It’s Sunday. You’ve got a chicken carcass left over from last night’s mole, a staling sourdough baguette, and some cheese you got on sale at Grocery Outlet. What’s a broke-ass person to do? (Hint: It starts with “S” and ends with “O-U-P.”)
This particular recipe—pastaccia basically means “layered casserole,” or something to that effect—is adapted from one in Lidia Bastianich’s “Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy.”
No one can rock leftovers quite like the Italians, a fact elaborated on at length in this book, which I highly recommend. (In fact, I would recommend anything by Lidia Bastianich. Check her stuff out. You’ll thank me later.)
This makes 3 servings.
1 stale homemade sourdough baguette: 33 cents
1/4 lb. Grocery Outlet fontina, grated: $1.50
1/2 cup Grocery Outlet Parmesan, grated: 75 cents
4 cups chicken stock (made with scraps collected and frozen over the past few weeks) and meat picked from the carcass, seasoned to taste: $0
TOTAL: $2.58/3 extremely generous servings: 86 cents/person
Slice the baguette (or whatever loaf shape you have on hand) into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Layer half the slices close together in the bottom of a loaf pan, and moisten them with about 1/4 cup of the chicken stock. Top with half the Parmesan and fontina, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Top the cheese with the other half of the bread slices, moisten with another 1/4 cup chicken stock, and layer the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees, covered in foil, for about 20 minutes; bake with the foil off for 10 minutes until browned and bubbling.
Cut a large chunk of the pasticciata and put in a warm soup bowl; pour about 1 cup of hot broth and chicken over it, and top with a little of the reserved Parmesan.
The $35 a Week Project 