briciole

foglie nell'orto

leaves in the vegetable garden

chard and dill besieged by poppy plants

I am an inconstant gardener: I alternate periods of activity in my little vegetable garden to periods of neglect. The excuse for the latter is usually bad weather and since we had plenty of it in March and April, currently portions of my garden are in need of attention.

One thing that happened during the weeks when wind and rain made work outside unappealing, is that poppies took over the section where a few months ago I planted some rainbow chards. The poppy seeds were in my compost pile, so their distribution is unplanned. While I want some poppies in my garden, first for the flowers and then to harvest the seeds, I am not interested in turning my garden over to them, so I had to uproot some. I feel really bad when I have to get rid of a plant, especially if it is not, strictly speaking, a weed.

The compost pile contains also dill seeds, so I have a few plants of the fragrant herb here and there. In the early morning light, the dewy leaves are a nice subject for a photo.

This is my contribution to edition #30 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Brii of briggishome.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia.

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current and future editions of the event.

una pasta veloce per cena numero 261: il riepilogo

Presto Pasta Nights #261: the roundup

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #261 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post.

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Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality prepared Anthotyro and smoked paprika deconstructed pastitsio with eggless bechamel — Anthotyro (a Greek cheese), smoked paprika and eggless bechamel turn leftover spaghetti and Bolognaise sauce into a very nice dish.

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Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch shares Bachelor's Pasta (Grumpy's recipe) — Shelby added fresh garlic to the butter, "but other than that, Grumpy made it his way and by golly, it turned out delicious!"

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Graziana of Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with herbs) prepared Mini tortellini pies
"A miniaturized version of a classic tortellini recipe, called in crosta (with crust), because of the puff pastry."

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Heather of girlichef prepared Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup)
"One of those things that we make when things in the pantry and fridge are getting down to bare bones." Baking the noodles first provided a much more complex flavor.

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Cara and Stefano of Due Spaghetti prepared Cacio e pepe
"To commemorate Rome’s compleanno (birthday) [April 21st], we compiled some of the web’s best photos of the Eternal City, and prepared one of the most classic Roman pastas ."

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Alisha of Cook. Craft. Enjoy. presents Riccioli Carbonara
"I {heart} the shape of this pasta.  It's much like any "screwy" kind of pasta but when you pick it up with your fork it unravels leaving you with nice long strands."

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Deb of Kahakai Kitchen prepared Pappardelle & Mushrooms
"Having a passion for both pappardelle and mushrooms, my heart quickly went to the dried porcini and fresh cremini mushroom sauce tossed with thick ribbons of pasta."

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Stash of The Spamwise Chronicles shares with us two pasta dishes featuring "tajarin noodles, a thinner variant of tagliatelle that originally hails from the Piemonte region of Italy."

Tajarin with samphire, fried garlic, mint and parsley
Samphire (salicornia, also known as sea bean, glasswort, and a few other names) "has a crunchy texture and a briny taste."

Tajarin with lobster, lobster roe, asparagus and green garlic: a sumptuous combination

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tagliatelle with chard and pecorino

Simona of briciole (your host for this week) presents tagliatelle with chard and pecorino
Freshly harvested rainbow chard, a dollop of pesto made with fresh fava bean leaves, and pecorino together dress a bowl of handmade tagliatelle.

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And that concludes my roundup, which will be added to all the previous Presto Pasta Nights roundups and continue the lovely tradition started by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

As you read this, edition #262 is already under way, hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. To participate, send your entries to ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com by Thursday, May 3.

Many thanks to all who contributed to produce an interesting collection of pasta dishes for this edition of Presto Pasta Nights. I do hope I have not left anybody out of the roundup. If you find that, notwithstanding my best intentions, I actually have omitted a post, please send me a note.

Arrivederci a presto

tagliatelle con bietola e pecorino

tagliatelle with chard and pecorino

tagliatelle with chard and pecorino

Last Saturday, my laptop would not wake up after a period of sleep. (I just learned that the hard disk is broken and needs replacement.) Hence, the last several days have been challenging due to lack of access to files and applications I need for work, the blog and photography. The stressful computer situation did not prevent me from cooking and, in this case, experimenting a bit with available ingredients.

fava bean leaves

As I mentioned in my recent post on ribollita-inspired soup, at the farmers' market, I got some fresh fava bean leaves (foglie delle fave), called also fava greens. What I did not use in the soup, I turned into a kind of pesto, as follows:

• 3 oz. fresh fava bean leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic, previously roasted in the oven (skin on)
• a generous pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Put the first three ingredients in the food processor and turn it on, then pour the oil slowly through the feeding tube and process just a few seconds after you finish the oil.

I used a dollop of the sauce to top each bowl of ribollita-inspired soup, and stored the rest for further experiments. The first experiment was to use it as pasta dressing the way I use pesto. The result was acceptable, but not quite satisfying. Freshly harvested rainbow chard from my little vegetable patch almost screamed to be used and I paid attention.

