briciole

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
The procedure I follow is also a bit different from the original recipe.

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].

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scone, red beet, apple, kefir, pistachio

Per i lettori italiani

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.

Ingredienti (vedi il mio post precedente per ulteriori informazioni riguardanti la ricetta originale e gli ingredienti; ho dimezzato le quantità della ricetta originale):

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; la ricetta originale offre varie 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 questo modo.

Come prepareare gli scone
La mia procedura è un po' diversa da quella descritta nella ricetta originale.

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

mana'eesh

warm and aromatic

Dan Leader's Simply Great Breads is a small book, but, true to its title, contains great recipes. Do you remember the pretty bialys and thin grissini featured previously? They came from the same treasured book.

Mana'eesh (or Manakish) is a flatbread (schiacciata) typical of the Middle East. It comes out of the oven hot, soft and smelling heavenly. But before being flattened to go into the oven, it is a nice ball of dough:

soft on wood

The photo above was taken stogether with the sepia one I shared a few days ago. Bread dough holds fascination for the baker in love with the magic of mixing flour, water and yeast (farina, acqua e lievito).

The simple recipe uses delayed fermentation and requires a little planning if you want to serve the flatbread warm out of the oven, something I recommend.

You can find the recipe on this page (though I suggest getting the book, which has truly great recipes).

I usually halve the quantities and make one larger flatbread to share with my husband. I use 1 oz. / 28 g of whole-wheat flour and 4 oz. / 113 g unbleached all-purpose flour to add healthy fiber, and only 1 oz. of olive oil instead of 2 oz. (which seems a bit too much to me).

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).

fiery spice mix makes surface sparkle

In the original recipe, the Mana'eesh is sprinkled with Za'atar and the book includes Leader's recipe for it. I like to sprinkle some Harissa spice mix, which gives the bread a bit of heat and a lot of color. I got the Harissa spice mix as part of a beautiful gift set of spices called Flavors of Morocco. (I don't have a business relationship with the company, but wanted to share the link because if you like spices, this is a very interesting set.)

I am sending my warm flatbread 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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I am contributing it 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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And I am submitting this recipe, bookmarked in Daniel Leader's Simply Great Breads (the link goes to the website of Bread Alone, which is Leader's bakery) to Bookmarked Recipes #24, an event originally started by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and now hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. 

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

mana'eesh

or launch the mana'eesh 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.]

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

pane di segale con cumino dei prati / caraway rye bread

densely good and nourishing

Rye bread still tastes a bit exotic to me, like the first time I had a bite, many years ago, during my first visit to Germany. The crumb was dense and the palate detected a slight smoky tone. I can't say I fell in love with it, but I was intrigued. Years later, once my bread-baking skills had developed enough, I went back to that memory and decided to renew the experience, this time with a product from my own oven.

After I baked my first rye bread, emboldened by my success, I tried making sourdough rye and was humbled by the result — twice. When I recovered from the disappointment, I went back to a recipe that uses a mix of rye and wheat flour, which seems to work much better for me.

with caraway rye bread

I have shown my first rendition of the caraway rye bread in this photo and my second rendition in my post on fasole bătută , where I hinted at the use of "a traditional Romanian ingredient."

Then, in the post where I revealed the details of the traditional Romanian ingredient, I shared some additional details. It's time to tell the full story from the bread's perspective.

my touch: borage flowers

The original recipe suggests to use dill or sour pickle juice as a substitute for the water. I used diluted borș. And instead of sour cream, I used some of my homemade kefir drained to a creamy consistency. I have a couple of borage plants (borragine) in my garden that are blooming, so I harvested some of the flowers and added them to the bread dough, not so much for flavor, but for an elegant look.

I halved the quantities given in the original recipe and made one round loaf.

Ingredients I used:

• 57 g borș
• 57 g lukewarm water [original recipe: 114 g lukewarm water, dill or sour pickle juice]
  
• 53 pumpernickel flour [original recipe: white rye, medium rye, or pumpernickel flour]
• 5 g sugar [original recipe: 7 g]
• 1 1/8 teaspoons instant yeast
• 56 g drained kefir [original recipe: sour cream (low-fat is fine; please don't use nonfat)]
• 1/2 tablespoon / 4 g caraway seeds [original recipe: 1/2 to 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, to taste] (semi di cumino dei prati)
  
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 140 g King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
  
• 8 g gluten flour [original recipe: 12 g wheat gluten, optional, for best rise]
• 14-15 freshly picked borage flowers

Notes: When I made the bread in the photo, I had run out of caraway seeds, so I used 1 teaspoon ajwain seeds. The result was interesting. However, I recommend using caraway seeds. 

