briciole

dolci delle feste

Holiday sweets

A couple of posts on creative use for panettone by Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Lori Lynn of Taste With the Eyes have given me the idea for a quick note about Italian sweets traditionally associated with the Holidays. Exhaustiveness is out of the question, as every region has its own traditions and a lot of them are unknown to me. I will therefore talk only about the dolci my family and I enjoyed this time of the year, when I still lived in Italy.

Panettone and pandoro have attained national status as dolci delle feste. I spent my childhood and adolescence alternating between the two as my favorite. However, for several years now, I have been solidly in the panettone camp (though I understand people who think differently). The final choice may have something to do with the fact that I lived for 10 years in Milan, panettone's birth place. In December, pasticcerie (pastry shops) in Milan show their freshly-baked panettoni and oh my! it is difficult to resist.

Both panettone and pandoro are of soft, delicate texture. Panettone is studded with uvetta (raisins) and canditi (candied orange and citron peel), while pandoro is plain inside. At home, we used to put the pandoro on the termosifone (radiator) to warm it up slightly, before sprinkling zucchero vanigliato (powdered vanilla sugar) on top. The names panettone and pandoro contain the word pane (bread), suggesting that they are special breads, made for particular occasions.

My father's favorite Holiday sweet is torrone. There are several versions of this nougat that belongs to a very old tradition. My preference goes to torrone ricoperto di cioccolato, hard torrone covered with dark chocolate. The tower in the photo is the Torrazzo of Cremona, called torrione in Medieval time, from which torrone got its name. We paid a brief visit to the beautiful city during our recent visit to Italy.

Another special bread is panforte (literally, strong bread). In the pasticcerie in Siena, panforte is made in large wheels and you ask for a slice. I like that better than the smaller size, thinner panforte (about 1/2"-thick and 9" in diameter) more commonly available in the stores. There are different kinds of panforte and my favorite is the chocolate one. The final item on my father's shopping list (he was the one entrusted with this part of the Holiday shopping) was pinoccate, a tradition of Perugia, my home town.

After Epifania (Epiphany, popularly called la Befana, celebrated on January 6), it is common to find panettone and pandoro sold at half price. A not so fresh panettone is still a great ingredient for, among other dishes, a variant of zuppa inglese. My favorite way of enjoying panettone is plain and simple: a thick slice, in which to sink teeth and nose, accompanied by a mug of hot caffelatte. Many an evening I made that to be my dinner, a sweet meal conducive to sweet dreams. 

Happy New Year

Hear me pronounce the words on the dolci delle feste audio file [mp3] or go to the dolci delle feste audio page for more listening options.

aroma (1)

spice

In German: Gewürz. The plural is aromi and in Italian we also have the plural word spezie. The reference to German is important, because the spice mix I will talk about arrived in a bright yellow package from Germany, compliments of Ulrike of Küchenlatein. It was not unexpected, since earlier this month I signed up to participate to Season's Eatings, an event engineered by Katie of Thyme for Cooking, the Blog. So, I knew I would receive something, but did not know what and from whom.

Ulrike sent me four different brands of the spice mix that is used to make the traditional Lebkuchen. She also sent me a couple of recipes, a Holiday card and a nice letter. Thank you so much, Ulrike!

She tells me that, as far as she knows, Lebkuchen is not the same as gingerbread. Coming from Italy, I am no expert on gingerbread, an item not yet in my culinary repertoire. In Italian, gingerbread is pan di zenzero (literal translation), something that, as a child, I thought it only existed in fairy tales (favole). Lebkuchen is translated by the dictionary I consulted as pan pepato, literally, bread containing pepper (pepe). Note that a kind of Lebkuchen is called Pfefferkuchen (Pfeffer is pepper in German).

The Lebkuchengewürz is a ground mix where the prevailing spice, in terms of quantity, is cannella (cinnamon). The others are chiodi di garofano (cloves), pimento (allspice), semi di coriandolo (coriander seeds), zenzero (ginger), cardamomo (cardamom), noce moscata (nutmeg) and/or macis (mace). Other ingredients in the mixes I received are: anice (anise), anice stellato (star anise), semi di finocchio (fennel seeds) and vaniglia (vanilla).

