Gattò (or gateau) di patate is a wonderful way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. Once you eat it, though, you'll start making potatoes just for this recipe!
We used 5 large potatoes to make our gattò, but feel free to adjust your dish size and the other ingredients (which are luckily quite flexible) according to the amount of potatoes you have. You can also substitute (or add to) the ham and mozzarella with your favorite cheeses and cold cuts.
Watch the Pasta Grammar video where we make this recipe here:
For this recipe, you will need:
- 5-6 large russet potatoes
- 7 tbsp (100g) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese to taste
- 2 large eggs
- Salt
- Fresh black pepper
- 5 oz. (150g) sliced deli ham
- 7 oz. (200g) mozzarella cheese
- Breadcrumbs for topping
Boil the potatoes, skin on, until a fork can easily be inserted into them—about 45 minutes. Drain the potatoes, allow them to cool to the touch, then peel and mash them into a large mixing bowl.
Add as much grated Parmigiano as you like. Around a cup is a good starting place but it's really up to you. Also add the eggs and salt/pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly.
Preheat an oven to 395 degrees F (200C).
We used a 9x3-inch diameter casserole dish. Feel free to adjust this, but your dish should be at least 3 inches tall and not too big for the amount of potatoes you have. Grease the dish with a pat of butter.
Spread half the potatoes in the bottom of the dish, making a layer that is about 1-1.5 inches tall. Spread half of the ham over this layer. You can either do so using big slices or in small pieces.
Next spread the mozzarella over the ham. Once again, you can do so in slices or in chopped chunks. Top the cheese with the remaining ham.
Spread the rest of the potatoes over all in a final, smooth layer. Sprinkle a light dusting of breadcrumbs and grated Parmigiano over the top. Finish with some small bits of butter scattered across the surface.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until crispy on top. Cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. The dish can be frozen and reheated later. Buon appetito!
A recipe that my mom made me for many years but my mom cuts the mozzarella and the ham as well and it all becomes part of the mix other then that she uses less butter but very similar recipe. Thank you so much guys
Wow. Simple but time consuming. So worth the effort. Thanks Eva & Harper.
Buona!
I made this tonight and I don’t want potatoes any other way now. Simply amazing.
In Puerto Rico we have a dish that looks almost the same, it's called Pastelon de Papa (translates as something like "big cake of potato") but we use ground beef and sometimes chicken instead of ham, also its made with cheddar cheese, but with ground beef is better)
I just made this! Instead of Ham, I used leftover ripped, cooked chicken, mixed with sautéed onion, garlic & mushrooms. The rest was identical! Literally JUST took it out of the oven. Cant wait... ❤️ By the way, 'butter' is listed in the Ingredients above, but isn't mentioned in the Method. I watched the video so I'm good to go, but others might not know etc. Pics to come!