I followed the instructions in the original recipe, except I did not brush the warm loaf with melted butter (burro fuso).

lightly toasted is even better

This rye bread has a delicate rye flavor and a somewhat dense crumb (mollica). I like to toast it lightly before putting something on top, like fasole bătută or cheese. If you'd like to give rye bread a try, this and my first rye bread are good choices as the dough is quite easy to shape and the result is lovely.

I am sending my little round of rye bread 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 in English and this post contains the roundup in Italian.

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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.

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

pane di segale con cumino dei prati

or launch the pane di segale con cumino dei prati 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.]

rye bread, caraway seeds, borage

challah fatta in casa / homemade challah

my six-strand challah

When you cut my challah, the knife cracks the lightly crisp crust, then glides through the soft, sweet-smelling, pale yellow crumb. You don't necessarily need something to go with challah: eaten by itself is quite satisfying.

soft crumb (mollica)

If you pick up my copy of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, it will open on page 94 where there is a folded sheet of paper as bookmark. A small cloud of flour will rise from the page, a consequence of its frequent use close to the mixing and kneading area.

I have tried a couple of other recipes for challah, but this one is the best: you can find the recipe on this page. The book has a number of other nice recipes, so you may want to consider getting your own copy.

I don't follow Reihart's recipe to the letter, but I don't stray too much from it. The original makes two large loaves like the one in the photo. I always halve the quantities and make one loaf. I often give half to a friend or I freeze it (wrapped first in plastic then in foil) and we enjoy the other half.

A summary of my adjustments (based on the quantities to make one loaf):

• 15 oz. of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour + 2 oz. whole-wheat flour (from my grain CSA) instead of 17 oz. of bread flour
• .75 oz. / 20 g olive oil instead of 1.25 oz. vegetable oil
  
• .75 oz. / 20 g agave nectar instead of 1.5 oz.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I get four egg yolks (tuorli) from making this cake. If they are not 3 oz. total, I break another egg, get as much yolk as I need from it, and use the rest for the glazing. Otherwise, I use a small whole egg for the glazing (diluted with water).

I usually decorate the top with a mix of 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (semi di sesamo) and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (semi di papavero), but in the case shown in the photos I had just run out of poppy seeds, so I used only sesame.

with sesame seeds

The recipe includes instructions to make a 3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-braid challah. For a while, I made a five-strand one, but now I am into the six-strand one. The braiding is really the best part of making challah, followed by the glazing and decorating. Then, of course, there is the eating part.

One more thing I like about this recipe is that it uses delayed fermentation, so the work of making challah is divided into two parts: first you mix the dough (I do this by hand), then, after at least one night in the fridge, you shape, glaze, ferment, and bake the challah. Finally, you enjoy it, to the last crumb.

And one more thing: this challah is perfect for making French toast. 

I am contributing the challah to the August edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

And I am submitting this recipe, bookmarked in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, to Bookmarked Recipes #15, an event originally started by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and now hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

challah fatta in casa

or launch the challah fatta in casa 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.]

homemade bread, challah, egg yolk

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

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

take some sun-ripened cherry tomatoes

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

and some homemade Colby

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

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

and make a nice savory tart

Ingredients:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is my contribution to edition #346 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio

or launch the torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio audio file [mp3].

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

[jump to Comments]

puff pastry, cheese, savory tart, cherry tomato

Per i lettori italiani

pomodori ciliegia maturi

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

e del formaggio Colby fatto in casa

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

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

per fare un'ottima torta salata

Ingredienti:

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

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

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

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

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

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 346 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Kris di Tutto a occhio. 

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

Novel Food #15: zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I)

Artusi's cornmeal cakes (I)

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

It was a long, long ride. But toward evening, as we sat silent and hardly conscious of where we were -- subdued into that meditative calm that comes so surely after a conversational storm -- some one shouted --

"VENICE!"

And sure enough, afloat on the placid sea a league away, lay a great city, with its towers and domes and steeples drowsing in a golden mist of sunset.

Thus ends chapter 21 of Innocents Abroad (1869), Mark Twain's account of his 1867 trip to Europe and the Holy Land. "The book began as a series of travel letters written mainly for the Alta California, a San Francisco paper." In chapters 22 and 23, we see Twain exploring Venice, meditating on its present and past, and enjoying his gondola rides.

Twain approached Venice the same way I have done many times, by train. My most recent visit, however, started differently. After landing at Venice airport, I took a boat that slowly crossed the lagoon north of the city, stopping briefly in Murano on its way, and giving passengers ample time to admire the setting sun embracing the city in warm colors.

