PAN DI ZUCCHERO RECIPES

Pan di Zucchero Storage: store in a bag in the fridge.

Pan di zucchero is a chicory, not as bitter as radicchio, means sugar loaf in italian... comprable to a dense head escarole. (from Andy.)

from Chef Bruce Hill at Picco and Zero Zero: We are currently grilling it with olive oil, s+p at Zero Zero serving it as a warm salad with pears and gorgonzola.
It also makes a great salad with caesar dressing ( we call it a white radicchio caesar). At home we love it with just salt and new harvest olive oil.

Tatsoi & Pan di Zucchero Pasta with Preserved Lemon and Toasted Almonds from Julia
I wanted to make a quick dinner for a quick and relaxed weeknight just-get-it-done but sit down together meal. I looked in the fridge and cupboard, and threw this together with the garlic I cleverly purchased earlier in the day.

1 head pan di zucchero (you could use escarole or radicchio or another cooking green here), cleaned and sliced into ribbons then chopped a bit some more
1 pound tatsoi: stemmed and washed well. I removed the stems and washed up the green leaves with the bits of stem that remained, it was pretty quick thanks to my salad spinner
4 large cloves of garlic, or to taste
1 onion (optional, I meant to add this and didn't...)
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons (approx) chopped preserved lemons (you could use capers and or kalamata olives if no preserved lemons are lurking in your fridge)
1 bunch Italian parsley washed and chopped (I actually bought a bunch of this, then forgot!)
Toasted almonds, roughly chopped
1 can great quality tuna or salmon in oil, flaked, optional (I didn't add this but I pondered it)
3/4 pound pasta or a whole pound (I used penne, could use other shapes including spaghetti), cooked
S & P to taste
1-2 lemons quartered to serve for squeezing to taste at the table
a grating cheese to serve on the table with the grater (I like to make the eaters do some of the work, and I don't usually add cheese to my dish)

Saute the onion in 2-4 tablespoons oil until soft. Add all the cooking greens plus the garlic, cook until well wilted and garlic is soft.

Toss the hot wilted greens/onion mix with the preserved lemons & pasta. Add tuna if using, and toss the whole thing in a large bowl. Season to taste with S & P. (go light on the salt as the preserved lemons are salty!)Serve with a small pile of chopped almonds on top. At table pass lemon quarters and hunk of grating cheese such as parmesan or asagio with the grater for eaters to garnish themselves.

from Chef Jonathan Miller: To my taste, Pan di Zucchero is sweeter, more tender, and less nutty than escarole. It is transformed, as most chicories are, by fire into something remarkable. Camino cooks their zucchero over fire and serves them as large, wilted leaves, dripping with something delicious of course.

all the following recipes are from Chef Jonathan:

Braised Pan di Zucchero with Roasted Chicken

When you're ready to use your pan di zucchero, remove the outer most leaf or two. Those could be travel worn, frayed, and wilted. Rinse well, although it hasn't seemed to have any grit inside its tightly packed layers (a real benefit since fitting it into the sink is even an exercise in spatial orientation), and give it a shake without completely drying it. Make sure you use all the thick, white end of the head - it's got all the great flavor and texture.

2 T butter
2 large shallots, peeled and minced
3 T parsley, chopped
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only, minced
1 chicken, whole (about 4lb)
vermouth
chicken stock
1 more tablespoon of butter

olive oil
1 head pan di zucchero, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 anchovies, minced

Melt the butte in a small saucepan and add the shallots, parsley, and rosemary with a little salt. Saute over medium-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

Heat the oven to 425. Rinse and dry your chicken. Cut off the wing tips and save for stock. Using a pairing knife, gently cut out the wish bone (it is at the very top of the breast) by gently cutting around it (don't slice too deeply into the meat), then pulling it out with your fingers. This makes carving much easier. Don't worry if it breaks, just pull out both pieces. Now gently slip your fingers between the breast skin and the meat, separating the skin from the flesh without tearing the skin. Slip the sauteed shallots and herbs into that space between the skin and breast meat, massaging the stuffing all the way down the breast. Generously salt and pepper your bird on all sides.

Oil the center of a cast iron skillet (or other heavy, oven proof skillet) and put the bird in the skillet on its side, making sure it doesn't rock over. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Working quickly but gently, pull the chicken out and turn it over to its other side using tongs. Try not to tear any skin while doing this, but don't beat yourself up if you do - it will still turn out good! Roast the chicken on its other side like this for another 25 minutes. Remove the bird again so it is breast side up. Roast for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the chicken out onto a plate, breast side down, and allow it to rest this way, gently tented with foil, for at least 10 minutes, preferably 15. Make a simple pan sauce: pour off the fat from the skillet and return it to the stovetop. Over high heat, add a little vermouth (about 1/4 cup at most), stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up all the baked on chicken. Allow to reduce to a glaze, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, allow to reduce by half, then finish with a tablespoon of butter, turning off the heat when you add the butter. It should be plenty salty already, but check just to make sure.

While the chicken roasts, heat a saucepan and add a few tablespoons olive oil. Add the pan di zucchero and saute gently for a few minutes until it has wilted. Add the garlic and anchovies and a little salt (remember that anchovies are a bit salty, so use less salt than you otherwise would). Stir well, then cook over low heat, covered, for another 5-10 minutes, or until the pan di zucchero is nice and soft.

Pour any juices that ran out of the chicken into your pan sauce, then carve the chicken into parts and serve it on top of the pan di zucchero while both are still nice and warm. Pass the sauce at the table.

Pan di Zucchero Pizza with Walnuts

3 T milk
3 T warm water
pinch sugar
1 1/4 t yeast
1 T olive oil
1/2 c flour
2 T whole wheat flour
2 T rye flour
1 1/4 t salt

small handful walnuts
olive oil
1 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 head pan di zucchero, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch chili flakes
vinegar
3 oz fontina, grated

Mix the milk, water, sugar, yeast, and olive oil in a bowl, stirring until the yeast dissolves. Add the flours and salt, mixing well. Knead this dough until smooth, but still tacky, about 5 minutes. Put a little olive oil into a bowl then drop in the dough, turning it to coat it with the oil. Allow to rise for about an hour in a warm place.

Toast the walnuts in a 350 degree oven until colored and fragrant, about 7 minutes.
Heat a skillet, add some olive oil, and saute the onion until softened and just starting to color, then add the pan di zucchero and the garlic. Saute until wilted, about 5 minutes, then finish with some salt, a generous pinch of chili flakes, and a small splash of red wine vinegar. Taste.

Heat a pizza stone to 500 degrees. Shape your dough, put it on a generously floured pizza peel, and put all but a couple tablespoons of fontina on the bottom of the crust. Top with the pan di zucchero, then the walnuts, then the remaining cheese. Slide it onto the pizza stone and bake for 10 minutes. Check on the crust to make sure it's done, and pull it out and allow to rest a couple minutes before cutting and eating.

Pan di Zucchero Soup

1 head pan di zucchero, chopped
2 qt water
1/2 lb ground sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 eggs
1 c mozzarella, grated
cider vinegar
2 hard cooked eggs
chives

Put the pan di zucchero in a pot with the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute and turn off the heat.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet, mixing well. Add the beef and brown it as well. Add the onion and garlic, cover, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Pour off any fat, then add the meat and onions to the pan di zucchero. Return soup to a simmer and cook another 10 minutes with the meats. Beat the eggs together, then add them to the soup, stirring while you add them so they don't cook into clumps. Add the mozzarella and stir well until melted. Finish with a couple tablespoons of vinegar (or not, if you don't like it).

Serve hot, garnished with chopped hard cooked egg and chives.

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