1 1/2 pounds potatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 pound Bel Paese or Swiss cheese, cut julienne
1/2 pound prosciutto or cooked ham, cut julienne
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

Cook the unpeeled potatoes until tender. Drain, peel and mash smooth with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and 2 tablespoons butter.

Spread 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch pie plate.

Dust with half the bread crumbs, then cover with half the potatoes.

Arrange the cheese, ham and eggs over it, then cover with the remaining potatoes.

Sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs and dot with the remaining butter.

Bake in preheated 400 degrees oven 25 minutes or until browned.

Cut into wedges.

Serves: 4-6 as a luncheon dish.

The recipe in this entry was taken from "The Pleasures of Italian Cooking" by Romeo Salta, with an Introduction by Myra Waldo, photographs by Roberto Caramico, assisted by John Ciofalo. The book was published in New York by The MacMillan Company in 1962. For the complete copyright-free cook book visit www.archive.org.... Image: Claude Gellee, around 1669.

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