briciole

timballo di patate

potato torte

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

purple potato plant

Harvesting potatoes is like going on a treasure hunt, a pleasure I discovered only last year. I knew that potatoes are dug, but had only a vague sense of what that meant in practice until I experienced the pleasure of digging for the starchy nuggets — which may be golden but may also be other colors, like purple.

Last fall, I planted a few Purple Majesty potatoes (the kind I used to make gnocchi) and earlier this year, plants like the one of the photo adorned my vegetable garden.

a portion of my second harvest of the year

As I was going through the list of recipes from the Italian region of Basilicata, I found an interesting one for timballo di patate. I cut in half the quantities, made a few other changes and here is the whimsical result.

I decided to use some of the cheese and the hard-boiled egg to decorate the surface, rather than folding everything into the potatoes. However, the little genie I have in me that chafes at rules, took over and I ended up with a Kandinsky-influenced decoration. That's not a surprise, Wassily Kandinsky being one of my favorite painters.

Simona's timballo di patate

I loved the result. The mix of purple and light golden potatoes resulted in a timballo of an intriguing light purple reminiscent of wisteria (glicine). And the hard-boiled egg (uovo sodo) and pieces of cheese created a decoration that stood out boldly. Another intriging feature, color-wise, became apparent at closer inspection.

underneath the egg white, there is green

A green tinge appeared where the egg white touched the potatoes. My theory is that the coloring is the result of a chemical reaction between the anthocyanins, (the pigments responsible for the purple color of potatoes, blueberries, etc.) and the pH of egg white. Any chemist out there has a more complete and/or accurate answer?

All this talk about color should not distract me from the important topics of texture and flavor. The timballo was soft and moist and the fresh flavor of new potatoes was enriched by a touch of cheese and egg. By design, I limited the ingredients to focus on the potatoes: since I had new ones, I wanted them to shine. I feel that often the native flavor of potatoes gets almost obliterated by too much stuff. Celebrate new potatoes by giving them center stage and just a discrete accompaniment. Let them sing.

Ingredients:

• 18 oz. (510 g) new potatoes, well scrubbed
• fine sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 oz. (30 g) freshly grated fiore sardo
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2.5 oz. (70 g) semi-firm cheese, divided (the original recipe calls for provolone; I used my homemade robiola, which, due to a mistake I made during brining, behaved differently from usual, but performed well anyway)
  
• 1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

Boil potatoes and run them through a potato ricer. I didn't peel them first because running them through the potato ricer ensured that only the thinnest layer was left behind (and I used it to make stock). When cool, season with salt, pepper and parsley. Add egg, fiore sardo and half of the semi-firm cheese and mix well. The mixture should be nice and soft, since you are using new potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a round pyrex pie plate and spread the potato mixture in it so that it is one inch thick. In my case, the plate was a bit too large, so I left a small section empty, which resulted in an oddly shaped timballo, another quirkiness I liked. Decorate the surface with the sliced hard-boiled egg and the remaining cheese. Alternatively, stay closer to the original recipe (at least how I interpreted it), by making one layer with half of the potatoes, adding all the semi-firm cheese and the hard-boiled egg, and convering with the remaining potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, cut and enjoy.

This is my submission for the tenth 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. M come Matera (Basilicata) is hosted by Simona of briciole (that is, by me).

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

timballo di patate

or launch the timballo di patate audio file [mp3].

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potato, egg, cheese, Italian recipe

Per i lettori italiani

pianta di patate viola

Raccogliere le patate è un po' come partecipare ad una caccia al tesoro. Non è troppo tardi per scoprire questo piacere: io l'ho fatto solo l'anno scorso. Poi in autunno ho piantato alcune patate della varietà Purple Majesty (con le quali, tra l'altro, ho fatto gli gnocchi) e all'inizio dell'anno piante come quella della foto ornavano il mio orticello.

una parte del mio secondo raccolto della stagione

Cercando ricette lucane interessanti, ho trovato questo timballo di patate. Ho ridotto a metà le quantità, apportato un paio di altri cambiamenti e questo è il risultato.

Ho deciso di usare parte del formaggio e l'uovo sodo per decorare la superficie, piuttosto che incorporare tutto nelle patate. Ma il genietto che ho dentro di me non gradisce le regole e il risultato è questa decorazione kandinskiana, che non mi sorprende, dal momento che Vasilij Kandinskij è uno dei miei pittori preferiti.

il timballo di patate di Simona

Il timballo ci è piaciuto molto. Mescolando patate viola e giallo pallido ha prodotto un timballo color glicine. E l'uovo sodo e i pezzi di formaggio hanno creato una decorazione attraente. Un altro particolare interessante si è rivelato quando ho guardato il timballo da vicino.

sotto l'albume le patate sono verdi

Dove l'albume le toccava, le patate hanno assunto un colorito verde. La mia teoria è che questo sia il risultato di una reazione chimica tra le antocianine (i pigmenti responsabili del colore viola di patate, mirtilli, ecc.) e il pH dell'albume. Tra di voi c'è qualche chimico che ha una risposta più completa e/o accurata?

