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].

[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, 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

Havarti con aneto / dill Havarti

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

just sliced

Traveling with the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), we've arrived in Denmark (Danimarca). Finally, we are in a country I have visited, albeit briefly.

It was in Denmark that I first experienced the long days characteristic of summer in northern Europe. One August, years ago, three friends of mine and I drove from Italy to Norway and back, a wonderful trip that brought us to seven countries: Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. 

On our way up, we visited Copenhagen, where I enjoyed our walk inside the Kastellet, "one of the best preserved star fortresses in Northern Europe." We paid a visit to the Little Mermaid (Sirenetta), but didn't see it well, because shortly before we arrived close enough to get a good look at the famous little statue, a busload of tourists descended upon the poor girl, all but blocking her from sight.

We spent the night in Roskilde, famous for its music festival. The window in our room did not have a serranda, the tight-closing shutter common in Italian homes, but not, as I already knew, elsewhere. Looking at the window from my bed I noticed that, even when my watch indicated a late hour, the sky was not completely dark.

In Helsingor, "known internationally for its castle Kronborg, where William Shakespeare's play Hamlet is set," we took the ferry to Helsingborg, in Sweden. I have some photos from that trip but due to some moving of stuff that happened in our house recently, they are in an unidentified box, so I cannot share them here.

a view of the curds

To celebrate our stop, I decided to make a Danish cheese (formaggio danese) that has been on my to-do list for a while: Havarti. Sometimes a cheese with bold flavor is desired, but other times, a mild flavor is called for and then Havarti is a nice option.

I have several recipes for Havarti in my various cheese-making books. I chose to make the version in Mary Karlin's book, "Artisan Cheese Making at Home," because it has an option to eat the cheese fresh (i.e., not aged), which allowed me to make the cheese, taste it, and write about it within the limit of our sojourn in Denmark.

I followed the recipe almost as given in the book. The home cheese makers among my readers may be interest in knowing that for this cheese, I tried something I had read in "The Joy of Cheesemaking" by Jody Farnham and Marc Druart, namely, I used a blend of pasteurized non-fat milk and pasteurized heavy whipping cream (as an approximation of milk that has not been homogenized).

I don't yet have dill from my little herb garden, but got some as part of my spring CSA share. Since the recipe calls for dried dill and I had fresh dill, I dried a few sprigs in the microwave (my first time doing this) following these instructions. Dill being a delicate herb (erba aromatica), you want to be particularly careful in monitoring the process to avoid burning it. 

the moment of truth

It is always with a bit of trepidation that I plunge the knife into one of my cheeses. In this case, the result matched expectations: my dill Havarti has a mild, fresh flavor of milk with just a light note of dill. It is a nice cheese to put into a sandwich, or to eat plain with my panini quadrifoglio, or with this flatbread. I also used it successfully in my famous roasted strawberry frittata (instead of French Neufchâtel).

I will make this cheese again and this time I will age it a bit. I don't expect most of you to follow me in the making of this cheese, but if you see in in the case of your cheesemonger, why not give Havarti a try?

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My dill Havarti participates to the sixth installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. F like Frikadeller (Denmark) is hosted by Leonilde of Le affinità elettive.

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

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

Havarti con aneto 

or launch the Havarti con aneto 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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Havarti, cheese, dill

Per i lettori italiani

la prima fetta

L'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea ci porta in Danimarca. Finalmente siamo in un paese che ho visitato, sebbene molto brevemente.

In Danimarca ho fatto la prima esperienza delle giornate lunghe caratteristiche dell'estate nel Nordeuropa. Un Agosto di un po' di anni fa, io e tre amici abbiamo fatto un bel giro in auto dall'Italia alla Norvegia e ritorno, toccando Svizzera, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germania, Danimarca e Svezia. 