As soon as I dropped my suitcase in my lodging, I went out again. At night, Venice acquires a contemplative mood and it is easier to connect with it when the tourists have magically disappeared. Twain also discovered the magic of Venice by night:

In the glare of day, there is little poetry about Venice... But in the moonlight, her fourteen centuries of greatness fling their glories about her, and once more is she the princeliest among the nations of the earth.

I respectfully disagree with Twain's first statement, though. It may be more difficult to find the poetry of the city under glaring light and surrounded by many people, but it is possible: just step outside the fixed itineraries, go roaming around and chances are you'll find interesting and quieter corners. When I visit Venice, I usually have a rough plan of action, but mostly I let chance encounters set the agenda. I make use of the waterways very rarely, preferring to find lose my way around on foot.

Twain, on the other hand, enjoyed going around on a gondola and was fascinated by it.

The Venetian gondola is as free and graceful, in its gliding movement, as a serpent. It is twenty or thirty feet long, and is narrow and deep, like a canoe; its sharp bow and stern sweep upward from the water like the horns of a crescent with the abruptness of the curve slightly modified.

The stern of the boat is decked over and the gondolier stands there. He uses a single oar--a long blade, of course, for he stands nearly erect. A wooden peg, a foot and a half high, with two slight crooks or curves in one side of it and one in the other, projects above the starboard gunwale. Against that peg the gondolier takes a purchase with his oar, changing it at intervals to the other side of the peg or dropping it into another of the crooks, as the steering of the craft may demand -- and how in the world he can back and fill, shoot straight ahead, or flirt suddenly around a corner, and make the oar stay in those insignificant notches, is a problem to me and a never diminishing matter of interest. I am afraid I study the gondolier's marvelous skill more than I do the sculptured palaces we glide among.

forcola

The "wooden peg" is called forcola: each one is a work of art, crafted to fit the individual gondoliere and hence unique, one of the approximately 280 pieces that make a gondola.

During my last visit, I arranged my plans so that I spent three nights in Venice and since I was staying in a quiet corte off Riva degli Schiavoni, every evening I walked along the wide and relatively uncrowded Riva, took in the view across to San Giorgio Maggiore, reached St. Mark's Square, passed by the Caffè Florian then crossed towards the Caffè Quadri on the other side, then retraced my steps via a different, quieter, and darker route.

And at midnight... we have lonely stretches of glittering water --of stately buildings--of blotting shadows--of weird stone faces creeping into the moonlight--of deserted bridges--of motionless boats at anchor. And over all broods that mysterious stillness, that stealthy quiet, that befits so well this old dreaming Venice.

In the windows of pastry shops in Venice, you can see zaletti, their elongated shape dusted with powdered sugar, raisins peeking out here and there with a promise of more once you take a bite. (I don't have a photo, but you can see a nice one in this post by Kathy of Food Lover's Odyssey.) Twain does not mention any food in the chapters about Venice, so I don't know if he ate any zaletti (or zaeti). These baked goods are also known as gialletti: the name reportedly refers to the yellow color (giallo) given to them by the cornmeal (farina di mais) with which they are made. My memory of zaletti is very vague, hence totally unreliable as a base for working in the kitchen, so I looked around for recipes: they are all rich in butter and sugar and I wanted something simpler.

I then checked Artusi's cookbook Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (1891) and there I found two recipes for gialletti, the first of which uses yeast. I decided to explore this path further. None of the modern recipes I read uses yeast, relying instead on baking powder as leavening agent. However, an article on cookaround (in Italian) mentions a cookbook older than Artusi's and the recipe for zalletti alla veneziana (Venetian-style) in it uses leaven and no sugar. The book is called La nuova cucina economica and was authored by Vincenzo Agnoletti. The first edition dates to 1803 and the second, titled La nuovissima cucina economica, to 1814. At the end of my search, I felt good about my determination to make zaletti with yeast according to Artusi's recipe. I am planning to follow Agnoletti's recipe, which differs from Artusi's in several ways, for the next phase of my exploration of zaletti.

Artusi's recipe is fairly detailed but it does not provide pieces of information like the amount of water and the time for leavening and baking. I also decided to experiment using all cornmeal (from my CSA share, hence locally grown and freshly milled) and then substituting part of it with corn flour, which is more finely milled than cornmeal. The gialletti made with only cornmeal are a bit more rustic. My husband favored them, while I had a slight preference for the ones with also corn flour. The original recipe calls for half butter and half lard. I have some homemade lard, so I used a bit of it. Overall, I halved the quantities given by Artusi and obtained eight gialletti.