Colore a parte, il timballo era morbido e il sapore delle patate novelle arricchito da un tocco di formaggio e uovo. Di proposito ho limitato gli ingredienti per mettere in risalto le patate, il cui sapore spesso viene seppellito.

Ingredienti:

• 510 g patate novelle pulite bene
• sale fino e pepe macinato fresco
• 2 cucchiai (30 ml) prezzemolo tritato
• 30 g fiore sardo macinato fresco
• 1 uovo leggermente sbattuto
• 70 g provolone, diviso (io ho usato la mia robiola fatta in casa, che, a causa di un errore che ho commesso nella preparazione, si è comportata diversamente dal solito, ma se l'è cavata bene comunque)
• 1 uovo sodo tagliato a fettine

Lessare le patate e passatele allo schiacciapatate. Io non le ho pelate, dal momento che la pellicina rimane nello schiacciapatate. Quando le patate sono tiepide, condirle con sale, pepe e prezzemolo. Aggiungere fiore sardo, uovo e metà del provolone. Il composto deve essere bello morbido, dal momento che usate le patate novelle.

Scaldare il forno a 175-180 C. Oliare una teglia di pyrex rotonda e versarci il composto. Distribuirlo e livellarlo a 2,5 cm di spessore. Nel mio caso, la teglia era un po' grande e quindi ho lasciato una sezione vuota, il che ha dato come risultato un timballo dalla forma strana e simpatica. Decorate la superficie con il resto del formaggio e l'uovo sodo. Volendo rimanere fedeli alla ricetta originale (per lo meno com l'ho intesa io), fare uno strato con metà del composto, distribuire il provolone e l'uovo sodo e coprire con il resto del composto. Mettere in forno per 30 minuti. Far riposare il timballo per 5-10 minuti, poi tagliarlo e servirlo.

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. M come Matera (Basilicata) è ospitata da Simona di briciole (che poi sarei io).

Questo post contiene la lista delle ricette contribuite all'evento e uno slide show delle foto: grazie a tutti!

pane di mais con mirtilli

blueberry cornbread

blueberry cornbread for breakfast

Please, help yourself to a square of the moist, golden cornbread punctuated with juicy blueberries that I just cut. It's light and substantial at the same time, lightly sweetened and rich in flavor. After partaking of this sunny bread, follow me as I introduce you to a beloved author and one of his novels.

Years ago, during one of my usual bookstore browsing adventures, I picked up a slim volume: The Warden (1855) by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It was the first book I read by the famous novelist from the Victorian era and the beginning of a passion that, in the years that followed, brought me to read the majority of his output. I am, in short, a big fan of Trollope. And thanks to a number of superb movie adaptations of his novels, I turned my husband into one as well. We recently watched The Barchester Chronicles, the BBC's adaptation of "The Warden" and of its sequel, Barchester Towers: if you are into period drama, I recommend the movie, which presents the characters and the story faithfully, memorably and enjoyably. (Trollope wrote four additional novels and the six-novel series is known as the Barset Novels.)

After watching the movie, I read "The Warden" again. The protagonist, Rev. Septimus Harding is precentor of Barchester Cathedral and warden of Hiram's Hospital, a charitable retirement house for 12 old men. He is a gentle man, who finds himself at the center of legal action brought against him by a young reformer. While the novel also has a love story as part of the plot (the reformer is in love with the Warden's youngest daughter), the focus is on Rev. Harding's ordeal and his decision to renounce his office at Hiram's Hospital, which was granted to him by the bishop (and the income of 800 pounds a year he derives from it).

In his struggle to clear up his position, he clashes with the family Titan, Archdeacon Grantly, who is his son-in-law, the bishop's son and the rector of Plumstead Episcopi. In chapter 8, we get a glimpse of the rectory and its inner dynamics. For this post, I will focus on the table and the food:

And now let us observe the well furnished breakfast parlour at Plumstead Episcopi... The breakfast-service on the table was equally costly and equally plain; the apparent object had been to spend money without obtaining brilliancy or splendour. The urn was of thick and solid silver, as were also the tea-pot, coffee-pot, cream-ewer, and sugar-bowl; the cups were old, dim dragon china, worth about a pound a piece, but very despicable in the eyes of the uninitiated. The silver forks were so heavy as to be disagreeable to the hand, and the bread-basket was of a weight really formidable to any but robust persons. The tea consumed was the very best, the coffee the very blackest, the cream the very thickest; there was dry toast and buttered toast, muffins and crumpets; hot bread and cold bread, white bread and brown bread, home-made bread and bakers' bread, wheaten bread and oaten bread, and if there be other breads than these, they were there; there were eggs in napkins, and crispy bits of bacon under silver covers; and there were little fishes in a little box, and devilled kidneys frizzling on a hot-water dish; which, by the bye, were placed closely contiguous to the plate of the worthy archdeacon himself. Over and above this, on a snow-white napkin, spread upon the sideboard, was a huge ham and a huge sirloin; the latter having laden the dinner table on the previous evening. Such was the ordinary fare at Plumstead Episcopi.

And yet, I have never found the rectory a pleasant house. The fact that man shall not live by bread alone seemed to be somewhat forgotten.