Nel viaggio di andata abbiamo visitato Copenaghen dove ho gradito una lunga passeggiata all'interno del Kastellet, antica fortificazione militare a forma di stella che oggi è un parco aperto al pubblico. Siamo andati dove si trova la statua della Sirenetta, ma non siamo riusciti a vederla bene a causa dell'arrivo poco prima di noi di un autobus pieno di turisti che hanno invaso lo spazio aereo intorno alla povera ragazza bloccandone la vista.

Abbiamo pernottato a Roskilde, famosa per il suo importante festival della musica. La finestra della stanza dove ho dormito non aveva serranda, solo una tenda di stoffa. Dal letto ho notato che nonostante l'ora tarda segnata dal mio orologio, il cielo non era buio.

Ad Helsingor (Elsinore), che è sede del castello di Kronborg, dove William Shakespeare ha ambientato Amleto, abbiamo preso il traghetto per Helsingborg, in Svezia. Ho delle foto del viaggio ma a causa di un recente trasloco interno sono in una scatola priva di identificazione e quindi non sono in grado di condividerle in questo post.

controllo della cagliata

Per celebrare la nostra visita ho deciso di fare dell'Havarti, un formaggio danese che era sulla mia lista da tempo. Talvolta vogliamo un formaggio dal sapore forte e deciso, ma altre volte preferiamo un sapore delicato e in questi casi Havarti è un'ottima opzione.

Ho diverse ricette per fare l'Havarti nei miei libri di arte casearia. Ho scelto di fare la versione nel libro di Mary Karlin "Artisan Cheese Making at Home" (in inglese), perché offre l'opzione di consumare il formaggio fresco, cioè non stagionato, il che mi ha consentito di fare il formaggio, assaggiarlo e parlarne in un post nei limiti di tempo del nostro soggiorno in Danimarca.

Non avrei problemi a tradurre la ricetta in italiano se fossi sicura che potete trovare gli ingredienti per farla, ma mentre so che è possibile acquistare il caglio in farmacia, a quanto ne so in Italia non si trovano i fermenti per inoculare il latte. Se qualcuno scopre che non è così, vi prego di farmelo sapere. [Alcune ricette per fare il formaggio in casa usano lo yogurt per inoculare il latte, ma per fare l'Havarti ci vogliono batteri diversi da quelli che si trovano nello yogurt (ammesso che lo yogurt che usate abbia fermenti lattici vivi).]

Non ho ancora piantine di aneto nel mio orticello e quindi ho usato un po' di quello che ho trovato nella mia cassettina. Dal momento che la ricetta richiede aneto secco e il mio era fresco, ne ho seccati alcuni rametti nel forno a microonde sequendo queste istruzioni. Dato che l'aneto è un'erba aromatica delicata vi consiglio di monitorare con attenzione il processo di essiccamento per evitare di bruciarla. 

il momento della verità

È sempre con un po' di trepidazione che affondo la lama in una delle mie forme di formaggio per tagliare la prima fettina. In questo caso il risultato ha soddisfatto le aspettative: il mio Havarti ha un sapore delicato di latte con giusto una nota di aneto. È un formaggio adatto per fare un panino o da mangiare al naturale, magari con uno dei miei panini quadrifoglio, o con questa schiacciata. L'ho anche usato con successo nella mia famosa frittata con fragole arrosto (invece del French Neufchâtel).

Farò questo formaggio di nuovo e stavolta lo farò stagionare un po'. Spero che il mio post vi faccia venire la curiosità di assaggiare l'Havarti, magari, se lo trovate, quello con l'aneto.

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Con il mio Havarti con aneto partecipo alla sesta tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. F come Frikadeller (Danimarca) è ospitata da Leonilde de Le affinità elettive. 

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

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

M come Matera (Basilicata): strascinati con la menta

M like Matera (Basilicata): strascinati with mint

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

ready to be served

"La città dei Sassi" (the city of the stones): this definition in crossword puzzles taught me what is the defining feature of Matera, a city in southern Italy. What are the Sassi?