Ingredients:

• 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour [as usual, I used King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour], divided into two
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of water at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 150 g / 5 1/4 oz. cornmeal [or 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. cornmeal and 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. corn flour]
• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons / 90 ml of hot water
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar [I used ultra-fine sugar]
• 1 oz. / 2 tablespoons / 30 g butter, softened [once I used 1/3 lard and 2/3 butter] (see Note at the end)
• a pinch of salt
• 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. raisins

In a small bowl, mix half of the wheat flour, the yeast and the water at room temperature. Let it ferment until bubbly. I did it for 45 minutes. In the meantime, in another bowl mix the cornmeal, the remaining wheat flour, the sugar, and salt. Pour the hot water in the bowl, add the butter and mix well.

Add the pre-ferment to the flour mixture and knead to combine well. Add a bit of water, as needed, to make a dough that is easy to knead. Finally, add the raisins and knead a while longer to incorporate them.

Cut the dough into eight pieces and give them oblong shapes (see photo below). Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. With the back of a knife blade, make a grid on the top of each gialletto. Cover with a cloth and let leaven in a warm place (I did it for 1 1/2 hour). They will rise a bit, but not a lot, given the flour mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Bake the gialletti for 15 minutes or so (I baked them for 16 minutes). Transfer to a rack to cool.

I enjoyed eating Artusi's gialletti with some of my homemade cheese and they also pair well with chocolate. My husband likes them au naturel.

Note: you can find the English version of the recipe in the translation of Artusi's book that I have referenced in the past. The translation shows "50 g (about 1 ounce)" of butter. Based on the original and the conversion value, 50 appears to be a typo: it should be 30. Also, the translation directs you to make a pre-ferment with half the cornmeal and the yeast. The original uses half of the wheat flour.

This is my second contribution to the 15th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my submission for the third installment of the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit all the 20 regions of Italy using the alphabet as guide. C come Chioggia is hosted by Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare. Chioggia is a town south of Venice and in our tour it represents the region Veneto.

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

zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I)

or launch the zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I) 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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cornmeal, raisins, Italian recipe

Per i lettori italiani

Al termine del capitolo 21 de Gli innocenti all'estero (1869), l'autore, Mark Twain, arriva a Venezia nell'ambito di un viaggio in Europa e Terra Santa compiuto nel 1867. Nei due capitoli successivi, vediamo Twain esplorare Venezia, meditare sul passato e presente della città e godersi i giri in gondola.

Twain arriva a Venezia in treno, come ho fatto anch'io tante volte. Ma per la mia visita più recente sono arrivata in aereo e dall'aeroporto mi sono goduta la lenta traversata della laguna al tramonto. Appena arrivata al mio alloggio, ho lasciato la valigia e sono uscita a fare una passeggiata per Venezia di notte. Anche Twain è affascinato dalla città in versione notturna.

Quando visito Venezia ho una vaga idea di quello che voglio visitare ma per la maggior parte del tempo lascio che sia il caso a dirigere il mio cammino. Raramente uso i trasporti sull'acqua, preferendo girovagare e perdermi a piedi.

Twain, invece si muove in gondola ed è affascinato dai movimenti del gondoliere tanto da confessare di prestare più attenzione a studiare la maestria del gondoliere che ad ammirare i palazzi. (I passaggi ai quali mi riferisco sono riportati in originale nella versione inglese del post. Perdonate l'assenza della versione italiana: non ho trovato una traduzione di Twain online e a farla io non mi sento qualificata.)

forcola

Durante la mia visita recente, durata purtroppo solo un giorno, ho focalizzato la mia attenzione e la mia macchina fotografica sulla forcola. L'ispirazione mi è venuta dall'essermi trovata di fronte ad un laboratorio di remèr. Ho imparato che ogni forcola è fatta a misura del gondoliere ed è un pezzo unico nonche un'opera d'arte. Se osservate una gondola parcheggiata, potete notare che c'è un foro rettangolare dove va posizionata la forcola. Quando la gondola è a riposo, la forcola viene rimossa sia perché essendo sporgente può essere urtata e sia perché è un pezzo prezioso e non viene lasciato incustodito. Questo me lo ha spiegato un gondoliere.

Nelle vetrine di forni e pasticcerie a Venezia, tra i vari dolci in mostra, ci sono gli zaletti, dalla forma allungata e la superficie imbiancata di zucchero a velo dal quale fanno capolino acini di uvetta. (Non ho una foto ma ne potete vedere una in questo post di Kathy del blog Food Lover's Odyssey.) Twain non parla di quello che ha mangiato a Venezia quindi non so se ha assaggiato degli zaletti (o zaeti). Chiamati anche gialletti, il nome pare si riferisca al colore giallo dorato che viene loro dalla farina di mais con cui sono fatti. La mia memoria di zaletti è vaga e inaffidabile come base per prepararli e quindi ho guardato in giro alla ricerca di ricette. Quelle che ho trovato sono ricche di burro e io volevo qualcosa di semplice.