My recipe for making fresh tagliatelle is in this post. The final element of the dish is fiore sardo (pecorino from Sardinia), the kind of cheese I use (together with Parmigiano-Reggiano) to make traditional basil pesto. It's one of my favorite Italian cheeses (and one of the few cheeses I still buy, since I cannot make it at home due to lack of access to sheep milk). It is also the cheese traditionally paired with fava beans, represented in my pasta dish by their leaves.

freshly grated pecorino cheese

This is another recipe where quantities are not fixed: I made a small batch of tagliatelle (using one egg, as in this recipe), harvested a small bunch of chard leaves and adjusted the amount of cheese to our palate. If you cook more chard than needed for the pasta, you can use it later as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• a clove of garlic, minced
• a small bunch of chard leaves cut into ribbons, thick ribs removed and set aside for another dish (like this or this)
• sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste
• a tablespoon (or a bit more, to taste) of pesto made with fresh fava bean leaves (see above)
• a small batch of tagliatelle made using one egg
• freshly grated fiore sardo

Bring water for the pasta to a boil. In the meantime, warm up olive oil in a skillet and add garlic. Let fry lightly for a minute, then add the chard. Sauté over gentle heat until cooked (in my case, it took 6 minutes or so, since the chrd leaves were young and tender). The water hanging onto the leaves should be sufficient, but keep a close eye during the cooking to prevent them from sticking to the skillet. When ready, season with salt and pepper to taste, add the fava bean leaf pesto, stir well and turn off the heat. Keep warm while the pasta cooks.

Add salt to the boiling water, drop tagliatelle into it and stir. Bring back to a boil and cook pasta al dente (it will take just a few minutes). While you keep an eye on the pasta pot, grate the cheese. Pour some cold water into the pot, stir, then drain the tagliatelle. Empty the strainer into a bowl, then dress the pasta with the cooked chard and some of the cheese. Toss well, sprinkle more cheese on the surface and serve immediately.

This is my contribution to edition #261 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by Simona of briciole (that would be me).

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

tagliatelle con bietola e pecorino

or launch the tagliatelle con bietola e pecorino audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

chard, pasta, cheese

minestra di verdure stile ribollita

ribollita-inspired vegetable soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

ribollita stage

Our tour of the 20 regions of Italy organized by Trattoria MuVarA brings us to Toscana (Tuscany). Though I like Firenze (Florence) and have been there many times, my favorite Tuscan city is Siena, which I featured in this post written after our most recent visit. (Siena is relatively close to my home town of Perugia.)

Siena: il Palazzo Comunale in Piazza del Campo

Siena was the second Italian city my (now) husband visited with me and we both have vivid memories of that occasion. I have always liked the famous Piazza del Campo, but seen my husband's jaw drop when, at the end of a narrow street, the view opened upon it, was a reminder of just how unique the place is.

To prepare something in honor of Tuscany, I went to my wish list and got to the letter "r", where I found ribollita, the famous Tuscan soup. The word ribollita literally means "boiled again." One day you make a pot of soup, then you add bread slices. The day after, you reheat it and it becomes ribollita. There is a bit more to it, but that is the basic idea.

In her cookbook Cucina Povera, Tuscan Peasant Cooking, Pamela Sheldon Johns has a recipe for ribollita that includes a timetable suggesting what to do with the soup on day 1 through 4. Here you can read Sheldon Johns' headnote and recipe, here is the version given by Kyle Phillips, and here is the version by Frank of Memorie di Angelina. Finally, this is the recipe on the Accademia Italiana della Cucina site: it is in Italian, but I am putting the link here anyway, so you can see that no quantity is given for any of the ingredients.

I never had ribollita when visiting Tuscany, which freed me from memory-based constraints. I had the intention to stay close to the tradition, but in the end I took liberties, so, I decided to call the soup I made for the event "ribollita-inspired." However, by using some things I had in the vegetable crisper (mostly from my vegetable patch), I was true to a philosophy that is dear to my heart: you use up everything you have, trying to turn it into something flavorful and healthy.

dry pinto beans

As part of my most recent grain CSA share, I received some local dry pinto beans  and decided to try them: most recipes I read use cannellini beans, while one uses zolfini beans (I have some of those, but that's a story for another day).

fava bean leaves

At the farmers' market, I found fava bean leaves (foglie delle fave), also called fava greens, which I had never tasted and had to try so I used those instead of cavolo nero (a.k.a., dinosaur, Tuscan, or black-leaf kale).

Once again, I make no claims about my rendition, but the spirit is there. This being a popular dish, recipes tend to be family-based and also seasonal. And in true popular cuisine style, I didn't weigh anything, so the recipe is a list of ingredients — which makes me laugh since such a behavior used to upset me when I asked my mother for one of her recipes.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for minestra di verdure stile ribollita

Note: the non-leafy vegetables are cut into small pieces, a mix of sliced and diced, while the leafy vegetables are sliced into ribbons. In the list of ingredients I indicate this as "chopped."

