Brought up in Italy until she was 12, and now based in the UK, the food writer Ursula Ferrigno has chosen to focus on cuisine from the country’s Emilia-Romagna region, and its capital Bologna, for her latest cookbook, Cucina dell'Emilia-Romagna. “Here, people think, talk and fantasise about food more than anywhere else in the country,” she says in the introduction to the book. “From morning to night, they ask each other what they are going to eat that day, precisely how they will prepare it, and what they will serve to accompany it.”
Rich in culinary history, the region has 44 local food products with EU protected status, including Parmigiano Reggiano, Parma ham and the balsamic vinegars of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Ursula’s new book, her 35th, aims to make the most of the area’s fabulous produce, and recipes range from a golden focaccia speckled with black olive to tuna steaks served with a tangle of fried fennel slices and classics such as lasagne.
Today, she’s sharing tortino di zucchine, a simple and quick recipe that’s great for entertaining, combining the sweetest courgettes of the season with two types of cheese to form a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pie. “This is a wonderful antipasti,” Ursula says in the book, but it would also make an easy midsummer main dish served with a salad, or as part of a picnic, while you kick back and enjoy the sunshine.
Words by Imogen Carter
Photography by Rita Platts
Ursula’s tortino di zucchine
Please, for optimum results, always use tender young courgettes. You will need a 32 x 20cm baking sheet.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
5 young courgettes
50g unsalted butter, softened
125g grated Grana Padano, plus extra for topping
2 large free-range eggs
1 garlic clove, grated
90g Italian 00 flour
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
60g squacquerone (spreadable, soft cow's milk cheese from Romagna); burrata chopped up is an excellent alternative
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4.
2. Coarsely grate 4 of the courgettes into a bowl, then thinly slice the remaining courgette and set aside for the topping.
3. Add the butter, Grana Padano, eggs, garlic, flour, parsley and some salt and pepper to the bowl of grated courgettes and mix well.
4. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon half the grated courgette mixture on to the sheet, then spread it out evenly to the edges. Next, spread the squacquerone or burrata in a thin layer over the top. Cover with the remaining grated courgette mixture.
5. To finish, lay the thin slices of courgette on the surface, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some grated Grana Padano. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 mins until golden. Serve cut into squares.
Cucina dell'Emilia-Romagna by Ursula Ferrigno is published by Ryland Peters & Small, £25