Mi sono quindi rivolta all'Artusi, nel cui libro ci sono due ricette per gialletti la prima delle quali usa il lievito di birra. Ho deciso di esplorare questa alternativa. Le ricette moderne usano tutte il lievito chimico. Un articolo su cookaround menziona un libro di cucina che precede quello di Artusi e la ricetta per zalletti alla veneziana che esso contine utilizza pasta lievitata e non contiene zucchero. Il libro si intitola La nuova cucina economica ed è opera di Vincenzo Agnoletti. La prima edizione risale al 1803 e la seconda, intitolata La nuovissima cucina economica, al 1814. Al termine della mia ricerca, sono soddisfatta della mia determinazione a preparare gli zaletti con il lievito naturale. Ho intenzione di provare a seguire la ricetta di Agnoletti, che è diversa da quella dell'Artusi, per la prossima fase della mia esplorazione degli zaletti.

La ricetta dell'Artusi (che riporto in fondo al post) è piuttosto dettagliata, ma non fornisce informazioni quali la quantità di acqua e il tempo di lievitazione e cottura. Le prime due volte ho usato tutta la farina di mais tipo fioretto che ottengo come parte della mia cassettina di granaglie (e che quindi è macinata fresca), mentre la terza volta ho sostituito una parte con della farina di mais macinata più fina (fumetto). I gialletti fatti solo con il fioretto sono un tantino più rustici e mio marito li preferisce. Io invece ho una leggera preferenza per quelli fatti anche con farina più fine. La ricetta originale usa metà strutto e metà burro. Io ho dello strutto che ho fatto e quindi ne ho usato un pochino. In totale, ho dimezzato le quantità date dall'Artusi e ho oattenuto così otto gialletti.

Ingredienti:

• 50 g farina di grano (medio-forte, dal momento che useremo il lievito secco o di birra)
• 30 ml acqua a temperatura ambiente (o tiepida)
• 1 cucchiaino (5 ml) lievito secco istantaneo [Artusi userebbe 10 g di lievito di birra]
• 150 g farina di mais tipo fioretto [o 50 g di fioretto e 100 g di farina di mais fumetto]
• 90 ml acqua bollente
• 1/2 cucchiaio (7.5 ml) zucchero fine
• 30 g burro morbido [o 10 g strutto e 20 g burro]
• un pizico di sale
• 50 g uvetta

In una tazza, mescolare metà della farina di grano, il lievito e l'acqua a temperatura ambiente. Lasciar fermentare fino a quando si vedono bolicine in superficie. Per me, 45 minuti. Nel frattempo, in una ciotola, mescolare la farina di mais, il resto della farina di grano, zucchero e sale. Versarci sopra l'acqua bollente e mescolare bene.

Aggiungere la pasta fermentata e impastare bene. Aggiungere poca acqua, se necessario, per ottenere un impasto che si lavora bene. Aggiungere l'uvetta e impastare fino a quando sia ben distribuita.

Tagliare l'impasto in otto pezzetti e formare dei fusi / mandorle (vedi foto in basso). Adagiarli su una lastra da forno coperta con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Con la parte dietro di una lama di coltello, incidete una griglia sulla superficie. Coprire con un canovaccio e lasciar lievitare in luogo caldo (per me, un'ora e mezzo). I gialletti lieviteranno leggermente, ma non in modo spettacolare, dato il mix di farine.

Scaldare il forno a 175 C. Cuocere i gialletti per 15-16 minuti (Artusi dice che devono rimanere morbidi). Trasferire su una griglia e lasciar intiepidire.

I gialletti dell'Artusi accompagnano bene il mio formaggio fatto in casa e anche il cioccolato. A mio marito piacciono al naturale.

Questo è il mio secondo contributo alla 15ima edizione di Novel Food, l'evento culinario/letterario che Lisa di Champaign Taste ed io abbiamo creato qualche tempo fa.

Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

Questo è il mio contributo all'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare tutte le regioni italiane utilizzando come guida l'alfabeto. C come Chioggia è ospitata da Marta di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare

Questo post contiene la lista dei contributi: che buon menu!

---

592. GIALLETTI I

Signore mamme, trastullate i vostri bambini con questi gialletti; ma avvertite di non assaggiarli se non volete sentirli piangere pel caso molto probabile che a loro ne tocchi la minor parte.

Farina di granturco, grammi 300.
Detta di grano, grammi 100.
Zibibbo, grammi 100.
Zucchero, grammi 50.
Burro, grammi 30.
Lardo, grammi 30.
Lievito di birra, grammi 20.
Un pizzico di sale.

