I learned to cook simple things for my dinner at an early age. You see, my mom made a go at running a nightclub after my dad died so I was home alone quite often at nights (this was back in the 70’s when people didn’t freak out about the idea of a 3rd grader being left alone and my mother had learned the hard way that I could be trusted alone as opposed to the teenage babysitters who would party and wreck the house). I knew how to boil water for pasta, scramble eggs, etc. and we had one of those “newfangled microwave ovens” too so I could heat up soups or canned ravioli. Mostly simple stuff. But during my teenage years I got interested in more complex recipes. My mother loved big cookbooks with lots of pictures so one year for Christmas I bought her the cookbook you see pictured above. Beautiful pages full of pictures of pastas and vegetables and cured meats! She didn’t really cook a whole lot out of it but we loved to look at it and drool over the “authentic Italian” recipes. I was planning a party sometime around my sophomore year in high school when I decided I was going to attempt one of the recipes that had caught my eye: Panzarotti. These little fried crescents with a ham and cheese filling were delicious! Making the dough was easy enough and the filling was easily acquired ingredients at the grocery store. Frying them was a bit messy but worth it. It’s been years since I’ve made them but the memory of making them is one of the first I have of doing “serious” cooking.
This recipe was in the “Pizzas and Breads” section of the cookbook. The light flaky pastry puffs up when fried so while they are similar to a calzone, they are not quite the same.
You can see what I’m talking about in the picture from the cookbook:
Little crescents filled with ham, cheese, and eggs. They’d be good for a party or for breakfast!
Panzarotti
(Fried cheese-filled crescents)
for the dough:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tbsp butter
salt
1 egg yolk
for the filling:
4 oz. Mozzarella
3 oz cooked ham
2 eggs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 eggs beaten
oil for frying
This recipe comes originally from the Apulia region. Sift the flour into a mound, make a well in the center and add the butter, cut into pieces, a pinch of salt and an egg yolk. Mix together, kneading and gradually adding sufficient water to obtain a smooth elastic dough. Shape into a ball, cover and leave to stand in a cool place for at least ½ hr. Roll out, folding the dough over on to itself a few times, as if making a flaky pastry, then roll out into a thin sheet. Cut into circles about 3in. in diameter. Dice the Mozzarella, cut the ham into pieces and place in a bowl with the 2 whole eggs, grated Parmesan, pinch of nutmeg and chopped parsley. Mix well, then spoon a little into the center of each circle. Brush edges with beaten egg, fold over, and press gently.
Heat plenty of oil in a skillet. When hot, dip the crescents in beaten egg and then fry, a few at a time, until golden brown and puffed up. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve piping hot.
Do you have a memorable “first recipe” experience? I’ve certainly learned a lot since those days, but I still remember the awesome feeling of taking on something that seemed complicated and having it be a complete success! Oh, and my friends at that party gobbled them up almost as fast as I could make them!
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