Gattò di Patate (Neapolitan Potato Cake)

Ingredients

• 700g red potatoes, unpeeled

• 20g butter, plus extra for greasing and dotting on top
• 35g (1/3 cup) freshly grated parmigiano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 egg
• salt flakes
• 2–3 handfuls of dried breadcrumbs
• 70g mortadella (ask your deli person to slice it 1 cm thick), cut into cubes
• 70g provolone, cut into cubes

Method

1. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain and when the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel. If you have a potato ricer, you can pass them though the press without peeling them; if you don’t have a potato ricer, place the cooled, peeled potatoes in a bowl and mash until smooth. 
2. Add the butter, parmigiano, nutmeg, egg and salt to taste. Mix well and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Preheat your oven to 200C. Carefully grease a 20 cm pie dish with butter and coat with the breadcrumbs.
4. Arrange half the potato mixture in the dish and flatten with a spoon. Add the mortadella and provolone, then top with the remaining potato mixture. 
5. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs on top and dot on a few small cubes of butter. 
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown and crispy. Serve hot, warm (easier to portion out) or at room temperature.

Papandrea Fine Foods is a proud sponsor of Cook like an Italian starring Silvia Colloca. This recipe was featured in Episode 1 of Season 3.