Con la metà della farina di grano e col lievito di birra, intrisi con acqua tiepida, formate un panino e ponetelo a lievitare. Frattanto impastate con acqua calda le due farine mescolate insieme con tutti gl'ingredienti suddetti, eccetto l'uva. Aggiungete al pastone il panino quando sarà lievitato, lavoratelo alquanto e per ultimo uniteci l'uva. Dividetelo in quindici o sedici parti formandone tanti panini in forma di spola, e con la costola di un coltello incidete sulla superficie d'ognuno un graticolato a mandorla. Poneteli a lievitare in luogo tiepido, poi cuoceteli al forno o al forno da campagna a moderato calore onde restino teneri.

torta salata con ricotta e verdure novelle

savory tart with ricotta and baby leafy greens

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Last November, I planted some rainbow chard in a section of my little vegetable garden (orto) and I have been able to harvest leaves a few times. I cannot take credit for the tidy state of the garden: while I like planting and harvesting, I am an inconstant gardener and therefore need help in keeping weeds (erbacce) and slugs under control.

In this photo (taken with ShakeItPhoto), you can see the leafy greens I can harvest in my garden right now. Left to right: Icicle radish green, cavolo nero (Lacinato or Dinosaur kale), Red Russian kale, chard, collard, borage (borragine). [I am actually not sure I should harvest the radish greens, but I take only a leaf or two at a time and I have a number of plants.] Depending on how I am planning to use them, I will, as in the case of the recipe I am about to describe, harvest young leaves. The gardeners among you may like to know that except for chard, of which I planted seedlings, and Icicle radish, which I planted from seeds I received as a gift, the greens are from seeds from my garden.

I have made the tart of the title with baby chard only and also with a mix of the greens. Spinach (spinaci) would also work: the ones in my garden are not yet baby spinach, so I could not harvest any. Besides leafy greens, the tart filling includes ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano (a combination reminiscent of my stuffing for mezzelune) And the base is the "alternative" puff pastry (pasta sfoglia "alternativa") from my most recent post. More than a recipe, this is a suggestion: you make the puff pastry and then you have a canvas on which you can try a combination on ingredients that you think will work. And of course, the given quantities can be adjusted to fill a bigger tart.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for torta salata con ricotta e verdure novelle

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 oz. (125 g) baby chard or a mix of baby leafy greens
• a medium shallot (scalogno), finely chopped
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste
• 4 1/2 oz. (125 g) ricotta, possibly homemade, mashed
• 5 3/4 oz. (165 g / half a batch) of "alternative" puff pastry (or equivalent amount of regular puff pastry)
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Wash the greens and don't drain them completely. Discard the tougher end of the stalk of kale and collard greens. Cut off the stalks from baby chard, and chop them finely. Cut leaves into ribbons no more than 1/2-inch wide.

Warm up a bit of oil in a small skillet and cook the shallot for a couple of minutes, stirring often. Add the chard stalks and continue cooking for a few more minutes, again stirring often. Add cut leaves and cook in the water clinging to them for a few minutes. Stir to make sure the greens cook evenly and don't stick to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cool briefly.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Roll out the pastry until fairly thin (I got a 6" x 8" rectangle), then place it on the lined baking sheet. Prick the shell with a fork in several places. Add ricotta to the greens and stir well. Spread over rolled pastry, leaving a border all around (about 1/2 inch). Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly on the surface.

Pinch the pastry all around to raise it slightly and make a kind of border (see photo above). In earlier versions of the tart, I rolled the pastry into a circle and made a narrow border galette-style, which you can see in the photo of the "alternative" puff pastry post. However, the pastry swells as it bakes, so the galette effect was lost, because the border was too narrow. I didn't want a wider border, so I adopted this solution of just pinching the pastry to raise it and I am happy about the result.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the visible crust is light golden, about 25 minutes. As usual, the time varies with the oven. Check the tart after 20 minutes and estimate the time remaining.

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

My husband was eating the other half for his lunch while I took the photo above. This is not something you want to make every day, since puff pastry is rich in butter. Cut into smaller pieces, the tart makes a nice appetizer (antipasto). And you can boast about having made the puff pastry yourself.

This is my contribution to edition #317 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 me, Simona of briciole.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con ricotta e verdure novelle

or launch the torta salata con ricotta e verdure novelle audio file [mp3].

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puff pastry, ricotta, savory tart, leafy greens, chard

Per i lettori italiani

Lo scorso Novembreho piantato delle bietole in una parte del mio orticello e ho raccolto foglioline alcune volte. Non è merito mio se il mio orticello è ordinato: mi piace piantare e raccogliere, ma sono una giardiniera scostante e quindi ho bisogno di aiuto per tenere sotto controllo erbacce e lumache (la roba bianca che si vede è una barriera di conchiglie frantumate che serve a fermare le lumache).