After reading all the information received, I used one of the Gewürz packages. One of the recipes Ulrike sent me is for German Lebkuchen Loaf Cake, freely translated by me into pan speziato tedesco. The source for the recipe (Quelle in her post) is here (in English). I made the following adjustments to the list of ingredients:

• 1 cup regular flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup whole-grain barley flour [see Note below]
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup marmellata di prugne (plum spread of my own making)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons Lebkuchengewürz
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

Note: as shareholder of a grain CSA, I am the lucky recipient of, among other goodies, freshly-milled barley flour. I have been experimenting with barley flour in my baked goods and I know that it imparts a pleasant, nutty flavor to them. Hadn't I had it, I would have used whole-wheat flour instead.  I followed the given instructions and baked the pan speziato in a loaf pan.

Based on the color of the batter, I thought my Lebkuchen loaf cake would not come out the same as it did for Ulrike. But, lo and behold!, when I took the cake out of the oven it was indeed of a nice, enticing brown color and it smelled heavenly. It was not easy to wait for it to cool down.

Finally, I cut a slice and tasted it: it was wonderful! I served the pan speziato as dessert accompanied by gelato al caffè (coffee ice cream) and gelato alla zucca (pumpkin ice cream). It is also great for breakfast, with a glass of milk, and for an afternoon snack, with a cup of tea. So, it is a pan speziato for all occasions. 

The word aroma has also another meaning in Italian, which I will discuss separately, and that is why I added (1) to the title of this post.

Katie's lively account of the intricate web she wove for the event can be enjoyed here.

Hear me pronounce the words on the aroma audio file [mp3] or go to the aroma audio page for more listening options.

Novel Food #6: the finale (one serving)

Happy Winter Solstice!
Though the day was gray and rainy in my corner of the planet, the promise of longer days ahead make me happy.

Days are getting busier and busier with the approaching Holidays and we need to remind ourselves that this is supposed to be a time of Peace and Joy, rather than of Rush and Worry. At the end of a day spent running around, it is nice to settle down in an armchair, in front of a heat source if the temperature outside makes it necessary, a cup of hot tea on a table close by, and a nice book in our hands. This is one of my ideas of luxury.

Whether you already have a reading list, or you are open to receive some suggestions, you will find the following small bites delightful. As it has happened in the previous editions of our event, Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have gathered a set of literary works that have inspired culinary productions. I continue to find it fascinating how we give life to words we read in dishes we cook. It is an act of homage, of making the words become part of our life.

Suzie of Munch + Nibble presents us Heartburn by Nora Ephron. "In it she talks about how, for her, the phases of a love affair are always marked by potatoes."

"In the end, I always want potatoes. Mashed potatoes. Nothing like mashed potatoes when you are feeling blue."

As you may have guessed, Suzie made Mashed Potatoes with Onions and Pine Nuts, a very nice variation on a familiar, beloved theme. Read more about mashed potatoes and feeling on Suzie's blog, plus her recipe, then come back here for the next morsel.

---

Adele of Tales of the Basil Queen was inspired by a WWI novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque.

"The opening scene takes place at the mess hall. There's an impromptu feast prepared under shellfire. And there is one of the greatest non-romantic love scenes in literature: the roast goose."

Adele made Roast Duck with Apple-Prune Stuffing, not a light undertaking, and served it "with pan gravy, red cabbage, and boiled potatoes." Read more about the wartime feast and Adele's celebration of it, then come back for another bite.

---

Rachel, The Crispy Cook enjoys reading works by the late Robertson Davies. The first volume of his Deptford trilogy, Fifth Business, begins with a young boys' snowball fight. The game turns ugly when a stone-laden snowball hits a pregnant woman. In the remainder of the book and in the other two volumes of the trilogy, the story of the characters involved in the fateful fight is told.

Rachel brought the fight back into harmless territory, where it should be, by making Popcorn Balls. Read more about the book and the recipe for the edible white balls, then retrace your steps: there is some more food to taste.

---

Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, goes back to one of her favorite romance stories, Crush by Crystal Hubbard.

"It’s about a heart throb rock star who rescues a headstrong girl from a near fatal accident at his concert and they fall in love. The heroine is half Brazilian and she mentions her Brazilian grandmother’s cooking and several Brazilian dishes through the book."

The Brazilian Carrot Cake Paz made was inspired by the book and also by the desire to celebrate some good news regarding its author. Read all about it, then come back: there is a bit more.

---

Reading again the novella False Dawn by Edith Wharton made me want to help assuage its protagonist's hunger for the food on the table of his family's house. Lewis Raycie travels across Europe, and while his aesthetic cravings are amply satisfied, his physical ones are not.

