Bill Piccerelli's Potato Fritta

Name: Bill Piccerelli’s Potato Fritta
Ingredients: 4 cups mashed potatoes, previously made and spiced; 3/4 cup cooked spinach* (I used spinach that had been sautéed with Filippo Berio olive oil, garlic and; chopped olives).; 1 cup artichoke hearts, cut into small pieces (approx. into eigths); 1/4 cup chopped parsley; 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (or both mixed); 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian proscuitto*; 1/4 cup porcini mushrooms* (reconstituted, well drained); 2 eggs; Salt, pepper and garlic to taste; Dressing:; 1 cup breadcrumbs, spiced with a touch of Pecorino Romano cheese and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley); *Items can be substituted.Cooked broccoli, broccoli rabe or any other cooked vegetable can replace cooked spinach.Cooked ham can replace the proscuitto.Any mushrooms can be used.Other possible ingredients included cooked onion, shallots, chive, etc.; INGREDIENTS

This Italian Version of ˜Bubble & Squeak’ is a great dish to clean out your refrigerator of leftovers.

The following is the recipe I used, but many items can be substituted depending on what you have as leftovers. In this recipe, I fried the fritta on the stove top but you can also bake it in the oven to a golden brown.

Use a ten inch skillet, lightly buttered or lightly coated with olive oil. Use a 10 inch pie plate in order to form the mixed ingredients.

Ingredients

4 cups mashed potatoes, previously made and spiced
3/4 cup cooked spinach* (I used spinach that had been sautéed with Filippo Berio olive oil, garlic and
chopped olives).
1 cup artichoke hearts, cut into small pieces (approx. into eigths)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (or both mixed)
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian proscuitto*
1/4 cup porcini mushrooms* (reconstituted, well drained)
2 eggs
Salt, pepper and garlic to taste
Dressing:
1 cup breadcrumbs, spiced with a touch of Pecorino Romano cheese and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley)
*Items can be substituted.Cooked broccoli, broccoli rabe or any other cooked vegetable can replace cooked spinach.Cooked ham can replace the proscuitto.Any mushrooms can be used.Other possible ingredients included cooked onion, shallots, chive, etc.
INGREDIENTS

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl, no special order. The ingredients should be well mixed. The texture of the mixture should be on the dry side.
On a small cutting board, shape the mixture into a round mound, approximately 10 inches so that it will fit into the skillet.
Coat the bottom of the pie plate with approximately one half of the breadcrumb mixture.
Gently slide the potato mound into the pie plate so that the bottom side of the mound is coated with the breadcrumb. Once done, coat the top side of the potato mound with the remaining breadcrumb, gently pressing to have the breadcrumb firmly into the potato mound.
Flip the completed fitta mound from the pie plate into the frying pan.
Cook for approximately ten minutes.
Again, using the pie plate or a dinner plate, flip the half cooked fritta over and return to the skillet to cook the other side for an additional ten minutes.
Serve immediately.

This recipe was featured on Season 15 - Episode 1522.