In questa foto (che ho scattato usando ShakeItPhoto) potete vedere le verdure da taglio che posso raccogliere in questo periodo nel mio orticello. Da sinistra a destra: ravanello "Ghiacciolo" (così chiamato perché è bianco e lungo), cavolo nero, cavolo riccio "Red Russian," collard (un tipo di Brassica dalle belle foglie larghe), borragine. [Non sono sicura che sia corretto tagliare le foglie dei ravanelli, ma ne raccolgo solo una o due per volta e ne ho diverse piantine.] A seconda di quello che ho intenzione di fare, raccolgo le foglie quando sono ancora piccole.

Ho fatto questa torta salata sia utilizzando solo bietola novella che utilizzando un misto di verdure. Gli spinaci sono un'altra possibilità, ma quelli che ho piantato non sono ancora nemmeno novelli e quindi non ho potuto raccoglierli. Oltre alla verdura, la torta salata contiene ricotta e Parmigiano-Reggiano (una combinazione simile al mio ripieno per le mezzelune) e la base è fatta con la pasta sfoglia alternativa di Marta che ho descritto nel mio post precedente. Più che una ricetta, questa è un'idea: fate la pasta sfoglia e avrete una tela sulla quale fare esperimenti di composizione di vari ingredienti che pensate vadano bene. E naturalmente le dosi si possono adeguare alla grandezza della torta che volete fare.

Ingredienti:

• 125 g bietola novella o un misto di verdure novelle
• uno scalogno medio tagliato fino
• olio d'oliva
• sale fino e pepe nero macinato fresco, q.b.
• 125 g ricotta, magari fatta in casa, schiacciata con una forchetta (in Italia la ricotta vera, fresca e buona per vostra fortuna si trova facilmente)
• 165 g / metà della pasta sfoglia "alternativa" che ottenete seguendo le dosi della ricetta (oppure la stessa quantità di pasta sfoglia tradizionale)
• 2-3 cucchiai di Parmigiano-Reggiano grattugiato fresco

Lavare le verdure senza sgrondarle del tutto. Scartare la parte più dura del gambo di cavolo nero, cavolo riccio e collard. Tagliare i gambi della bietola e tagliarli a pezzetti. Tagliare le foglie a nastri non più larghi di 1,25 cm.

Scaldare un po' d'olio in una padellina e cuocere lo scalogno per un paio di minuti, mescolando spesso. Aggiungere i gambi della bietola e continuare a cuocere per alcuni minuti, sempre mescolando spesso. Aggiungere le foglie e cuocere per alcuni minuti nell'acqua che hanno ancora attaccata. Mescolare e fare attenzione che le verdure non si attacchino al fondo della padella. Condire con sale e pepe a piacere e far intiepidire.

Scaldare il forno a 190 C e foderare una lastra da forno con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Stendere la pasta sfoglia fina (io ho fatto un rettangolo di circa 15 cm x 20 cm) e poi muoverla sulla lastra foderata. Bucherellare la superficie con una forchetta in diversi punti. Aggiungere le ricotta alle verdure e mescolare bene, poi distribuire sulla pasta sfoglia lasciando tutto intorno un bordo di circa 1,25 cm. Spargere il Parmigiano-Reggiano sulla superficie.

Pizzicare la pasta sfoglia tutto intorno per sollevare leggermente il bordo (vedi foto qui sopra). Le vote precedenti avevo steso la pasta sfoglia a formare un cerchio e poi fatto un bordo ripiegato stile galette (come si vede nella foto all'inizio del post sulla pasta sfoglia "alternativa"), ma la pasta si gonfia in cottura e l'effetto galette andava perso perché il bordo era troppo stretto. Non volevo fare un bordo più largo e quindi ho adottato la soluzione descritta sopra e sono rimasta soddisfatta del risultato.

Infornare e cuocere fino a quando la crosta è dorata, 25 minuti circa. Come si sa, ogni forno è un po' diverso e quindi è bene controllare la torta dopo 20 minuti e valutare quanto tempo manca.

Tirare fuori la teglia dal forno, far riposare brevemente la torta e poi tagliare e servire.

La metà che manca nella foto la stava mangiando mio marito per pranzo. Questo non è un piatto da fare tutti i giorni, dal momento che la pasta sfoglia è ricca di burro. Tagliata a quadrotti, questa torta salata può essere servita come antipasto.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 317 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 me, Simona di briciole.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste

Christmas gift and a Holiday tart

Che cosa ti ha portato Babbo Natale? (what did Santa bring you?) is the question often asked this time of the year. In the past, I had expressed the wish to have a magic wand. This year, Santa brought me one: Babbo Natale mi ha portato una bacchetta magica.

