briciole

maltagliati con petali di fiori / "stained glass" maltagliati

delicate petals within pasta

On May 8, 1999, at the San Francisco Center for the Book, I had my first experience with letterpress printing. I learned about the California job case, how to set type and prepare the press, and together with the other class participants, printed a chapbook under the imprint of the "created for the day" Tiramisu Press.

In the years that followed, I took a few other printing classes in the same location, and every time I was reminded how much I like the blend of boundless creativity and tight concentration that goes into printing. Mary Dern's short piece titled Printing, therefore, resonated with me. As it is only one page long, I invite you to go to the Star 82 Review website and read it all.

One of the fascinating things about not just printing but any form of arts is the special language each uses, a combination of unusual words (quoins anyone?) and common words given a special meaning (furniture).

If you are not familiar with letterpress printing, I won't have you wondering: A quoin is "a wedge or expanding mechanical device used for locking a letterpress form into a chase" and furniture describes "pieces of wood or metal placed around or between metal type to make blank spaces and fasten the matter in the chase." The chase is "a metal frame for holding the composed type and blocks being printed at one time" (Oxford Dictionaries).

In her piece, Dern remains very close to the senses, as she describes the handling of type to compose words, inking the press, the various sounds the latter does when it is set into motion:

I ink the press. The ink in the can shines succulently; it is delicious, shining black. I spread some on the plate with my palette knife.

The press runs, hums, a small ching of metal. The rollers move up and back and down and up and down, spreading the ink in a glistening sheen.

The end result of the process, a printed poem, feels almost edible:

The chase is locked in, the press starts up, the rollers ink the type. I feed the paper onto the platen, press the lever. The kiss. The poem.

As soon as my eyes reached the final word, I started thinking about sheets and ink and printing. For the nth time I wished I could get my hands on some cuttlefish (seppie), whose black ink (nero di seppia) would have been a nice echo to the "succulent" printing ink. Alas!, no such luck and even finding unclean squid (i.e., squid with still the ink sac) is so complicated, I stopped trying some time ago. I have already made pink pasta and green pasta, so something different was called for.

When I looked at my hand-cranked pasta machine, I realized that it resembles a printing press, though it does not click to signal the end of the run for its rollers. I was reminded of a class on relief and pressure printing I took some years ago and thought this would be the right time to try to make so-called stained glass pasta, so I geared into action.

brighly colored and edible

I chose petals from nasturtiums, which grow wildly in our garden. Using rose petals is more romantic and aromatic leaves may lend some of their flavor, but in terms of color, it is hard to beat nasturtium's petals.

deconstructing flowers

A mistake in ordering from King Arthur Flour means I am now the happy owner of a bunch of pastry blend, but an unhappy not-owner of pasta blend (note to self: check the order receipt carefully next time). Had I had the pasta blend, I would have used my normal egg pasta recipe, but since I didn't, I made up a blend with semolina flour and all-purpose flour, but I'll go back to KAF pasta blend as soon as possible. I have also made a batch of pasta using only egg white (albume) rather than whole egg: this makes a dough of a lighter color.

Ingredients:

• 1 extra-large egg or two egg whites
• 80 g (a teaspoon less than 3 oz.) flour [see paragraph above] plus more as needed to obtain the dough
  by my measuring, 80 g of King Arthur's pasta blend correspond to 1/2 cup, but this is not what the packaging states and in any case, I recommend you weigh the flour

On your working surface, create a well with the flour and crack the egg directly into it (or pour egg whites). Scramble the egg with a fork. Draw flour from the sides of the well into the center, mixing well with the egg. Trade the fork for your fingertips. Draw flour until a soft dough forms. Add more flour if needed. Continue to knead the dough, 8-10 minutes. Cover and let rest for an hour or so.

Roll pasta by hand or with a machine. The basic idea is to roll the dough until fairly thin, then distribute the petals on half the sheet, then fold the sheet to sandwich the petals between two layers and finally roll again to preferred thinness.

nasturtium petals on rolled pasta

The first rolling can occur by machine or by hand, while the second, in my opinion, is better done by hand, as the rollers have a harsher effect on the petals. This is a personal preference.

Cut the pasta in a shape that allows the person eating it to see the petals. I cut the pasta into maltagliati, one of the many variations on the theme of irregularly cut pasta. Maltagliati literally means badly cut. Usually this pasta shape is cut into lozenges (rombi). As precision is not required, different sizes of the pieces of pasta are acceptable.

cutting maltagliati

Lay out the pasta on a lightly floured surface. Cook and dress as desired. I did this in two ways.

maltagliati in brodo

1. In brodo
My husband having a cold and chicken soup becoming a daily menu item, maltagliati recommended themselves as being suitable for a steaming bowl of my chicken broth/stock. Bring the broth of choice to a boil, toss the pasta in it and cook until tender. Ladle into bowls, distribute some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top and serve immediately.

2. Pastasciutta
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some coarse salt (sale grosso), stir and then add the pasta. Bring water back to boiling. Cooking time depends on flour used and thickness of pasta, but it is in the order of a few minutes, so don't wander away.

Depending on the kind of sauce you are using, you may need to prepare it ahead and have it ready at hand while the pasta cooks. In my case, I decided to use a bit of freshly made (regular) pesto, so I took an amount commensurate to the quantity of pasta, placed it in a bowl and thinned it slightly with some of the pasta water.

When the pasta is ready, turn off the heat, pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and then drain the pasta, leaving a little bit of water clinging to it. Empty the colander into the bowl with pesto and stir delicately but thouroughly. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions.

Final note: I read Dern's piece on the printed version of Star 82 review, a slender book that contains other jewels, like this illustration and this memorable short-short.

This is my contribution to the 19th 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.

Details about the event are in this post.

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The soup version of my maltagliati is also my submission for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. 

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

maltagliati con petali di fiori

or launch the maltagliati con petali di fiori 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.]

beans, pasta, edible flower, soup, broth

Halloumi col sugo / Halloumi with tomato sauce

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Halloumi and Anari

Fresh goat milk season in my kitchen means homemade Halloumi. I love this cheese: It is relatively easy to make and once I have it in the refrigerator, I can turn it into a lovely meal in no time.

ready to be sliced

What's so special about Halloumi? "Halloumi is also unique in having a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled... it softens significantly but it does not melt." [source]

Last year, I served my homemade Halloumi with roasted cherry tomatoes, a variation on my recipe for caprese salad, but this year, I started making Halloumi before the beginning of tomato season (la stagione dei pomodori), so to put the same well-matched couple on the table, I reached into the freezer, took out some strained roasted tomatoes and made my all-purpose tomato sauce. My light yet deeply flavored tomato sauce is a perfect match for the delicate, softened Halloumi.

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

• Olive oil
• A shallot, minced
• Leaves of a sprig of thyme
• A small garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
• Sea salt, to taste

And the cheese:

• Halloumi cheese (I use my homemade Halloumi which I make with half goat milk and half cow milk; all the details, including a link to the recipe, are in the post referenced; if I could find some sheep milk, I would use it)

How to prepare the tomato sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add the shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. 

Note that this recipe makes more sauce than you need to accompany Halloumi (unless you have a large party), but once you have the sauce ready, you'll find ways of using it (including as dressing for some homemade pasta).

How to put it all together
Distribute some tomato sauce on the bottom of a skillet. The amount of tomato sauce and the size of the skillet depend on how many slices of Halloumi you are preparing. Warm up tomato sauce slightly over low heat.

Cut Halloumi into 1/4-inch slices and place them in the skillet. After a few minutes, when the Halloumi has softened and the sauce is simmering, flip the slices and, with a spoon, place some of the tomato sauce over them. Make sure the sauce is hot but does not dry out due to evaporation. After a few minutes, take the skillet off the heat.

