briciole

lassi alla salsa di mele / applesauce lassi

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

heatlhy breakfast beverage

"Everything tastes better with applesauce" has been a tenet of our household ever since I started making roasted applesauce. It is easy to make, healthy, and has an intense apple flavor undisturbed by extraneous ingredients. Just to give a couple of examples, I have used it to dress gnocchi di ricotta, to accompany French toast, and, of course, simply spread on bread.

I've been making kefir at home for 13 months now. I use it in various ways, in particular to prepare lassi for my husband's breakfast (colazione): strawberry or peach lassi, when either fruit is in season, or mango lassi, when I find good mangoes at the store. One day that I had no suitable fruit available, I decided to try using roasted applesauce. The result was applauded and therefore, this has become the classic winter lassi.

The batch of applesauce in the photo turned out of a lovely pinkish color thanks to the inclusion of some apples of red-skinned apple varieties to make it.

not the last jar of roasted apple sauce

Ingredients for one portion:

• 1/4 cup [60 ml] roasted applesauce
• 1 cups [240 ml] plain kefir, possibly homemade
• agave nectar or honey, optional and to taste (I don't use any)

Put apple sauce and kefir into the blender. Blend, taste and, if desired, add a bit of sweetener. Pour into a tall glass (bicchiere) and serve. 

This is my contribution to edition #370 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 Lynne of Cafe Lynnylu.

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 salsa di mele 

or launch the lassi alla salsa di mele 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, apple

Per i lettori italiani

bevanda ottima per la colazione

"Tutto è piu buono con la salsa di mele" diciamo spesso in casa da quando faccio la salsa di mele arrostoo. È facile da preparare ed ha un intenso sapore di mele non disturbato dall'aggiunta di ingredienti estranei. L'ho usata per condire gli gnocchi di ricotta, per accompagnare del French toast, e, naturalmente, semplicamente splamata sul pane.

Faccio il kefir a casa ormai da  13 mesi e lo utilizzo in vari modi, soprattutto per preparare una bevanda per la colazione di mio marito: lassi alla fragola o alla pesca, quando questi frutti sono di stagione, oppure al mango. Un giorno che non avevo frutta adatta ho provato ad usare un po' della salsa di mele arrosto e, dato il successo del risultato, questa versione della bevanda è diventata un classico del periodo invernale.

La salsa di mele nella foto è venuta di colore rosato grazie alla presenza di mele dalla buccia rossa.

non è l'ultimo vasetto di salsa di mele

Ingredienti per una porzione:

• 60 ml (60-65 g)  salsa di mele arrosto
• 240 ml kefir, possibilmente fatto in casa
• nettare di agave o miele a piacere, facoltativo (io non ne uso)

Mettere nel frullatore salsa di mele e kefir. Frullare, assaggiare e, se necessario, aggiungere del nettare di agave o miele. Versare la bevanda in un bicchiere e servire.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 370 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 Brii stessa.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

biancore / whiteness

One of the joys of making cheese at home is making ricotta with the leftover whey. The batch in the photo was a particularly good one. The whey came from making Leerdammer. The surface texture of snow-white ricotta is due to the draining basket and it's what I have tried to highlight in the photo.

I recently enjoyed a very nice post by Nancy Harmon Jenkins titled Ricotta, a true story. I recommend you follow the link and read Nancy's report of a visit to a cheese maker in the Mugello valley of Tuscany. (Nancy's words about ricotta echo words I have written in the past, for example, in this post.)

This is my contribution to edition #68 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once.

The photo was shot using the Hi preset of my Nikon D5000 and then converted to black and white (using Lightroom preset B&W Look 1).

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.

risotto al gorgonzola / risotto with gorgonzola cheese

white beauty

Lake Como (Lago di Como) is one of the jewels of that treasure called Italy. It is famous around the world and rightly so. I cannot think of a stretch of it that is not worth visiting and no matter from which direction you approach it, you'll fall in love with it.

Living in Milan means having easy access to Lake Como. Many a Sunday, a short train ride would bring me to the station in Como. I had a friend in the city and with her I would spend some time sunbathing on the lake shore and then walking around the elegant downtown.

I have visited the lake again after moving to California, to show Como, Lecco, Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio, etc. to my husband. It's easy to daydream while admiring the deep blue water on a sunny day, and I can understand visitors going back over and over again.

One of the villas built on its shore, Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, has been a hotel since 1873. The reason I mention it is the book Tales of Risotto, Culinary Adventures from Villa d'Este by Jean Govoni Salvadore and Luciano Parolari. The latter has been executive chef at Villa d'Este for over thirty years. 

I did not grow up eating risotto, but rather learned about it after moving to Milan. Readers of this blog know that I am fond of risotto : it is straightforward to make, once you know the basics, and offers endless possibilities. The trick is to have the right ingredients, a bit of patience and a preference for minimalism. That's of course my opinion, but in reading Tales of Risotto, I learned that Chef Parolari and I agree on several counts.

The book contains 50 recipes for risotto divided into sections: cheese, vegetable and fruit, fish, shellfish, seasonal, poultry and meat. At the end, there are recipes for some traditional rice dishes like rice-stuffed tomatoes (pomodori col riso) and rice croquettes (supplì al telefono). At the beginning there is a general introduction where Chef Parolari talks about the fundamentals of risotto, including the basic steps that must be followed, regardless of the kind of risotto you are making. "Quality ingredients are the key to a perfect risotto," he writes, and "Do not overcook the rice."

Chef Parolari uses Carnaroli rice, which is also my favorite. It is relatively easy to find it in stores in the Bay Area. When I spot some at a good price, I stock up on it, so I have it on hand when I need it. (I also use Vialone nano.)

The other important ingredient of risotto is stock. The book includes recipes for various stocks. I make my own stocks (chicken, vegetable and fish) and freeze them, which is another thing that allows me to prepare a risotto any time I wish. Once you have rice and stock, you can make risotto with whatever the season offers and/or you have available. You can make a simple risotto alla parmigiana (with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese) or a rich risotto with Prosecco wine and oysters, just to give an example. The book contains a wide range of recipes, each with a headnote giving the recipe's story or background.

gorgonzola dolce

I have wanted to make risotto al gorgonzola (with Gorgonzola cheese) for a while. Seeing the recipe in the book told me it was time I did it. The photo of the piece of gorgonzola dolce (sweet Gorgonzola cheese) I purchased for the occasion allows me a short detour in the world of cheese making. First of all, in case you are wondering, Gorgonzola is the name of a town outside Milan. Gorgonzola is a blue-veined cheese and the photo shows the marks left by the probe used to pierce the cheese to bring oxygen inside it to allow proper mold development. The mold is added to the milk at the beginning of the cheese-making process. The piercing occurs 10 days or so after aging has begun and according to this page, it happens again 10 days later, on the other side of the wheel. End of detour.

