POTATO PIE

Appetizer - side dish - vegetarian


1.5 oz dried Italian porcini mushrooms
2 lbs potatoes
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp parmigiano, grated
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra
vegetable stock
3 sage leaves
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper


Soak porcini in lukewarm water for 20 minutes; peel and thinly slice potatoes. In a little bowl, mix together cheese and breadcrumbs.

Remove porcini from water (keep it), squeeze them and arrange in a skillet with olive oil, sage and garlic, sauté for a few minutes, then add a few tbsp of the water you used to soak mushrooms, carefully filtered, season with salt and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Lightly grease a baking pan, about 8", and line it with potatoes; add a few tbsp of vegetable stock (or of the soaking water) in the skillet with the porcini, then layer them on top of the potatoes and drizzle with some olive oil.

Bake on central rack for 25 minutes, remove and make sure that potatoes are cooked through, sprinkle with breadcrumb and cheese mixture.

Return to oven and bake for a few more minutes, until crunchy.

Serve immediately.

This recipe serves 4.


- If you precook potatoes (about half of cooking time) your baking time will be shorter.
- Lactose intolerants can enjoy this dish as long as they double the breadcrumbs and avoid cheese.
- Celiacs can enjoy this dish as long as they double the cheese and avoid breadcrumbs.
- If you want, you can add some chopped prosciutto to the mushrooms (together with broth) for a different flavor, but it will no longer be a vegetarian dish.