I focused my attention on the "piping hot corn-bread and deep golden butter" mentioned as part of the description of the sumptuous table, and that resulted in the production of burro fatto in casa (homemade butter) and Buttermilk Cornbread. Go and come back for the last piece.

---

My partner Lisa's contribution to this edition of our event was inspired by the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, the story, set in Mumbai, of a teenager, who wins a billion rupees on a game show and gets into unforeseen trouble.

When you visit Lisa at Champaign Taste, you will read the passage in the novel that made her prepare Pav Bhaji (Indian Mixed Vegetables).

And in the same location, you will also find another set of literary and culinary amuse-bouches to delight you. Thanks, Lisa! 

---

I hope you enjoyed our literary/culinary party, the company and the suggestions for reading, cooking and/or gifting. Our event will be back next year, most probably with a slightly different schedule: stay tuned for the announcement. In the meantime, read a book, cook a dish, smile, be peaceful and joyful.

offelle di marmellata

Offella is an ancient name meaning focaccia dolce (sweet). It comes from the Latin offa, a small focaccia made with farro. The recipe for these cookies was inspired by the one in La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well — this and the other two links below go to an English translation of the book) by Pellegrino Artusi, first published in 1891. In Italy, we refer to this seminal cookbook as L'Artusi.

I have no childhood memories of cookie-baking at our house in preparation for the Holidays. However, that has not prevented me from engaging in cookie-baking in my adulthood. In preparation for that undertaking, I flipped through the good old Artusi, and the offelle di marmellata caught my attention. They are not traditional Christmas cookies, but I decided to co-opt them to become part of my own personal tradition.

I had several jars of my homemade marmellata and was looking for a way to use it besides the one I already know (for example, to top my tartarughe di pasta frolla). I have a circle scalloped cookie cutter and decided it would work, though it is not exactly like the one shown in the book. I also have my burro fatto in casa (homemade butter), which just screamed to be used for cookies.

I recommend you read the interesting introduction Artusi writes to his recipe for offelle di marmellata. In the audio file I pronounce for you the saying mentioned: dar l'offa al Cerbero.

I did not use the recipe for apple filling given by Artusi, but indeed, one of the marmellate I made has apples and grapes, so it is similar. I also used other types of marmellata for the several batches of offelle I baked. I make marmellata with a relatively small quantity of sweetener (as you can read here), so it is more of a fruit spread than a jam. 

I developed a variation of Artusi's recipe A for pasta frolla (sweet shortcrust pastry), which I will give below. I decided to make a smaller batch of pasta frolla than the one in the book, and distributed the offelle immediately to the intended recipients. I even mailed some, but I don't yet know how they fared during their trip. One thing I often do is prepare the pasta frolla in the evening and keep it in the fridge until the next morning, when I bake offelle for breakfast. My husband likes that.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup regular flour (farina)
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3 oz (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large or extra-large egg
• a bit of grated lemon zest or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 egg yolk diluted with 2 teaspoons water (egg wash)
• marmellata (a thick kind with low sugar content works better)

Put the sugar in the food processor and let it run for a little while, then add the flours (minus one tablespoon of the regular one) and mix briefly. Add the butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Empty the food processor's bowl on your kneading surface. Make a well in the center and break the egg in it. With the help of a fork incorporate the egg into the flour mixture. Add optional flavoring of choice (I use vanilla sugar). Knead briefly to obtain a soft dough, shape it into a thick disk, wrap it in plastic and put in the fridge until well chilled.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces and keep the one(s) you are not rolling in the fridge until needed. Roll the dough to a thickness of 3 mm (1/8 inch), using the tablespoon of flour set aside above to keep your surface and the rolling pin non stick. Cut the dough using your cookie cutter and put the excess dough in the fridge to chill it before reworking it. Spoon some fruit spread in the center of a cookie and cover it with another, pressing all around the edge to seal. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Repeat until you use all the dough.

I usually bake two batches, so I can let the excess dough chill before rolling it again. With a pastry brush, paint a bit of the egg wash over each cookie and put the baking sheet in the oven. Check after 16 minutes and gauge the remaining baking time. The offelle are ready when golden. Let them cool for a few minutes on the tray before trying to move them. It is better to bake the second batch on another sheet, so the first batch can rest undisturbed. Forget about storing the offelle: share them and eat them as soon as possible. And since they are not tied to the Holidays, you can bake more offelle afterwards, whenever you feel like. That is definitely what I'll do.