I have received permission from the publisher to share with you the recipe for this simple, flavorful risotto. (The link goes to a reproduction of the page of the book that contains the recipe from Tales of Risotto, by Jean Govoni Salvadore and Luciano Parolari, copyright © 2006, published by Glitterati Incorporated, www.GlitteratiIncorporated.com)

I halved the quantities, using one cup of rice. With apologies to Chef Parolari, I skipped the cream and also the tomatoes, because tomato season is over and I did not feel like using tasteless tomatoes. The result is a risotto of a lovely white color with specks of green from the gorgonzola if you look closely. Once you start eating, you will close your eyes to better focus on the flavor of this deeply flavored dish.

white on white

I like this recipe not only because it uses one of my favorite cheeses, but also because it is nicely balanced in the amount of the various ingredients, an example of a perfect combination of all the parts that makes a magnificent whole.

Carnaroli rice is a staple in my pantry and so this post goes to Pantry Party, an event created by Elizabeth of The Law Student's Cookbook whose December theme is anything goes.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

risotto al gorgonzola

or launch the risotto al gorgonzola 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.]

FTC disclosure: I have received a free review copy of the book mentioned in this post from the publisher. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

rice, cheese, Italian recipe

mela al cartoccio salata / savory apple baked in puff pastry

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

not the typical apple baked in puff pastry

Well-demarcated in both time and space, the novel Going to Solace by Amanda McTigue is expansive in the varied cast of characters and rich array of themes it presents:

It's Thanksgiving week, 1989. We're in Big Piney and Little Piney, two hollows near the town of Garnet in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A handful of mismatched folks - some country people, some far-flung, fancy people - discover they have one thing in common: someone they know is sick, real sick, dying sick. Their paths cross at a local hospice called Solace. Suddenly, they're caregivers, bedside improvisers, doing all they can to beat back death or "hurry him on about his business." (source)

Ms. McTigue shows us that if you take a sliver of time of a sliver of space, you'll find a universe that resonates with us, regardless of whether we are dealing with someone who is sick. She follows the characters as they deal with the task of accepting the various elements of their lives (who they are, where they are, etc.), and move forward.

The character that got most of my attention is Maggie Dull (now calling herself Dulé). Maggie flies from Palo Alto to her hometown to be with her mother, who has written "I do not want to see my children." I finished reading the book as I was visiting my hometown (Perugia) and staying with my family in the apartment where I lived for 15 years before moving to Milan. Differently from Maggie, I go back regularly. This time, something special happened: I attended a high school reunion, a dinner at which I met some people I had not seen since we graduated. It was a truly special evening and one that I hope will be repeated the next time I visit.

My background as a nurse and my professional experience with people nearing the end of their life also provided a special perspective to the reading. As the novel is set during Thanksgiving week, the traditional dinner and the foods served during it are part of the story. The novel inspired me to bake a special treat, connected to the season and to my youth.

During my training as a nurse, I spent a three-month rotation in the department of the Perugia hospital that used to be the sanatorium. The old building, with big windows and a balcony originally used as a sun deck, was located in the middle of a large garden. I remember in particular the many persimmon trees loaded with fruit this time of the year. The tradition of nourishing food that was part of TB treatment was carried on in the kitchen, though the patient population had changed.

In the morning, we would ask the patients whether they wanted baked apples for lunch and/or dinner. The other nurse student and I then went into the kitchen to bring the order. Of course, we could have called on the phone, but we both liked to take a little break and visit the welcoming kitchen. The cook in charge always gave us something special for our breakfast. The kitchen at Solace and its cook, Miss Cherille, reminded me of it. The apples were baked whole, unpeeled, with just a light dusting of sugar on top. From the pan carrying them emanated a sweet smell with a hint of tartness. The apples sat in a shallow pool of juice, unadorned yet proud of their deeply flavored simplicity.

View of a portion of my daily walk to high school

When I was in high school, I sometimes treated myself to a sumptuous mid-morning snack, which I purchased from a bakery located not far from the school (in downtown Perugia): mela al cartoccio, an apple peeled, cored and stuffed with raisins (uvetta) enclosed in crisp puff pastry (pasta sfoglia). I could never eat the whole apple: I would bring home half of it and eat it in the afternoon or for dinner. My deskmate liked it too, a fact I remembered when I saw her at the dinner after seeing mele al cartoccio in the window of the bakery. Time has not stood still, and yet it seemed that for a split moment, I could reach back to that past and get an apple like I used to.

I came back to my Californian kitchen determined to bake a mela al cartoccio as a special, early act of giving thanks. But no sooner had I decided to bake a mela al cartoccio that the idea came to my mind to stuff the apple cavity with cheese instead of raisins. Combining apples and cheese in a baked good is not a new thing for me: last year I made a crostata di mele, burro di mele e formaggio Cheshire (apple, apple butter and Cheshire cheese tart).

I wanted to use Cheddar cheese for the mela al cartoccio and I could do that thanks to the raffle prize I won at the LongHouse Food Writers' Revival event I attended last month: a Kerrygold gift basket containing butter and cheese. For the mela al cartoccio, I chose their Aged Cheddar. It was a great idea.

With apples from the new crop now available, this is the time to try this recipe. Just one piece of advice: get yourself an apple corer. It's really worth the expense. I tried doing without it, but it's tricky: the apple corer makes the operation quick and precise.

stuffed and about to get dressed

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for mela al cartoccio salata

Ingredients for one apple (to be multiplied as needed):

• An apple of a variety that is good for baking: I used Braeburn (see this page for alternatives)
• 1/4 of  the amount made by the recipe for "alternative" puff pastry (about 3 oz. / 83 g); while I have not tried making the recipe with regular puff pastry, I don't see why it would not work with it
• 20 g / 3/4 oz. aged Cheddar cheese, shredded using an extra-coarse grater

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Peel and core the apple. You may or may not want to use a vegetable peeler for the first task, but you want to use an apple corer for the second (trust me). Stuff the apple cavity with the cheese.

Roll the puff pastry into a thin square. Place the apple in the center of the pastry square and wrap it, pinching the seams. Where you see that there is extra puff pastry, you may want to cut a wedge and use it to seal the top or to make a decoration. I skipped the egg wash, but you don't have to: in a small bowl, beat an egg lightly with a tablespoon of water, then brush the surface with the egg wash.

Place the apple on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and put the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the surface is golden. Serve with fanfare (it's justified). When you cut the apple, the smell of melted cheddar and baked apple is irresistible.

Everything that ends marks the beginning of something new. This applies to us as well as to the characters of Going to Solace. That such beginnings occur on Thanksgiving is quite fitting.

This is my second contribution to the 17th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

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

mela al cartoccio salata

or launch the mela al cartoccio salata 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.]

FTC disclosure: I have received a copy of the book mentioned in this post from the publisher. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

apple, cheese

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Per i lettori italiani

non la tipica mela al cartoccio

La tradizionale mela al cartoccio ha un ripieno d'uvetta ed è avvolta in un fazzoletto di pasta sfoglia. A me è venuta l'idea di usare del formaggio Cheddar invece dell'uvetta.

