Molise Cornbread with Sautéed Wild Greens | Pizza e Foje
Pizza e foje is the most honest dish of Molise: a thin, crusty cornbread, the pizza, and a pan of greens, the foje, boiled and then sautéed in olive oil with garlic and chili. The two are brought together in the pan, where the cornbread soaks up the green, peppery juices and the edges turn crisp again against the hot iron. It contains nothing but corn, greens, oil, garlic and chili, and its depth comes entirely from technique. This version follows the Molise home method and raises it to restaurant precision: each green blanched to its own point, a cornbread with a real crust, and a final contrast of soft and crunchy on the plate.
Yield: 6 servings. Prep: 40 minutes. Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes. Rest: 15 minutes. Course: antipasto or light main course. Region: Molise.
The Story
Molise is one of the smallest and least known regions of Italy, a land of mountains, hills and stone villages between Abruzzo, Lazio, Campania and Puglia, with a short stretch of coast on the Adriatic. For centuries it was crossed by the tratturi, the wide grassy tracks along which shepherds drove their flocks between the mountains of Abruzzo and the plains of Puglia. Its cooking is the cooking of shepherds and farmers: sheep's milk cheeses, legumes, handmade pasta, wild herbs and greens.
Foje is the dialect word for leaves, and in Molise it means the leafy greens that grow in the fields and the kitchen garden. Women gathered them through autumn, winter and spring: wild chicory, dandelion, borage, wild fennel, poppy leaves, together with the cabbages, chard and turnip greens of the garden. Mixed together, boiled and then sautéed in oil, they made a dish that was eaten almost every day and that cost nothing but the work of gathering and cleaning.
The pizza is made of corn. Maize arrived in Italy from the Americas and spread through the countryside of the South as the grain of the poor: in many families the wheat was sold or given to the landowner, and corn was what remained at home. Mixed only with water and salt, cornmeal was shaped into a low, round loaf and baked on the hearth, often under the coppo, a bell of iron or terracotta covered with embers. The result was a dense, crumbly bread with a hard, golden crust, which keeps for days and becomes good again when it meets the juices of a pan of greens.
That meeting is pizza e foje. In some homes the cornbread is broken into pieces and fried with the greens until it forms a crust, in others it is crumbled over the greens on the plate, but the spirit is always the same: nothing is wasted, and two very simple things become a complete dish. This recipe keeps that spirit and every traditional ingredient, and adds the precision of a restaurant kitchen to the bread, the greens and the final assembly.
Ingredients
Use stone-ground cornmeal of medium grind, yellow, with a fresh, sweet smell; very fine corn flour gives a gummy bread and coarse polenta grains stay hard. The greens are the heart of the dish, and the Molise tradition is to mix at least three kinds: one bitter, one sweet and one with body. In the United States, dandelion greens, chicory and broccoli rabe give the bitterness; Swiss chard or spinach the sweetness; Savoy cabbage or lacinato kale the body. Use a fruity, generous extra virgin olive oil; the oils of Molise, such as those protected as Molise DOP and made from the local Gentile di Larino olive, are ideal.
For the cornbread
Stone-ground yellow cornmeal, medium grind, 2 cups (300 g)
Fine sea salt, 1 tsp (6 g)
Boiling water, about 1 1/3 cups (320 ml)
Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp (30 ml), divided
For the greens
Bitter greens (dandelion, chicory or broccoli rabe), trimmed, 1 1/4 lb (560 g)
Sweet greens (Swiss chard or spinach), trimmed, 3/4 lb (340 g)
Savoy cabbage or lacinato kale, cored and sliced, 3/4 lb (340 g)
Coarse salt, for the blanching water, 2 tbsp (35 g)
For the sauté and the finish
Extra virgin olive oil, 6 tbsp (90 ml)
Garlic, 4 cloves, thinly sliced
Dried chili, crumbled, 1 to 2, to taste
Fine sea salt, 1/2 tsp (3 g), or to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, for the finish, 1 tbsp (15 ml)
Preparation
Step 1
Make the cornbread dough. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a 10 inch (25 cm) cast iron skillet inside. Put the cornmeal and the salt in a bowl, pour the boiling water over them a little at a time and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a soft, compact dough that holds together when squeezed. Add 1 tbsp (15 ml) of oil and work it in with your hands as soon as the dough is cool enough to touch. Boiling water partly cooks the starch of the corn, which is what binds a dough made without wheat or eggs.
