The weather has definitely gone from cold to……freezing!! I find it hard to cope when the tempreture drops and I just want to roll myself up in a duvet all day long. The closest thing to get me feeling warm and snug is when I cook something as comforting as a pie. This week it’s all about pies and this Italian courgette pie is FAB-U-LOUS.
Ingredients (3-4 people)
50g butter
3 courgettes, trimmed and sliced in rounds
5 tbsp flour
4 eggs ( 2 for frying courgette, 2 for cheese mixture)
80g Parmesan
Olive oil
100g Fontina, grated
100g Gruyere, grated
200ml milk,
Pinch of grated nutmeg
100g Pancetta, diced
Method
- Preheat oven to 200c
- Butter oven dish
- Coat the slices of courgette in (2tbsp) flour, then beaten egg, then Parmesan.
- Deep fry them in olive oil, until lightly browned and crispy.
- Drain on kitchen paper and arrange in buttered oven dish.
- Separate the eggs.
- In a pan, add the fontina, gruyere, butter, remaining flour and milk and on a low heat, melt into a sauce. Make sure you whisk the ingredients well together.
- Season the sauce with nutmeg and salt and pepper.
- Remove the pan off the heat, add the egg yolks and then the pancetta.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the sauce.
- Pour on top of the fried courgettes and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until brown on top.