Togliere il torsolo della mela con un coltello non è facile mentre il leva torsolo rende l'operazione veloce e precisa. Vale la pena averne uno a portata di mano.

ripiena e pronta per essere vestita

Ingredienti per una mela (da moltiplicare a seconda del necessario):

• una mela Melinda (Braeburn, Renetta, Golden delicious, o Gala )
• 1/4 della pasta sfoglia che ottenete seguendo la ricetta per la pasta sfoglia "alternativa" (83 g); non ho provato ad usare la pasta sfoglia regolare, ma non vedo perché non dovrebbe funzionare
• 20 g di formaggio Cheddar invecchiato un anno, tagliato a filetti (usando una grattugia a buchi grossi come questa); se non lo trovate, provate ad usare dell'Asiago o del Gruyère

Scaldare il forno a 177-180 C.

Sbucciare la mela e rimuovere il torsolo. Riempire la cavità con il formaggio.

Stendere la pasta sfoglia in modo da formare all'incirca un quadrato. Porre la mela al centro del quadrato e avvolgerla con la pasta sfoglia. Chiudere i lati premendo la pasta sfoglia con le dita. Dove vedete che c'è un eccesso di pasta sfoglia, potete tagliarne un cuneo e usarlo per chiudere la cima o per fare una decorazione (vedi foto).

Io non ho usato la glassa d'uovo, ma voi potete farlo. In una piccola ciotola sbattere un uovo con un cucchiaio (15 ml) d'acqua e poi stenderne un leggero strato sulla pasta sfoglia usando un pennello da pasticceria.

Porre la mela su una lastra da forno foderata con un tappetino di silicone per forno e infornare. Cuocere per 35-40 minuti, fino a quando la superficie sia dorata. Servire con un po' di fanfara (è ben giustificata). Quando tagliate la mela, verrete avvolti dal profumo irresistibile di formaggio fuso e di mela cotta al forno.

Questo è il mio contributo all'evento La mia ricetta per l'Emilia organizzato dall'azienda Melinda Val di Non, produttrice di mele eccellenti (e lo so perché ne mangio sempre una al giorno quando sono in Italia).

Ho contribuito a tale evento anche una ricetta inedita che trovate sulla pagina dell'evento su Facebook: frittata di mele. Andate a vedere quante belle ricette fanno parte della raccolta.

frico con patate / frico with potatoes

Three years ago, I read my first Pepe Carvalho novel, Tattoo. It inspired me to make caldeirada (traditional Portuguese fish stew), as recounted in this post. I arrived at Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1939-2003), Carvalho's creator, through the Montalbano novels. The connection between Montalbano and Montalbán is not an accidental one: as mentioned in the post, Andrea Camilleri, Montalbano's creator, named his character after Montalbán in gratitude, and the two authors knew each other.

After Tattoo, I read The Angst-Ridden Executive and Southern Seas (1979). Private detective Pepe Carvalho is an interesting character, at times difficult to fathom, which is part of his appeal. He has a strange relationship with the people who are closer to him. There is Biscuter, his sort-of receptionist, who lives in his office and cooks meals that Carvalho not always can enjoy, but for which he is very grateful.

'Do you realize, Biscuter – we private eyes are the barometers of established morality. I tell you, this society is rotten. It doesn't believe in anything.'
'Yes, boss.'
Biscuter backed Carvalho up, not only because he guessed that the boss was drunk, but also because he could recognize a catastrophe when  he saw one.

Then, there is Charo, his sort-of girlfriend, who is also a prostitute with a high-class clientele. Carvalho appears to care about those two people, but at the same time, he does not seem close to them. In Southern Seas, he also cares about Bleda, the puppy he purchases on a whim after seeing her in the window of a pet shop.

Carvalho is subject to dark moods. It is not easy to predict how he will react to what happens to him. He may not like the person who hires him or his/her motives, but he does the job he is paid to do, then lets the hiring party deal with the results.

In Southern Seas, Carvalho is hired by the widow of Carlos Stuart Pedrell, a Barcelona businessman, construction magnate, and arts' patron. Stuart Pedrell disappeared not long after announcing plans to travel to the South Pacific, then, a year later, he is found stabbed to death at a construction site in Barcelona. His wife asks Carvalho to find out what happened. The detective reconstructs Stuart Pedrell's existential and physical journey. In the process, he meets an interesting array of characters, from Stuart Pedrell's cocaine-addicted daughter, to his power-addicted business partners (one of them fitness-obsessed, the other an epicure), to his lovers, and travels from the opulence of Stuart Pedrell's residence to the squalor of the apartment where he lived incognito until the violent end. The journey allows the novel's author to offer a composite view of the vibrant Mediterranean city and the people who inhabit it.

Barcelona and food and wine are co-protagonists of this and the other Carvalho novels I have read so far. The detective loves to eat and drink and, as recounted in more details in the previous post, he can cook. He knows his city, walks around it, and describes it in crisp sentences, like this one, where he refers to Franco's dictatorship, which ended only four years prior to the novel's publication, and during which Vázquez Montalbán spent time in prison:

Artimbau's studio was on Calle Baja de San Pedro. As usual, Carvalho felt a flicker of nervousness as he passed the police headquarters in Vía Layetana. He had only bad memories of the barracks-like building. However much they tried to give it a democratic face-lift, for him it would always be a grim fortress of repression.

Artimbau is a painter whom Stuart Pedrell had patronized and he is also a former political associate of Carvalho. The detective visits the artist in his studio and, upon being invited to eat, finds out that Artimbau is on a diet:

Carvalho lifted the lid and was assailed by the aroma of a strange, potato-less stew in which vegetables vied with meat.
'I have to watch my weight, so I don't put in potatoes, And hardly any fat either. But it tastes OK.'

Over stew and plenty of wine, Artimbau tells Carvalho about Stuart Pedrell's rise to power and about the rich man's relationship with the artists he sponsored, which helps Carvalho in his efforts to construct for himself an image of the murdered man.

I read this passage of the book at a time when I was harvesting potatoes I had planted in my little vegetable patch. I love digging potatoes: it's a kind of treasure hunt that ends with something truly valuable. (I have featured my potatoes in the recent post on jota / bean, sauerkraut and potato soup.) I imagined that Carvalho, allergic as he is to any kind of limitation placed upon food and drink, would leave Artimbau's studio with a craving for potatoes, so I prepared something to satisfy such craving: my rendition of frico, a traditional dish from Friuli (the region from which jota also hails) .

There are various types of frico, defined by the ingredients used. The basic frico is a crisp cheese fritter. The one I made contains potatoes and also some onion (cipolla). Among the many recipes I looked at, the one that I used to guide me is on this page (in Italian). I did not use pancetta and in terms of cheese, I used half Montasio and half Crescenza, both made by me.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 9 oz. / 250 g potatoes (I used Yukon Gold from my garden), scrubbed well and grated using an extra-coarse grater (I did not peel them)
• 4.5 oz. / 125 g cheese half Montasio, sliced thinly and half Crescenza, diced (both homemade)
• sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

My homemade Crescenza

 

My homemade Montasio

Warm up some olive oil in a pan, add the onion, stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Add the grated potatoes and 1/4 cup of water. Stir, cover, and cook until onion and potatoes are soft. Check the pan often and, if it becomes dry, add some hot water to it.

When the potatoes are ready, add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste, then stir to incorporate. Transfer to a warm 8 inch / 20 com non-stick frying pan and flatten into a sort of pancake. Cook the frico on both sides until golden. Use a plate or a rimless lid to flip the frico. When ready, cut into portions and serve immediately.