The excerpt is a prime example of Trollope's delightful style. One characteristic of his writing that I particularly appreciate is his insightful treatment of women and of gentle souls, like the Rev. Harding.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about the novel's characters, this website has short introductions. The one dedicated to Septimus Harding includes a nice comment by Horace Walpole: "He is Trollope's grandest gentleman." And here's the page dedicated to Dr. Grantly described by Trollope as "a fitting impersonation of the church militant here on earth."

A final note: Rev. Harding plays the cello, and when he finds himself in a stressful situation, he plays an imaginary one to calm himself. On the subject of the Warden as a cello player, I found this interesting commentary by Steven Isserlis, my favorite cellist.

As I was reading the passage reported above, I decided to make something for Dr Grantly's breakfast table, something that is not specifically listed, and I thought about a quick bread I had made often a few years ago, then set aside, for no special reason. It is a variation on the beloved theme of cornbread that uses blueberries to great advantage. The recipe works well with either fresh or frozen blueberries. (Once again, blueberry season is upon us and I still have some frozen blueberries from our U-pick expedition to a local farm last year.) And it works well when using buttermilk (latticello), as in the original version, or a combination of homemade kefir and yogurt, which is what I used in my adaptation. The original recipe was published in Shape Cooks, a short-lived magazine that ceased to be published some 13 ago. In my rendition, I use cornmeal and whole-wheat flour (farina integrale) from my grain CSA.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (130 g) yellow [stone-ground] cornmeal
   
2. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat flour
3. 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
4. 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking power
6. a pinch of salt
7. 1 egg, lightly beaten
8. 3 tablespoons (45 ml) agave nectar or honey
9. 1/2 cup plain [homemade] yogurt + 1/2 cup [homemade] kefir OR 1 cup buttermilk (235 ml)
10. 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular unsalted butter), melted
11. 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and oil or butter the sides not covered by the paper. Combine all the dry ingredients (1-6) into a bowl. In another bowl, combine egg, agave nectar, yogurt and kefir, then gradually pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Incorporate the butter, then gently fold in the blueberries.

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

Remove cornbread from the pan and place on a rack. The cornbread is very nice eaten warm. For a berry-rich breakfast, serve also a strawberry lassi. (No need to use fine china or silverware.) I particularly enjoyed it as an accompaniment to fresh cheese like my homemade kefir cheese.

after making cornbread and lassi for breakfast

I suspect that the kitchen at Plumstead Episcopi did not look as chaotic as mine during the preparation of breakfast (colazione). I must admit I am careless with bowls and tools when I cook. I justify myself with the need to be unfettered by material constraints during the creative act.

Nota per i lettori italiani. Il romanzo di Anthony Trollope che descrivo in questo post è stato tradotto e pubblicato da Sellerio con il titolo L'amministratore. Sellerio ha anche pubblicato non solo gli altri cinque romanzi del ciclo del Barsetshire, ma anche altri romanzi di Trollope, tra i quali uno molto moderno nel tema intitolato La vita oggi.

This is my contribution to the 16th 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.

The photo above — shot in color and then converted to black and white — is my contribution to edition #39 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by the creator herself.

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

And I am contributing the cornbread to the June edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

This post has the list of contributions to the event.

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

pane di mais con mirtilli

or launch the pane di mais con mirtilli 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.]

cornbread, cornmeal, blueberry, kefir, yogurt

scone alla ricotta con semi di papavero

ricotta scones with poppy seeds

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

poppy seeds and pod

You get up and reach the kitchen in that half-clouded state where the battle between the wish to sleep and the need to wake up is waged. The smell of something baking is, together with the smell of espresso, the best invitation to alertness you can receive at this point in your day, especially if the baked goods are scones.

You smell something slightly buttery and crisp. A bite brings you past the crispness to reach the soft heart with its hint of citrus, the delicate pop of poppy seeds, and the light creaminess of ricotta. When warm from the oven, scones are best by themselves.

I published the top photo in a post for Black and White Wednesday last year, after harvesting the seeds from dried pods. When they are ready to bloom, poppies do so fairly fast, so one can watch the process and even hear the petals stretch into freedom. I have some red and some purple poppies in my little garden: they are a pleasure to watch at any stage of their development.

The language corner: — in Italian, papavero is sometimes used metaphorically to indicate a bigwig, like in the expression gli alti papaveri. This is the sense in which the word was used in a famous song from 1952, Papaveri e papere (Poppies and Ducklings) sung by Nilla Pizzi at the Sanremo Music Festival. You can see her in this video in a duet with Mina. The papere represent the powerless.

After finishing his second one,
my husband called them "scones plus"

I created a variation of the recipe for curried pumpkin and ginger scones I presented a few days ago, using the last of the poppy seeds I harvested last year and homemade ricotta from my most recent cheese-making session.

Ingredients (see my previous post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients):

1. 3 tablespoons (1.5 oz., 42 g) unsalted browned butter
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. 1/4 teaspoon vanilla sea salt¹ (or regular sea salt)
7. 1/2 tablespoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar (or 1, if you want the scones a bit sweeter)
   
8. 2 tablespoons candied citron, chopped
9. 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
10. 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    
11. 2.5 oz. (70 g) ricotta, mashed (I used my homemade ricotta)
12. 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk, plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or nonfat is fine)

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 slightly soften while you prepare the other ingredients. Measure ingredients number 2 through 7 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.

