Re-Inventing Food Memories

When I was in high school, one of my first jobs was working as a bus girl and waitress at a restaurant named Frankie's Grill in Derby.  Working in a restaurant gives you a different respect of others who work in the hospitality business and when I look back at the experience , I really learned a lot about the inner workings of the food business and what makes people happy when they go out to eat.  In working at the restaurant for almost 2 years, I enjoyed my fair share of meals there and continued to go back after I stopped working there until they closed a few years back.  Because I would eat there often, I had a rotation of favorite dishes that included the Chicken Milanese, salads with the house dressing, barbecued chicken tenders and the pasta carbonara that would be my special occasion dish that was ordered once or twice a year but my real favorite was pane cotto.  For those of you that have never had pane cotto, it is considered an Italian peasant food originally made with stale bread, Italian white beans and greens that is sauteed in a pan and then baked all together in the oven to get the top nice and crispy.  I've had pane cotto at other places but it never tasted like Frank's.  I had forgotten about pane cotto until a few weeks ago when CSA box 2 came and contained a big head of escarole and then it dawned on me that I could tackle this dish on my own and try to recreate Frank's version.   Once you break apart the recipe, it is actually a really easy dish to make and has room for your own adaptation.  The recipe I used was out of a "Cooking with Chef Silvio" cookbook that my mother had given me for Christmas last year that contains a number of classic "old-style" Italian dishes.  At first taste, it wasn't quite Frank's pane cotto but after a few more tries it definitely has the potential to get there and made great lunches throughout the week paired with some salad. 

Pane Cotto
*From "Cooking with Chef Silvio"
(serves 4-6)


-1/2c extra virgin olive oil
-4 cloves of chopped garlic
-3 ounces diced prosciutto (optional)
-4 large slices of crusty peasant bread, toasted or stale, cut into pieces
-4 cups escarole and bean soup*
-1 1/4c grated Parmesan cheese
-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick frying pan, over medium heat.  Add garlic and prosciutto when oil is hot and cook until golden.  Add the bread and stir with a wooden spoon until the bread absorbs most of the oil.  Add the escarole and bean soup and turn the heat to low.  Stirring frequently to prevent the bread sticking, cook until the bread absorbs almost of all the juice and the mixture is soft and moist but not runny.  Add 3/4 cup of the cheese along with the red pepper and stir to combine.  Let stand 10 minutes off the heat so all of the flavors combine.

all the ingredients coming together

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  You can either go fancy and transfer it into a baking dish or just pop your frying pan right in the oven which is what I did.  Before it hits the oven, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese on top (I ended up just sprinkling a small handful on top and didn't miss the rest of the cheese).  Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the top gets light brown and crispy. 

top is crisp and ready to be served

*Escarole and Bean Soup

-1 head coarsely chopped escarole
-1/3c extra virgin olive oil
-5 cloves chopped garlic
-4c chicken stock
-1 can white cannellini beans, drained

Fill a 4qt pot halfway with salted water and bring to a boil.  Add the escarole and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until it is cooked al dente.  Drain and set aside. 

In the same pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until golden.  Stir in the escarole, chicken stock and cannellini beans.  Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to season.