Erica De Mane

Mortadella for Breakfast, by Edward Dwurnik.

Recipe below: Panino with Mortadella, Ricotta, and Pistachio Vinaigrette

Recently I was playing around with a potentially newish pasta dish that I thought should include mortadella. Well, I’ve since had second thoughts about that pasta, as originally planned. When assembled, it seemed too bland, with its ricotta and pistachios and delicately flavored meat. But I did put together something good with the few slices of mortadella and the other stuff I had left over. I made a panino.

What I realized my pasta lacked was brightness, so when making my panino I turned the pistachios into a vinaigrette and added a handful of sharp arugula to the mix. It was a very good panino, but it also allowed me to revisit my original pasta concept with a fresh look. The next time I try my hand at this pasta, I’ll be adding bitter and acid. I can imagine how much better it will be.

I love cross-pollination in cooking, when I’m creating one kind of food and get ideas about another. I think it happens to all dedicated cooks let loose in a kitchen. A few weeks ago I was putting together a composed salad, and I threw in some escarole, two leftover boudins blancs, and some fontina, caper berries, and thyme. I liked the way the mild sausage and  sweet cheese played against the thyme’s sharpness, the bitter escarole, and the astringent caper berries. That taste combo lingered in my mind, and this week I transformed similar ingredients into a quick sauce for cavatelli.

I always look forward to discovering flavor links I can work with in new ways. It’s a reason I still find cooking so alluring. I can continue to use the traditional Italian and Mediterranean flavors I love while keeping my brain in the present and future. Boredom scares me, but, luckily, with cooking at least, I haven’t hit that place yet.

Panino with Mortadella, Ricotta, and Pistachio Vinaigrette

(A sandwich for 1)

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons shelled, unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted
Salt
Black pepper
A big pinch of ground nutmeg
About ½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oi
The leaves from a few sprigs of marjoram

For the sandwich:

1 small ciabatta, split into sandwich halves, with the middle pulled out if soft and bready
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 or 4 slices mortadella
1 heaping tablespoon ricotta, or a little more if you like, at room temperature
Salt
A handful of arugula, stemmed
Black pepper

Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a food processor, and pulse until you have a not-too-smooth consistency. You want a little texture here.

Brush the surfaces of the ciabatta with a little olive oil, and toast under a broiler.

Lay the mortadella on one ciabatta half. Smear the other half with ricotta, and season with a little salt. Drizzle on as much of the vinaigrette as you like (you’ll probably have some left over), Put the arugula on top of the ricotta, give everything a few grinds of black pepper, and close up the sandwich.

I have found that this sandwich goes nicely with a glass of Barbera.