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl, add candied citron and mix with your hands to coat the pieces. Add the poppy seeds and stir to distribute. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then add them to the dry mix. Stir with a spatula until just combined. Turn 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 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.

¹ I make vanilla salt similarly to vanilla sugar: I rinse well vanilla bean pieces used to make ice cream, then add them to quality sea salt and let the salt absorb the vanilla flavor for at least two weeks before using.

This is my contribution to edition #337 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Terry of Crumpets & co.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

scone alla ricotta con semi di papavero

or launch the scone alla ricotta con semi di papavero 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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scone, poppy seeds, ricotta, kefir, citron

Per i lettori italiani

semi di papavero e capsula

Al mattino ti svegli e raggiungi la cucina in stato confusionale. Il profumo di qualcosa che sta cuocendo nel forno, insieme a quello del caffè, è il miglior invito a svegliarsi del tutto che si possa ricevere in questo momento della giornata, specialemente se il profumo è quello di scone.

Un morso affonda i denti in qualcosa di sottilmente croccante che poi diventa soffice, sa vagamente di agrume, ha la lieve croccantezza dei semi di papavero e la leggera cremosità della ricotta. Quando sono appena sfornati, gli scone sono buoni da soli.

Ho pubblicato la foto in alto in un post per Black and White Wednesday l'anno scorso, dopo aver raccolto i semi di papavero dalle capsule secche. Quando sono pronti a sbocciare, i papaveri procedono abbastanza rapidamente tanto che si può osservare l'evento e anche sentire i petali che si stiracchiano nella libertà. Ho alcuni papaveri rossi e altri viola nel mio orticello e mi piace ammirarli ad ogni stadio del loro sviluppo.

Dopo aver finito il secondo,
mio marito li ha chiamati "scone più"

Per questa variazione della ricetta per scone zucca e zenzero con curry presentata alcuni giorni fa, ho usato l'ultimo cucchiaio di semi di papavero dell'anno scorso e ricotta fatta in casa dalla mia sessione casearia più recente.

Ingredienti (vedi il mio post precedente per ulteriori informazioni riguardanti la ricetta originale e gli ingredienti):

1. 42 g burro nocciola
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. 1/4 cucchiaino sale fino alla vaniglia¹
7. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) zucchero bianco fine (o 1 cucchiaio se preferite gli scone un po' più dolci)
8. 2 cucchiai (30 ml) cedro candito a pezzetti
9. 1 cucchiaio (15 ml) semi di papavero
10. 1 cucchiaino (5 ml) succo di limone fresco
    
11. 70 g ricotta (io ho usato la mia ricotta fatta in casa)
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)

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. Misurare gli ingredienti dal numero 2 all'11 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.

Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere i pezzetti di cedro candito e mescolare con le mani per infarinarli. Aggiungere i semi di papavero e mescolare per distribuirli. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare gli altri due ingredienti e poi aggiungeteli a quelli secchi. 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.

¹ Io preparo il sale alla vaniglia allo stesso modo dello zucchero alla vaniglia: sciacquo bene i pezzi di baccello utilizzati per preparare il gelato e li aggiungo a sale marino fino. Lascio che il sale assorba l'aroma di vaniglia per almeno due settimane prima di cominciare ad utilizzarlo.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 337 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Terry di Crumpets & co.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

scone zucca e zenzero con curry

curried pumpkin and ginger scones

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

just baked

Biting on one of these scones brings a pleasant surprise (sorpresa). The combination of curry, candied ginger (zenzero candito), browned butter (burro nocciola), and roasted pumpkin in the background, with just enough sweetness to round all the flavors tickles and satisfies.

I have lost track of how many times I have baked these scones, but I know that the last time was yesterday morning. If you have the ingredients ready, you can mix them while the oven heats up and then you are only 15 minutes away from a satisfactory breakfast. These scones, besides being perfect by themselves, are also exquisite with kefir cheese. And they freeze well, which means that if you can spare a few from each batch, you can easily satisfy a craving for them in the future.

During the fall, I stock on pumpkins and winter squashes of various kinds and the stash lasts until spring. If stored properly, some varieties of pumpkins and winter squashes have a fairly long shelf life.

For example, the beautiy in the photo is a Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin from Neukom Family Farm. I roasted it , then made a great soup and some special scones with it. And when I bake a large pumpkin, I freeze some of it for later use.