This is my contribution to season 2 of Eat Christmas Cookies, an event mixed and baked by Susan of Food Blogga. She has been gathering a host of delicious recipes from around the world, 228 of them, to be precise. You can see them all in part 1 and part 2 of the roundup.

Hear me pronounce the words on the offelle di marmellata audio file [mp3] or go to the offelle di marmellata audio page for more listening options.

Novel Food #6: burro fatto in casa

homemade butter

Oh, that supper-table! [...] In the centre stood the Raycie épergne¹ of pierced silver, holding aloft a bunch of June roses surrounded by dangling baskets of sugared almonds and striped peppermints; and grouped about this decorative "motif" were Lowestoft platters heavy with piles of raspberries, strawberries and the first Delaware peaches. An outer flanking of heaped-up cookies, crullers, strawberry short-cake, piping hot corn-bread and deep golden butter in moist blocks still bedewed from the muslin swathings of the dairy, led the eye to the Virginia ham in front of Mr. Raycie, and the twin dishes of scrambled eggs on toast and boiled blue -fish over which his wife presided. Lewis could never afterward fit into this intricate pattern the "side-dishes" of devilled turkeylegs and creamed chicken hash, the sliced cucumber and tomatoes, the heavy silver jugs of butter-coloured cream, the floating-island, "slips" and lemon jellies that were somehow interwoven with the solider elements of the design; but they were all there, either together or successively, and so were the towering piles of waffles reeling on their foundations, and the slender silver jugs of maple syrup perpetually escorting them about the table...

Lewis Raycie is the protagonist of Edith Wharton's novella False Dawn, the first of four collected in the volume "Old New York" (1924). The special supper described in the excerpt celebrates his coming of age and also his imminent departure for a two-year long Grand Tour. The day after, Mr. Raycie, during their parting meeting, gives his son the task of buying some paintings, "a few original specimens of the Italian genius." It is Mr. Raycie's ambition to create a Raycie Gallery:

"Raphael, I fear, we can hardly aspire to; but a Domenichino, an Albano, a Carlo Dolci, a Guercino, a Carlo Maratta — one or two of Salvator Rosa's noble landscapes..."

Lewis goes to Europe, meets a person who influences his artistic taste (later on, we learn that it is John Ruskin), buys paintings by, among others, Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Fra Angelico, Carpaccio, and comes back to the United States elated. His enthusiasm, however, does not find the reception he had hoped for. Here is a sample of Mr. Raycie's comments:

"God! God! God! Carpatcher, you say this other fellow's called? Kept him back till the last because it's the gem of the collection, did you? Carpatcher — well he'd have done better to stick to his trade. Something to do with those new European steam-cars, I suppose eh?"

Lewis stands by his choices, notwithstanding his father's reaction and other people's lack of appreciation. After Lewis passes away, his collection... I should not detail here what happens, but will give you a taste:

"Ah, but you should have seen the Mantegna; and the Giotto; and the Piero della Francesca — hang it, one of the most beautiful Piero della Francescas in the world [...] And the Carpaccio, the most exquisite little St. George... that went to California... Lord!

Lewis Raycie is a romantic hero, who comes to feel he has an important mission to accomplish. Yet, for all the joy the artistic expressions he encountered in Europe brought to him, he missed his home's supper table:

Oh, that supper-table! The vision of it used sometimes to rise before Lewis Raycie's eyes in outlandish foreign places; for though not a large or fastidious eater when he was at home, he was afterward, in lands of chestnut-flour and garlic and queer bearded sea-things², to suffer many pangs of hunger at the thought of that opulent board.

A lover of my favorite painters, Lewis Raycie touched my heart, so I decided to recreate for him a small corner of that sumptuous table. The season not being right for "raspberries, strawberries and the first Delaware peaches," I focused my attention on the "piping hot corn-bread and deep golden butter." Making butter at home was already on my to-do list, so that is what I worked on first. I enjoyed every minute of the transformation that occurs inside a jar containing ripened cream, shaken consistently for a few minutes: the separation of butter from buttermilk (latticello).

The first time I made butter, I was too focused on the process to stop for photographs, but took a couple of shots of the final product (see above). The second time, I was a bit more organized and took the photo on the right: this is the butter right after I finished the shaking (and poured off the buttermilk), and before I washed it with ice-cold water. There is also a not great photo of the buttermilk left behind (see below). 