What about Carvalho and his search for Stuart Pedrell's murder? Southern Seas being a mystery, I don't want to divulge more than necessary to whet your appetite. If you enjoy complex characters that move in a fascinating environment and masterly woven plots, then Manuel Vázquez Montalbán is your type of writer and you may want to pick up one of the Carvalho novels available in English translation (see this page). They are satisfying books, just as frico is a satisfying dish.

This is my contribution to the 17th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

Check the announcement for details about participating: the deadline is end of the day Monday, October 22.

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

frico con patate

 or launch the frico con patate 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.]

FTC disclosure: I have received a free review copy of the book mentioned in this post from the publisher. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

potato, cheese, Italian recipe

fusilli al ferro / handmade fusilli

handmade fusilli with browned butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano

In learning to make maccheroni al ferro, I saw the possibility of using the same simple tool to create another type of pasta shape. Slightly different hand movements result in different shapes. (from this post)

This is what I meant:

  

Browsing around, I found a video where the hand movements are basically the same as mine: as I suspected, I had made fusilli.

In Italian fusillo means small fuso (spindle). As I have mentioned before, the names of pasta shapes may be a bit confusing. For example, in this video Rosetta Costantino shows how to make Calabrian fusilli, which look like very long maccheroni. I have also seen videos in which fusilli are shaped starting from a rectangle of pasta, rather then a thin rope. I like to do a bit of research to find out where things come from, but when I get entangled in the mesh of local traditions that differ from village to village, I give up. In the end, what counts is having fun with the task at hand.

What's the trick in making fusilli? As I hope you can see from the video above, the piece of dough to make a fusillo is thinner and longer than the one I use to make a maccherone. The dough gets wrapped around the skewer starting at an angle and the hands do not flatten the dough, but rather, roll it slightly to thin the pasta and make the pasta spiral a bit tighter.

handmade fusilli on the kneading board

The dough I used is the same as described before. What I did differently this time is that I dressed the pasta with a variation of the burro e parmigiano theme, using browned butter (burro nocciola).

Ingredients for the pasta:

• 100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality (see the post on orecchiette for details on products of ground durum wheat)
• 50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
• a pinch of salt

To dress the pasta:

• 1/2 tablespoon / 7 g browned butter, or to taste
• freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste

Make a dough with the three ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, covered, for at least half an hour.

Roll the dough into a thick salami and cut it into pieces. Keep them covered while you shape the fusilli. Roll each piece into a thin snake (1/4 inch / 0.5 cm thick), then cut into pieces about 2 1/2 inch / 6.5 cm long. Shape each piece into a fusillo with the skewer and lay out to dry. You may want to dust the surface lightly with flour to prevent sticking.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the fusilli in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of fusilli, how dry they are, etc.

When the fusilli are nearly done, melt the browned butter in a small frying pan.

Taste and stop the cooking when the fusilli are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the fusilli. Drop the pasta into the pan  with the butter. Stir well, then sprinkle some of the cheese and stir some more. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions. 

For the current edition of Cook the Books, we are reading Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin (1988). I didn't know this book before I saw it on our reading list and am grateful to Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for choosing such a delightful memoir. The style is sparkling, the voice fresh and engaging, and the book is a real pleasure to dive into. If you have not read Home Cooking, I warmly recommend it.

Ms. Colwin shares a number of recipes with her readers, from her take on traditional dishes like Boston Brown Bread, to the result of her experiments in the kitchen, like Polenta and Broccoli di Rape. I'll be totally honest and admit that while I enjoyed reading about the recipes, I had difficulty being inspired by them, as Colwin's style of cooking is quite different from mine.

I know though, that she enjoyed making pasta, because she says so on page 178:

I was once given a pasta machine and instantly set about making pasta. My pasta was not beautiful and it did not emerge from its final rolling in one long, beautiful sheet, but it certainly was delicious and not overly time-consuming.

Ms. Colwin was open to trying new things to decide for herself whether she liked them or not. I am sure she would have been open to learn to make the pasta shapes with which I have been experimenting recently (strascinati, orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro, gnocchetti sardi ), and she would have commented on her experience with the wit she shows throughout Home Cooking. So, to her I dedicate my last adventure in pasta making: fusilli al ferro. And based on the recipes in the book, I know she would have liked the burro e parmigiano dressing.

This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement. This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my contribution to edition #280 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). This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

fusilli al ferro

or launch the fusilli al ferro 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.]

pasta, butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano

pesche a colazione / a peachy breakfast

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

rye berries

Rye berries (chicchi di segale) are pretty. I discovered that a while ago, when I got a package of them as part of my monthly grain CSA share. I cooked them as I usually do hulled barley (dry toasting then boiling), then used them in this dish, and we liked the result.

A friend lent me her grain flaker while she was away and I enjoyed using it with various grains. You put the grains into the hopper and turn the handle which makes the rollers turn and flatten the grains. At this point, you can cook the flakes, but I add another step.

I recently purchased the book "The Art of Fermentation" by Sandor Katz. Katz is well-known for his research and writings on this fascinating topic (see this article on NPR about the book). In the book, I read about fermenting oatmeal and decided to apply the same principle to rolled rye (according to this page, rolled rye and rye flakes are synonyms):

• Take a small container and add rye flakes (fiocchi di segale)
  
• Add 1.5-2 times as much volume of water and mix (see Note below)
  
• Loosely cover the container and let it sit for 24 hours (I put the container on top of the refrigerator), stirring a couple of times during the interval (at the end, the soaked rye flakes smell very lightly sour)

Note: you may want to start with twice as much water and then decrease the amount as needed to obtain the desired consistency of the cooked grains. Also, different grains absorb water a bit differently, so, for example, for oats I use twice as much water, while for rye, I use 1.5 times as much water.

When ready to prepare, empty the container into a saucepan, bring slowly to a boil and cook until desired softness. Cooking the fermented rye flakes takes a short time. The first time I made them, I was a bit worried that my husband would not like them: they smell earthy, almost smoky, quite different from oatmeal. He declared he liked them better than oatmeal. They are also more filling. 

a colorful and flavorful breakfast for one

We finally get to the peaches. The breakfast bowl above contains the following layers (from bottom to top):

1. Cooked rye flakes: half a cup of flakes (about 2 oz. / 55 g) soaked in water for 24 hours as described above, then cooked until desired softness
   
2. Several tablespoons of homemade plain yogurt
3. One small peach, peeled and chopped
   
4. 10 or so toasted pistachios (pistacchi), chopped
   

The glass contains a peach lassi made with the following ingredients (serves 1):

• A medium peach, cut into half and stone removed
• A cup of homemade kefir
• Half of a Medjool date, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the peach, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake for 15 minutes. Let it cool slightly, slip off the skin and put into the bowl of a blender or food processor together with any juice released during baking. Let it cool completely.

You can skip the previous step and simply peel and chop the peach into the blender or food processor bowl, so any juice released is saved.

Add date and kefir to the peach and blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and serve.