The Sassi district is the ancient heart of the city of Matera.
The Sassi... constitute a city unto itself, completely carved out of the face of the calcareous rock - what is known as tufa stone. The Sassi district is a system made of dwellings carved out of the steep slopes of a deep valley with surprising and unusual features...
Elegant and multi-faceted buildings are interspersed with underground mazes and cave labyrinths, forming one single stunning landscape.
Over the course of the centuries, the city has changed its shape over and over again in an ongoing dialogue between rock and architecture, canyon and bell-tower, flowing into a cityscape of incomparable beauty and distinction.

In our tour of the 20 Italian regions created and organized by Trattoria MuVarA we have arrived in Basilicata, the instalment I am hosting, represented by Matera, the capital of one of the region's two provinces (the other being Potenza). Language note: the adjective related to Basilicata is lucano, which derives from Lucania, another name of the region.

Writing about a city and a region I have never visited is a challenge, because I need to rely on other people's accounts rather than my personal experience. Here is a list of some of the pages I have looked at. They include some beautiful photos particularly of the Sassi, which I recommend you peruse.

• Matera page on wikipedia: history and culture
• Basilicata page on wikipedia: history, economy and more
• a tourist-services website for Matera with many slide presentations (expand the main topics on the right panel under Matera), in particular of its famous Sassi, which provide an amazing historical view of the city
• in 1993, the Sassi and rupestrian churches (chiese rupestri) of Matera were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list: this is the page on the UNESCO site
• i Sassi di Matera (stones of Matera) page on wikipedia
• a slide presentation of the Sassi
• the Parco Nazionale del Pollino (Pollino National Park) website

If you are planning a visit to Italy, you may want to consider a visit to Matera. Once there, you will find not only food for your imagination, but also for your body.

Simona's strascinati

Among the traditional dishes from Basilicata listed in my usual source, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina site, I chose to make a kind of pasta, the strascinati. The recipe references a tool, called cavarola, a special wooden board over which the pasta pieces are dragged (trascinati) to shape them.

The recipe referenced above calls for durum wheat flour to make the pasta and that's what I did for my first try. The next time I used my usual pasta blend by King Arthur Flour and I liked the result better. (Update: I now often make strascinati using semolina flour.) The recipe calls for a large amount of flour: I ignored it and instead, started with a small amount to get comfortable with the process.

orange mint from my little garden

The pasta sauce is a variation on the popular theme of aglio, olio e peperoncino (hot chili pepper, called cerasella in the region we are visiting). In this case, fresh mint is added. The original recipe uses a combination of olive oil and lard. I contributed my personal touch by using browned butter (together with the olive oil), of which, since my interview with pastry chef Marisa Churchill, I keep a small supply in my refrigerator.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (130 g) KAF pasta blend (or semolina flour, or durum wheat flour)
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• Lukewarm water
• 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular, unsalted butter)
• 1 small garlic clove
• A pinch of red pepper flakes
• Chiffonade of a few leaves of fresh mint (I used orange mint)

Serves 2

On your working surface, create a well with the flour to which you have added the salt. Pour 1/3 cup (80 ml) of water into the well. With a fork, draw flour from the sides of the well into the center, mixing well with the water. Trade the fork for your fingertips. Draw flour until a firm dough forms. Add more water as needed (I add a teaspoon), and knead until you have a smooth, firm dough.

Roll the dough into a thick roll, then cut it into 5-6 pieces and shape each one into a roll about 3/8 inch (1 cm) in diameter (see Note below regarding the shaping). Cut each roll into approximately 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) long pieces, then use the three middle fingers to drag each small piece of pasta dough towards you. This movement thins the pasta and gives it a shell-like shape that will also carry the imprint of your fingers.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some coarse salt, stir and then add the pasta. Bring water back to boiling. Since the pasta takes only a short time to cook, prepare the sauce. Put oil and browned butter in a small frying pan and warm up over gentle heat. Add the garlic and cook until it turns light golden. Turn off the heat and add the pepper flakes. At this point, the pasta should be ready.