1. olive oil
2. 1/4 large onion, chopped
3. 2 scallions, sliced into thin rounds
4. 1 large carrot, chopped
5. 1 small celery rib, chopped
6. 2 garlic cloves, minced
7. 2 small icicle radishes, chopped
8. a bunch of chard stalks, chopped (left over and/or from ingredient #15 below)
9. a mix of herbs (e.g., chopped parsley, leaves of thyme, chopped rosemary needles)
10. 1/2 cup dry pinto beans, cooked as explained in this post
11. 4 cups homemade light chicken stock, or vegetable alternative
12. 1 medium-small cabbage, divided into six wedges and shredded
13. water as needed
14. 1/4 lb. fresh fava bean leaves, chopped
15. a handful of greens for braised mix (chard, kale, mustard greens, etc.), thick ribs removed where necessary, chopped
16. sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste
17. a squeeze of lemon juice
18. bread of choice: I baked this rye bread (without flowers but with caraway seeds), because I thought it would go well with the soup (and I was right); slices of country-style bread, possibly Tuscan (saltless) bread, are traditional

Warm olive oil in a soup pot (a terracotta pot is ideal, but I don't have one — yet) and add onion and scallions. Stir to coat and let cook for a few minutes. Add carrot and celery, stir and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic, then radishes and chard stalks (or whatever you want to use here) and finally the herbs. Let cook for a few minutes and in the meantime, mash the beans.

The recipes I have read instruct you to drain half the beans, and set those aside, then to mash the rest with the cooking liquid. I mashed all the beans in their broth, using a potato masher (so the result was not smooth), then added everything to the soup pot.

Next, pour the broth into the pot and then add the cabbage. Pour some water as well, but not quite to cover, since the cabbage will shrink as it cooks. Cover the pot, bring to a boil and cook gently for 50 minutes or so, until the cabbage is tender. Add the leafy greens, bring back to a boil and cook gently for 10 minutes or so, until everything is nice and just perfect in texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

vegetable soup stage

You can serve the soup at this point, by itself (as in the photo above), or ladled in bowls in which you have previously put a layer of thin bread slices. If you do the latter, cover each bowl and keep warm. Let the bread soak up the broth for 15 minutes or so, then serve. In this case, we can call it minestra di pane (bread soup). You can skip this part and go for the ribollita stage.

Put a layer of bread slices in another pot (again here, a terracotta one would be great), and pour soup on it. Depending on how much soup you have, make another layer of bread plus soup. Let the bread soak up the broth for several hours or overnight. When you want to serve the soup, reheat it. If you want a less dense soup, add a bit of water. Gently stir while reheating (this will break the bread), then serve hot with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top.

The splash of green in the top photo is a sort of pesto I made with the leftover fava bean leaves. It is not necessary of course, but it looks nice, doesn't it? The soup was excellent in all versions. 

If you become a fan of ribollita, you can learn to sing this song. Here are the words of the first part:

com'è squisita, com'è squisita la ribollita
e specialmente se ribollita l'è più squisita
se vuoi star bene qua nella vita
mangiati spesso una ribollita
e quando poi l'avrai finita
potrai leccarti pure le dita

how delicious, how delicious is ribollita
and if reheated, it's even more delicious
if you want to be healthy in this life
eat some ribollita often
and when you've finished it
you can also lick your fingers

This is my submission for the fifth installment of the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit all the 20 regions of Italy using the alphabet as guide. E come Empoli is hosted by Cinzia of Cindystar. This post contains the list of contributions and a slide show.

I am also sending this to My Legume Love Affair 46, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by the creator herself. This post contains the roundup of the event.

And this hearty soup is perfect for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

minestra di verdure stile ribollita

or launch the minestra di verdure stile ribollita audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

[jump to Comments]

soup, cabbage, fava-bean, Italian recipe

Per i lettori italiani

la mia ribollita

Siena è la seconda è che mio marito ha visitato con me. Vedere i suoi occhi pieni di meraviglia al nostro arrivo a Piazza del Campo mi diede un senso ancora più intenso di quanto sia bella.

Per preparare un piatto in onore della Toscana, ho consultato la mia lista d'attesa e alla letter "r" ho trovato ribollita, la famosa minestra Toscana. L'idea di base è la seguente: il primo giorno si prepara una pentola di minestra. Poi si aggiungono delle fette di pane. Il giorno dopo, si riscalda e diventa ribollita.

Non ho mai mangiato la ribollita quando sono stata in Toscana, il che mi ha reso libera di fare un po' quello che volevo. Sono partita con l'idea di rimanere vicina alla tradizione, ma alla fine ho fatto un po' quello che volevo, in base agli ingredienti che avevo a disposizione (in gran parte provenienti dal mio orticello) e quindi ho chiamato la mia minestra "stile ribollita."

fagioli pinto

Nella mia cassettina di granaglie più recente ho trovato dei fagioli pinto e ho deciso di usarli, invece dei cannellini. (Una ricetta che ho visto usa i fagioli zolfini, che ho e che userò quanto prima.)

foglie delle fave

Al farmers' market ho comprato un sacchetto di foglie delle fave, che avevo visto l'anno scorso ma non avevo ancora provato e le ho usate invece del cavolo nero.

Presumo che in Toscana ogni famiglia abbia la propria ricetta per la ribollita. La mia è tradizionale nello spirito, nel senso che utilizza ingredienti di stagione e di produzione locale. Da notare anche che la ricetta sul sito dell'Accademia Italiana della Cucina non specifica le quantità degli ingredienti: come vedrete, io farò altrettanto.