A few months ago, I started making pane alla zucca (pumpkin bread) and later on, once my homemade kefir became available, I tried making curried pumpkin and ginger scones using a recipe from the King Arthur Flour site. After meeting pastry chef Marisa Churchill, I added a browned butter twist to the already personalized recipe (which includes the use of dried apricots or plums instead of some of the candied ginger).

solidified browned butter

My list of 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. 1/8 cup chopped uncrystallized candied ginger
3. 1/8 cup chopped dried apricots or plums (or a mix)
4. 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 2 tablespoons cornmeal + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
5. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
6. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
7. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8. 3/8 teaspoon sea salt
9. 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
10. 1/8 teaspoon turmeric (curcuma; optional, for color)
11. 1/2 tablespoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
12. 1/2 tablespoon ricotta or cream cheese or plain kefir cheese
13. 1/4 cup (50 g) mashed roasted pumpkin
14. 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk, plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or nonfat is fine)

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

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 slightly soften while you prepare the other ingredients. Finely chop ginger and dried fruit. Measure ingredients number 4 through 11 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.

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl, add ginger and dried fruit and mix with your hands to coat the pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then add them to the dry mix. Stir with a spatula until just combined. Turn 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 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.

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 #336 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 Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

scone zucca e zenzero con curry

or launch the scone zucca e zenzero con curry 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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scone, ginger, pumpkin, kefir, curry

Per i lettori italiani

appena sfornati

Mordere uno di questi scone regala una piacevole sorpresa. La combinazione di curry, zenzero candito, burro nocciola, zucca arrosto nello sfondo e abbastanza dolcezza da unificare tutti i sapori solletica e soddisfa.

Ho perso il conto di quante volte ho fatto questi scone, ma so che l'ultima volta è stato ieri mattina. Se avete gli ingredienti, potete impastarli mentre il forno si riscalda e poi dopo solo 15 minuti avrete una colazione squisita. Oltre ad essere buoni da soli, si sposano bene con il formaggio di kefir. E si possono congelare, così quando vi viene voglia di mangiarne potete farlo facilmente.

In autunno faccio sempre scorta di zucche di vario tipo e mi durano fino a primavera. Se si conservano in modo adeguato, alcune varietà durano molto a lungo.

Per esempio, la bella zucca nella foto si chiama  Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin e proviene da Neukom Family Farm. l'ho cotta in forno. poi ci ho fatto una bella zuppa e degli scone. E quando cuocio una zucca grossa, ne surgelo un po' per usarla in futuro.

Qualche mese fa ho cominciato ad usare la zucca per fare del pane , poi, quando ho cominciato a fare il kefir in casa ho provato a fare questa ricetta per scone dal sito di King Arthur Flour. Dopo l'incontro con Marisa Churchill, ho aggiunto la variante del burro nocciola alla ricetta che avevo già personalizzato (per esempio sostituendo parte dello zenzero candito con albicocche secche).

burro nocciola

La mia lista degli ingrediente (ho dimezzato le quantità della ricetta originale):

1. 50 g burro nocciola (o 57 g di burro normale e non usare la ricotta)
2. 20 g zenzero candito
   
3. 20 g albicocche secche
4. 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
5. 65 g farina integrale fina (da dolci)
6. 1/2 cucchiaio [7,5 ml] lievito per dolci
7. 1/4 cucchiaino bicarbonato di soda
8. 3/8 cucchiaino sale fino
9. 1/4 cucchiaino curry in polvere
10. 1/8 cucchiaino curcuma (facoltativa, ma da' un bel colore)
11. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) zucchero bianco fine
12. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) ricotta o formaggio cremoso
13. 50 g zucca cotta in forno e schiacciata per renderla una crema
14. 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)

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. Tagliare a pezzetti lo zenzero candito e le albicocche secche. Misurare gli ingredienti dal numero 4 all'11 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.

Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere i pezzetti di zenzero e albicocche e mescolare con le mani per infarinarli. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare il resto degli ingredienti e poi aggiungeteli a quelli secchi. 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.

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 336 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 Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio

fava bean and garlic scape spread

a creamy shade of green

For the current edition of Cook the Books, we are reading The United States of Arugula by David Kamp (2006). I don't think I can add much to the many reviews the book has received since its publication. It is undoubtedly an important book, very interesting and pleasant to read. Kamp's book paints a complete and complex picture that helps the reader understand how certain aspects of the food world in the US evolved to be the way they are now.

My perspective in reading the book is that of an outsider-insider: I am an Italian who moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (theater of a number of the developments narrated in the book) as an adult (18 years ago), with well-established food roots. I learned not only to cook but to enjoy doing so, and, as a result, I eat out only very rarely. Finally, I don't watch television. From this special perspective, the story told in the book is fascinating, and also puzzling. I am very much Italian in my approach to food and totally immune from the obsession with French cuisine depicted in the book. Such obsession puzzles me.

Kamp dedicates some thoughtful paragraphs to Italian cuisine. You can read an example here. This excerpt brought to my mind two things. First, the 1996 movie Big Night, which shows very nicely the tension between Italian regional cuisine and Americans' perception of it influenced by the Italian-American community. Then, an episode from my previous life. Before moving to the US, one summer, I worked at a Club Med resort in Morocco. The guests came from France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the UK. One evening, the dining room was divided into two sections: in one, guests would be served a French menu, in the other, an Italian menu. At dinner time, things did not quite go as expected: almost everybody wanted to go into one section — and it was not the one where French food would be served. As Marcella Hazan says in the passage referenced above with regards to Italian food, "it's food that you eat with pleasure... You don't have to analyze it, you just enjoy that it's so."