Step 2
Bake the cornbread. Take the hot skillet out of the oven, brush it with the remaining oil and press the dough into it in an even layer about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick, smoothing the top with wet hands. With the tip of a knife, mark a criss-cross pattern on the surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is deep golden, cracked and firm, and the edges pull away from the pan. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack. The hot iron imitates the hearth and the coppo: it gives the bread a thick, toasted crust on the bottom, the part that carries the most flavor.
Step 3
Clean the greens. Wash each kind of green separately in several changes of cold water, lifting the leaves out of the water each time so that the sand stays at the bottom of the bowl. Remove the tough stems, the yellow leaves and the hard ribs of the cabbage. Wild and garden greens hold a lot of soil, and a single grain of sand ruins the dish.
Step 4
Blanch each green separately. Bring 5 quarts (4.7 liters) of water to a rolling boil and add the coarse salt. Cook the greens one kind at a time, lifting them out with a spider: Swiss chard or spinach for 1 to 2 minutes, Savoy cabbage or kale for 4 to 5 minutes, dandelion, chicory or broccoli rabe for 3 to 5 minutes, until the stems are tender. Spread them on a tray to cool instead of shocking them in ice water, and keep 1 cup (240 ml) of the cooking water. Each green has its own cooking time, and cooking them together means some are mushy while others are still tough.
Step 5
Squeeze and chop the greens. When the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze them firmly in your hands, a fistful at a time, to remove as much water as possible. Chop them roughly into pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and mix the three kinds together. Well squeezed greens fry and take on flavor in the oil; wet greens boil in the pan and taste of water.
Step 6
Sauté the greens. Put the olive oil, the garlic and the chili in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. When the garlic sizzles and turns pale gold, after about 3 minutes, add the greens and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook them for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them often with tongs, until they are glossy, hot through and lightly caught on the bottom of the pan. Taste and season with the salt, then add 3 to 4 tbsp of the reserved cooking water to create a little green, peppery juice in the bottom of the pan.
Step 7
Bring the pizza and the foje together. Cut one third of the cornbread into 6 neat wedges and set them aside. Crumble the rest into rough pieces the size of a walnut and add them to the skillet with the greens. Fold them in gently and cook for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat, without stirring too much, until the cornbread has soaked up the juices of the greens and a golden crust forms on the bottom of the pan. Meanwhile toast the wedges on a hot dry griddle or under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until crisp.
Plating
Warm the plates to about 140°F (60°C). Set a 4 inch (10 cm) ring mold in the center of each plate, fill it with the pizza e foje, pressing lightly so it holds its shape, turning the crusty pieces from the bottom of the pan uppermost, and lift the ring away.
Lean a toasted cornbread wedge against each portion, add a thread of raw olive oil over the greens and a few crumbs of chili. The guest eats the greens and the soft, soaked cornbread together and breaks the crisp wedge over them, the way Molise families break the pizza over the foje at the table.
Professional Technique
The key ratio is cornmeal to water, about 1 part cornmeal to 1 part boiling water by weight. Too little water and the dough cracks and crumbles in the oven; too much and the bread stays wet and heavy at the center. The test is in your hand: the dough should hold together when squeezed without sticking to your palm.
The hidden variable is the water left in the greens. Blanched greens hold more than half their weight in water, and that water decides whether the sauté fries or boils. Squeeze them hard, then add back only a few spoonfuls of their cooking water at the end, in a controlled amount, to create the juice that the cornbread will soak up.
The doneness test for the cornbread is the sound and the color. Tap the bottom of the turned out bread: it should sound hollow, and the crust should be deep gold with darker cracks. A pale cornbread falls apart in the pan instead of holding its pieces.
Bitterness and Moisture Control
The balance of the dish rests on bitterness. Dandelion, chicory and broccoli rabe give character and depth, while chard and cabbage soften them. Taste the bitter greens after blanching: if they are very strong, use a larger share of the sweet greens.
Blanching in well salted water reduces bitterness and keeps the color. The greens are cooked in an open pot, at a full boil, so that they cook quickly and keep their green, and each kind comes out as soon as its stems are tender.
The cornbread must absorb the juices without becoming mush. Add it to a pan that is already hot, fold it in gently, and let it sit long enough to form a crust underneath. Pieces the size of a walnut keep a soft center and a crisp outside, which is the texture of the dish at its best.