Nota: le verdure non a foglia sono tagliate a pezzetti, mentre quelle a foglia sono tagliate a nastri. Nella lista degli ingredienti, utilizzo per tutte l'aggettivo "tagliate."

1. olio d'oliva
2. 1/4 cipolla grossa, tagliata a pezzetti
3. 2 cipolle verdi, tagliate e rondelle fini
4. 1 carota grossa, tagliata a pezzetti
5. 1 piccola costa di sedano, tagliata a pezzetti
6. 2 spicchi d'aglio tritati
7. 2 piccoli ravanelli ghiacciolo, tagliati a pezzetti
8. una manciata di coste, tagliate a pezzetti (avanzate e/o dall'ingrediente numero 15 qui sotto)
9. un misto di erbe (per es., prezzemolo tritato, foglioline di timo, aghi di rosmarino tritati)
10. 1/2 tazza (120 ml) di fagioli pinto o cannellini, cotti come spiegato in questo post o come fate di solito
11. 4 tazze (950 ml) brodo di pollo leggero fatto in casa, o brodo vegetale
12. 1 cavolo cappuccio medio-piccolo, diviso in 6 spicchi e tagliato a nastri fini
13. acqua, q.b.
14. 120 g foglie delle fave, tagliate a nastri
15. una manciata di verdure a foglia (bietola, cavolo nero, cavolo riccio, ecc.), costa centrale rimossa, se necessario, tagliate a nastri
16. sale fino e pepe macinato fresco, q.b.
17. un po' di succo di limone
18. pane a scelta: io ho fatto questo pane di segale (senza i fiori ma con semi di cumino tedesco), perché pensavo che sarebbe stato perfetto con la minestra (e avevo ragione); tradizionalmente si usa il pane toscano

Scaldare dell'olio d'oliva in una pentola capiente (possibilmente di terracotta) e aggiungere i due tipi di cipolla. Mescolare e far cuocere alcuni minuti, poi aggiungere carota e sedano, mescolare e lasciare cuocere alcuni minuti. Aggiungere aglio, ravanelli e coste (o le verdure che volete usare qui) e le erbe aromatiche. Lasciare cuocere per alcuni minuti e nel frattempo schiacciare i fagioli.

Le ricette che ho consultato dicono di scolare la metà dei fagioli e metterli da parte e di schiacciare o ridurre in purè il resto nel loro brodo. Io ho schiacciato tutti i fagioli nel loro brodo usando questo tipo di schiacciapatate, quindi il risultato non era omogeneo, e ho aggiunto tutto insieme alla minestra.

Versare il brodo nella pentola e poi aggiungere il cavolo. Versare dell'acqua, ma non fino a coprire del tutto, dal momento che il cavolo cuocendo diminuirà di volume. Coprire la pentola, portare ad ebollizione e cuocere a fuoco dolce per circa 50 minuti, fino a quando il cavolo non sia tenero. Aggiungere le verdure a foglia, riportare a bollore e cuocere a fuoco dolce per circa 10 minuti, fino a quando tutto sia ben cotto e piacevole al palato. Condire con sale e pepe a seconda del gusto.

minestra di verdure

A questo punto potete servire la minestra da sola (come nella foto qui sopra) oppure versarla in piatti fondi nei quali avete messo uno strato di fettine di pane tagliate fine. Se fate questo, tenete in caldo i piatti. Fate riposare un quarto d'ora circa e poi servire. In questo caso, la minestra di verdure si pu&ochiamare minestra di pane. Potete saltare questo passaggio e andare diritto alla ribollita.

Disporre uno strato di pane in fondo ad un'altra pentola (possibilmente di terracotta) e versarci sopra della minestra. A seconda di quanta minestra avete, fare un altro strato di pane e minestra. Lasciar riposare per diverse ore o durante la notte. Quando volete servire la minestra, riscaldatela. Se preferite una minestra meno densa, aggiungere un po' d'acqua. Mescolare con delicatezza mentre la minestra si scalda, poi servire ben calda con un pochino d'olio spruzzato sulla superficie.

Il tocco di verde brillante nella foto in alto è una specie di pesto che ho fatto con le foglie delle fave che mi sono avanzate. Non è necessario, ma ci sta bene, non credete? La minestra è eccellente in tutte le versioni. 

Se diventate dei fan della ribollita, potete canticchiare questa canzone.

Questo è il mio contributo all'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare tutte le regioni italiane utilizzando come guida l'alfabeto. E come Empoli è ospitata da Cinzia di Cindystar. Questo post contiene la lista dei contributi e uno slide show.

Contribuisco questo post anche a My Legume Love Affair 46, edizione corrente del popolare evento "leguminoso" creato da Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, e ospitato questo mese da Susan stessa. Que sto post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

E questa minestra è perfetta per Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, un evento settimanale creato da Deb di Kahakai Kitchen. Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

Annuncio: una pasta veloce per cena (numero 261)

Announcement: Presto Pasta Nights #261

This week, I have once again the honor of hosting Presto Pasta Night, edition #261 to be precise.