Place Halloumi slices on plates and distribute tomato sauce over them. Serve immediately with some bread that is good for scooping up the sauce (fare la scarpetta) at the end.

Halloumi with tomato sauce

This is the lovely dinner plate I put in front of my tomato-loving husband. Featured on the plate is also one of my four-leaf clover rolls (panini quadrifoglio).

This is my contribution to edition #386 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 Lucia of Torta di rose.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

Halloumi col sugo

or launch the halloumi col sugo 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]

halloumi, cheese, tomato sauce

Halloumi col sugo

Halloumi e Anari (ricotta)

La stagione del latte di capra fresco nella mia cucina significa Halloumi fatto in casa. Mi piace questo formaggio originario dell'isola di Cipro: è relativamente facile da fare e quando ce l'ho nel frigorifero posso prepararci un pasto con un impegno di tempo minimo.

pronto ad essere affettato

Cos'ha di speciale l'Halloumi? "L'Halloumi è unico anche perché ha un elevato punto di fusione e può essere fritto o grigliato... si ammorbidisce molto ma non fonde." [fonte; traduzione mia]

L'anno scorso ho servito il mio Halloumi fatto in casa con pomodori ciliegia arrosto, una variazione della mia ricetta per l'insalata caprese, ma quest'anno ho cominciato a fare l'Halloumi prima dell'inizio della stagione dei pomodori, quindi per servire la coppia be assortita ho tirato fuori dal congelatore dei pomodori arrosto passati e ho preparato il mio sugo passe-partout. Il mio sugo leggero e saporito si sposa perfettamente con l'Halloumi ammorbidito dal calore.

Ingredienti per il sugo:

• Olio EVO
• Uno scalogno tritato
• Le foglioline di un bel rametto di timo
• Un piccolo spicchio d'aglio tagliato a fettine sottili
• 475 ml pomodori arrosto passati (scongelati, se necessario)
• Sale fino, q.b.

E il formaggio:

• Halloumi (io uso il mio Halloumi fatto in casa che faccio con metà latte di capra e metà latte di mucca; se potessi trovare del latte di pecora lo utilizzerei volentieri)

Preparare il sugo
In una pentola (di capienza un litro), scaldare un po' di olio d'oliva e aggiungere scalogno e timo. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per pochi minuti, poi aggiungre l'aglio. Continuare a cuocere per un paio di minuti, poi versare i pomodori passati. Portare a leggerissimo bollore e cuocere per 7-8 minuti. Correggere il sale.

Questa ricetta prepara più sugo di quanto ne abbiate bisogno per l'Halloumi (a meno che non abbiate molti ospiti), ma una volta che ce l'avete pronto, potete usarlo per altri piatti, compresa della pasta fatta in casa.

Preparare il piatto
Distribuire del sugo sul fondo di una padella. La quantità di sugo e le dimensioni della padella dipendono da quante fette di Halloumi volete preparare. Scaldare leggermente il sugo a fuoco dolce. 

Tagliare l'Halloumi a fettine spesse 6 mm e adagiarle nella padella. Dopo pochi minuti, quando l'Halloumi si è ammorbidito e il sugo sobbolle, girare le fettine e con un cucchiaio distribuire su di esse un po' del sugo. Assicurarsi che il sugo sia bollente ma che non si secchi a causa dell'evaporazione. Dopo un paio di minuti, togliere la padella dal fuoco.

Disporre le fettine di Halloumi sui piatti e distribuire del sugo su di esse. Servire immediatamente accompagnando il piatto con del pane che sia adatto a fare la scarpetta.

Halloumi col sugo

Questo è il piatto che ho servito a mio marito (che adora i pomodori). In secondo piano c'è uno dei miei panini quadrifoglio.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 386 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 Lucia di Torta di rose.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

sagne incannulate con lenticchie al sugo / with lentils in tomato sauce

elegant shape

I am not surprised that the authors of the book "Pasta by Design" were fascinated by the geometric shape of sagne incannulate. This pasta from Puglia, also called lasagne arrotolate and lagane incannulate, starts as a strip of pasta dough and ends as a long spiral that keeps its shape during cooking. On this page, you can see some lasagne arrotolate.

Reading the description in Orietta Zanini De Vita's Encyclopedia of Pasta made me search for additional information and then run to the kitchen to make some eggless pasta dough.

Zanini De Vita mentions the use of a round stick as a support for rolling the pasta, and I tried to use the thickest of the dowels I bought during my garganelli research, but I didn't have enough details to be able to reproduce her description.

Among the few videos that I found, the most helpful was this one, where the pasta strip is rolled around its long axis on the working surface to fold into a spiral. This other video shows a method that I find rather tricky, since the dough can stick to itself when rolled.

With the information acquired, I set about devising my procedure for making this beautiful pasta shape. The photo above shows my first sagne incannulate. And the video shows my hands at work:

 

Ingredients for the pasta:

• 100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
• 50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
• A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the lentils:

• 100 g / 3.5 oz. / 1/2 cup lenticchie di Castelluccio, picked and rinsed (or other small lentils, like de Puy or black beluga)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons / 270 ml water
• 1 garlic clove, unpeeled (uno spicchio d'aglio in camicia; literally: with the shirt on)
  
• 1 small bay leaf
• A pinch of sea salt

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

• Olive oil
• A shallot, minced
• Leaves of a sprig of thyme
• A small garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
• Sea salt, to taste

How to make the dough and shape sagne incannulate
Make a dough with the pasta ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, well wrapped to avoid drying, for half an hour or so.

Shape the dough into a thick disk, then cut it into quarters. Roll each quarter into a wide strip, thicker than when making tagliatelle. With my hand-cranked pasta machine, I roll the dough down until the third thinnest notch.

Zanini De Vita does not say how long the strips of dough are, while this page says 30 cm (12 inches). At the beginning, you may want to limit yourself to 10 inches (25 cm), so you can gain familiarity with the movements involved. I suggest not to exceed 12 inches (30 cm) of length.

Cut each piece of dough into strips about 5/8 inch (1.5 cm) wide. With one hand, roll each strip along its long axis to make a tight spiral. Use the other hand to guide the strip so it acquires the right shape. Make sure the working surface offers a bit of traction when you make the initial roll. If the surface is floured, the strip will slide rather then start folding onto itself.

Depending on the length of the resulting spiral, fold the rolled sagne incannulate in half or into thirds (like the bottom sagna in the top photo). Set them aside to dry on a kitchen towel or a floured wooden kneading board.

Knead together strips too short to roll and mishapen sagne and flatten the dough again into a wide strip to be cut. Repeat until all dough is used.

You need to let this pasta dry at least a day, longer if possible, before cooking. This will ensure that when you move it, you don't smash it and that the pasta will keep its beautiful shape when cooked. A kitchen towel under the pasta absorbs some of the moisture and so does a wooden kneading board.

How to cook the lenticcchie
Place all the ingredients for the lentils except the salt in a small pan. Bring to a boil and cook gently until lentils are tender. Check after 15 minutes and estimate the time necessary to complete the cooking (it should be a few more minutes). If the pan is dry, add a bit of hot water.

When done, add salt, stir and set aside.

version one-pot meal

How to prepare the tomato sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add the shallot and thyme. Cook gently for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Adjust salt, to taste. Add the lentils to the tomato sauce (draining them first, if there is some water at the bottom of the pan) and stir well.

Note that this will make much more sauce than you need to dress the sagne made with the amount of dough above, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

How to put it all together
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the sagne incannulate in it. The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of sagne, how dry they are, etc., but it is not short, as the pasta is rather dry. Taste and stop the cooking when the sagne are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the pasta. Place in a bowl, then distribute some lentils in tomato sauce and toss. Serve immediately.