This flavorful and nutritious breakfast is a study of contrasts: crunchy pistachios, sweet and juicy peach, creamy and sightly tart yogurt, and hearty rye flakes.

This is my second contribution to Cooking With Seeds: Rye or Millet, an event created by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that is, me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Please, check the event announcement for details. You have until August 31 to participate by sending me your contribution(s).

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

pesche a colazione

or launch the pesche a colazione 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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peach, rye, breakfast, kefir

Per i lettori italiani

chicchi di segale

I chicchi di segale sono di un bel colore grigio-verde perla. L'ho scoperto un po' di tempo fa quando ne ho ricevuto un pacchetto nella mia cassettina delle granaglie. Li ho preparati come faccio di solito con l'orzo (tostati a secco e poi bolliti), e poi li ho usati in questo piatto con ottimo risultato.

Un'amica mi ha prestato il suo mulinetto per fare i fiocchi di cereali ed io mi sono divertita ad usarlo con orzo, avena e segale. I chicchi si mettono nell'imbuto, poi si gira la manovella che fa girare le due piccole mole di acciaio che schiacciano i semi. A questo punto i fiocchi si possono cuocere, ma io ho aggiunto un altro passaggio.

Da poco ho comprato il libro "The Art of Fermentation" di Sandor Katz. Katz è conosciuto per i suoi scritti su questo argomento affascinante (vd. questo articolo). Nel libro ho letto un paragrafo sulla fermentazione dei fiocchi d'avena e ho deciso di applicare lo stesso principio a quelli di segale.

• Mettere i fiocchi di segale in un piccolo contenitore
• Aggiungere 1,5-2 volte il volume di acqua e mescolare (vd. Nota qui sotto)
  
• Coprire (senza sigillare) e lasciare riposare per 24 ore (io metto il contenitore sopra al frigorifero), mescolando un paio di volte durante l'intervallo (al termine, i fiocchi di segale hanno un profumo vagamento acidulo, tipo pasta madre, ma molto più leggero).

Nota: cominciate con l'usare il doppio del volume di acqua e poi, se necessario, diminuite la quantità per ottenere la consistenza desiderata del cereale cotto. L'assorbimento di acqua varia con la qualità di cereale, quindi, per esempio, per l'avena uso il doppio d'acqua, mentre per la segale uso una volta e mezzo.

Quando volete preparare la colazione, vuotare il contenitore in un pentolino, portare a bollore lentamente e cuocere fino a quando i fiocchi siano della morbidezza desiderata (non ci vuole molto tempo). La prima volta che li ho preparati temevo che a mio marito non sarebbero piaciuti: hanno un profumo molto terrestre, quasi affumicato, molto diverso da quello dei fiocchi di avena. Mio marito ha subito detto che i fiocchi di segale gli piacciono più di quelli di avena. Riempiono anche di più.

una colazione ricca di sapore

E finalmente arriviamo alle pesche. La ciotola della foto, porzione per una persona, contiene i seguenti strati (dal basso verso l'alto):

1. fiocchi di segale cotti: mezza tazza (120 ml / 55 g) di fiocchi ammollati in acqua per 24 ore e poi cotti come spiegato sopra
2. yogurt bianco fatto in casa (diversi cucchiai, a piacere)
3. una piccola pesca sbucciata e tagliata a pezzetti
4. una decina di pistacchi tostati e spezzettati

Nel bicchiere c'è un lassi alla pesca fatto con i seguenti ingredienti (per una porzione):

• una pesca media, tagliata a metà e senza nocciolo
• una tazza (235 ml) di kefir fatto in casa
• mezzo dattero tagliato a pezzettini

Scaldare il forno a 180 C. Mettere la pesca con la parte tagliata in alto su una piccola lastra da forno foderata con un tappetino di silicone per forno e infornarla per 15 minuti. Lasciarla intiepidire un po' e poi rimuovere la buccia e mettere la pesca nel frullatore o robot insieme al sugo che può aver prodotto durante la cottura. Far freddare del tutto.

Potete saltare il passaggio precedente e semplicemente rimuovere la buccia dalla pesca, tagliarla a pezzi e metterla nel frullatore o robot insieme al succo prodotto.

Aggiungere il kefir e il dattero alla pesca e frullare fino a quando la bevanda sia omogenea. Versare in un bicchiere alto e servire.

Questa colazione gustosa e nutriente è uno studio di contrasti: pistacchi croccanti, pesca dolce e succosa, yogurt cremoso e acidulo e segale sostanziosa.

Propongo questa colazione all'edizione di Agosto dell'evento Salutiamoci, ospitato da Brii di briggishome che ha scelto come tema la pesca. 

Questo post contiene la lista delle ricette contribuite all'evento.

E questo e il mio secondo contributo a Cooking With Seeds: Rye or Millet, (cucinare coi semi: segale e miglio), un evento creato Priya di Priya's Versatile Recipes e ospitato questo mese da Simona di briciole (che sono io).

I dettagli per partecipare all'evento sono in questo annuncio. Avete tempo fino al 31 Agosto per mandarmi il vostro contributo.

una serata alla Scala e mascarpone / an evening at La Scala and mascarpone

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Welcome to the Teatro alla Scala, the crown jewel of Italian opera theaters.

the view from our box

Three years ago, we spent a memorable evening in this dazzling place.

my seat

The small screen displays the subtitles. My husband was able to select the English version of the subtitles.

bravi!

We watched Gaetano Donizetti's Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali: it is an opera about staging an opera and is quite amusing.

the front of the building

Looking at il tempio della lirica (the temple of lyrical opera) always makes me think of Giuseppe Verdi.

In this excerpt from the 1982 TV movie on Verdi's life, we see the young composer in the upper gallery of La Scala listening to Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love). And in this one, we see him having his first major success with the opera Nabucco. The soprano in the opera was Giuseppina Strepponi, who would become Verdi's partner and later his (second) wife.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Walking from La Scala to Piazza Duomo through the Galleria is nice any time of the day, particularly so at night.

at the intersection

This is one of the most elegant places in Italy and one I love dearly, as I dearly love Milano, the city where I lived for 10 years before moving to California.

In our tour of the Italian regions with the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), we have reach Lombardia (Lombardy), of which Milan is the capital. There are many beautiful places to visit in Lombardia besides Milan: Pavia, Mantova, Lake Como, Bergamo (home town of Donizetti), Cremona, Valtellina and many, many more.

My first contribution to the Abbecedario for this instalment was a recipe from my archive: polenta taragna, typical of Valtellina. My second contribution is the presentation of a variation on the recipe to make mascarpone, a cheese typical of the region, in particular the area around the city of Lodi. (Coincidentally, Strepponi was born in that city.)

I have already published a recipe for mascarpone. Last week, I decided to try to make cultured mascarpone, following the recipe by Jim Wallace, roughly halving the quantities. The result was very nice.