Pasta comes in a myriad shapes and it is so versatile that you can make something as simple as pasta al burro e parmigiano and as complex as a pan of lasagne, every component of it homemade.

Week after week, Presto Pasta Nights captures snapshots of the countless realizations of pasta dishes by food bloggers around the world.

I will be delighted to receive your contribution to this week's edition of Presto Pasta Nights. The rules to participate are detailed on this page. Feel free to let me or Ruth know if you have any questions.

Entries for this week's edition of PPN must be posted during the days covered by it, meaning, from Friday April 20 through Thursday April 26. In your post, include a link to Presto Pasta Nights and also to briciole. You can download the PPN logo to add to your post.

Send your entry to me at simosite AT mac DOT com and cc Ruth at ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com, specifying PPN #261 in the title of the message.

In your email please include the following information:

• Your Name
• Your Blog Name/URL
• Your Post URL
• Attach a photo (maximum width 400px)

Sometimes messages get lost in cyberspace, so if you don't receive an acknowledgment of your email or see a comment on your post, please contact me again by leaving a comment on this announcement.

The deadline for submitting your contribution is Thursday night April 26, 2012. I will post the roundup on Friday.

¹ A note about the title of this post: una pasta veloce per cena is not the literal translation, but my rendition of the original Presto Pasta Nights.

mezzaluna e prezzemolo

mezzaluna and parsley

mezzaluna and parsley

I recently prepared a dish with a lot of chopped parsley called frità an bagna. In the relevant post, I wrote: "With the precious help of my mezzaluna, chopping the parsley (divided into two batches) was a breeze." I took the photo right before starting to chop the second batch.

I ♥ my mezzaluna — and the parsley from my little vegetable garden.

This is my contribution to edition #29 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. After a few weeks hiatus, Susan has made some changes to the structure of her popular photo event and restarted again this week.

The top photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white.

This post contains the gallery of photos submitted to the event.

riepilogo del weekend di erbe aromatiche numero 329

Weekend Herb Blogging #329: the roundup

[cliccare il link per andare direttamente al raccolto della edizione italiana di WHB]

As the host of last week's edition of WHB, I am pleased to present an interesting set of posts submitted by bloggers from various countries. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description that summarizes it, a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post. Follow me: it will be an interesting tour.

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Vivian Pang of Vivian Pang Kitchen prepared Pumpkin steamed Buns
Pumpkin purée in the dough and chocolate in the filling make for nice steamed buns.

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Janet of The Taste Space prepared Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras
"Pakoras are veggie-based fritters common across South Asia and are a popular snack or appetizer in India." In Janet's version they are baked.

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Shaheen of Allotment2kitchen baked some Rhubarb and Rosemary Scones
"I've just filled the warm scones here with whipped double cream, but to go that little bit more decadent, you can also make Rosemary infused cream."

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tigerfish of teczcape - an escape to food prepared Shrimp, Chicken, Chives Dumplings
  "While chives is typically used as garnish in most Western... cuisines, it is considered a vegetable (main) ingredient in Chinese dumplings or in fact in many Chinese cuisines."

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Ivy of Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water prepared Spaghetti with courgettes and kafkalithres and myronia pesto — "For this pesto, I have used Kafkalithres and Myronia, which are winter herbs you can find in the farmers’ market in Greece, from January until late April."

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Terry di Crumpets & co. prepared Pizzaiola Champignons
"A very quick but tasty idea to cook the champignon mushrooms!" In Italy when we call a dish alla pizzaiola "cos it has flavours that remind of pizza… basically tomato sauce and oregano!"

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Cristina of La cucina di Cristina baked Stracchino and pesto Italian pie
A layer of puff pastry envelops a filling of creamy stracchino cheese and tasty pesto

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Nate of House of Annie prepared Boiled breadfruit in coconut milk
"A taste of home in faraway Borneo. Breadfruit... is related to jackfruit and buah tarap but the flesh is very starchy and not at all sweet like its cousins."

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Ela of Everything's Herbed tells us about Paho "a small variety mango about 2 inches long"
"Paho can be eaten raw, pickled or made into salsa. It has the pungent aroma of concentrated dill with a taste of unripe green mango."

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Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once baked Torta caprese
"It's a bit like a brownie - the brown sugar gives a crust a wonderful caramel chewiness yet the core of the cake is incredibly moist and those little bites of almond just round it off nicely."

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Victoria of Flavors of the Sun talks in details about the spice mix Za'atar
"While the pre-blended za'atar mix is readily available in Middle Eastern markets all over the world, you can also make one with a few simple ingredients right in your own kitchen."

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Cinzia of Cindystar presents Pumpkin risotto with cheese fondue, saba and amaretti
A risotto with pumpkin "bright and cheerful in its sunny  color" enriched with cheese, crumbled amaretti cookies and a few drops of saba (cooked must).

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Brii of Briggishome prepared Strawberry and red prune jam
A bright red jam made with pectin to brighten up a rainy week (not that the rain would succeed in keeping Brii indoors...)