Alternatively, while the pasta is cooking, place some lentils in tomato sauce in a small skillet and warm up.

Note: When I prepared the batch that I then photographed, I used a good amount of lentils to make a piatto unico (one-dish meal). When I serve the pasta as an Italian primo piatto (first course), I use less sauce. 

Taste the pasta and stop the cooking slightly earlier than usual. Drain the pasta, leaving just a bit of water clining to it, then drop it into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Plate and serve immediately.

Note: if tomato season is ongoing in your area, you can make tomato sauce using crushed tomatoes, adjusting the cooking time to get a sauce of the right consistency.

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This is my second contribution to the current edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Simona of briciole. The theme this month is: homemade pasta.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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This is also my contribution to MLLA #59, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.

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

sagne incannulate

or launch the sagne incannulate con lenticchie al sugo 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.]

handmade pasta, lentils, tomatoes, semolina flour, Italian cuisine

Related articles

pezze rigate / handmade pezze rigate

annuncio / announcement: Pasta Please

kifli / panini ungheresi / Hungarian bread rolls

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

my version of kifli

When we start a new chapter of our trip across Europe using the alphabet and visit a country I have never been to, it's like arriving in an unknown city and researching a place to eat. I usually start with the wikipedia article on the nation's cuisine and see if anything catches my attention. In the case of Hungary (Ungheria), our current stop, my eyes were immediately drawn to the photo of crescent rolls on this page.

Another wikipedia page told me a bit more about kifli and strengthened my resolve to make some. A bit of research, informed by the wish to make the savory version of this treat, made me arrive at a recipe for sonkás kifli. I was not interested in ham and pickles, so I opted for using just cheese (kifli al formaggio). The Trappist cheese mentioned in the recipe is a washed-rind cheese. Instead of it, I used some of the dill Havarti I made recently and it worked out well.

let the rolling begin!

I also divided the amount of flour given by four, to minimize the loss, in case the experiment's outcome was unsatisfactory. I made a couple of additional changes to adapt the recipe to my baking style. The kifli were fun to make, bake and then taste. So I immediately repeated the experiment to get the precise quantities and the photos you see here.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for cheese kifli

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1/2 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 1 1/2 tablespoon / 22.5 ml warm water (as substitute for 1/2 egg)
• 100 g / 3.5 ounces KAF all-purpose flour (this is the flour I use to make all my bread)
• 25 g / 1 ounce whole-wheat flour (freshly milled)
• 25 ml lukewarm milk
• 2.5 g / 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 25 ml lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoon / 22.5 ml olive oil (olio d'oliva)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Ingredients for the filling (ripieno), chosen based on what I had in my refrigerator:

• Dill Havarti cheese (instead of Trappist cheese)
• Kefir cheese, plained or flavored (instead of sour cream); the kefir cheese I used was flavored with calendula petals and cacao nibs

Additional ingredients:

• 1 egg at room-temperature beaten with 1 teaspoon water (use the leftover in a frittata or other egg dish)
• Poppy seeds (semi di papavero), or other seeds of choice

As mentioned previously, the freckles you see on the dough's surface are due to the special whole-wheat flour I use, which comes from locally grown hard wheat freshly milled by my friend Rhonda of Beck's Bakery, a bakery with an onsite stone mill (mulino).

In a small ramekin, stir the warm water into the ground flax seeds and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Measure the rest of the dough ingredients, place in a bowl and add the flax seed and water mix. Stir well and then knead until you have a soft, homogeneous dough.

Oil a bowl or dough container and place the dough in it. Cover and let it rise until doubled in a draft-free place. The time needed depends on the room temperature. (In my case, it was almost 1 1/2 hour.(

Towards the end of the rising time, prepare the filling. Shred some dill Havarti and mix with a small amount of kefir cheese. I did not weigh the ingredients, but simply estimated the amount needed, about 1/4 cup total.

point side down

Line the back of a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a circle of 8 inch / 20 cm diameter. Divide the circle into eight even triangles with a pizza cutter. Place a dollop of filling on the wide end (base) of each triangle, making sure it is 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm inside the sides of the dough. Don't be tempted to be too generous here, otherwise you won't be able to roll the piece of dough.

Fold the wide end over the filling and roll toward the point, making sure there are no escape routes for the filling. Place the roll point-side down on a the lined baking sheet and give it a slight crescent shape. Repeat with the other seven triangles. Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel or plastic film and let them rise until a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists (60-75 minutes, again depending on the room temperature).

30-45 minutes after the beginning of the second rise, place a rack in the middle of the oven, place a baking sheet on it and preheat to 375 F.

Brush the risen crescents with the egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds (or other seeds of choice). Take out of the oven the hot baking sheet and slide the parchment paper with the rolls on it. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. Remove baking sheet from the oven and transfer the rolls to wire rack to cool (at least 15 minutes). 

cute kifli

By all means, taste them warm! Or reheat them gently in the oven before eating. As you can see from the top photo, when you break off one of the points of the crescent, you see a nice cavity lined with cheese. My filling's mild flavor made the kifli not only a delightful snack but also a nice dinner bread. At this point, I have run out of my dill Havarti, so the next time I make kifli, I will experiment with a different kind of cheese. I can't wait.

My kifli participate to the seventh installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. G like Gulyàs (Hungary) is hosted by Cinzia of Cindystar.

This page contains the recipe of Gulyàs in English and the list of recipes contributed to the event. 

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I am sending my cute kifli to Panissimo a biweekly event created recently by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena?

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I am contributing also to the May edition of Bake With Love! (formerly Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Roxana of Roxana's Homebaking.

And finally, I am sending it to Yeastspotting.

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

kifli

or launch the kifli 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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homemade bread, roll, whole-wheat flour, Hungarian cuisine

kifli / panini ungheresi

la mia versione dei kifli

Quando ci fermiamo per una nuova tappa del nostro tour europeo attraverso l'alfabeto e visitiamo un paese dove non sono mai stata, per me è come arrivare in una città nuova e cercare un posto dove andare a mangiare. Di solito comincio conl'articolo di wikipedia sulla gastronomia della nazione e vedo se qualcosa colpisce la mia attenzione. Nel caso dell'Ungheria, tappa in corso, i panini a mezzaluna su questa pagina (in inglese) hanno subito fatto centro.

Su un'altra pagina di wikipedia ho trovato ulteriori informazioni sui kifli e ho deciso di provare a farli. La ricerca di una ricetta per la versione salata mi ha portato ad una ricetta per i sonkás kifli. Non ero interessata a prosciutto e sottaceti, quindi ho usato solo formaggio. Invece del formaggio trappista elencato tra gli ingredienti ho usato un po' dell'Havarti con aneto che ho fatto di recente e ha funzionato bene.

e si comincia ad arrotolare!

Ho usato un quarto della quantità di farina della ricetta originale per ridurre al minimo la perdita di ingredienti preziosi nel caso di fallimento dell'esperimento. Ho apportato un paio di altri cambiamenti alla ricetta per adattarla al mio stile di panificazione. Preparare i kifli è piacevole. E lo è anche mangiarli, quindi ho ripetuto subito l'esperimento per fissare le quantità e fare le foto che vedete qui.