In this version, the cream and milk blend needs to be warmed up only to 86 F. Then, the culture takes it from there. The blend I used was made up of

• 1 1/2 cup (355 ml) heavy whipping cream 40% butterfat: this is a higher butterfat content than what I usually use (35%)
• 1 cup (235 ml) non-fat milk: this is more than I usually use, and I did it to balance out the higher butterfat content of the cream; the blend's overall butterfat content was 24%
  

I didn't have the direct-set crème fraîche culture, but I did have half a package of the direct-set fromagina culture, which includes the same lactic bacteria. Based on the description ("a cross between Fromage Blanc and Mascarpone"), I thought it would be fine to use it. Next time, I will try using crème fraîche culture to taste the difference. Both direct-set cultures contain a small amount of rennet to help form the curd.

I started the process in the evening, after sanitizing the pan and all the tools needed. I warmed up to 86 F the cream and milk blend to which I had added 5 drops of calcium chloride diluted in 2 tablespoons of cool water. At temperature, I added the culture as described in Jim's recipe. I left the covered pan undisturbed overnight, wrapped in a towel. The morning after, I found that the blend had set nicely into a very soft curd and was ready for the draining step.

I initially drained the mascarpone using a sterilized cotton napkin, as I usually do, but for some reason the draining was not proceeding well, so I moved the mascarpone onto a double layer of cheese mesh (also sterilized) and that worked well. I stopped the draining when the mascarpone had the desired consistency (see photo above). I collected the whey and froze it for later use to make bread.

The day the mascarpone was ready to be consumed, we had freshly picked peaches (pesche) from Neukom Family Farm and it seemed obvious to put the two together in a bowl. Nothing else is required: this is a rich and satisfying dessert that you eat slowly and cherish spoon after spoon. 

As this page on Lodi states:

The pride of local produce include cheeses, the most famous being Mascarpone, but also Pennerone, Lodi Granone, cheeses with flavours that these days are becoming hard to find. And the Raspadura, a grana-like fresh cheese traditionally served in thin slices cut with a special knife which makes the cheese curl in on itself.

the cheese and the special blade to make curls

 It is really fun to watch Raspadura being cut.

the blade at work

It is difficult to stop eating the sweet smelling curls of cheese once you open the container in which they are packaged for you. The writing on the apron says "tipico lodigiano" (typical from Lodi).

This is my submission for the 13th 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. P come Pavia is hosted by Paola of Voglia di cucina...Voglia di sognare.... This page contains the list of dishes submitted to the event and a slide show.

And I suspect the cheese lovers participating in the year long Cheesepalooza project, organized by Valerie of A Canadian Foodie will enjoy watching some of the photos in this post. Mascarpone is one of the optional cheeses that the group will make this month, so I am contributing my mascarpone adventures to the effort.

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

serata alla Scala e mascarpone

or launch the una serata alla Scala e mascarpone 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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mascarpone, peach

Per i lettori italiani

Benevenuti al Teatro alla Scala.

veduta dal nostro palco

Tre anni fa passammo una serata memorabile in questo luogo davvero speciale.

la mia sedia

Un piccolo monitor personale mostra i sottotitoli. Mio marito ha potuto selezionare i sottotitoli in inglese.

bravi!

Abbiamo visto Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali di Gaetano Donizetti, un'opera che ha come tema la messa in scena di un'opera: davvero divertente.

la facciata

Il Teatro alla Scala mi fa sempre pensare a Giuseppe Verdi e allo sceneggiato che la RAI trasmise nel 1982. Di Verdi, proprio la scorsa stagione la San Francisco Opera ha messo in scena Attila, una co-produzione della Scala, regia di Gabriele Lavia, scene di Alessandro Camera e costumi di Andrea Viotti. Tra l'altro il direttore musicale dell'Opera è un italiano: Nicola Luisotti. Il quartetto italiano di cui sopra aveva già un'opera nel programma 2011-12, il Don Giovanni di Mozart. Entrambi gli spettacoli sono stati molto belli.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Camminare dalla Scala a Piazza Duomo attraverso la Galleria è un piacere ad ogni ora del giono, ma in particolare di sera quando è tutta illuminata.

sotto la cupola centrale

Questo è uno dei luoghi più eleganti d'Italia e uno che amo in modo particolare, come amo Milano, dove ho vissuto quasi 10 anni, prima di trasferirmi in California.

Nel nostro tour dell'Italia insieme alla carovana dell'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia siamo arrivati in Lombardia, dove ci sono molti posti bellissimi da visitare, a parte Milano: Pavia, Mantova, il Lago di Como, Bergamo, Cremona, la Valtellina e tanti altri.

Il mio primo contributo all'Abbecedario per questa tappa è stato una ricetta dal mio archivio: la polenta taragna, tipica della Valtellina. Il mio secondo contributo è la presentazione di una variazione della ricetta per fare il mascarpone, formaggio tipico lombardo, in particolare del lodigiano.

Una curiosità: in California c'è una città che si chiama Lodi (debitamente gemellata con la Lodi originale) e ci passiamo ogni volta che andiamo sulla Sierra Nevada. La Lodi californiana si trova nella San Joaquin Valley. Ma pare che Lodi sia un nome popolare nel Nuovo Mondo: guardate qui quante Lodi ci sono.

Ho già pubblicato una ricetta per fare il mascarpone in casa (post bilingue). Mi rendo conto che in Italia è molto più semplice comprarlo, ma vi assicuro che fare il mascarpone oltre ad essere relativamente semplice, dà molta soddisfazione. La ricetta di cui sopra fa uso di acido tartarico oppure di succo di limone. La scorsa settimana ho provato a fare il mascarpone con la coltura di batteri, seguendo la ricetta di Jim Wallace, e dimezzando (all'incirca) le quantità. Il risultato è molto buono. In questa versione è la miscela di panna e latte deve essere scaldata solo fino a 30 C, poi la coltura batterica si prende cura del resto, a temperatura ambiente.

La miscela di panna e latte che ho usato contiene

• 355 ml di panna da montare al 40% di grasso: questo contenuto di grasso è più elevato di quello che uso di solito (35%)
• 235 ml di latte scremato pastorizzato: questa quantità è maggiore di quella che uso di solito ma ho voluto bilanciare il più elevato contenuto di grasso della panna; ll contenuto totale di grasso della miscela è 24% (entro i valori ideali per fare il mascarpone)
  

Non avevo la coltura pronta per fare la crème fraîche, ma avevo mezzo pacchetto di coltura pronta per fromagina, che comprende gli stessi batteri lattici. In base alla descrizione ("un incrocio tra Fromage Blanc e Mascarpone"), ho pensato che sarebbe andata bene. La prossima volta proverò ad utilizzare la coltura per fare la crème fraîche per assaggiare la differenza. Entrambe le colture pronte contengono una piccola quantità di caglio.

La sera dopo cena, dopo aver sterilizzato una pentola e tutti gli strumenti che vengono a contatto con panna e latte, ho aggiunto 5 gocce di cloruro di calcio diluite in 30 ml di acqua fredda alla miscela, ho mescolato bene e poi l'ho scaldata fino a 30 C. Una volta raggiunta la temperatura, ho sparso la coltura sulla superficie, l'ho lasciata rinvenire per alcuni minuti e ho mescolato bene. Ho coperto la pentola e l'ho lasciata a temperatura ambiente, avvolta in un asciugamano per rallentare la perdita di calore. La mattina dopo ho trovato una cagliata soffice, pronta per essere drenata.