Cooking time is in the order of a few minutes. The pasta is ready when it comes to the surface. Taste it to make sure (if needed, keep the pasta where it is until cooked). When the pasta is ready, turn off the heat, pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and then drain the pasta. Add pasta to the pan with the sauce and sprinkle mint on it. Toss to coat, adjust salt if needed, then serve immediately.

Note: the original recipe calls for making strips of pasta, but I found it easier to make thin rolls. The original recipe also call for the use of three fingers (index, middle and ring finger) to shape the pasta. I sometimes used only two fingers. I then saw this video where strascinati are made with two fingers, so I thought it was acceptable. However, a comment states that the pasta in the video is cavatelli, rather than strascinati and that prompted me to search for a definition of the two types of pasta that would highlight the differences. I am sorry to report that at the end of the search I am no wiser. I suspect this is one of those cases where the name of a pasta depends on the location. As far as I can tell, the main concept behind strascinati, cavatelli and also orecchiette is a dragging motion that thins and shapes the pasta. As a sample of the many pages I browsed, here is a photo of hands making strascinati and here is a photo of cavatelli. Not only do they look very similar, the description for making them is basically the same. While the name strascinati emphasizes the dragging motion, the name cavatelli emphasizes the hollow space created by the motion (cavo means hollow).

Addendum: here is a short video showing my hands shaping toasted semolina flour strascinati, using three fingers.

If you want to join our visit to Basilicata, here are the simple rules to add your contribution:

• publish your post with a recipe from the region by end of the day, Sunday July 1
• include a link to this post and to the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC) site
• leave a comment on this post with the link to your contribution
• you can contribute a recipe from your archive, but please, add the logo and links as above
• no blog? no problem: email the recipe and a photo to trattoriamuvara AT gmail DOT com and comment on this post to alert us of your contribution

The roundup of the recipes contributed will be posted on the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC) site, on the page dedicated to the letter M.

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).

This pretty pasta dish is also my contribution to edition #269 of Presto Pasta Nights. The event was created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and is hosted this week by Simona of briciole (indeed, me again).

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

strascinati con la menta

or launch the strascinati con la menta 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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pasta, mint, Italian recipe

Per i lettori italiani

piatto pronto per essere servito

"La città dei Sassi" è la definizione nelle parole crociate che mi ha insegnato, tanti anni fa, quale fosse la caratteristica saliente di Matera. Ma cosa sono i Sassi?

I Sassi... costituiscono una intera città scavata nella roccia calcarenitica, chiamata localmente “tufo”, un sistema abitativo articolato, abbarbicato lungo i pendii di un profondo vallone dalle caratteristiche naturali singolari e sorprendenti: la Gravina. Strutture edificate, eleganti ed articolate si alternano a labirinti sotterranei e a meandri cavernosi, creando un unicum paesaggistico di grande effetto.

Il sovrapporsi di diverse fasi di trasformazioni urbane sull’aspra morfologia murgica originaria, il raffinato dialogo tra rocce ed architettura, canyon e campanili, ha creato nel corso dei secoli uno scenario urbano di incomparabile bellezza e qualità.

Nel nostro tour delle 20 regioni italiane creato e organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA siamo arrivati in Basilicata, la tappa che ospito io, rappresentata da Matera, uno dei due capoluoghi di provincia della regione (l'altro è Potenza). Parlare di una città e di una regione che non ho mai visitato non è facile, dal momento che devo basarmi su narrative altrui. Questa è la lista di alcune delle pagine che ho guardato. Includono delle belle foto soprattutto dei Sassi che vi raccomando di ammirare.

