Rustico con Speck e Zucchine

Zucchini

Do you like salty dishes or sweet? Maybe both? Whatever your preference puff pastry is a perfect ingredient for a delicious recipe. Below you can find easy-to-follow instructions for making your own puff pastry, although if time is of the essence then a ready-made roll of store bought pastry is perfectly acceptable. Interested? Here is one great recipe for you to try, which combines puff pastry with delicious zucchini.

Strudel with Zucchini and Speck

Ingredients:

1 roll of puff pastry

2 zucchini

150g of speck (a type of cured meat)

250g of Fontina cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Peanut oil

Egg yolk

Puff Pastry

Preparation

Wash and trim the zucchini, then slice them lengthwise (about 3mm). Preheat oven to 200C (390 F).

Fry the zucchini in abundant peanut oil until golden.

Strain the fried zucchini and add some salt and pepper.

Place the puff pastry on a baking sheet. Place the slices of speck, zucchini, and Fontina cheese at the center. Go on by alternating a layer of speck, one of zucchini, and one of fontina cheese.

Close the puff pastry by sealing the edges very well.

Dust the outside of the strudel with egg yolk or milk to ensure a golden color.

Place the making sheet in the oven for about 30 minutes. Leave to cool then cut into slices and serve.

Puff Pastry

Puff pastry is difficult to make properly because it calls for a perfect balance of flour and butter in addition to water and salt. During cooking the pasty splits in the oven, forming some overlapped, light, fragile layers. This is known as the sfogliatura phenomenon. How to make sure that your pastry will make a beautiful sfoglia? Use fresh butter without other seasonings, water and cold hands--these are the secrets to a perfect result.

Ingredients (makes 1 kilo)

• 500g of white flour
• 500g of butter
• 10g of table salt
• Water and salt

Italian Speck

Preparation

Place the flour in a pan, put 1 cup of water and salt in the middle and knead until the mix amalgamates properly.

Make a roll out of the dough and make some cuts on the surface so it loses elasticity.

Place the mixture on a floured pan and cover it with a piece of cloth, leaving it to rise in a cool place for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, work the butter by giving it a rectangle shape. Wrap it in transparent wrap and place it in an area of the refrigerator where it won't freeze. 

With a rolling pin, stretch the pasta on a slightly floured pastry board, giving it a square shape of about 30 centimeters on each side.

Remove the butter from the refrigerator and place it between two sheets of transparent wrap. Beat it with a rolling pin until softened and even. Once done place the butter in the center of the dough.

Refold the four angles of the puff pastry onto the butter so that the pasty covers the butter completely. Spread a bit of flour on it and stretch the pasta, gently and quickly, until you get a long strip of around 60 centimeters.