All'inizio ho usato, come al solito, un tovagliolo di cotone sterilizzato, ma per qualche motivo il drenaggio non procedeva bene e allora ho versato il mascarpone su un doppio strato di retina fitta per formaggio, anch'esso sterilizzato (il mio post precedente sul mascarpone fatto in casa comprende una foto e ulteriori dettagli sulla fase di drenaggio). Ho interrotto il drenaggio quando il mascarpone ha raggiunto la consistenza desiderata (vedi foto sopra). Il siero che ho raccolto l'ho congelato per uso futuro nel fare il pane.

Il giorno che il mascarpone era pronto per essere gustato ho ricevuto delle belle pesche appena colte dalla Neukom Family Farm e mi è sembrato ovvio mettere insieme i due. Non c'è bisogno di aggiungere altro: questo è un dessert ricco e soddisfacente da gustare lentamente, un cucchiaino dopo l'altro.

Come dice questa pagina dedicata ai cibi tipici del lodigiano:

Le glorie locali sono soprattutto i formaggi, il più famoso dei quali è il mascarpone, ma anche il pannerone, il granone Lodigiano, formaggio dal sapore oggi sempre più raro da trovare e la raspadura, un formaggio grana fresco che la tradizione vuole sia servito in sottili lamine che si arricciano su se stesse e raschiate sulla superficie della forma da un particolare coltello.

il formaggio e la lama speciale

Guardare mentre tagliano la raspadura è divertente.

la lama al lavoro

Poi è difficile smettere di mangiare le lamine di formaggio profumate.

Questo è un altro 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. P come Pavia è ospitata da Paola di Voglia di cucina...Voglia di sognare...

Questa pagina contiene la lista dei piatti contribuiti all'evento e uno slide show.

torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio / savory tart with cherry tomatoes and cheese

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

take some sun-ripened cherry tomatoes

Consumption of tomatoes in our household is intense this time of the year. We receive a basket of cherry tomatoes every week in our CSA box, plus some larger tomatoes, and I supplement that allowance with purchases at the farmers' market. I like the baskets of mixed varieties, which allow a taste comparison. For this tart, which I have made four times in the last three weeks, I have used mostly Blush tomatoes.

and some homemade Colby

Colby, which I have made twice in recent months, using Jim Wallace's recipe, melts nicely and it is therefore perfect for the tart. It is also nice to eat as is. The version shown above includes cacao nibs, my personal touch, previously added to other cheeses (like Bel Paese).

The base for the tart is the "alternative" puff pastry (pasta sfoglia "alternativa") presented in an earlier post. As in the case of the savory tart with ricotta and baby leafy greens, more than a recipe, this is a suggestion: the puff pastry is a canvas on which you can try a combination of ingredients. And of course, the given quantities can be adjusted to fill a bigger tart.

and make a nice savory tart

Ingredients:

• 165 g / 5 3/4 oz. (half a batch) of "alternative" puff pastry (or equivalent amount of regular puff pastry)
• Semi-hard cheese of choice that melts well: I used my homemade Colby
• Cherry tomatoes (in the rendition above, I used the Blush variety)
• A few leaves of fresh basil (basilico), chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Roll out the pastry until fairly thin, then place it on the lined baking sheet. I like to make a rectangular tart. Prick the shell with a fork in several places. Cut a wedge of the cheese and then slice it fairly thin. Distribute pieces of cheese over rolled pastry, leaving a border all around (about 1/2 inch) and also leaving a bit of space in between, where you can place the tomatoes. Keep in mind that in melting, the cheese takes up a bit more surface space.

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and distribute on the pastry, in between pieces of cheese. Sprinkle basil slivers over the tomatoes. I never weighed the cheese or the tomatoes, relying on my sense of balance to adjust the quantities: you want to be able to taste all the ingredients.

Pinch the pastry all around to raise it slightly and fold to make a kind of border. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the visible crust is light golden, about 25 minutes. As usual, the time varies with the oven. Check the tart after 20 minutes and estimate the time remaining.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, let rest briefly, then cut the tart, serve and enjoy.

This is not something you want to make every day, since puff pastry is rich in butter. Cut into smaller pieces, the tart makes a nice appetizer (antipasto). And you can boast about having made the puff pastry yourself.

¹ In Italy, cherry tomatoes are also referred to as pomodorini ciliegia and pomodori ciliegini.

This is my contribution to edition #346 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 Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio

or launch the torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio 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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puff pastry, cheese, savory tart, cherry tomato

Per i lettori italiani

pomodori ciliegia maturi

Il consumo di pomodori a casa nostra in questo periodo dell'anno è notevole. Riceviamo un cestino di pomodori ciliegia ogni settimana nella cassettina insieme ad alcuni pomodori da insalata o da sugo, e ne compro sempre un po' al farmers' market. Mi piacciono i cestini misti, perché uno può fare il confronto tra diverse varietà. Per questa torta salata, che ho già fatto quattro volte nel giro di poco tempo, ho usato soprattutto i pomodorini di varietà Blush (blush in inglese è il rossore sul volto di una persona).

e del formaggio Colby fatto in casa

Il formaggio Colby, che ho fatto due volte negli ultimi mesi seguendo la ricetta di Jim Wallace, fonde bene ed è perciò perfetto per questa torta salata. Questo formaggio originale americano è anche ottimo da gustare al naturale. La versione che si vede nella foto include granella di cacao, un tocco personale che ho aggiunto anche ad altri formaggi (per esempio, Bel Paese).

La base per la torta salata è fatta con la pasta sfoglia "alternativa" della quale ho parlato in un post di qualche tempo fa. Come nel caso della torta salata con ricotta e verdure novelle, più che una ricetta, questo è un suggerimento: la pasta sfoglia è una tela sulla quale potete provare a combinare degli ingredienti che vi ispirano. E naturalmente, le dosi possono essere adattate a preparare una torta più grande.

per fare un'ottima torta salata

Ingredienti:

• 165 g / metà della pasta sfoglia "alternativa" che ottenete seguendo le dosi della ricetta (oppure la stessa quantità di pasta sfoglia tradizionale)
• formaggio semi-duro che fonde bene: io ho usato il mio Colby fatto in casa
• pomodori ciliegia (nella torta della foto ho usato pomodorini di varietà Blush)
• alcune foglie di basilico fresco, spezzettate

Scaldare il forno a 190 C e foderare una lastra da forno con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Stendere la pasta sfoglia fina e poi muoverla sulla lastra foderata. Bucherellare la superficie con una forchetta in diversi punti. Tagliare il formaggio a fettine piuttosto fine e poi a pezzi. Distribuire sulla pasta sfoglia lasciando tutto intorno un bordo di circa 1,25 cm e anche un po' di spazio tra un pezzetto e l'altro (tenere presente che fondendo il formaggio si espande).

Tagliare i pomodori a metà per lungo e distribuirli sulla superficie, appoggiandoli tra un pezzetto di formaggio e l'altro. Distribuire il basilico sui pomodori. Non ho mai pesato il formaggio o i pomodori, basandomi sul mio senso dell'equilibrio per le quantità: l'idea è di poter distinguere il sapore dei vari ingredienti.

