Torta Baciocca (Ligurian potato pie)

Like any symbol, Baciocca pie carries a legend. Tradition says that Torta Baciocca has crossed the mountains and the regional borders, migrating from Emilia thanks to the initiative of some young Ligurian mountaineer who were looking for a wife among the Emilian girls of Santa Maria, renowned for their beauty and cooking skills. It is said indeed that in Santa Maria del Taro, beyond the borders, more girls than boys lived and that “baciocche” were called the most beautiful girls and best at making this cake. As soon as the news spread in Valle Sturla the boys organized a real kidnapping of the girls (though it is likely that the young women moved after having entered into regular marriage). Therefore the “baciocche” brought to Valle Sturla, in addition to their great beauty, also the knowledge and flavors linked to the recipes of their country of origin, including that of the famous potato and onion pie that quickly spread throughout the area. Even the traditional cooking of this cake is worth telling. Once upon a time, in fact, it was cooked under heavy cast iron bells red-hot in wood-fired ovens, laid on red-hot cast iron plates (called locally “testi”) and wrapped in wet chestnut leaves, leaves that women collected in the summer and left to dry, specifically to give a slightly tannic taste to the dish. There are as many traditional recipes as there are grandmothers who cook, but all share some basic ingredients: a puff pastry in which to wrap the filling (sometimes covering it, sometimes not), potatoes (sometimes already cooked, more often raw, cut into very thin slices), browned onion and lots of Parmesan. There are recipes that involve the use of eggs, others of milk and flour, some strengthen the dish with a slice of diced bacon, others enrich it with a handful of dried mushrooms or rosemary or parsley. The recipe I fell in love with has no eggs and potatoes are raw. I like it because it differs from traditional Ligurian savory pies always bearing eggs. When using raw potatoes it is important to cut them into very thin slices as well as to “pre-treat” them with salt so that they give away their internal vegetation water. They can be sprinkled with salt, left to rest for half an hour and then rinsed and dried, or, as I do, soaked in salted water for the same time, and then rinsed and dried anyway. In this case the potatoes will also release their starch. It will be the liquid contained in the batter (in our case the milk) to rehydrate the filling and with this liquid the potatoes will cook, resulting once cooked dry and not boiled.