• la pagina di Matera su wikipedia: storia e cultura
• la pagina della Basilicata su wikipedia: storia, economia, arte e altro
• un sito di servizi turistici per Matera che comprende molte foto (espandere il menu sul pannello a destra sotto Matera)
• la pagina dei Sassi su wikipedia
• nel 1993, i Sassi e le chiese rupestri di Matera sono stati aggiunti alla lista World Heritage dell'UNESCO: questa è the pagina sul sito UNESCO (in inglese)
• un set di slide sui Sassi
• il sito del Parco Nazionale del Pollino

Dopo aver letto e ammirato tanto su Matera, ammetto di voler visitare una città dall'aura davvero magica. Matera e la Basilicata offrono anche cibo per il corpo, non solo per l'immaginazione.

gli strascinati di Simona

Tra i piatti tradizionali lucani elencati sul sito dell'Accademia Italiana della Cucina ho scelto di fare della pasta: gli strascinati. La ricetta fa riferimento alla cavarola, una specie di tagliere di legno sul quale i pezzi di pasta vengono trascinati con le dita per dar loro la forma. Da notare che non ho trovato un sito italiano con una foto della cavarola: qualcuno di voi ce l'ha?

La ricetta originale usa la farina di grano duro ed io la prima volta ho usato tale ingrediente, mentre la volta successiva ho usato la miscela di farine per pasta di King Arthur Flour che uso per fare la pasta all'uovo e il risultato mi è piaciuto di più. La ricetta usa una quantità di farina notevole, indicazione che ho ignorato a favore di una quantità inferiore che mi permettesse di acquisire dimestichezza con la procedura per formare la pasta.

menta arancia dal mio orticello

Il condimento per la pasta è una variazione sul tema aglio, olio e peperoncino (chiamato cerasella nella regione ospitante). In questo caso, si aggiungono foglioline di menta fresca. La ricetta originale usa un misto di olio d'oliva e lardo. Io invece ho usato olio d'oliva e burro nocciola (del quale, da quando ho intervistato la maestra pasticciera Marisa Churchill, tengo sempre un vasetto nel frigorifero).

Ingredienti:

• 130 g misto di farine per pasta o farina di grano duro
• un pizzico di sale
• acqua tiepida
• 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) olio d'oliva
• 1/2 cucchiaio (7 g) burro nocciola (o burro normale)
• un piccolo spicchio d'aglio
• un pizzico di fiocchi di peperoncino
• chiffonade di alcune foglioline di menta fresca

2 porzioni

Preparate un impasto ben lavorato con la farina (alla quale avete aggiunto un pizzico di sale) e acqua (io uso 85 ml). Formate un rotolo con la pasta e poi tagliatelo in 5-6 pezzi. Con ogni pezzo fate un rotolino spesso un cm e tagliatelo a pezzi lunghi circa 3-3,5 cm, poi usate le tre dita di mezzo per trascinare ogni pezzetto verso di voi. Questo movimento spiana la pasta e le dà una forma cava che porta l'impronta delle vostre dita.

Cuocere la pasta. Dal momento che la pasta cuoce rapidamente, preparare il condimento non appena la si butta giù. Scaldare olio e burro in una padellina e poi farci imbiondire l'aglio. Togliere dal fuoco e aggiungere il peperoncino (più o meno, secondo i gusti). A questo punto la pasta dovrebbe essere pronta da scolare. La cottura dura pochi minuti: la pasta è pronta quando viene in superficie (assaggiare per accertarsi e, se necessario, prolungare la cottura). Scolare la pasta, versarla nella padella e spargere la menta. Mescolare bene, salare leggermente se necessario e servire subito.

Nota: la ricetta originale indica di fare dei listelli di pasta, ma per me è più facile fare rotolini. La ricetta indica anche l'uso delle tre dita di mezzo per formare la pasta. Io alle volte ho usato solo indice e medio. Poi ho visto questo video nel quale gli strascinati sono fatti con due dita e quindi ho pensato che andasse bene. Però poi ho letto un commento che sostiene che il video mostra i cavatelli piuttosto che gli strascinati. Questo mi ha fatto fare una ricerca sulle differenze tra i due tipi di pasta. Purtroppo alla fine non ho nulla di definitivo da scrivere: credo che questo sia un caso di variazioni locali che riguardano sia il nome che il tipo di pasta al quale ciascun nome di riferisce. In generale, cavatelli, strascinati e orecchiette appartengono ad una categoria di pasta che ha in comune il movimento di trascinamento che stende e dà forma alla pasta. Come esempi delle tante pagine che ho consultato, qui c'è una foto di mani che formano strascinati e qui c'è una foto di cavatelli. Non solo le due paste sono molto simili, la spiegazione di come farli è praticamente identica.

