Erenchina Platter

[bigmike&nan]

Cudos to my old boss Carlo Middione. In his honor I figured I'd post this great recipe I learned while working at Vivande... a wonderful 1st course for heavy eaters, or on a really hot day this would be a refreshing entree for those trying to keep the weight down. Quite satisfying. I don't have a picture of this yet, but will once I make it for Nan while I am in Jersey.

The dish has 4 elements to it, you prepare them all in advance and then assemble the attractively at service time: small bundles of blanced green beans, slices of copa salami (or your favorite salami), a small 1 oz. patty of goat cheese cut in half, and the Erenchina sauce.


Mis en place

3 oz bundles of blanced green beans
1 oz. patties of goat cheese cut in half
6 slices of copa salami per plate


Erenchina Sauce:

2 lbs. roma tomatoes, small dice
2 Tbls fresh chopped garlic
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup EVO
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients of Erenchina Sauce in a container and mix well. Allow to rest in fridge at least 1 hour before serving(keeps for about 1 week).

Presentation:

On a serving plate center the bundle of blanched green beans. Now artfully overlap 3 slices of copa on each side of the bundle of green beans, repeat on opposite side. At the bottom of the bundle place the slit circle of goat cheese slightly opened toward the green bean bundle. Now reach into the Erenchina Sauce container with a 2 oz. espresso cup or measuring cup and dredge up tomatoes and the oily mixture. Carefully nappe over the bundle of green beans going from left to right. Season all with a dash of salt and pepper and serve...

 

[Catalina]

Mmmmm yum! Do you have a pic? I bet that looks pretty!

 

[spook]

This does sound nice! Is it any particular nationality? (just curious!!)

 

[bigmike&nan]

More Southern Italian/Sicilian than straight Italian.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Thanks to 2Dogs for reaching out, noooo we are just fine - except we are overrun with a bunch of different age groups of baby chickens which keeps me on my toes, especially in this very hot weather.

I am topping this recipe as a way of saying hello to you all. This time of year tomatoes are cheap or if you are growing your own you may find you have a lot of fruit coming of age all at once. Here in Central New Jersey we are experiencing "late blight" which has severely damaged our plants and yield... Here is a photo of the finished product, it is a bit time consuming getting all the elements prepped but then it's super easy to have ANYTIME in just a matter of moments.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Awwww..now you've gone & made me blush

But seriously, I was missing your wonderful recipes something fierce!
Even if I never triedthem, they are fodder for my food-dreams & make great reading besides.

On a somber note: another BB I visit regularly lost two dear members this Summer.
Funny how you can feel like a friend to someone miles away you've never met....and are not likely to ever meet in person.
And how their loss saddens you.

This does look yummy and although my Roma tomatoes became victims of the Blight I believe the little red 4th of July ones or the med-size Tangerine Mamas will suffice if I seed them first.
My girlfriend is being overrun with green beans so if she'll share the bounty I'll give her this recipe.

Just make sure you get back on here when those chicks are grown some!

 

[bigmike&nan]

In this heat this is a terrific dish. A small amount of prep work, make up a bunch of green beans and the erenchina sauce and plate it when you're hungry. The sauce can last a week easily, the green beans too.

 

[BakinInAZ]

That will be a great dish here in Hot sunny Arizona!