(Cardoon pie - Our recipe)

Cardoon pie. Savoury pie, Italy-style. The image shows a slice of this pie

A medium size cardoon plant (1 kg - 2 1/4 lb)
3 eggs
2 young fresh onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
4 tablespoons dried chives
1 teaspoon dried bay leaves
250 g (8 1/2 oz) breading mixture
750 ml (27 fl oz - 3 1/2 C) puréed tomatoes
A glass of white wine
250 g (8 1/2 oz) mozzarella cheese, grated
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Time:
preparation: about 60 minutes
cooking: about 90 minutes
Difficulty:
medium difficulty
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 295 (kCal) - 1235 (kJ)
Protein: 12.5 (g)
Total fat: 13.6 (g)
Total carbohydrate: 30.6 (g)
Sugars: 5.4 (g)

Clean and wash all the stalks of the cardoon and steam them until tender.
Let them cool and then cut them into 6-8 cm (2 1/2 - 3 1/4in) pieces.
Beat the eggs with 2 tablespoons dried chives and a pinch of salt.
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Dip every cardoon piece into the beaten eggs and then into the breading mixture. Add some milk to the beaten eggs only if they aren’t enough.
Oil some baking pans with 1 tablespoon olive oil and arrange the cardoon pieces on them. Bake until the surface is golden. Remember to turn upside down the cardoon pieces during the cooking.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Place the puréed tomatoes together with the wine, onions, parsley, bay leaves and the remaining of dried chives in a pan. Season to taste with salt and cook on medium heat. Don’t let the sauce reduce too much. Switch off the gas, add the remaining olive oil (3 tablespoons) and stir.
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Spoon some tomato sauce on the bottom of a deep baking pan. Arrange the cardoon pieces and cover with the sauce; sprinkle with the grated mozzarella. Keep on alternating the cardoon pieces with the sauce and mozzarella. Complete with the tomato sauce and mozzarella. Bake until the mozzarella melts and the surface is golden.
Serve the pie warm.

Note

- This is a light version of the recipe. In fact we don’t fry the breaded pieces of cardoon. If you want you can fry them.
- If you like Parmesan cheese, you can sprinkle it on every layer of the pie.
- You can prepare this recipe in advance.