Tiella di patate e funghi (Potato and Mushroom Casserole)

Frank16 February 2019Basilicata, Calabria, contorno, Puglia43 Comments

Patate e funghi al forno (Potato and Mushroom Casserole)

Southern Italian cookery, in particular the cooking of Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, is rife with baked vegetable casseroles . They are often called tielle after baking dish in which they are cooked and then served, much like the word “casserole” in English. We’ve featured the iconic tiella pugliese, a veritable one-dish meal made with potatoes, tomatoes, rice and mussels, along with a summery tomato, onion and potato casserole. All of these casseroles share the same essentials: vegetables laid down in alternating layers interlaced with aromatics and seasonings and drizzled with fruity olive oil, then baked until the flavors of the ingredients meld and give off their heady aromas.

Today’s tiella di patate e funghi, or Potato and Mushroom Casserole, is the fall and winter child of the tiella family. It shares the same basic technique as other tielle, but instead of the sunny tomato, mushrooms infuse the casserole with their woodsy flavor so characteristic of the colder months. You can use all fresh mushrooms or optionally some reconstituted dried mushrooms, which will lend a more intense mushroom flavor, especially if you drizzle in some of the soaking liquid.

This tiella makes for a nice side dish, especially with pork, but it’s interesting enough to be a vegetarian or vegan main dish as well.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

500g (1 lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced
250g (1/2 lb) fresh mushroom, sliced
Olive oil

For the breadcrumb topping:

50g (1/2 cup) breadcrumbs
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
A few sprigs of fresh parsley, finely minced
25 g (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
100 ml (1/2 cup) broth, preferably homemade, or water
Olive oil

Optional:

50 g (2 oz) dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water and roughly chopped

Directions

Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in the mixing bowl. Drizzle in just enough olive oil to moisten the mixture so it has a sand-like texture. Taste and adjust for seasoning—the mixture should be very savory.

Oil the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold all the potatoes and mushrooms. Lay down a layer of potato, then a layer of the mushrooms (including some of the reconstituted dried mushrooms if using), season with salt and pepper, and finally top with the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle some olive oil on top. Repeat these steps until you’ve used up all the ingredients. But before laying on the final breadcrumb topping, drizzle a bit of water, broth or, if you’re using the reconstituted dried mushrooms, some of their soaking liquid, filtered of any grit, down the inside edge of the baking dish, taking care not to upset the ingredients.

Bake in a moderate (18C/350F) oven for a good hour or so, until the potatoes are tender, all the liquid has evaporated and the top is golden brown.

Serve right away.

Notes on Tiella di patate a funghi

Most recipes don’t call for adding liquid. I do, as this helps the potatoes to cook a bit more quickly. And, if you use broth or the mushroom soaking liquid, this lends a good bit of flavor. You do need to be careful, however, that all of this liquid is absorbed or evaporated. Otherwise the casserole will be soggy. This does make for a rather longer baking time. Alternatively you could parboil the potato slices before baking. It’s an extra step but speeds the cooking process considerably. You’ll need only 30 minutes or so baking time.

It may go without saying for a dish like this, but the measurements are pretty flexible here. More potato if you want to “stretch” the dish, more mushroom if you want more intense flavor. All purpose potatoes like Yukon Golds work very well in this dish, although some recipes specify that the potatoes should be farinose, or “floury”, the kind you use for mashed potatoes.

Fresh porcini would be wonderful but pricey choice for the mushroom—assuming you can even find them where you live, which I can’t. Cardoncelli, a kind of oyster mushroom, is a popular choice. But you can make patate e fungh al forno with any kind of mushroom you like, really, either cultivated or wild. Mixing in some reconstituted dried mushrooms adds a lot of flavor, and you can get away with rather milder fresh mushrooms. Again, dried porcini would be just the ticket, but less expensive options work perfectly well, too. For my version, in fact, I used “Baby Bella” mushrooms mixed with reconstituted shiitakes, both very reasonably priced options, and the result was perfectly palatable.

You can use pecorino cheese instead of the Parmesan, but personally I prefer the milder Parmesan. At these quantities, you really don’t taste the cheese, it just lends a bit of umami. Pecorino, on the other hand, would surely assert its sharp presence. At other other end of the spectrum, some recipes can get very cheesy indeed, layering on copious amounts of caciocavallo or taleggio. Actually sounds nice if you’re in the mood.

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