At the end of the eighteenth century Naples became a place for comparison of the great European cuisines.
This is the epoch in which in the capital and in the rest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the French taste in the kitchen is reinforced, the care of which was entrusted to the “monsieurs”, high-ranking cooks that the Neapolitans called “monzu” and the Sicilians “monsù”. Within a few decades, some traditional French and Sicilian dishes took on the name of the French: the gattò (gateau), the crocchè (croquet), the ragù (ragout).
Ingredients
- Potatoes 1 kg
- Cooked ham 200 gr
- Mozzarella 300 gr
- Sea salt as required
- Grated Parmesan to taste
- Butter as needed
- Eggs 2
- Breadcrumbs to taste
Preparation
Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water for 30 minutes and then let them cool slightly. The potatoes should be peeled when they are still hot and mashed with a potato masher in order to obtain a soft paste
Add the salt, pepper, Parmesan and eggs to the mashed potatoes and mix thoroughly. Put the mozzarella in a strainer to drain a large part of the water and then cut it into cubes.
Take the cooked ham and cut it into strips. Add the mozzarella and the ham to the mashed potatoes and a few knobs of butter to make the dough damp and mix well. Now put the dough in a previously buttered baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cover the surface with the remaining parmesan and butter flakes and bake at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes and then select the grill for the last five or ten minutes to form a delicious crust on the surface. The pie must cook for about 25 minutes.
To the original recipe you can add smoked provola or replace the cooked ham with other cured meat.
