Bianca’s Popovers
Growing up, my Nona’s restaurant was mine and my sister’s playground. She came here from a small comune in the province of Parma Italy called Albereto. She began working in restaurants and saved enough money to open up her own. It was called the Villa Bianca and she literally lived there. The restaurant was very successful and I remember seeing pictures on the wall of the famous people who had been there. There was a huge catering hall with really old pianos that me and my sister would clank around on while twirling and dancing alone in the big hall. We would play with live lobsters in the walk-in fridge, and dine on whatever we wanted on command. I was a steak addict as a child, so I used to get filet mignon (I know, I know) that they used to baste in a hot pan with butter and herbs. And my sister, who would later become the fearless culinary wizard, would eat angel hair pasta with butter and cheese. These popovers were always in a pull out warming drawer on the ready in the kitchen. I can still picture where exactly they were. They filled the kitchen with vanilla and sweet bready goodness. My mom found a letter from Bon Appetit magazine addressed to my Nona in 1975, asking for her popover recipe. Super excited to find it, I searched right away from the issues from that year. I luckily didn’t have to do much digging and almost immediately found someone who owned the collection and found the recipe! Days later it was in my hands. This is the recipe from the magazine that I have adapted to taste just like hers. I’m sure she gave the magazine a version of the popovers so that the secret ingredient (which I believe to be vanilla) wouldn’t be revealed, but I don’t think she’d mind now.
Popovers from the Villa Bianca
Adapted by Tierney Larson
Makes 12 popovers
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (180g) unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt (if using Morton’s only use 1/2 tsp)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of whole milk
Place a rack on the lower third of your oven, and preheat to 450F. Generously grease a muffin tin or popover pan.
Using the scoop and level method or by weight, measure your flour and add it to a large bowl. Add in the kosher salt and whisk to combine. Then pour in the beaten eggs and vanilla and begin to beat with a whisk while slowly adding the milk, until you have a smooth fully combined mixture.
Using a ladle or measuring glass, pour the batter into your prepared pan, filling each cup 2/3’s of the way with batter.
Bake at 450F for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350 and cook for a further 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and immediately empty the popovers onto a cooling rack. Serve immediately, or at room temperature.
