians had some good cooking, they did not have anything you could rightly call a cuisine. This dismissive attitude was pretty much the consensus view at the time. So I can understand Bugialli’s desire to trumpet Italian cooking and his resentment towards our Transalpine cousins.
This recipe is adapted from my dog-eared copy of Bugialli’s masterwork. He calls this dish porrata—the Italian for leek being porro—although I would venture that torta di porri is the term more commonly used by Italians today. It is a very typical example of the Italian approach to savory pies. You may notice an uncanny similarity here to the Neapolitan pizza di scarola (escarole pie) we featured some time ago, and while escarole is a favorite Neapolitan vegetable, leeks are particular appreciated in Tuscany.
Ingredients
Makes one large pie, enough for 4-6 as an antipasto or snack
For the crust:
- 400g (3 cups) flour
- 2 eggs
- 30g (1 oz) active dry yeast
- 250 ml (1 cup) warm water
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- A large pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 500g (1 lb) leeks, trimmed, split and cleaned
- 100-150g (4-6 oz) pancetta, cut into small cubes
- 3 eggs
- Olive oil and butter
- Salt, to taste, and lots of pepper
Directions
Making the dough
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add to the flour, along with the rest of the ingredients for the crust. Knead until you have a uniform, smooth ball of dough. Set inside a large bowl, cover well and let sit for an hour or more.
After the dough has rested, lay it on a well-floured surface, flatten it with a few bangs of your rolling pin, then roll it out into a thin disk.
Making the filling
Meanwhile, take the leeks, trim off their bottoms (and any roots) and cut off their dark green tops. Remove any tough or dried out outer leaves. Split each leek in half and check to see if there is any grit between the leaves. (NB: Leeks grow partially underground and naturally have a lot of soil lodged in them. These days, leeks are often sold pre-cleaned, but you can never tell for sure unless you look.) If you see any grit at all, wash the leeks well in several changes of water.
Cut the leeks crosswise into thin strips. Let the cut up leeks simmer gently, covered, in abundant olive oil and a pinch of salt, until they are soft and much reduced. Uncover the pot and stir the leeks from time to time; if you notice them coloring at all, add a tad of water to keep them from browning. When the leeks are done, transfer them to a large bowl and let them cool completely. Mix in the eggs and season with a bit more salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. (Bugialli advises that the filling should be very peppery.)
Assembling your torta di porri
Lay the dough in a well greased springform mold about 24 cm/10 in across, letting any excess ends hang over the sides.
Sprinkle the pancetta over the bottom of the mold, then pour over the leek and egg mixture, using a spatula to spread it evenly on top of the pancetta. Now fold the ends of the dough back over the filling. (Bugialli tells you to trim the dough so it is perfectly round, but as you can see, I didn’t bother. I rather liked the rustic, quirky appearance.)
Bake the mold in a hot (200C/400F) oven for about 45 minutes, until the filling is complete cooked through and the crust nice and brown.
Let your torta di porri cool for at least 15-20 minute before unmolding and serving. It can also be served at room temperature—to my mind, it’s even better that way.
Notes
Bugialli’s cookbook The Fine Art of Italian Cooking is sadly out of print, but used copies of the updated 1989 Random House edition are still available here on amazon.com.
This recipe is adapted Bugialli’s Porrata found on 114. The addition of olive oil to the dough is mine—I couldn’t abide the idea of a completely lean crust! I’ve converted the amount of leek—his recipe calls for 5 bunches—and reduced number of eggs a bit though I sometimes up the eggs in the filling to 4. (His calls for a total of six, two in the crust and four in the filling). I also used less pancetta than he calls for. Truth be told, most of these adjustments had more to do with what I happened to have in the kitchen than any personal preference, but I liked the result! Bugialli’s recipe for Tuscan leek pie calls for a crust made from leavened dough enriched with egg, as described here, but I’ve also tried the recipe with an unsweetened pasta frolla, and it is equally delicious.
Torta di porri
Ingredients
For the crust
- 400g 3 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 30g 1 oz active dry yeast
- 250ml 1 cup warm water
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- A large pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 500g 1 lb leeks trimmed, split and cleaned
- 100-150g 4-6 oz pancetta cut into small cubes
- 3 eggs
- olive oil and butter
- Salt, to taste, and lots of pepper
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add to the flour, along with the rest of the ingredients for the crust. Knead until you have a uniform, smooth ball of dough. Set inside a large bowl, cover well and let sit for an hour or more.
- Meanwhile, take the leeks, trim off their bottoms (and any roots) and cut off their dark green tops. Remove any tough or dried out outer leaves. Split each leek in half and check to see if there is any grit between the leaves. If you see any grit at all, wash the leeks well in several changes of water.
- Cut the leeks crosswise into thin strips. Let the cut up leeks simmer gently, covered, in abundant olive oil and a pinch of salt, until they are soft and much reduced. Uncover the pot and stir the leeks from time to time; if you notice them coloring at all, add a tad of water to keep them from browning. When the leeks are done, transfer them to a large bowl and let them cool completely. Mix in the eggs and season with a bit more salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
- After the dough has rested, lay it on a well-floured surface, flatten it with a few bangs of your rolling pin, then roll it out into a thin disk.