Ingredienti per la pasta di pane:

• 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) semi di lino macinati +  22,5 ml acqua calda (come sostituto per 1/2 uovo)
• 100 g farina forte
• 25 g farina forte integrale (quella che uso io è macinata a pietra)
• 25 ml latte tiepido
• 2,5 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo (vedi Nota in basso)
  
• 25 ml acqua tiepida
• 1 1/2 cucchiaio / 22,5 ml olio d'oliva
• 1/8 cucchiaino sale fino

Ingredienti per il ripieno, scelti in base a quello che avevo nel frigorifero:

• Havarti con aneto tagliato a filetti (al posto del formaggio Trappista)
• formaggio fresco di kefir, semplice o aromatizzato (al posto della panna acida); quello che ho usato io era aromatizzato con petali di calendula e granella di cacao

Ingredienti addizionali:

• un uovo a temperatura ambiente leggermente sbattuto con un cucchiaino d'acqua (usate quello che rimane per fare una frittata o un altro piatto a base di uova)
• semi di papavero, o un altro tipo di semi a piacere

Nota: da un punto di vista dell'utilizzo, la differenza tra lievito [di birra] secco (in granuli) e lievito [di birra] secco istantaneo è che il secondo non ha bisogno di essere riattivato e può essere aggiunto direttamente agli altri ingredienti e inoltre se ne utilizza una quantità minore. Questo per lo meno si applica ai prodotti in vendita negli USA. Presumo che quelli in vendita in Italia siano comparabili. La ricetta si può realizzare con 3,1 g di lievito di birra secco previa riattivazione oppure anche con il lievito di birra fresco, ma in questo caso non so darvi indicazioni precise, dal momento che io non lo uso mai. 

In una tazzina, mescolare i semi di lino macinati e l'acqua calda e lasciare riposare per almeno 10 minuti.

Misurare gli altri ingredienti della pasta di pane, metterli in una ciotola e aggiungere i semi di lino con l'acqua. Mescolare con una spatola e poi impastare a mano fino ad avere un impasto omogeneo.

Oliare una ciotola o contenitore idoneo e riporci l'impasto. Coprire e far lievitare fino a raddoppiamento in un luogo riparato. Il tempo necessario dipende dalla temperatura ambiente. Nel mio caso, poco meno di un'ora e mezza.

Quando l'impasto è quasi pronto, preparare il ripieno. Tagliare a filetti dell'Havarti e mescolare un po' di formaggio di kefir. Non ho pesato gli ingredienti, ma ho stimato la quantità necessaria, circa 4 cucchiai (60 ml) di composto.

la punta del triangolo rimane in basso

Foderare una placca da forno messa sottosopra con della carta da forno. Stendere la pasta lievitata in modo da ottenere un disco di 20 cm di diametro. Con l'aiuto di un coltello per pizza, dividere il disco in 8 triangoli (proprio come se fosse una pizza al piatto). Mettere un po' di ripieno dalla parte larga (base), assicurandovi che ci sia un bordo di 1,25 cm tra il ripieno e i lati della pasta. Non eccedere con il ripieno, altrimento non riuscirete ad arrotolare il triangolo di pasta.

Piegare la base del triangolo a coprire il ripieno e poi arrotolare verso l'apice, assicurandovi che non ci siano vie d'uscita per il ripieno. Porre il rotolino sulla carta da forno con la punta sotto e modellare le punte laterali in modo da formare un po' una mezzaluna. Ripetere con gli altri sette triangoli. Coprire i kifli con uno strofinaccio o della pellicola e lasciar lievitare fino a quando una fossetta fatta sulla pasta col la punta del dito persiste (60-75 minuti, anche in questo caso, a seconda della temperatura ambiente).

30-45 minuti dopo l'inizio della seconda lievitazione, posizionare una grata al centro del forno, mettere una placca da forno su di essa e preriscaldare il forno a 190 C.

Spennellare la superficie dei kifli con l'uovo e cospargere con i semi di papavero (e altri semi a piacere). Tirare fuori dal forno la placca rovente e far scivolare su di essa la carta da forno con sopra i kifli. Cuocere in forno per 15 minuti o fino a quando i panini sono dorati sopra e sotto. Sfornare e trasferire i panini su una gratella. Lasciar intiepidire almeno 15 minuti.

carinissimi kifli

Assaggiateli pure caldi, oppure riscaldateli in forno prima di mangiarli. Come potete vedere nella foto in alto, quando rompete una delle punte della mezzaluna, l'interno è cavo. Il ripieno che ho usato ha un sapore delicato e rende i kifli non solo un delizioso snack ma anche un ottimo pane da servire durante i pasti.

A questo punto ho finito il mio Havarti con aneto, quindi la prossima volta che faccio i kifli proverò ad usare un formaggio diverso. Non vedo l'ora.

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Con i miei kifli partecipo alla settima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. G come Gulyàs (Ungheria) è ospitata da Cinzia di Cindystar.

Questa pagina contiene la ricetta del Gulyàs e la lista delle ricette contribuite all'evento.

Se siete interessati a partecipare, questo post contiene la lista completa di paesi, blog ospitanti e scadenze.

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Mando i miei anche a Panissimo un evento bisettimanale creato da Barbara di Bread & Companatico e Sandra di Indovina chi viene a cena?

Questo post contiene la raccolta dell'evento.

scone alle carote arrosto / roasted carrot scones

with the first pink rose from my garden

I have sometimes thought about the menu of my own small café. I don't believe it will ever exist outside my imagination, but I enjoy adding to the list something that I think would go well there, like these scones — or the ones with red beet, apple and pistachios I made recently.

I love scones, I always have, from the day, many years ago, when I tasted my first one during my first visit to the UK. They are flavorful and not sweet, nourishing and versatile. They prefer to charm you with their flavor and texture rather than polished looks. I could bake a batch every day. When I do bake a batch, I feel like the day starts on the right note.

The theme of opening a café is present in the book we are currently reading in our Cook the Cooks Club: The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe. I wish I could find an elegant way to say this, but I didn't like the novel — and I don't like macarons, which feature prominently in it. The scones were inspired by the novel in the sense that they were a reaction to it. They are unadorned, crisp outside and tender inside, a bit rustic, a bit surprising with their nuanced flavor of carrot punctuated by the small pieces of candied ginger, simply irresistible. Scone are traditionally served with tea and without roses, but I was too excited about cutting the first pink rose of the season from my bush not to share it here. 

Today's scones start with two pounds of freshly harvested small carrots, which I prepared using this simple yet lovely recipe by Lynda of TasteFood with a couple of minor adjustments (see below). The result was very much appreciated at the table. As I was putting away the leftovers, I thought about using some to make scones.

The morning after, I had to solve the problem of turning the roasted carrots into a form suitable for scone-making. After some deliberation, I decided to chop them and add them to the food processor after the butter had been cut into the flour. It worked and the scones were a success, so the following week, when I found more carrots in my CSA share, I was ready to repeat the sequence of roasting followed by scone making. As an aside, this time I had a smaller amount of carrots, so I added to the pan a mix of baby turnips (rape novelle) and radishes (ravanelli), a great duo of root vegetables (I will soon share a recipe featuring them).

Ingredients (see my earlier post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients; overall, I halved the quantities):

1. 3 ounces (85 g) leftover roasted carrots, chopped
2. 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz.) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoon unsalted butter and no ricotta)
3. 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 1 tablespoon cornmeal + 1 tablespoon teff flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
4. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
5. 1/4 cup finely chopped uncrystallized candied ginger (zenzero candito)
   
6. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
7. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8. 3/8 teaspoon sea salt
9. 1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
   
10. 1/2 tablespoon ricotta or plain kefir cheese or cream cheese
11. 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)

How to roast the carrots
The evening before I baked the scones, I prepared the carrots using this recipe with the following minor adjustments:

• I used thyme leaves rather than whole sprigs
• I used only 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• I did not add the sugar in the last step

Since my carrots were more like toddlers than babies, I cut the bigger ones lengthwise and/or crosswise, and it took me some 25 minutes to get them to the tenderness I desired.

You can, of course, choose your favorite method for oven-roasting carrots.