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Simona of briciole (your host for this week) made strawberry lassi
A personal take on the refreshing Indian beverage: homemade kefir and roasted strawberry, which bring intense flavor to a healthy drink.

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A heartfelt Thank you! to all who contributed to the event. Graziana of Erbe in cucina is currently accepting submissions for this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. You can always look ahead to who's hosting on this page. And if you are new to the event or need a reminder, the rules for participating are detailed on this page.

A final thank you to Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, who has been organizing for three and a half years the event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. It gives me special pleasure to be part of an established tradition that links so many food bloggers around the world.

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Per i lettori italiani

Come ospite dell'edizione di Weekend Herb Blogging della scorsa settimana, ho l'onore di presentare un'interessante raccolta di post. Per ogni contributo, specifico i dati ufficiali (autore, nome del blog e titolo del post) e poi aggiungo una citazione o breve descrizione che riassume il post, un assaggino che vi invita a seguire il link per andare a mangiare leggere il resto.

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Marta di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare ha preparato carpaccio di topinambur e julienne di zucchine alle mandorle speziate — Un misto di verdure croccanti arricchito con spezie e mandorle per un dopo Pasqua gustoso e leggero.

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Nuccio di Il Blog di Max ha preparato "duspaghi"
cioè un bel piatto di spaghetti con cozze, calamari tagliuzzati e gamberi e anche carciofi, nonché una manciatina di prezzemolo per completare l'opera.

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Terry di Crumpets & co. ha preparato Champignon alla pizzaiola
"Un'idea veloce per gustare i funghi champignon in maniera davvero gustosa!... in fondo sono di una semplicità disarmante e in poco tempo si ha un contorno semplice ma saporito!"

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Cristina di La cucina di Cristina ha sfornato una Torta salata con stracchino e pesto
Uno strato di pasta sfoglia avvolge il ripieno di stracchino aromatizzato col pesto

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Alda ha infornato un pane a treccia e quando l'ha tagliato e fotografato, ha pensato di chiamarla

LA TRECCIA CHE TI GUARDA MALE
1     kg  farina 0
25     g  lievito di birra (1 cubetto)
600   g  latte fresco intero
120   g  olio extra vergine
40     g  miele di arancio
350   g  fichi secchi a pezzetti
200   g  nocciole tostate a pezzi
20     g  sale
3,5   dl  vino passito

Lasciar appassire i fichi in bagno nel vino per 4-5 ore, poi scolarli e asciugarli con carta da cucina.
Fare l'impasto con farina, lievito sciolto nel latte, olio, miele, sale. Mettere in una ciotola e lievitare fino al raddoppio. Mettere le nocciole e i fichi sul piano del tavolo e versarvi l'impasto. Lavorare incorporando la frutta delicatamente. Dividere l'impasto in tre parti e formare dei rotolini della stessa lunghezza, intrecciarli fra loro e saldare le estremità. Sistemare la treccia ottenuta su una banda ricoperta di carta forno e lasciar di nuovo raddoppiare. Cospargere con un po' di farina e cuocere a 180° non ventilato per 45' circa. Raffreddare e affettare.
Ho preso la ricetta da un numero di Cucina Moderna ed è firmata Sara Papa.

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Cinzia di Cindystar presenta Risotto alla zucca con fonduta di taleggio e profumo di saba e amaretti — Un risotto con la zucca condito con taleggio e arricchito con amaretti e saba, abbinamento  dolce/salato che "richiama un pochino i tortelli mantovani."

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Brii di Briggishome ha preparato della Confettura di fragole e prugne rosse
Una coloratissima confettura davvero primaverilissima e fragolosissima (scusate, ma non sono brava quanto Brii a creare aggettivi superlativi ;)

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Simona di briciole presenta lassi alla fragola
Interpretazione personale della bevanda indiana: kefir fatto in casa e fragole arrosto che contribuiscono un intenso sapore. Un'ottima aggiunta al menu della colazione.

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Grazie di cuore a tutti coloro che hanno contribuito all'evento. Questa settimana l'ospite di WHB è Graziana di Erbe in cucina. Se volete saperne di più sull'evento potere andare su questa pagina. Qui invece trovate chi ospita e le raccolte delle edizioni passate.

Un ringraziamento finale ad Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, che organizza da tre anni e mezzo la versione "madre" dell'evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen e a Brii di briggishome che organizza la versione italiana. È bello far parte di una tradizione che unisce da tanto tempo food bloggers in tutto il mondo.

lassi alla fragola

strawberry lassi

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

strawberry lassi made with kefir

Having a steady supply of homemade kefir means being able to experiment with it on the spur of the moment. My husband likes Indian food and when he eats at an Indian restaurant, he always orders a mango lassi, so it was not difficult to choose that fruit flavor for my first try at using kefir to make the beverage. But then, of course, I had to invent something different.

You may remember from last year (and if you don't, I'll remind you right now) that I tried roasting strawberries (fragole) flavored with balsamic vinegar, then explored a couple of ways of using them, namely gelato and frittata. To be totally honest, the first time I prepared strawberry lassi, I used fresh strawberries and the verdict was: not enough strawberry flavor. So then, the idea of using roasted strawberries formed itself.

roasted strawberries

Strawberries are available at the Temescal Farmers' Market, in Oakland, one of the places where I shop, so it was easy to go from thought to action and the result was greeted with warm approval. Hence, this has now become a standard item on the breakfast menu at our house.

it was good!