- Lay the dough in a well greased springform mold about 24 cm/10 in across, letting any excess ends hang over the sides.
- Sprinkle the pancetta over the bottom of the mold, then pour over the leek and egg mixture, using a spatula to spread it evenly on top of the pancetta. Now fold the ends of the dough back over the filling.
- Bake the mold in a hot (200C/400F) oven for about 45 minutes, until the filling is complete cooked through and the crust nice and brown.
- Let the pie cool for at least 15-20 minute before unmolding and serving. It can also be served at room temperature.
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25 Comments on “Torta di porri (Tuscan Leek Pie)”
Thanks for the recipe, Frank! Have you also read Bugialli’s Foods of Tuscany? I’m just wondering whether to start with that book or the one you mention here, or indeed what the difference between the two books is, given that Fine Art also is heavily based in Tuscan cuisine… Any recommendations would be very welcome, by Bugialli or indeed any other authors. Thanks!
I don’t own Foods of Tuscany, unfortunately, so I can’t really compare. But from a quick search I see that Fine Art is larger (300 recipes vs 150 in Foods of Tuscany) and although heavily Tuscan influenced, it does have recipes from other regions. It’s also considered as Bugialli’s “magnum opus”. So it might be the logical place to start.
Then again, if you already own other general purpose Italian cookbooks, then it might make sense to get a more focused cookbook like Foods of Tuscany. Just be aware that it’s more expensive for some reason than Fine Art. Probably has higher production value, more photos, etc. if it’s anything like his other “Foods of…” books. Fine Art is mostly text with only a few drawn illustrations.
15 grams is not 2 oz. as listed above for yeast! 1 ounce is roughly 30 grams, so if the 15 grams number is correct, that’s about half an ounce of yeast. Maybe you meant to write 1/2 oz.?
Thanks for the heads up, Bill! Actually when I re-checked Bugialli’s recipe I realized I had it all wrong. For active dry yeast, it should be 30 grams or 1 oz. 2 oz or 60 grams, is the measurement for fresh yeast. I’ve corrected the recipe.
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I have a question about the leeks. Does the 1 lb. of leeks mean before they are trimmed or after I cut off the dark green tops and root. Thank you!
That’s 1 lb before trimming. But if you can always use more, precise measurements are terribly important for this dish.
I would like to make this for thanksgiving. Can i make this ahead of time and freeze?
I’ve never done it so I hesitate to say. But if I had to guess, I’d say it would work. Perhaps you should make a test pie and see…?
I don’t eat pork, and so usually sub in anchovies for the salty/savory contribution from pancetta. I assume they will work in this recipe, and will report back. I have some fancy anchovies that I will rinse and chop finely. Also going to use a pate brisee because I don’t have time for yeast today. This looks delicious!
Yes, do let us know Ellen. I bet yours will be delicious, too.
hi Frank
I finally tried this pie after eyeing it long ago. It is really good – thanks for sharing. I used half quantities for the dough (and this was enough for a 20 cm / 5 cm round tin) but many more leeks (possibly closer to what Bugialli says), I used 1.5 kg leeks, before cleaning. Really good and it keeps beautifully. Ciao, stefano
Thanks, Stefano! Glad you like it. 🙂
I cooked this on Saturday and all the family were impressed, especially with superb lightness and taste of the filling. I messed up a bit with the pastry, this being my first time using active yeast and the crust came out a bit hard and brittle. But will try harder next time and try to analysis where I can improve.
That’s great, Tim! So glad the family enjoyed it. Cooking with yeast can be a bit tricky. I remember the first time I attempted pizza dough, it turned out hard as a board. But you know what they say: practice makes perfect.
I have to confess a weakness: I can make a mean brisee, but when I use yeasted dough as the base for a quiche it almost always turns out gummy. What is the secret to avoiding it?
I’ve seen recipes for quiche that tell you to semi-bake the crust before filling to avoid that problem, but I doubt it would work very well with a yeasted dough. On the other hand, I haven’t really have the issue with this one. I’m only guessing but I’d imagine it’s because the stuffing is not very wet as compared with your typical quiche filling (it’s mostly vegetable with a few eggs to bind) and it’s baked in a really hot oven.
This looks so good, and thank you for reminding me I also wanted to try the piza di scarola!
You’re welcome! If you do try either one, do let us know how you like it!
Well Frank, I think you made a good call in adding olive oil to the dough. The whole thing looks delicious and it’s a recipe I know my Italian chit-chat group would love. Yes, Bugialli is too little known by most Americans and it’s great that you’re rectifying that.
Thanks, Linda. It’s a real shame that Bugialli never became better known—I suspect that his “academic” approach may have turned some people off. For me, it was his real value added. If you do discuss this torts in your chat group, do let us know all about it!
amo molto i porri, sono una delle verdure più versatili, buoni da soli o in compagnia ! Felice settimana
Ciao, Chiara! Anch’io sono un appassionato del porro, a mio parere il migliore della famiglia delle Liliaceae. Buona settimana… !
Does have a beautiful look… strange I’ve never heard about it. So much lighter than a quiche but with a bit of that feel… lovely picture too!
Thanks so much, Deana! Yes, it’s much like a quiche and I’ve even seen this referred to in Italian publication as a “quiche di porri”, but in truth the effect is, as you say, much lighter and less eggy.