The recipe that follows is connected to another page of the book, where Ms. Betty Fussell's comment on food hype is reported, within the context of an assessment of Alice Waters' contribution to the discussion on food ways. (You can read the page here.) These Fussell's words made me smile: "little tiny Italian fava-bean grower down the road." I am actually happy that nowadays I can find fresh fava beans at the farmers' market (and fava greens too), a food that is quite common in Italy and that I ate often as a kid.

The other element of the recipe is garlic scapes. The scape is the elegant leafless "stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed" (source). Garlic scapes are a relatively recent entry in my kitchen: they have gained in popularity in recent years and are now easily found at farmers' market, appearing at the same time as fava beans, a coincidence that I interpreted as a suggestion.

Most recipes I have seen use scapes to make a variation of pesto, or as a side dish, roasted. My spread tastes of fresh fava beans, of aromatic garlic scapes and of pungent fiore sardo cheese. In this small dish, I bring together my Italian heritage and my experience with interesting ingredients I find in Californian farmers' markets. More than an exact recipe, this is an invitation to play with the main ingredients. It is also a variation on the classic Italian combination of fava beans and pecorino cheese.

Note: Savory has a flavor reminiscent of thyme, with mint and pepper tones. I have a bush of winter savory (santoreggia montana) in my herb garden, and I like to experiment with it. If you don't have it, try using one or two leaves of fresh mint (menta).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb. fresh fava beans in their pod (about 1 1/4 cup shelled)
• 2 1/2-3 oz. [70-85 g] garlic scapes
• 1 teaspoon fresh winter savory, optional (see note above)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated fiore sardo
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Fine sea salt, to taste

Shell fava beans and blanch them for one minute, drain them and plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Drain them again, then remove the skin from the beans to bring their bright green core to light. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cut thinner portion of garlic scapes (above the bulge); if they've yellowed, discard. Spread all the scapes onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and sprinkle with olive oil and a bit of sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the thinner pieces. Bake the rest for another 3-4 minutes. Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop scapes. (This seems complicated, but the top of the scapes ends up charred and I am trying to avoid that. If it still happens, snap off the charred portion and discard it before proceeding with the recipe.)

Put fava beans and scapes in the food processor and pulse to chop. Add herbs and process some more, then add the cheese and process briefly. While pulsing, dribble the oil into the feeding tube, then the lemon juice. Finally, sprinkle a bit of salt and process to a smooth paste by pulsing for several seconds at a time.

I have found that it is better to allow the ingredients to influence each other for a bit before changing the balance, so let the spread rest for 20 minutes or so, then taste and adjust seasoning (salt, lemon juice). Refrigerate until ready to use and take out of the refrigerator in advance, so that the spread in not cold when you serve it.

In the top photo, I am using a grissino as a vehicle for some of the spread.

This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Jo of Food Junkie, Not Junk Food. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I am also sending this to My Legume Love Affair 47, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes. This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio

or launch the crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio 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.]

fava bean, garlic scape

sorpresa

surprise

homemade canestrato

The cheese that you saw in this post before aging looked like this when I cut it, about four months later, and was worth the wait. Even after three and a half years of making cheese, the moment I insert the blade into one has the same suspense and the first bite the same thrill as the very first time. This homemade canestrato was a rewarding surprise.

The second surprise is that this week, I have the honor of hosting Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event. Send your contribution at simosite AT mac DOT com, namely

• your name
• your blog's name
• the image(s) (max 500 px wide, either orientation)
  

You have until Monday, May 14 at 6 pm Eastern time to do so. If you are unfamiliar with the event or need a reminder of the rules, you will find the details in this post. Feel free to use the logo below (it can also be found here). If you have a photo, but no blog, send it to me and I will include it in the roundup, which will be published on Wednesday, May 16.

Since messages can get lost, please, contact me again if you don't get an answer to your email or a comment on your blog within a couple of days of emailing me.

And the third surprise is that May 15 marks the fifth anniversary of briciole. To celebrate another milestone of my blogging journey, I will send a little gift to a randomly chosen participant of the event I am hosting this week. What the gift will be is, as you can imagine, a surprise, which I will announce together with the winner, on May 16.

This is my first contribution to edition #32 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Simona of briciole.

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

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

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

formaggio (ancora)

cheese (again)

making caciocavallo: stretching the curd

To learn a lot and get answers to many questions, I traveled again to lovely Shelburne Falls to take a cheesemaking 201 workshop with Jim Wallace. The photos are from the first of two days making Italian cheeses. Above, an image of caciocavallo curd being stretched: caciocavallo is in fact a  pasta filata cheese. Caciocavallo being one of my favorite Italian cheeses, I can't wait to make this at home. (This page shows some Caciocavallo Silano.)

Taleggio in the mold: early phase of draining

After filling the mold and letting the curds drain for a short while, Jim flipped the Taleggio so the upper side shows the markings of the bottom of the mold. This plastic mold is in my wish list: the marking resemble well those made by wicker baskets.

More stories and images from the workshop will appear in a future post.

This is my contribution to edition #31 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Siri of Cooking with Siri.

The photos were shot in color and then converted to sepia.