The morning after, weigh the amount of carrots needed for the scones (making sure to incude a nice amount of thyme leaves) and chop them. Set aside.

golden mix

How to make the scones
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle flour over the surface.

Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Measure the flours and set aside a tablespoon or so to flour the pieces of candied ginger, so they stay separate when you add them to the dough at the end. Put the rest of the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into the food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for several seconds until the flour mix resembles coarse meal.

Add the chopped carrots to the food processor and continue pulsing until you see that the carrots have been finely chopped into the flour mix, which will turn into a delicate golden color (see photo above).

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the floured candied ginger and stir to distribute. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and kefir, then add them to the drier mix. Stir with a spatula until ingredients are just combined.

Turn dough onto the lined baking sheet and, with your hands, shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. With a bench scrape, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scrape, separate the pieces, so that they are at least one inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the rest, join them, so you'll end up with 14-15 scones of comparable size.

Bake for 16 minutes, then check the bottom of one scone: if it is golden brown, they are ready, otherwise, bake for another two minutes and check again. In my experience, these scones take a bit longer to bake than other types of scones I made with the same base recipe, so besides checking the bottom, I also tap on the top to make sure it is crisp, before deciding that the scones are ready and I let them sit for a minute on the baking sheet before moving them onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature (temperatura ambiente).

These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute, with creamy homemade kefir cheese or a spread, like my roasted red pepper and almond dip. As I said above: they are simply irresistible.

Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When I want to serve them, I put them straight in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes.

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.

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I am contributing my scones also to the May edition of Bake With Love! (formerly Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Roxana of Roxana's Homebaking.

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

scone alle carote arrosto

or launch the scone alle carote 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.]

scone, carrot, ginger

pezze rigate / handmade pezze rigate

experimenting on the kneading board

I am determined: One day, I will invent a new pasta shape. As an intermediate step, I have created an innovative variation of an existing pasta shape called fainelle. I decided to give my pasta a different name, because it is made quite differently from the inspiring one (see details below).¹

According to my source, the "Encyclopedia of Pasta" by Oretta Zanini De Vita, fainelle are typical of Foggia (Puglia). The word fainella in dialect refers to the fruit of the carrob tree (in Italian, carruba), to which the pasta shape resembles. I was not able to find a reference to it outside of the page in Zanini De Vita's book, so the idea I have is based on the drawing and the text on that page.

Fainelle belong to the strascinati family of pasta shapes and are made with a sferre: "A typical knife of Puglia used to make many types of pasta. It has no handle, so it can also be used horizontally to make long strascinati." To approximate the shape, I decided to roll the dough with one of the pieces of dowel I had purchased during my experiments to make garganelli. I realized that using a mini rolling pin meant my pasta would not be a type of strascinato. (A sferre is now officially on my wish list.)

The result reminded me of a patch made of cloth, in Italian pezza. I made a couple of pezze and then the presence on my working surface of my gnocchi board gave me the idea of rolling the pieces of pasta dough on it to get a ridged surface and pezze rigate were born.

Then I thought about a variation: instead of placing the cylinder of dough parallel to the board grooves, I placed it a bit angled and as a result the ridges on the surface of the pezza came out oblique.

You can see my hands at work on both versions in this short video:

 

Based on Zanini De Vita's description of the flours used for this pasta shape, I decided to make a blend of whole-wheat flour and semolina flour. I could have used farina di grano arso, also mentioned in the book, but I wanted to vary.

first batch of pezze

I am reading a cookbook for an upcoming review that is all about using flowers in the kitchen. I had some calendulas (calendule) I had obtained to make one of the book's recipes and I added some of their petals (petali) to the pasta dough.

with calendula petals

Pezze rigate are probably not the best choice to show off the use of flowers in the kitchen, but it was an interesting experiment and I will certainly work more on the idea.

Ingredients for the pasta:

• EITHER 25 g / 1 oz. stone-ground whole-wheat flour + 75 g / 2.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
• OR 100 g / 3.5 oz. semolina flour of good quality
• 50 g / 1.75 oz. warm water (I recommend weighing the water)
• A pinch of salt

How to make the dough and shape pezze rigate
Make a dough with the pasta ingredients and knead until nice and smooth. Let the dough rest, well wrapped to avoid drying, for half an hour or so.

Shape the dough into a thick roll, then cut it into 5-6 pieces and shape each one into a roll about 3/8 inch (1 cm) in diameter. Cut each roll into approximately 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) long pieces, then place each cylinder on the gnocchi board with the long sides either parallel to the board's grooves or slightly angled. Run the mini rolling pin — a piece of dowel of 3/8 inch (1 cm) or 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) in diameter — over the piece of dough 2-3 times to thin it and "stamp" it. The resulting pezza rigata will be about 2 inches long. Lay out to dry ridged side up on a surface lightly dusted with flour. 

Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Lightly dust the gnocchi board as needed to prevent the dough from sticking too tightly when you roll it.

ready for the fork

Cook the pasta
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the pezze rigate in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed to cook is a bit variable, depending on the size of pezze, how dry they are, etc. Taste and stop the cooking when the pasta is ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the pezze.

Place in a bowl, distribute some sugo di pomodoro (tomato sauce), reheated if necessary, and toss. Finally, sprinkle some Parmigiano-Reggiano on top and serve immediately.

Alternatively, while the pasta is cooking, place a few tablespoons of the tomato sauce in a small skillet and warm it up. Drain the pasta and drop it into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium-low heat for a minute. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions (served as Italian first course).

I will add this recipe to my growing collection of pasta shapes. Please, do let me know if you try your hand at making any of them.

1 If you are aware of another pasta shape that is similar to (or the same as) what I made, please let me know.

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This is my contribution to the current edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Simona of briciole. The theme this month is: homemade pasta.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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The top photo is my second contribution to edition #84 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 Simona of briciole.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white (Lightroom preset Split Tone 1).

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

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

pezze rigate

or launch the pezze rigate 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.]

handmade pasta, semolina flour, whole-wheat flour, Italian cuisine

Related articles

annuncio / announcement: Pasta Please

sagne incannulate con lenticchie al sugo / with lentils in tomato sauce

scone con barbabietola rossa, mela e pistacchi / red beet, apple and pistachio scones

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

the photo could be better, but the scones are perfect

The recipe started with yet another batch of small red beets freshly harvested and promptly roasted. It went on with an apple too large to eat all as my breakfast. En route, it picked up some fresh dill (aneto) and to complete the party, it invited pistachios to join: what a success!

I had a hard time setting up this shooting session, even within the realm of my minimalist style of food photography. I baked four batches of these scones and every time, my camera wanted to be outside, focusing on large landscapes rather than small edibles.

On the other hand, the scones have a kind of rough beauty that comes across in the photos and that I find quite attractive. I like that the color is not uniform, but somewhat marbled. Above all, I like how the scones taste.

I keep using the same scone recipe, making small adjustments to accommodate each variation I come up with.

Ingredients (see my previous post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients; overall, I halved the quantities of the original recipe):

1. 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz.) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoon unsalted butter and no ricotta)
2. 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 2 tablespoons cornmeal + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
3. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
4. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
5. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6. 3/8 teaspoon sea salt
7. 1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
8. 1/4 cup grated roasted red beet (use the medium side of your grater)
9. 1/4 cup grated apple (use the extra-coarse side of your grater)
10. 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill (aneto)
11. 1/2 tablespoon ricotta or cream cheese or plain kefir cheese
12. 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
13. 1/4 cup (1 oz.) roasted and lightly salted pistachios, chopped

How to roast beets
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Rinse and scrub well beets, then wrap each in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until easily pierced with a knife. Alternatively, place clean beets in a baking pan or dish, add 1/4 inch of water to the pan and cover tightly with foil or dish's lid, then proceed as with the other method. Let beets  cool until easy to handle, then slip off the skin.