To make butter, I followed the instructions given in "Home Cheese Making" by Ricki Carroll. The process of making butter using a food processor is described on this page, where the shaking method I employed is offered as an option. A few notes: I used pasteurized organic heavy whipping cream (panna fresca), brought to room temperature and ripened according to the recipe, shook it in a canning jar and did not add any salt to the finished product. Both times I used a cup of cream.The butter became an ingredient of a recipe that I will post in the near future. The buttermilk was lost the first time, due to my impatience. The second time, I saved it and used it to make the other item from the Raycie's supper table: cornbread (focaccia di granturco). I chose this recipe, because it uses buttermilk and also because I wanted to try to bake cornbread in a cast iron skillet. Since butter making had produced only had half a cup of buttermilk, I added 1/3 cup of non-fat milk and one egg yolk to make up for the remaining half a cup.

I don't know if Lewis Raycie would have liked my cornbread, but we did (once again, no photo, due to a bad lighting situation). With some of the leftover cornbread I then made Indian Corn Bread Pudding. I used non-fat milk, agave nectar as sweetener, and two slices of my cornbread instead of a corn muffin. The result was well received, so I made it again.

Back to the author of the novella that inspired me: I have been an admirer of Edith Wharton, since reading "The House of Mirth" in college and I keep going back to her novels and stories. My favorite among her short stories is Roman Fever. A few years ago, I visited The Mount, in Lenox (MA), the house and garden Wharton designed for herself.

This is, as you may have imagined, my contribution to the sixth edition of Novel Food, a seasonal literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I cooked up last year and have been co-hosting ever since.

My portion of the roundup is here and Lisa's portion is here.

Hear me pronounce the words on the burro fatto in casa audio file [mp3] or go to the burro fatto in casa audio page for more listening options.

¹ An ornamental centerpiece for a dining table, typically used for holding fruit or flowers.
² I really can't couldn't tell what this referred to, from which you can guess I am not into mussels. Many thanks to Rachel and Carol for their suggestion.

salume

charcuterie

The word salume may remind you of salame (salami). Salame is a type of salume. Salumi (plural) is the generic word that we use to refer to salame and other cured meat products.

The web site of the Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani (IVSI) is available in both Italian and English and has a lot of useful information on the different types of salumi and how they are prepared. IVSI is "a voluntary and non-profit Consortium, that was established in 1985 to meet the growing requests made by consumers for more information while also aiming at enhancing the image of Italian processed meat products, by promoting this gastronomic heritage." It is, indeed, a rich — and delicious — heritage.

I grew up eating a variety of salumi. Every year, my father and my aunt Lucia would purchase half a pig and we received part of it raw, in the shape of braciole (chops), salsicce (sausages), etc., and part of it as salumi. Besides well-known prosciutto and salame, there are other salumi.  On this page, there is a list of salumi, divided into crudi (raw) and cotti (cooked). I suggest that you avoid reading this on an empty stomach. Note that bresaola is the only one of the products listed that is made with beef (the others are made with pork).

Salumi are sold in a salumeria by a salumiere, as mentioned in a previous post. You also buy formaggi (cheeses) at a salumeria. The smell in such a store is heavenly. In the salumi department, my top three favorites are: prosciutto crudo, bresaola and salsiccia secca (dried sausage). The latter is something my aunt Lucia had. You could eat one all for yourself, thickly-sliced, accompanied with fresh bread.

The photo shows one of the panels of the lower basin of the  Fontana Maggiore, the gorgeous fountain that dominates Perugia's main square. The relief portrays the month of Dicembre (December), by way of showing the slaughtering of a pig (here there is an explanation of that and all the other diptychs that form the lower basin of the fountain). Every part of the pig's body would be used, not just the meat.

A final linguistic note. Calling someone a salame is not a compliment, much as we like the actual product. Salame, referring to a person, in fact, means silly, simpleton.

Many thanks to Michael for his word suggestion and also for sending me the link to this interesting article on salumi in the East Bay Area.

Hear me pronounce the words on the salume audio file [mp3] or go to the salume audio page for more listening options.

legumi che passione: il riepilogo

My Legume Love Affair - Fifth Helping: the roundup

Hosting the fifth edition of MLLA, created and orchestrated by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook was, as I had anticipated, a lot of fun. Throughout the past month, I have received submissions from around the world, variations (savory or sweet) on the theme of legumes.