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

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

lassi alla fragola

strawberry lassi

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

strawberry lassi made with kefir

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

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

roasted strawberries

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

it was good!

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

Ingredients for two portions (porzioni):

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

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

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

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

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

lassi alla fragola

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

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

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kefir, strawberry

Per i lettori italiani

lassi alla fragola fatto col kefir

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

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

fragole arrosto

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

che buono che era!

Ingredienti per due porzioni:

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

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

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

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

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

formaggio fresco di kefir fatto in casa

homemade fresh kefir cheese

kefir cheese with dukkah and cacao nibs

As I mentioned in the post on homemade kefir, for my first attempt I used kefir culture. The flavor of the kefir was a bit too acidic for our taste, and at that point, I had not yet learned all the ways in which to use kefir that I know now. I decided to see how the kefir would taste once the whey was removed, so I poured the kefir into a cloth-lined colander, then made a bundle and hung it up to drain for 24 hours (at room temperature).

I then chopped up finely a sample of herbs from my little garden: dill (aneto), mint (menta), chives (erba cipollina), parsley (prezzemolo), added a bit of salt and freshly milled pepper and mixed into the drained kefir, then molded it using my favorite heart-shaped mold.

The mold rests on a small grid for draining

I let the kefir cheese drain in the fridge for 3-4 days, then unmolded and tasted it.

kefir cheese with fresh herbs

The flavor was pleasantly tangy and the herbs gave it a nice nuance. It was particularly nice spread over a slightly sweet bread like my homemade challah.

After this success, I obtained kefir grains (grani di kefir), as recounted in the previous post. I made kefir using them and then made kefir cheese again, but this time instead of herbs, I added dukkah and cacao nibs (granella di fave di cacao). If you don't know what dukkah is, read on.

A few years ago, I attended an evening class on sourdough bread. It was not only the beginning of my sourdough baking adventure, but also of an acquaintance that turned into a friendship with Rhonda, who taught the class. For the bread tasting, Rhonda made some dukkah, something I had never seen before.

my rendition of dukkah

Dukkah (also spelled duqqa or dukka) comes to us from Egypt: it is a mix of toasted and ground spices and nuts.

The word is derived from the Arabic for "to pound" since the mixture of spices and nuts are pounded together after being dry roasted to a texture that is neither powdered nor paste-like. The actual composition of the spice mix can vary from family to family, vendor to vendor though there are common ingredients, such as sesame, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. [source]

The recipe I use comes from 101 Cookbooks. I halve the quantities, because the full recipe makes quite a bit. And I like it coarsely ground (I use the food processor to do the grinding).

fresh kefir cheese (drained kefir)

Back to the kefir, this time I drained it using a double layer of cheese netting instead of cloth. As I was about to gather some herbs to repeat the process followed before, my eyes encountered the jar where my freshly made dukkah was stored and I interpreted that as a sign. Next to it, there was the container where I keep cacao nibs (which I get from Dick Taylor Chocolate). Having successfully used cacao nibs with hard cheese, it was not difficult to decide to add those as well (after all, they are also toasted and ground, like the spices and nuts in dukkah).

I added a teaspoon each of dukkah and cacao nibs, relying on my sense of balance to make an educated guess. I wanted the flavor to be detectable, but not overpowering, a balance I had previously achieved with the herb mix. I also added a bit more of salt, mixed lightly and then filled the heart-shaped mold. Once again, I let the cheese sit in the fridge and drain further for 3-4 days and then tasted it: I was very happy with the result.

For my second batch of kefir cheese, I increased the amount of both dukkah and cacao nibs to 1 and 1/2 teaspoon each and let the cheese rest in the fridge 5 days. If you try, I recommend you start with the lower quantity and see how you like it. (I suspect that the combination would also work with labneh, but have not tried it.)

Ingredients:

• 10 oz drained kefir (see Note below)
  
• a generous pinch of sea salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon dukkah (see text above)
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon cacao nibs (see text above)

Note: How much kefir? I use kefir made with non-fat milk and drain about 7 cups (1.65 l). I don't make that much kefir all at the same time. I usually make a pint (2 cups, 475 ml) or a quart (4 cups, 950 ml), depending on what my plans for using it are. (According to this site, it is actually better to let kefir ripen for a day or two before using it.) Pour kefir into a cloth-lined colander (I use a cotton napkin with a tight weave or a double layer of cheese netting). Gather the corners and make a bundle. Hang it over a bowl and let drain for 24 hours. (I don't have a photo of my set up, but this is quite similar: note the colander placed over the pot: if for whatever reason the bundle falls, it doesn't splash into the whey.) Reserve the whey and use it.

Sanitize a 4 1/4-inch heart-shaped mold (or other mold of choice) in boiling water. Sprinkle salt, dukkah and cacao nibs on the drained kefir and mix in. Place into mold and pack lightly.

Place a small grid at the bottom of a container and put the mold on it. Cover the container and refrigerate. Every day, discard the whey that collects at the bottom of the container.