Addendum: Questo breve filmato mostra le mie mani che formano strascinati alla semola tostata utilizzando tre dita.

Se volete partecipare al nostro viaggio virtuale in Basilicata, queste sono le regole semplici da seguire:

• pubblicate una ricetta lucana entro la fine di domenica 1 Luglio
• includete nel post un link a questo post e al sito dell'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia
• lasciate un commento su questo post con il link al vostro contributo
• potete contribuire una ricetta dal vostro archivio, dopo aver aggiunto ad esso logo e link come descritto
• se non avete un blog, potete mandare la ricetta e una foto a trattoriamuvara AT gmail DOT com; lasciate un commento su questo post e allertateci dell'email

La raccolta dei contributi sarà pubblicata sul sito dell'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia sulla pagina dedicata alla lettera M.

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).

hummus ai carciofi

artichoke hummus

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

This is a spread I had had in mind to make for a while. I saw it somewhere on the web, but I can't remember where: I only remember that it was a hummus made also with artichokes.

I like artichokes a lot. My mother made them often, when they were in season: artichoke frittata and carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style) were often on the table. The important ingredient in the latter is mentuccia, a type of mint that grows wild. According to my mother, there was no substitute for it, so we went out looking for it in a place where she knew it grew.

When I moved to Milan, I learned to appreciate risotto coi carciofi and raw artichokes, sliced thinly and added to salads. Artichokes are grown extensively in California, but I have never found an artichoke that would be comparable to the ones I ate in Italy. After many attempts, and many disappointments, I am currently taking a break. So, to make this recipe, I resorted to canned artichoke hearts (cuori di carciofo). I like that they are preserved in just water and salt¹. As for the chickpeas (ceci), I cooked them from scratch. In the absence of mentuccia, I picked some orange mint from the pot where I planted it last year. I really like its citrusy notes.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for hummus ai carciofi

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dry chickpeas, cooked as explained here, skinned (optional, but nice), and drained [check the chickpeas half an hour after the simmering started to estimate how much longer they need to cook]
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts [preserved in water and salt] (4 and a half, 4.25 oz. dry weight), drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (cumino) from freshly toasted seeds [you may need to increase this a bit, if your cumin is not strongly flavored]
• a garlic clove (spicchio d'aglio)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
• a few leaves of fresh orange mint (Menta piperita citrata) [I used the tips of two twigs; given the intense flavor of this herb, it is better to start with a small amount and add more if necessary]
• chickpea broth, as needed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• chopped dry roasted and salted hazelnuts (nocciole) as topping, to taste

Place in the food processor the first 7 ingredients above and process until smooth. Add some of the chickpea broth as needed to make the hummus reach the desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper and possibly the other flavorings to your taste. Place in a covered container and refrigerate until close to serving time. Spoon into a serving bowl and sprinkle some hazelnuts on the surface. Serve with bread of your choice and with additional hazelnuts. (Note that the recipe makes quite a bit more of what you see in the photo above.)

The spread has a delicate flavor and you can taste all the ingredients, which is very nice. Originally, I had not included the hazelnut topping, but the spread lacked a little something, so I decided to put on the table a small bowl of finelly chopped toasted and salted hazelnuts. With that, the hummus was perfect. We enjoyed it spread over slices of my homemade challah.

The post allows me to show you my first 6-strand challah, of which I am very proud (I usually make a 5-braid challah). As mentioned before, the recipe comes from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, which I follow fairly closely. Reinhart suggests a mix of sesame seeds and poppy seeds (semi di sesamo e semi di papavero) as topping and as you can see, the result is very nice (By the way, the poppy seeds come from the poppies that grow in my garden.)