Hosting an event means having the pleasure of collecting and then sharing the collection, of savoring in solitude and then inviting everybody to the final banquet.

This will be a rich meal, so my suggestion is that you make yourself comfortable before starting on a journey of flavors, colors, traditions and culinary creativity.

---

We start in India, with Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers, who brings us Porulvilangai Urundai / Hidden Treasure Ball.

"Beware though - you have to have healthy teeth to bite into these laddoos! They are rock hard as they were made to last!"

I know that this will tickle your curiosity. However, consider yourself warned.

---

We remain in India, in the company of Bombay Foodie Simran and her Punjabi Chhole.

"You aren't a Punjabi if you can't make great chhole" is another enticing statement: read on the discover that "there are two ways to make chhole."

---

Jayashree of My Experiments With Food remembers that the first time she tasted rajma, in Delhi: "It was served with rice and tasted absolutely, positively divine."

Ever since then, she's been on a quest. For the occasion, she shares with us her current version of Rajma with methi leaves (photo on the right).

Vella payaru, black eyed beans or karamani cooked with jaggery [unrefined sugar] (photo on the left) is a dish from her childhood. "This often made an appearance whenever we were hungry and wanted something in the evenings and during navaratri."

---

We fly to the US to meet Sweatha of TastyCurryLeaf, who offers us two dishes.

First, we have Falafel, a Middle Eastern dish "similar to the South Indian vada in that it is made by soaking and grinding uncooked chickpeas/fava beans along with parsley, spices and baking soda."

Then, we have Bean and Pasta Soup, a dish from my homeland. "Though the recipe is simple,it is hearty and filling." Just what we need on a cold evening to warm up body and soul.

---

Shibani of Any One Can Cook introduces us to Dal Panchratan- a Muglai affair, "a great combination of five dals (lentils) cooked and seasoned with spices."

"So now even if we can’t ever live like the Maharajas, at least we can try and cook a meal fit for one." Well said!

---

[Click the image to view the cookbook]

We remain in lentil-land with Rami of One Page Cookbooks, who offers us 1001 Simple Pappu, simplified lentil stews cooked in Andhra.

"Ten bases are combined with ten different additives and ten different flavouring to create a thousand different pappu varieties."

---

Another take on lentils, again from India, compliments of Lubna Karim of Kitchen Flavors: a Carrot And Lentil Soup that looks good and is good for us.

And then we are offered Cabbage And Chana Dal Curry. "The thick flavour of cabbage when combined with pleasant tasting Chana dal or Bengal gram with little tadka gives the result an aromatic and yummy curry which goes hand in hand with piping hot rotis."

"Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish YUMMY."

---

We travel to Australia to meet Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe, who shares with us her Vegetable and Chickpea Rogan Josh.

"Such a treat to have a home made rogan josh sauce and be able to fill it with lots of lovely vegetables ad legumes!"

---

A giant step on the map brings us to Canada, where Sarah of What Smells So Good?  has prepared Black-Eyed Babycakes "the fluffiest muffins ever, nutty and spicy and full of appley goodness, with a secret ingredient: the humble black-eyed pea."

---

More chickpeas, thanks to Bharti of Veggie Foodist and her Sindhi Chutney Masala Chole (garbanzo beans in cilantro sauce).

"We usually make chole in a heavy caramelized onion gravy but this one calls for a cilantro based gravy that is unique to Sindhi cooking."

---

Back on the other side of the world, in France, to be precise, where Priyasuresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes tells us how to prepare Sprouted Lentils Gravy.

Are you wondering how to use it? "Serve hot with rice, chappathis, parathas!!!!"

---

A journey east brings us to China, where PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds has prepared a Black Bean Salad for one.

Black is her favorite color, so it was easy to choose black beans for this recipe.

---

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Indira's Lentil and Almond Burger Patties/Cutlets and tells us that  "cutlets, as we refer to patties in India, are a popular tea time snack... These spicy little pan-fried (sometimes deep fried) crisp rounds, which are soft on the inside, are best eaten warm and usually served with tomato ketchup."

---

Back home to California to Taste With the Eyes Lori Lynn's Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans With Garlicky Salsa Verde and Cotija Cheese.

"Cotija cheese is a hard cow's milk cheese named after the town of Cotija, Mexico where it originated. This cheese is delicious grated over warm beans."

---

We remain in the US to meet Mandira of Ahaar, who shares with us the Mixed Lentil Fritters her mother made "on a cold day as a side for lunch."