Pizzicare la pasta sfoglia tutto intorno per sollevare leggermente il bordo, poi ripiegarlo su se stesso. Infornare e cuocere fino a quando la crosta è dorata, 25 minuti circa. Come si sa, ogni forno è un po' diverso e quindi è bene controllare la torta dopo 20 minuti e valutare quanto tempo manca.

Tirare fuori la teglia dal forno, far riposare brevemente la torta e poi tagliare e servire. Questo non è un piatto da fare tutti i giorni, dal momento che la pasta sfoglia è ricca di burro. Tagliata a quadrotti, questa torta salata può essere servita come antipasto.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 346 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 Kris di Tutto a occhio. 

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

pane di mais con chicchi di mais arrosto

cornbread with roasted corn kernels

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

golden kernels, nuggets of flavor

When I get some fresh, sweet corn at the farmers' market, I oven-roast it as soon as I get home.

can you smell it?

I pull away the husks and the warm smell of roasted corn fills my nose.

a fairly easy job for the blade

As I separate the kernels from the cob (with the help of a knife) I plan ahead: a cup of kernels  will go into this bread instead of blueberries and the rest will go into this salad.

cornbread meets Caprese salad

The original recipe for blueberry cornbread that I have further adapted here was published in Shape Cooks, a short-lived magazine that ceased to be published some 13 years ago.

Ingredients:

1. 3 large or 4 medium ears of corn (pannocchie di granturco¹), still wrapped in their husks (if they aren't, wrap them in foil before roasting them) and with their silks attached [see Note below]
   
2. 1 cup (130 g) yellow [stone-ground] cornmeal
3. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat flour
4. 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
5. 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
6. 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking power
7. A pinch of salt
8. 1 egg, lightly beaten
9. 2 tablespoons (30 ml) agave nectar or honey
10. 1/2 cup plain [homemade] yogurt + 1/2 cup [homemade] kefir OR 1 cup buttermilk (235 ml)
11. 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular unsalted butter), melted

Note: you won't need all the kernels from the ears, but by roasting corn to be used for two recipes, you will make efficient use of your oven.

Roast corn in the oven at 450 F for 20 minutes (on a baking sheet). Let cool briefly, then remove the husks. Working on a shallow bowl or pyrex dish, use a knife to separate kernels and scrapings from the cob. This page from bon appetít describes precisely the way I do this with the knife. (Save the empty cobs to make stock or broth.) Measure 1 cup of kernels to make the bread and use the rest to make this salad or another dish of choice.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and oil or butter the sides not covered by the paper. Combine all the dry ingredients (2-7) into a bowl. In another bowl, combine egg, agave nectar, yogurt and kefir, then gradually pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Incorporate the butter, then fold in the corn kernels.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cornbread passes the toothpick test. Check the bread first after 18 minutes and, if it needs more time in the oven, keep a close watch as it is easy to overbake the cornbread.

Remove cornbread from the pan and place on a rack. The cornbread is very nice eaten warm. It is a great accompaniment for cheese (as shown in the photos) and also nice with this spread.

¹ Both mais and granturco mean corn in Italian.

This is my contribution to edition #344 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 Martissima of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

pane di mais con chicchi di mais arrosto

or launch the pane di mais con chicchi di mais arrosto 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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cornbread, cornmeal, corn, kefir, yogurt

Per i lettori italiani

chicchi dorati, pepite di sapore

Quando compro delle pannocchie di granturco al mercato, le arrostisco in forno appena arrivo a casa.

sentite che profumo?

Tiro via le foglie e il caldo profumo di granturco arrosto mi riempie il naso.

un lavoretto piuttosto facile per la lama

Mentre separo i chicchi dal tutolo con l'aiuto di un coltello, pianifico: una tazza di chicchi sostituirà i mirtilli in questo pane e il resto li userò per preparare questa insalata.

il pane di mais incontra l'insalata caprese

La ricetta originale per il pane di mais ai mirtilli che ho adattato ulteriormente qui fu pubblicata nella rivista Shape Cooks, la cui pubblicazione fu purtroppo di breve durata ed è cessata circa 13 anni fa.

Ingredienti:

1. 3 pannocchie di granturco grosse o 4 medie ancora con le foglie (se non ci sono, prima di infornarle avvolgere le pannocchie nella pellicola di alluminio) [vedi Nota sotto]
   
2. 130 g farina di mais tipo fioretto
3. 65 g farina di grano integrale
4. 65 g farina di grano
5. 2 cucchiaini (10 ml) bicarbonato di soda
6. 1/2 cucchiaino (2.5 ml) lievito in polvere
7. un pizzico di sale
8. 1 uovo leggermente sbattuto per mescolare tuorlo e chiara
9. 2 cucchiai (30 ml) nettare di agave o miele
10. 1/2 tazza di yogurt bianco [fatto in casa] + 1/2 tazza di kefir [fatto in casa] oppure 1 tazza  (235 ml) di latticello
11. 7 g burro nocciola oppure burro normale, fuso
    

Nota: per fare il pane non userete i chicchi delle pannocchie, ma arrostendo abbastanza granturco da preparare due ricette farete un uso efficiente del vostro forno.

Cuocere le pannocchie in forno a 230 C per 20 minuti (su una lastra da forno). Farle intiepidire un po' poi rimuovere le foglie. Appoggiandosi all'interno di una ciotola bassa o di una teglie di pyrex, usate un coltello per separare i chicchi dal tutolo. Questa pagina dalla rivista bon appetít (in inglese) descrive il procedimento che uso anche io per sgranare il mais col coltello. (Mettere da parte i tutoli e utilizzarli come ingrediente per fare il brodo vegetale o di carne.) Misurare una tazza (235 ml) di chicchi per preparare il pane e utilizzare il resto per preparare questa insalata o un altro piatto a piacere.

Scaldare il forno a 215 C. Nota: i 425 F della ricetta originale corrispondono a 218 C; se il vostro forno non permette un controllo fine della temperatura, in questo caso preferisco suggerire qualche grado in meno. Foderare con carta da forno una teglia quadrata di 20 cm di lato e ungere leggermente i due lati non coperti dalla carta. In una ciotola, mescolare gli ingredienti secchi (2-7). In un'altra ciotola, mescolare uovo, nettare di agave (o miele), yogurt e kefir (o latticello), poi gradualmente versare nella ciotola con gli ingredienti secchi. Mescolare il minimo necessario a incorporare. Aggiungere il burro fuso e mescolare brevemente, poi incorporare i chicchi di mais.

Versare l'impasto nella teglia e distribuirlo. Cuocere in forno per 18-20 minuti o fino a quando il pane passa il test dello stecchino. Controllare il pane dopo 18 minuti di cottura e, se necessario, continuare la cottura, ma non vi distraete per evitare di cuocere troppo il pane.

Estrarre il pane dalla teglia e metterlo su una griglia an intiepidire. Il pane è buono caldo ed è ottimo sia col formaggio (come di vede nelle foto) che con questa salsa cremosa.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 344 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 Martissima of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.