Here it is, resting next to some of the cards (biglietti) I received as part of the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild Holiday card exchange (this photo album shows them all). They are all beautiful and they make up this year Holiday decor at our house.

On Christmas Eve (vigilia di Natale) I made a crostata with apple, rhubarb and strawberry preserves (conserva di mele, rabarbaro e fragole) and decorated the surface with Babbo Natale shapes (instead of the traditional lattice).

briciole's recipe for crostata di marmellata

Speaking of Babbo Natale, don't you think he could live in this pretty house?

I know, those are not reindeer (renne), but elk (wapiti), there is no snow (neve), and the house is actually the Little Red Schoolhouse in Stone Lagoon, CA. But still, I like to think that Santa would enjoy living here. (The Roosevelt Elk are free to roam and they do, often crossing Hwy 101, which runs nearby.)

In case you are wondering, I am still getting acquainted with my magic wand.

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

regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste

or launch the regalo di Natale e crostata delle Feste 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.]

tart, dessert

croccanti

a family recipe for a special sweet treat

In the days leading up to the Holidays, my aunt Lucia would bake special cookies and apportion them among family members: my uncle, my father, my cousins. My father visited her before Christmas and brought back the package allocated to our family. I never saw my aunt making the content of that eagerly awaited package, but in my mind's eye I can reconstruct the scene: the kitchen, the table, the fireplace, my aunt and my father chatting. What came out at the receiving end were diamond-shaped torzetti and half-domed croccanti (croccante means crisp, crunchy).

I regret that I did not ask my aunt for any of her recipes. I guess in my mind I thought I had time, until one day, time suddenly ran out. For years I had been making meringues (meringhe) enriched with walnuts inspired by my aunt's croccanti, but I knew they were different. A few years ago, I asked one of my cousins whether a record of the recipe existed. A few days later, I received an email with the list of ingredients and a set of instructions that provided a starting point to develop my own version of the beloved croccanti, a variation on a theme of egg whites (albumi) and walnuts (noci) dedicated to my aunt.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for croccanti

Ingredients:

• 2 extra-large egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 cup super-fine or granulated white sugar (zucchero)
  
• 8.5 oz. (240 g / 2 and 1/2 cups) shelled walnuts
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose white flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract

My aunt started with walnuts still in their shells, and I often buy whole walnuts, because I enjoy cracking them. Shelled walnuts are readily available and also convenient. However, they should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, as they are prone to become rancid, due to their high fat content (including nutritionally-valuable alpha-linolenic acid, ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid).

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 the 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 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.

After you take the walnuts out of the oven, let them cool, then spread them on a cutting board and chop them finely using a knife. At the end you should have a bit more than two cups of fragments.

Place two egg whites (I use pastured eggs) in a mixing bowl and let them rest until they reach room temperature. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until it is well incorporated. Sift flour over the egg whites and fold it in with a spatula, using light, slow movements. Add the chopped walnuts in a few batches and fold them into the batter with the spatula, again using light movements. Add vanilla extract and gently stir in.


Line one large baking sheet or two small ones with parchment paper (in this case, a silicone baking mat is not recommended). Drop the batter on the sheet by spoonfuls (i.e., use a soup spoon to scoop up the batter and let the spatula help you in the dropping phase), leaving 3/4-1 inch between mounds. You should have 24 of them, of 1.5-2 inch diameter.

Bake for about 20 minutes, carefully overseeing the process. Check the cookies after 18 minutes. They are ready when you can pick one up delicately with two fingers without a disappointing structural failure. The bottom should be a light tan color and upon applying a little pressure, the surface should feel delicately crisp. If otherwise, bake for an additional two minutes, then check again. Be careful because it is easy to burn the cookies. Do not touch the cookies when they come out of the oven, but let them cool on the baking sheet. To accomplish this, you may consider closing the kitchen door to prevent the sweet smell to waft out and become an irresistible magnet on other inhabitants of the house.

When you bite into a croccante, you hear the light crackle of the crisp outer layer. Your teeth sink into finely chopped walnuts supported by a framework of egg white and sugar. The latter dissolves and creates a substrate over which the walnut bits dance and overlay their nuttiness on the prevailing sweetness. As you chew, the nuts' crunchiness is slightly offset by a stickiness that encourages slow motion.

This original family recipe, made mostly of white ingredients, is my submission to the White Christmas Challenge on Very Good Recipes. Follow the link to see all the recipes submitted to the event... and also to see that my croccanti were selected for 5th place: Thank you!

White Christmas in Italian is bianco Natale.

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

croccanti

Or launch the croccanti 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.]

White Christmas Challenge, cookie, walnut