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for lassi alla fragola

Ingredients for two portions (porzioni):

• 8 oz. [225 g] organic or pesticide-free strawberries
• 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico) of good quality
• 1/2 teaspoon ultra-fine sugar
• 2 cups [475 ml] plain kefir, possibly homemade
• agave nectar or honey, to taste (the quantity depending on the sweetness of the strawberries and your personal preference)

Wash strawberries and carve out stem. Place in a bowl, sprinkle balsamic vinegar and sugar, and toss gently. Heat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat that is wider and longer than the sheet, so no juice can escape from any side. Place strawberries on the sheet on a single layer. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let strawberries cool completely. They will juice while baking, so when moving them to the blender in the next step, scoop up the juice as well.

Put half the strawberries and juice into the blender, add 1 cup of kefir and a bit of agave nectar. Add a bit more kefir, if you wish, depending on your personal taste in terms of flavor and texture. Blend, taste and adjust sweetener. Pour into a tall glass and serve. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries and the other cup of kefir, or make one portion and store the strawberries for later use.

This is my contribution to edition #329 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Simona of briciole (a.k.a., me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

lassi alla fragola

or launch the lassi alla fragola audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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kefir, strawberry

Per i lettori italiani

lassi alla fragola fatto col kefir

Avere a disposizione kefir fatto in casa vuol dire poter fare esperimenti non pianificati. A mio marito piace la cucina indiana e quando mangia in un ristorante indiano da bere ordina sempre un lassi al mango. Il lassi è una bevanda preparata con yogurt che può essere sia dolce che salata. La prima volta che ho provato a fare il lassi usando il mio kefir sono andata sul sicuro e ho usato del mango. Ma poi, naturalmente, ho voluto inventare qualcosa di diverso.

Forse vi ricorderete (altrimenti ve lo rammento io adesso) che l'anno scorso ho provato a cuocere al forno le fragole aromatizzate con aceto balsamico e poi le ho usate per fare il gelato e la frittata. In tutta onestà, la prima volta che ho provato a fare il lassi alla fragola ho usato fragole fresche e il verdetto è stato: insufficiente sapore di fragola. E allora mi è venuto in mente di provare ad usare le fragole arrosto.

fragole arrosto

Le fragole le trovo al Temescal Farmers' Market, ad Oakland (la stagione delle fragole in California è molto lunga, grazie al clima), quindi mi è stato facile passare ai fatti. Il risultato è stato ben accolto e quindi il lassi alla fragola è entrato a far parte del menu della colazione a casa nostra (mio marito, da buon americano, necessita di una colazione sostanziosa).

che buono che era!

Ingredienti per due porzioni:

• 225 g fragole bio
• 1/4 cucchiaino aceto balsamico di buona qualità
• 1/2 cucchiaino di zucchero finissimo
• 475 ml kefir bianco, possibilmente fatto in casa
• nettare di agave o miele a piacere (la quantità dipende dalla dolcezza delle fragole e dal gusto personale)

Lavare le fragole e privarle del picciolo. Mettere le fragole in una ciotola e spruzzare aceto balsamico e aggiungere zucchero. Mescolare bene con delicatezza. Scaldare il forno a 175 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno che sia più lungo e più largo, in modo che il succo prodotto durante la cottura in forno non finisca sotto il tappetino. Disporre le fragole sulla lastra. Mettere in forno e cuocere per 30 minuti. (La temperatura in gradi Fahrenheit che uso io, 350, è un po' al di sopra di 175 C e un po' al di sotto di 180 C. Ho deciso di specificare la temperatura più bassa poiché preferisco essere cauta. Potete lasciare le fragole in forno qualche minuto in più, ma fate attenzione che il succo non bruci.) Lasciar raffreddare le fragole.

Trasferire metà delle fragole e del succo che producono durante la cottura nel frullatore, aggiungere metà del kefir e un tocco di nettare di agave o miele. Aggiungere un poco di kefir, a seconda del gusto per quanto riguarda sapore e consistenza. Frullare, assaggiare e, se necessario, aggiungere del nettare di agave o miele. Versare la bevanda in un bicchiere e servire. Ripetere il procedimento con l'altra metà delle fragole e del kefir, oppure preparare una porzione sola e conservare le fragole per usarle più avanti.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 329 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Simona di briciole (cioè me).

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

intervista a Marisa Churchill

interview with Marisa Churchill

oatmeal-raisin cookies from Sweet & Skinny

Prepare a cup of tea or coffee, grab a cookie (besides oatmeal and raisins, the cookies in the photo have pieces of chocolate and of walnuts), make yourself comfortable, and read on.