Note: If you are like me and prefer to buy bunches of beets with their greens still attached, cut the greens an inch above the beet, then proceed with the preparation. I usually bake a number of beets at a time, for efficiency's sake. There are many ways you can use them, for example, this soup or this spread. I also set aside the greens to make a frittata or to add to kale in this dish. And I prepare the stalks in this way.

How to make the scones
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle flour over the surface.

Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Grate red beet and apple. Measure ingredients number 2 through 8 and put into the food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for several seconds until the flour mix resembles coarse meal. Due to the red beet, it will be pink.

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl, add apple and dill. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and kefir, then add them to the drier mix. Stir with a spatula a couple of times, then add the pistachios. Stir briefly until ingredients are just combined.

Turn dough onto the lined sheet and shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. With a bench scrape, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scrape, separate the pieces, so that they are at least one inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the rest, join them, so you'll end up with 14-15 scones of comparable size.

Bake for 15 minutes, then check the bottom of one scone: if it is golden brown, they are ready, otherwise, bake for another two minutes and check again. When ready, move them onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

marbled, fragrant, excellent scones

These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute, with creamy homemade kefir cheese or a spread.

Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When I want to serve them, I put them straight in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes.

This is my contribution to edition #383 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 (that is, me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

scone con barbabietola rossa, mela e pistacchi

or launch the scone con barbabietola rossa, mela e pistacchi 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]

scone, red beet, apple, kefir, pistachio

scone con barbabietola rossa, mela e pistacchi

la foto non è gran che, ma gli scone sono perfetti

La ricetta comincia con un po' di piccole barbabietole rosse appena raccolte che ho subito cotto al forno. Continua con una mela un po' troppo grossa per essere mangiata tutta per colazione. Per strada, dà un passaggio a dell'aneto fresco e per completare la festa invita dei pistacchi tostati. Il risultato: un successo!

Ho avuto un po' di difficoltà a fare foto, anche nel mio stile minimalista. Ho preparato gli scone quattro volte e ogni volta la mia macchina fotografica voleva essere all'aperto e puntare a vasti paesaggi piuttosto che a piccoli oggetti commestibili.

D'altra parte, questi scone hanno una loro bellezza rustica che le foto mostrano bene e che io personalmente trovo molto attraente. Mi piace il fatto che il colore non sia uniforme ma un po' marmorizzato. E soprattutto mi piace il sapore di questi scone.

Continuo ad usare la mia ricetta base degli scone e faccio piccoli cambiamenti per adattarla a ciascuna variazione che invento (vedi il mio post sugli scone zucca e zenzero con curry per ulteriori informazioni riguardanti la ricetta che mi ha ispirato).

Ingredienti:

1. 50 g burro nocciola (oppure 57 g di burro normale e non usare la ricotta)
2. 2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di grano saraceno + [30 ml] fioretto di mais + abbastanza farina di grano per arrivare a 130 g, oppure 130 g di farina di grano
3. 65 g farina integrale fina (da dolci)
4. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) lievito per dolci
5. 1/4 cucchiaino bicarbonato di soda
6. 3/8 cucchiaino sale fino
7. 1 cucchiaino zucchero bianco fine
8. 1/4 tazza (60 ml) barbabietola rossa cotta in forno e grattugiata con la grattugia a buchi medi o grossi
9. 1/4 tazza (60 ml) mela grattugiata con la grattugia a buchi grossi (un quarto di una mela medio-grossa)
10. 1 cucchiaino aneto fresco tritato
11. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) ricotta o formaggio cremoso
12. 120 ml kefir fatto in casa; alternative: latticello, yogurt bianco o panna acida (va bene anche parzialmente scremato o magro)
13. 30 g pistacchi tostati e leggermente salati, tritati

Come cuocere le barbabietole rosse
Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Pulire bene la barbabietola (o barbabietole), avvolgere in pellicola di alluminio, porle su una lastra da forno e cuocerle in forno fino a quando è facile perforarla con una lama.  Lasciar intiepidire e poi rimuovere la buccia. 

Nota: Se siete come me e preferite comprare barbabietole con ancora attaccate le foglie, tagliate i gambi 2-3 cm sopra alla radice e poi proseguite con la preparazione. Di solito cuocio un certo numero di barbabietole per volta, per amor di efficienza. Potete usarle in diversi modi, a parte quello descritto in questo post (per esempio, questa zuppa o questa crema da spalmare). Io utilizzo le foglie per fare una frittata o insieme al cavolo riccio in questo gratin. E gli steli li preparo in gratinati.

Come prepareare gli scone
Scaldare il forno a 218 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno e spargere un po' di farina sulla superficie. Togliere dal frigorifero il burro nocciola e farlo ammorbidire leggermente mentre preparate gli altri ingredienti.

Grattugiare barbabietola e mela. Misurare gli ingredienti dal numero 2 all'8 e metterli nel robot con la lama d'acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po' di volte per diversi secondi per sabbiare. La barbabietola rossa fa diventare il composto rosa.

Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere mela e aneto. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare ricotta e kefir e poi aggiungerli agli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatole, mescolare brevemente, poi aggiungere i pistacchi. Mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.

Rovesciare l'impasto sulla lastra foderata e dargli la forma di un quadrato spesso 1,25 cm. Con un raschietto, tagliare il quadrato in quattro per lungo e per largo in modo da ottenere 16 quadretti. Con l'aiuto del raschietto, separare i quadretti in modo che siano distanti almeno 2,5 cm. Se i quadretti d'angolo sono molto più piccoli degli altri, uniteli a due a due in modo da avere 14-15 scone di dimensioni simili.

Infornare e cuocere per 15 minuti, poi controllare il fondo di uno scone: se è bello dorato, gli scone sono pronti. Se no, cuocere per un altro paio di minuti e controllare di nuovo. Quando sono pronti, trasferirli su una griglia e servirli caldi o a temperatura ambiente.

marmorizzati, fragranti, buonissimi

Questi scone sono ottimi per colazione e a me piace anche servirli per cena, al posto del pane, con formaggio di kefir cremoso o una crema salata da spalmare.

Una volta raffreddati, surgelo sempre una parte degli scone. Quando poi voglio servirli, li metto direttamente in forno riscaldato a 175 C per 10 minuti.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 383 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 (che poi sarei io).

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

Related articles

Weekend Herb Blogging #383: il raccolto / the roundup

scone alle carote arrosto / roasted carrot scones

lorighittas al sugo piccante / lorighittas with spicy hot tomato sauce

ready to dry

Inspiration often comes unexpectedly. When I followed the link to read this post by Aioulik of Trattoria MuVarA (in Italian), I expected to be reminded of some of the great dishes typical of the Sardinian cuisine. The photo of the lovely pasta shape resembling a miniature wreath or an earring made me search immediately online for information. Shortly afterwards, I was at the kneading board. Later, I posted this phost to my Instagram feed:

from my first batch of lorighittas

I think it was not bad for my first try.

According to online sources, lorighittas are typical of the Sardinian town of Morgongiori (province of Oristano). As explained on this page, the name comes from sa loriga, a Sardinian word that indicates the iron ring fixed to the wall of a house to which horses or donkeys were tethered. 

In this video (in Italian), the woman interviewed talks about the tradition of making lorighittas. She adds the salt to the water rather than the semola (in this post, there is a brief discussion of the various products obtained by milling durum wheat) and calls that battezzare (to baptize). She says that the pasta is fully dried, a process that takes several days. I assume the drying is done for storage. 

Other interesting things from the video are the beautiful basket on which the lorighittas are laid out to dry and the repurposed meatgrinder. Instead of a basket, I used a cookie sheet lined with a cotton kitchen towel (see top photo). I then covered the lorighittas with another towel.

