An Italian Painter Inspires Scrambled Eggs Insalata
- Pamela Marasco
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
Inspired by a 16th century Italian painter, Chef Cesare Casella creates a salad that breaks all the rules.
Cesare Casella, chef and dean of Italian Studies at the International Culinary Center, was inspired by the 16th century Italian painter Jacopo Carucci (Jacopo da Pontormo) to create a salad that broke all the rules. With typical Italian sprezzatura, Casella with a studied carelessness of ingredients mingles hot and cold, crisp and soft textures with acidic greens and pale hues reminiscent of Pontormo’s paintings.
With culinary spontaneity Casella combines the bright acid of vinegar and wine, salty pancetta, cold crisp lettuce greens and soft scrambled eggs to create a salad based on a story from Pontormo's diary describing the view from his room, which included a chicken coop, a garden full of lettuce, and salted meat (pancetta) hanging from the ceiling. Known as the “prosciutto whisperer”, Casella knew the scene well. He uses pancetta as a signature ingredient to make Insalata Portormo, a salad robust enough for a wintertime meal.
During the Renaissance Pontormo expressed a stylistic shift from Florentine art of the time to a style described as “ambiguous perspective where figures seem to float in an uncertain environment”. Much like this recipe for Casella’s Insalata Pontormo.
INGREDIENTS
1 T Pojer e Sandri red wine vinegar
1T Maletti Aged balsamic vinegar
1 T red wine
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons Capezzana extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 1/2 ounces Italian pancetta, sliced 1/2-inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch-by- 1/2-inch strips
1 T dried herbs such as rosemary, tarragon, thyme, basil, savory, oregano
6 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups washed, mixed salad greens and arugula, torn into bite-size pieces
METHOD
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegars and the wine. Whisk in the salt and pepper, and 2 T of olive oil. Place the remaining olive oil and pancetta in a large frying pan and cook over medium heat until the pancetta is transparent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the herbs stirring frequently to keep the herbs from scorching and to cook the pancetta evenly.
Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and pour them into the pan. Cook, stirring, until they form large, soft curds. Take off the heat and continue stirring.
Place the greens in a large shallow bowl and dress with just enough of the dressing to coat the leaves very lightly. Add the egg mixture and toss until well distributed. Serve immediately.
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