On March 24, I attended the Women's PowerStrategy Conference in Marin County, CA. What I have to tell about that day won't fit into one post, so I'll start by talking about meeting Marisa Churchill, pastry chef and author of the dessert cookbook Sweet & Skinny, 100 recipes for enjoying life's sweeter side without tipping the scales. Readers of this blog know that my recipes tend to be light on both sugar and fat. That's the way I like to eat. Listening to, and then conversing with a pastry chef that challenged herself to create 100 light desserts that are generous in flavor and satisfaction, was a special treat.

Before meeting Marisa in person, I read about her career as pastry chef, her Greek heritage, and her passion for swimming. And before sitting down for a one-to-one conversation with her, I listened to her lively presentation at the conference. Marisa organized her talk around the main ingredients of desserts: butter, eggs, sugar, chocolate, cream, flour, oil. For each ingredient, she discussed lighter alternatives that do the job, provide nutritional value and/or satisfy the requirements of people with special dietary needs. An example Marisa referenced in her presentation is her Chocolate-Buttermilk Cake, in which a finely shredded red beet disappears into the batter in terms of texture leaving behind its sweetness, while creamy buttermilk and yogurt enrich the cake and keep it light. Other examples I found particularly interesting are: a lighter version of whipped cream that uses gelatin, the use of crushed pineapple as sweetener (for example, in the macaroons that conference participants tasted during lunch), and browned butter.

Marisa told the story of a particular tough challenge she faced in creating a light version of kourabiethes, traditional Greek butter cookies. When Marisa's grandmother was a young woman, the king of Greece visited her town. For the occasion, she prepared a batch of kourabiethes. Upon tasting them, the king declared them the best he'd ever eaten. In thinking how she could win the challenge, Marisa had the idea of using browned butter, which is more intensely flavored and of which therefore she could use less. Pasta with browned butter and mizythra cheese is a dish her grandmother used to prepare for her and the flavorful memory put her on the right track.

solidified browned butter

As soon as I got home that day, I made a small batch of browned butter and used some to prepare scones (more details when I write a post about them). I hereby declare that I am a convert. Marisa explains how to make browned butter and other "sweet foundations" in the first chapter of "Sweet & Skinny", which then goes on to cover, among other topics, American classics, sweet treats, and Holiday favorites.

For Marisa, creating the recipes for the book was a nice challenge at a point in her career when she was looking for one. She worked in her own kitchen to develop and perfect all the recipes, some of them taking longer than expected to obtain the desired balance of lightness without sacrificing flavor and texture (for example, this PB & J cookies). Besides the ones already referenced, two more recipes are available on this page.

My conversation with Marisa flowed easily and I can see how we could have continued chatting for a long time, as you'd expect if you bring together Greek and Italian blood over the topic of food.

I know I have readers in Greece, so I want to let them know that Marisa has been featured in the press and on television there, as you can see on her website's home page. 

A few words about the cookies in the top photo. The originals are called Oatmeal-Sour Cherry Cookies (page 47) and are included in the chapter dedicated to Americal classics. The alternative use of raisins is included in the recipe, while the use of finely chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips is my idea. The book does not show a photo of the cookies as they came out of Marisa's oven, so I don't know how my rendition fares next to them. I hope Marisa will be satisfied. During our conversation, we talked about the use of flax meal and water as egg substitute, something with which I have just started to experiment and which I used in this recipe.

Oops! I'd better bake more cookies: those are all gone.

FTC disclosure: I have purchased the copy of the book mentioned in this post. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The views expressed in the post are my own.

grissini (II)

breadsticks (II)

grissini

My first post on grissini ended with the description of a plan for baking crisp grissini like those I used to eat in Italy. I had already eyed a recipe in Daniel Leader's most recent book, called Simply Great Breads. I always say that if a cookbook contains one great recipe, it is worth the expense. In Simply Great Breads I had already found one great recipe: Boiceville Bialys. I will now add to the list Crisp Bread Sticks.

When I first read the recipe, I was intrigued by the use of a pasta machine to first roll the dough and then cut the grissini. Having realized many of Leader's recipes, I trusted him and got down to work. Still, I must confess that I approached the cutting part with a bit of trepidation: what would I do if the dough got stuck?

cutting grissini

Fear not. As you can see from the photo, the operation went smoothly and it was fun to catch the strands coming out of the machine and then spread them on the baking sheet. The original recipe includes instructions on getting seeds on the grissini's surface (see the result on the cover of the book). For my first rendition, I kept close to the tradition with which I am familiar and made plain grissini.

When I was a child, grissini were always part of the bread basket in restaurants and that's where we ate them — never at home — so seeing them on the table felt rather strange. My husband liked to munch on them and I did as well — same as many years ago. Based on the photos in the book, I think Leader used an attachment that makes wider strands than mine, but again, I am perfectly happy with the grissini I made.

The location where I found the recipe for Boiceville Bialys does not provide access to the recipe for Crisp Bread Sticks so the book is the place to go for it. Interpret this as a recommendation (this is not an ad: I purchased the copy of the book I have). Note that the recipe directs you to use a stand-up mixer. However, the dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand, which is what I did.

This is my contribution to edition #28 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. After a few weeks hiatus, Susan has made some changes to the structure of her popular photo event and restarted again this week.

The top photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia.

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.