They were "filled with cilantro flavor, had a chilli kick that hits at the base of the throat and went well with kichuri :)"

---

California and Singapore is where we can find tigerfish of teczcape - an escape to food, who offers us an easy recipe for Indian spicy chickpeas.

"I find beans and peas such easy ingredients to deal with, esp. when I am swarmed at work and have no time to cook anything."

---

We travel again to India to visit Sra of When My Soup Came Alive. She introduces us to The Color Purple of Kashmiri Black Beans.

Sra bought the colorful beans "on recent trip to Delhi and the shopkeeper could only tell me they are special Kashmiri beans. They were glossy and appeared black." However, soaking revealed their true color.

---

Indosungod of Daily Musings brings us not one but Two Chickpeas White and Black and Two Curries.

"The first of the gravies here is the traditional Channa Masala with white chickpeas. The second is a gravy with black channa but using cabbage to create the gravy."

---

Amy from Tart Reform made Three Bean Cassoulet. She doesn't know "whether to call it a stew or a solid entree, but whatever it was, it was good!"

She ate it "with a crusty roll and a spoon as utensils and loved every moment if it."

---

We are still in the US, in the company of Usha of My Spicy Kitchen who shares with us Chana Dal Khichdi.

It is "a quick and easy recipe that can be served anytime of the day... It can be served with omelet or pachi pulusu. Pachi pulusu is raw tamarind water seasoned with fresh roasted green chilies, onions and ginger chopped, and tempered with mustard, cumin, garlic and turmeric."

---

We fly to the UK to meet Michelle, the Greedy Gourmet (and also 20-month old Gabriel, with whom she shares her office), who offers us Spiced Chickpea, Carrot, Raisin & Cashew Rice Pilaf.

"Personally I enjoyed a generous dollop of plain yoghurt with this vegetarian meal."

---

Back to the US, where Rachel of The Crispy Cook has prepared Green Bean Bhajis.

She has been making these "Indian oven-baked delights with various kinds of vegetables, including thawed (and squeezed out) packages of our garden string beans, diced par-boiled potatoes, blanched cauliflower and even blanched Brussels Sprout halves, and they are always winners."

---

Over the border to Canada, where Christine of Kits Chow shares with us her enthusiasm for newly-discovered Persian cuisine, which uses herbs and spices in a way that she finds appealing.

She made Aash-e-sholeh-ghalamkar. Aash means soup in Farsi and this is a very rich, stew-like soup.

---

Alison of Eat Cheap, Eat Well, Eat Up! has the following message for us: Soup's On! The soup in question is Tuscan White Bean Soup, her "riff on a classic Italian dish."

"For a light supper, serve with crusty bread and a green salad."

---

We remain in Italy (not physically, but gastronomically) with Cinzia of Bread and Cherries and her rendition of another classic Italian dish, Pasta e Fagioli.

Though she is traveling, she did not want to miss our event and as a result we have the recipe for pasta e fagioli typical of her region, Campania (where the city of Napoli, is located).

---

We travel to Trinidad to meet Sarina Nicole of TriniGourmet, who offers us her take on Falafel.

"Tahini sauce is ultimately the purest of soul mates when it comes to dressing these fried balls of ground chickpeas."

---

Back to the US, where Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook and the founder of the wonderful My Legume Love Affair event, shares with us her recipe for Congris (Cuban Red Beans and Rice), "one of several Cuban variations of many Caribbean rice and bean recipes, congris (Spanish for "with gray") translates colloquially to dirty rice."

"Even better the second day."

---

In a cookbook from WWI time, Manuela of Baking History  found inspiration for Peanut Butter Quick Bread. Peanuts are among her favorite legumes, both in sweet and savory dishes.

"It is good to have with a steaming cup of dark and thick hot chocolate, or to make wonderful jelly sandwiches."

---

Simona of briciole (that would be me) saw some fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno in a store in Perugia (her home town in Italy). She had never tasted it, so she had to get some.

Quickly cooked and simply seasoned, the small beans were "a big hit at dinner."

---

And now the announcement of the winner of a copy of Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir. I decided to use a random integer generator and, as you can see in the screen shot, the program gave me number 16. The 16th person to submit an entry (minus the host, the organizer and previous winners) was Sra of When My Soup Came Alive. Congratulations to the winner!

Thanks again to all who have participated! Let the legume celebration continue in December, with Suganya of Tasty Palettes as our host.