To make lorighittas you roll the dough into a string that is thin enough, but not so thin as to break during the shaping. The meatgrinder made a lot of sense, so I decided to try using it. Unfortunately, the disk I have (only one, since my meatgrinder is basically an antique) does not produce smooth strings, so my experiment did not end satisfactorily. I went back to rolling with my hands.

Shaping the lorighittas requires a bit of attention. In this video, you can see my hands at work.

A quick comparison with the hands of the women in the previous video shows that I have a little way to go before I can contemplate making lorighittas for a large party. But I am determined to improve with practice.

Considering that I had chosen a complex pasta shape, I thought I would go easy in terms of sauce. Having missed last month's edition of Pasta Please, I wanted to comply with this month's theme, chili peppers, so I made simple tomato sauce using my strained roasted tomatoes and I spiked it with peperoncino.

See this bunch of peperoncini? I have had them for some time and I can assure you they've lost none of their potency.

bright red peperoncini next to big zucchini blossoms

I bought them during my only visit to the farmers' market in Milan, shortly after they opened it. I had a mixed experience there, but walked away with, among other things, a pretty bunch of peperoncini, fiery in both color and flavor, which I have been using ever since.

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

Ingredients for the spicy tomato sauce:

• Olive oil
• Two garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups strained roasted tomatoes (thawed, if frozen)
• A red chili pepper (see below for details)
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly grated fiore sardo, to taste

Make lorighittas
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 lorighittas. You don't want the dough to dry out. Roll each piece into a thin string, not thicker than 1/6 inch / 0.4 cm diameter (see Note below). Wrap the string around the four fingers twice then break the dough and join the two ends by pressing lightly. Note: if the rings come out too long and you have trouble with the next step, try using only three fingers. Thread one loop into the other a few times until the two strands are woven into a sort of two-strand braid.

Continue until all the dough is used. You may want to dust lightly with flour the surface where you lay the shaped lorighittas, to prevent them from sticking. And you may need to wet your hands if they get too dry while shaping the pasta (it happened to me).

The first time I made the pasta, I cooked it a few hours after I had shaped it. The second time, I dried it for a couple of days to see how it looked. Note: someone whose mother is from Morgongiori kindly commented on FB that the string of dough must be thinner than it appears in my version of lorighittas. I am aware that in my first rendition the string of dough was a bit thick. Also, the perspective of the close-up photos is somewhat tricky. Finally, I learned by myself, just watching a video, so I make no claims about the authenticity of my lorighittas. As I mentioned above, the dough should be thin, but not so thin as to break when you roll it around your fingers. I am sure my technique would improve if I could spend some time in Morgongiori with the pros and if I am ever in Sardinia, you can be sure I'd visit the town and look for a mentor.

just shaped

Prepare the spicy tomato sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add garlic and chili pepper. Choose the chili pepper's size and how you cut it based on how spicy you want your sauce. In my household, the preference goes to mild spicyness, so I chose a smallish peperoncino. I left it whole and snapped off the stem and the small cap to which it is attached.

Cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes. Remove garlic and chili pepper. Adjust salt, to taste. Note that this will make more sauce than you need to dress the pasta, but once you have the sauce ready, I am sure you'll find ways of using it, like making more handmade pasta.

If you find that the sauce is too hot for your taste, make another batch without peperoncino and then blend the two.

Cook the pasta
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, then toss the lorighittas in it (what in Italian we call: buttare giù la pasta). The time needed is a bit variable, depending on the size of lorighittas, how dry they are, etc. Dry lorighittas take quite some time to cook, so be patient. Taste and stop the cooking when the lorighittas are ready. Pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and drain the lorighittas. Place in a bowl, distribute some tomato sauce (reheated if necessary), and toss. Finally, sprinkle some cheese on top and serve immediately.

Alternatively, while the pasta is cooking, place a few tablespoons of the sauce in a small skillet and warm it up. Drain the pasta and drop it into the skillet with the sauce. Stir well over medium-low heat for a minute. Sprinkle some of the cheese and stir one last time. Plate and sprinkle a bit more cheese on the top. Serve immediately.

The recipe makes two small portions.

pretty on the plate

Every time I make a new pasta shape, I think it is the prettiest I have made so far. Lorighittas stand well with the spicyness of the peperoncino in the sauce. I honestly liked the fresh version a bit better, but I am glad I dried one batch. I will do it again and complete the drying process, so I can store the pasta for later use.

This is my contribution to the current edition of Pasta Please, a new pasta-centric event created by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and hosted this month by Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen. The theme this month is: chillies (a.k.a. chili peppers).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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The top photo is my contribution to edition #81 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 Lynne of Cafe Lynnylu.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to  sepia (using Lightroom preset Sepia Tone).

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

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

lorighittas al sugo piccante

or launch the lorighittas al sugo piccante 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.]

handmade pasta, semolina flour, chili pepper

panini quadrifoglio / four-leaf clover rolls

waiting for the rolls to cool

Do you remember the delivery of mail catalogs that was an almost daily occurrence until not too long ago? Annoying as sometimes was, I realize that, as an adult immigrant to the US, I would have not learned about certain brands had I not received their catalogs.

King Arthur Flour's¹ catalog keeps arriving in my mail box and I like to leaf through it because it showcases a few recipes and they have been inspirational more than once: The recipe for four-leaf clover rolls is the most recent example (and this is a previous one).

The display of this recipe had to do with St. Patrick's Day, but, as usual, things I see need to ferment in my brain for a bit before I act upon them. Then, I need to test the recipe at least a couple of times before I decide whether to talk about it on my blog.

nesting in the ramekin

The photo in the catalog showed the rolls nesting in the ramekins in which they were baked: it caught my attention. I read the instructions and they seemed pretty straightforward to execute, so I did it and loved the result.

Then I did it again and again enjoyed the rolls, so now I am inviting you to try them. For once, I made only a couple of minor changes to the list of ingredients, besides halving the quantities and making therefore four rolls. I used:

• 120 g KAF unbleached all-purpose flour (this is the flour I generally use for bread baking)
• 55 g KAF white whole-wheat flour, instead of Irish-style wholemeal flour, because I had the former but not the latter — this substitution is also suggested in the tips box
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 g honey (miele), i.e., half the amount
• 14 g soft unsalted butter the first time, then the second time 10 g olive oil, and I liked the flavor better
•  123 g lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 28 g toasted pecans rather than walnuts, because I happened to have a nice batch of toasted pecans for this recipe
• 35 g currants
• no glossy finish (which in any case is optional)

One nice thing about the recipes on the KAF's website is that you can view the list of ingredients in volume, ounces or grams. I always choose the latter options, especially when I need to perform division on the quantities.

and then it's tasting time!

Whether you make the full amount or half, follow the directions on the recipe page and you'll be rewarded with pretty rolls that are a pleasure to pry open along the seams. A dose of sweetness and a bit of crunchiness come together in the rolls which are perfect to nibble by themselves and to accompany your dinner.

cleaning up after baking

In this photo, the usual chaos around my kitchen sink (lavello) includes the four ramekins in which the four-leaf clover rolls had baked.

¹ Disclaimer: I neither have nor had any business relationship with this company. This is not an advertisement, but simply a description of the brand I use.

I am sending my cute rolls to Panissimo a biweekly event created recently by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of indovina chi viene a cena?

This post contains the roundup of the event, English version, and this one the Italian version.

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And I am also contributing it to the April edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Roxana of Roxana's Homebaking.

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The bottom photo is my contribution to edition #80 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar

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

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

panini quadrifoglio

or launch the panini quadrifoglio 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.]

