PIERINO

CROQUE-MONSIEUR FROM HARRY’S BAR

Pierino is the name given at Harry’s Bar, the famous Venice bar–restaurant, to this little rectangular toasted sandwich. Here is the original recipe given to me by Arrigo Cipriani.

MAKES 12 PIERINI (MINI TOASTED SANDWICHES) PREPARATION TIME: 15 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 15 MINUTES

250 g (9 oz) emmental cheese, chopped

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

¹/₄ teaspoon mustard

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

About 80 ml (2¹/₂ fl oz/¹/₃ cup) thin (pouring) cream

12 slices of good (artisan) sandwich bread (1 cm/¹/₂ inch thick)

110 g (3³/₄ oz) smoked ham (thinly sliced)

Olive oil, to fry

Put the cheese, egg yolk, worcestershire sauce, mustard and cayenne pepper into a food processor, and process until you have a smooth mixture. Add enough cream to make the mixture spreadable on the bread. Taste and add salt if needed. Spread this cheese mixture on the 12 bread slices. Place some ham on 1 slice of bread, top with another slice of bread and press down firmly. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut each sandwich in half. Heat a frying pan and add a generous amount of olive oil. Brown the sandwiches on both sides on medium heat, adding more oil if necessary. Serve hot.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

This little toasted sandwich is very good if you use quality ingredients, starting with the sandwich bread (get a loaf of fresh bread from the baker) and a good emmental or young Comté cheese.

You can also brown the pierini in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4), after brushing them with oil.