After 3-5 days, unmold the cheese ahead of time and serve at room temperature. If the cheese is still very wet, put the leftover back into the mold and the draining container. If the cheese is not too wet, store it in cheese paper. Either way, put the cheese in the fridge. Ideally, you should bring to room temperature only the amount of cheese you will consume, so the rest can remain at constant temperature.

curry pumpkin and ginger scones

My favorite combination is kefir cheese spread over curry and pumpkin scones made with kefir instead of buttermilk and brown butter (details in an upcoming post).

Exciting update (May 26, 2012): my kefir cheese story is featured in today's post on the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company blog.

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

formaggio fresco di kefir fatto in casa

or launch the formaggio fesco di kefir fatto 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.]

kefir, cheese, dukkah, cacao nibs

kefir fatto in casa

homemade kefir

mango lassi made with kefir

A couple of months ago, I made kefir using this culture. The process was straightforward and in about 24 hours, we could taste it. I ended up making fresh cheese with it: I will described that in an upcoming this post.

While my first adventure with kefir was unfolding, Jeri, who writes the blog of the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, published a three-part summary of information received by readers of their newsletter: 1. ordering kefir grains; 2. growing kefir grains; 3. using kefir grains.

In the first post, I learned more about kefir grains (grani di kefir) and the difference between them and the culture I had used. The cultures have probiotics in them, but "nowhere near as many as in the living grains." Probiotics are defined as living organisms, which upon ingestion in certain numbers, exert health benefits beyond inherent basic nutrition.

Kefir is a unique cultured dairy product due to combined lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation of lactose in milk. Kefir is produced by microbial activity of “kefir grains” which have a relatively stable and specific balance of lactic acid bacteria and yeast. [source]

I decided I needed to get some first-hand experience of the interesting-looking kefir grains. At the same time (and I guess this was all part of a grand scheme), Claudia of Honey from Rock wrote about her adventures with kefir. Shortly afterwards, I spent a few days on the Big Island and visited Claudia

Among the many goodies that Claudia gave us (I already mentioned one in this post), there was a small bag with some kefir grains in a milk bath. They did fine on the trip back and as soon as I got back home, I started my first batch of kefir.

Basically, it does not get easier than this. You still need to be careful about sanitizing the tools you are using, but really, making kefir at home is a breeze: you only need a glass jar, a strainer and a spoon or something similar to move the kefir grains. I sterilize the glass jar in the oven and the lid with boiling water. When the jar has cooled, I strain the kefir grains (from the previous batch of kefir or from the milk in which they were resting in the fridge).

The photo above is from a while ago. Most recently, instead of straining the kefir grains, I spoon them out, taking advantage of the fact that they tend to be at the surface of the jar of ready kefir. I then strain the content of the jar to separate small grains left behind. I have not read this anywhere: I feel like this way I stress the grains less. In any case, when straining kefir grains, be gentle.

Add milk of choice to the jar (I use pasteurized organic milk straight from the bottle) and then the strained kefir grains, cover the jar (leaving the lid just a bit loose to allow the CO₂ produced to escape), then set it aside in a warm, dark place (or wrap it in a kitchen towel). The kefir grains will take it from there and deliver kefir within a certain number of hours. It takes me 24 hours to get kefir, sometimes a bit longer, depending on the temperature. Once strained, I store kefir in the fridge and let it ripen for a day or two before using it.

Rather than go into the details of the set up, which is described in details in a number of places on the web — like this page and also this page, the one most people reference — I have summarized in a diagram the ways in which I have used kefir in its natural or drained state (arrows pointing down from "kefir"). The arrow pointing up from kefir grains means that I reculture milk with the grains strained out of the previous barch. I don't make kefir continuously. When I don't need more kefir than I have, I place the grains in a jar, cover them with milk and put them in the fridge for a few days. Since the grains grow while also making kefir, you may want to find a friend who wants to try and give her/him the extra grains that you get.

I have already shown one of the ways in which I use kefir in this post, where it substitutes sour cream topping for soup. The mango lassi in the top photo was made with

• chopped ripe mango
  
• kefir
  
• a bit of agave nectar as sweetener (the quantity depending on the sweetness of the mango and your personal preference).
  

And the beautiful scones below were made using kefir instead of buttermilk (latticello).

curry pumpkin and ginger scones

If you go to Honey from Rock and enter "kefir" in the Search field, you get the list of posts where Claudia talks about her adventures. The idea is that once you have kefir, you come up with various ways to use it. That is, at least, what happened to me.

Due to the claimed health benefits of kefir which include reduction of lactose intolerance symptoms, stimulation of the immune system, lowering cholesterol, and antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties, kefir has become an important functional dairy food and consequently, research on kefir has increased in the past decade. [source]

There are indeed a number of scientific papers describing research that looked more closely at the composition of kefir grains and at various effects of kefir administration to mice and rats. There are studies on specific health effects of kefir consumption in humans. For example, in this one on people with lactose maldigestion, kefir improved lactose digestion and tolerance. In other areas, results have been mixed (as this article summarizes): I hope larger studies will be conducted. In the meantime, I will continue enjoying making and using kefir at home.

Exciting update (May 26, 2012): my kefir story is featured in today's post on the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company blog.

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

kefir fatto in casa

or launch the kefir fatto 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.]

kefir