Irish bread, white whole-wheat flour, pecan, currants

Related articles

Halloumi col sugo / Halloumi with tomato sauce

torta alle noci / walnut cake

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

ready to be cut

One year, when I was still living in Milan, for my birthday dinner a friend of mine got me a walnut cake. I remember the nice contrast between the soft cake crumb and the crunchy walnuts. I am not sure why I never thought about making a walnut cake at home, maybe because I am not much of a cake person. However, when I saw the recipe for Gâteau aux Noix in the cookbook "Saveur Cooks Authentic French," a gift from my friend Christine of Christine Cooks, I knew immediately that I would make it.

the treasure inside the shell

During my childhood in Italy, we always had walnuts and hazelnuts (nocciole) in the house. My mother kept them in a special bowl that had a hook for the nutcracker (schiaccianoci). We purchased both types of nuts from someone in her native village. They were still in the shell (guscio). In fact, the first time I saw shelled walnuts sold was after I moved to California.

While I often buy shelled walnuts, when I have the opportunity, I get them whole and reenact my childhood game of challenging myself to crack the walnut open without breaking the nutmeat. I like to spend some time enveloped in the subtle smell of walnuts, listening to sharp little cracks, picking the nutmeat out of the broken shell with delicate fingers.

Back to the recipe, the first time I made it, I cut the sugar amount in half and the cake was a bit dry, so the second time, I added a small amount of liquid and the result was good. Also, I used some of my vanilla sugar to add just a nuance. Instead of a cake pan, I used a springform pan.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup / 2 oz. / 56 g chopped walnuts (they don't need to be chopped finely, but not coarsely either) [see below how to prepare walnuts for use]
• 3 eggs of good quality, possibly from pastured poultry
• 1/2 cup / 100 g / 3.5 oz. white sugar half of it vanilla sugar, if possible
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml walnut oil
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml dry white wine (vino bianco secco)
• 2 tablespoon / 30 ml homemade kefir (substitute with milk, if not available)
• 1 1/2 cups / 195 g all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon / 10 ml baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Prepare the walnuts
If your walnuts are freshly cracked, toast them lightly in a dry pan, shaking the pan often.

Otherwise, in her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren't freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry. Chop and measure the amount required.

Make the cake
Preheat oven to 350 F. The second time I made the cake, I used the convection bake option (my oven does the temperature adjustment).

Break the eggs in a bowl and beat them with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and bubbly. Add walnut oil, then wine, then kefir and beat at the lowest speed to mix.

Grease a 9-inch cake pan or line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the side. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Gently fold in the walnuts, then spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake the cake until a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out clean, about 40 minutes. Check the cake after 35 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, cool for 10 minutes, and then remove it from the pan and place it onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely, then serve cut in wedges.

cutting another slice

This cake, soft and a bit crunchy when the teeth meet pieces of walnuts, is nice as dessert, with some vanilla ice cream, or for breakfast, together with a nice glass of strawberry lassi. 

This is my contribution to edition #381 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 Terry of Crumpets & Co..

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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My Gateau au Noix participates to the fifth installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. E like Escargot (France) is hosted by Elena of Zibaldone culinario.

This page contains Escargot's recipe and the list of dishes contributed to the event.

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

torta alle noci

or launch the torta alle noci 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]

walnuts, cake, French recipe

torta alle noci

pronta per essere tagliata

Un anno, quando ancora abitavo a Milano, conclusi la cena di compleanno con una torta alle noci compratami da una mia amica. Mi ricordo il piacevole contrasto tra la pasta soffice e le noci croccanti. Non so bene per quale motivo non ho mai pensato a fare una torta alle noci, forse perché non sono molto brava con le torte. Ma quanto ho visto la ricetta per Gâteau aux Noix nel libro "Saveur Cooks Authentic French," un regalo della mia amica Christine di Christine Cooks, ho deciso subito che l'avrei preparata.

il tesoro nel guscio

Quando ero ragazzina, a casa avevamo sempre noci e nocciole che mia madre comprava al suo paese di origine in Sabina (Casperia). In California, la frutta secca comunemente viene venduta sgusciata. Spesso compro le noci sgusciate, ma quando mi capita, le compro intere e mi sfido di nuovo a schiacciare il guscio senza sbriciolare la noce. Mi piace spendere qualche minuto avvolta nel profumo delicato delle noci, che estraggo con dita pazienti dal guscio rotto.

Tornando alla ricetta, la prima volta che l'ho preparata ho usato metà dello zucchero e la torta e risultata un tantino secca, per cui la seconda volta ho aggiunto un po' di liquido e il risultato mi ha soddisfatto. Parte dello zucchero è alla vaniglia per dare giusto un idea di aroma. Infine, ho usato uno stampo a cerniera invece che uno stampo da torta rotondo.

Ingredienti:

• 56 g noci tritate (non troppo fini ma nemmeno in modo grossolano) [vedi sotto come preparare le noci]
• 3 uova codice 0
• 100 g zucchero, se possibile, metà aromatizzato alla vaniglia
• 80 ml olio di noci
• 80 ml vino bianco secco
• 30 ml kefir fatto in casa (o latte)
• 195 g farina di grano
• 2 cucchiaini / 10 ml lievito per dolci
• un pizzico di sale

Preparare le noci
Se le noci sono appena sgusciate, tostatele leggermente in una padellina a secco, scuotendo la padellina spesso.

Altrimenti, nel suo libro “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison spiega come trattare le noci per migliorare il loro sapore quando non sono appena sgusciate e renderle meno irritanti per le persone sensibili alla pellicina che le ricopre. Portare a bollore una pentolina d'acqua, versarci le noci e sbollentarler per un minuto, poi scolarle e assorbire l'eccesso di umidità con uno strofinaccio.

Distribuire le noci su una placca foderata con un tappetino di silicone da forno. Mettere nel forno scaldato a 150 C fino a quando le noci si sono asciugate bene, 15-20 minuti. Tirare fuori dal forno non appena sono asciutte. Pesare le noci necessarie e tritarle.

Fare la torta
Scaldare il forno a 177-180 C. La seconda volta che ho fatto la torta ho usato l'opzione forno ventilato  (il mio forno aggiusta la temperatura automaticamente).

Rompere le uova in una ciotola e frullarle con lo sbattitore elettrico. Aggiungere pian piano lo zucchero e frullare fino a quando le uova siano ben montate. Aggiungere olio d noci, vino e kefir frullando a velocità minima dopo ogni aggiunta.

Imburrare una tortiera di 23 cm di diametro o foderare il fondo di uno stampo a cerniera (stesse dimensioni) con carta da forno e imburrare la parete. Setacciare farina, lievito e sale in una ciotola. Aggiungere le uova sbattute e mescolare con un cucchiaio di legno fino a che siano appena amalgamati. Incorporare delicatamente le noci, poi versare nella teglia preparata.

Cuocere in forno fino a quando la torta passa la prova dello stecchino, circa 40 minuti. Fare la prova dopo 35 minuti. Togliere la torta dal forno, farla intiepidire per 10 minuti e poi rimuoverla da tortiera o stampo e farla raffreddare completamente su una gratella. Tagliare a fettine e servire.

un'altra fetta

Questa torta, morbida e un po' croccante quando i denti incontrano le noci è piacevole come dessert, servita con del gelato alla vaniglia, oppure per colazione, magari insieme ad un bel bicchiere di lassi alla fragola.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 381 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 Terry di Crumpets & Co..  

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

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Con la mia Gateau aux Noix partecipo alla quinta tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. E come Escargot (Francia) è ospitata da Elena dello Zibaldone culinario.

Questa pagina contiene la ricetta per Escargot e la lista delle ricette contribuite all'evento.

Se siete interessati a partecipare, questo post contiene la lista completa di paesi, blog ospitanti e scadenze.