Professional Mise en Place
The cornbread can be baked a day ahead, and is even better slightly dry, and the greens can be blanched hours ahead. Work in this order, and keep the reserved cooking water warm.
Equipment and tools
10 inch (25 cm) cast iron skillet for the cornbread, rack, serrated knife
Large pot, spider, trays for cooling the greens
Wide skillet for the sauté, tongs
Griddle or broiler, 4 inch (10 cm) ring molds
Prepared ahead
Cornbread baked, up to 1 day ahead, wrapped in a cloth
Greens washed, blanched, squeezed and chopped, up to 8 hours ahead, refrigerated
Cooking water of the greens, 1 cup (240 ml), refrigerated
Garlic sliced and chili crumbled, up to 2 hours ahead
Service setup
Skillet with oil, garlic and chili on the stove
Cornbread wedges cut, crumbled cornbread in a bowl
Plates warmed, ring molds, olive oil and chili on the pass
Chef Tips
Use day-old cornbread. Fresh cornbread is soft and breaks into crumbs in the pan, while a bread that has rested a day keeps its pieces whole and soaks up the juices better.
Mix as many greens as you can find. The more kinds of greens, the more complex the dish: in season, a few leaves of wild fennel, borage or turnip greens make it closer to the Molise original.
Keep the cooking water of the greens. It holds their flavor and their minerals, and a few spoonfuls bring the dish together far better than plain water or more oil.
Taste the chili before adding it. Dried chilies vary enormously in heat, and the dish should be warm, not fiery; the greens and the corn must remain the protagonists.
Common Mistakes
Using fine corn flour. It gives a gummy, heavy bread without a crust. Use medium-grind stone-ground cornmeal.
Mixing with cold water. Cold water does not bind the cornmeal, and the bread crumbles. Pour the water at a full boil.
Cooking all the greens together. Tender leaves turn to mush while tough ones stay hard. Blanch each kind on its own.
Not squeezing the greens. Wet greens boil in the pan and dilute the oil. Squeeze them hard before chopping.
Browning the garlic. Burnt garlic is bitter and covers the taste of the greens. Stop at pale gold.
Stirring the cornbread constantly. It breaks into crumbs and turns into a paste. Fold it in gently and let a crust form.
Skimping on oil. The oil carries the flavor of the garlic and chili and fries the cornbread. Use the full quantity of a good extra virgin olive oil.
Wine Pairing
Biferno DOC Bianco: The white of the Biferno valley, fresh, light and slightly herbal. Its acidity refreshes the palate after the olive oil, and its delicate fruit does not fight the bitterness of the greens. Serve it chilled, at about 48°F (9°C).
Tintilia del Molise DOC Rosato: The rosé of the native grape of Molise, with red berry fruit, a peppery note and fresh acidity. It suits the chili and the sweetness of the corn, and it is the most typical choice of the region for a vegetable antipasto. Serve at about 52°F (11°C).
Tintilia del Molise DOC Rosso: The red of Tintilia, with dark fruit, spice and soft tannins. Served slightly cool, it is a fine match when pizza e foje is a light main course, and its spice echoes the chili. Serve at about 60°F (16°C).
Pentro di Isernia DOC Rosso: A red from the mountains around Isernia, light to medium bodied, fresh and fruity. Its freshness and moderate structure suit a dish of greens and corn without overwhelming it. Serve at about 60°F (16°C).
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: keep the cornbread wrapped in a cloth at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep the sautéed greens in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and assemble the dish only when you serve it. Freezer: the blanched and squeezed greens freeze well for up to 2 months in flat bags; the cornbread can be frozen in wedges for up to 1 month, but it becomes more crumbly.
Reheat the greens in a skillet with 1 tbsp (15 ml) of olive oil and a few spoonfuls of water over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, then add the crumbled cornbread and cook until a crust forms, as in the recipe. Warm the cornbread wedges on a dry griddle or in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes. Avoid the microwave, which makes the cornbread rubbery.
Nutrition
Per serving, based on 6 servings:
Calories: 425 kcal
Total Fat: 22 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Unsaturated Fat: 19 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 640 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 49 g
Fiber: 9 g
Total Sugars: 2 g
Added Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 8 g
Principal micronutrients: vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, potassium
These figures are estimates, calculated on the quantities listed and rounded to the nearest whole number, assuming that only part of the blanching salt stays in the greens. They vary with the kinds of greens used.
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