This is my contribution to this month's edition of Healing Foods. The event is organized by Siri of Cooking with Siri and the current edition is hosted by Vanessa of Sweet Artichoke, who chose the theme. This post contains the roundup of the event.

I am also sending this post to Tin Can Recipes, a monthly event that will run until the end of this year. The organizers are Ale, Fra, Sere and Paola of Il Giardino degli Aromi and Brii of Briggis recept och ideer and Briiblog in English. The rules for participating are detailed on this page. This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

hummus ai carciofi

or launch the hummus ai carciofi 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.]

¹ The can of artichoke hearts in the photo is for information only: it is not an advertisement. I do not have a business relationship with the product's company.

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Per i lettori italiani

L'hummus è una crema di ceci tipica del Medio Oriente. Questa è una variante nella quale ai ceci ho unito i carciofi. L'idea di usare i carciofi non è mia originale: tempo fa lessi da qualche parte il titolo della ricetta "hummus ai carciofi," ma non mi ricordo dove e non mi ricordo i dettagli. Quindi, quando ho deciso di realizzare l'idea, ho messo insieme gli ingredienti basandomi su esperienze precedenti con l'hummus preparato solo con i ceci.

Ingredienti:

• 100 g circa di ceci secchi, cotti come spiegato qui (controllate i ceci dopo mezz'ora dall'inizio della cottura con gli odori per stimare quanto tempo manca) o come fate di solito, poi scolati
  
• 4,5 cuori di carciofo, conservati in acqua, scolati (peso secco 120 g)
• 1/2 cucchiaino (2,5 ml) di cumino in polvere (consiglio di tostare i semi a macinarli freschi: il sapore è molto più intenso)
• uno spicchio d'aglio
• 1 cucchiaio (15 ml) di olio d'oliva
• 2 cucchiai (30 ml) di succo di limone Meyer fresco [alternativamente potete usare un cucchiaio di succo di limone e uno di succo d'arancio oppure un cucchiaio e mezzo di succo di limone]
• alcune foglioline di Menta piperita citrata fresca [dato il sapore intenso della menta, consiglio di usare una piccola quantità e aggiungerne se necessario]
• un po' di brodo di cottura dei ceci
• sale e pepe macinato fresco, a seconda dei vostri gusti
• nocciole tostate a secco e salate e sbriciolate distribuite sulla superficie

Frullare i primi 7 ingredienti fino ad ottenere una crema morbida. Se necessario, aggiungere un po' del brodo di cottura dei ceci per ottenere la consistenza desiderata. Correggere sale, pepe a seconda dei propri gusti e, se necessario, le altre spezie. Mettere l'hummus in un contenitore coperto e porre in frigo fino a poco prima di servirlo. Mettere un po' di hummus in un ciotola da servizio e distribuire sulla superficie le nocciole. Servire insieme ad un piattino con altre nocciole. (La ricetta produce molto più hummus di quello che si vede nella foto in alto.)

Questo hummus ha un sapore delicato che lascia spazio a tutti gli ingredienti. Noi lo abbiamo mangiato spalmato su fettine di challah fatto in casa. Challah è un pane tradizionale ebraico fatto con uova e olio, a forma di treccia semplice oppure complessa, la cui superficie è spennellata d'uovo e quindi ha un bel colore dorato intenso. La ricetta che uso io viene dal libro di Peter Reinhart Artisan Breads Every Day. Per l'occasione ho fatto una treccia a sei capi (di solito la faccio a 5 capi) e devo dire che sono contenta del risultato. Per la decorazione, Reinhart suggerisce un misto di semi di sesamo e di papavero e io uso i semi che ho raccolto dai papaveri del mio giardino.

Con questo post contribuisco all'evento Healing Foods. organizzato da Siri di Cooking with Siri e la cui edizione corrente è ospitata da Vanessa di Sweet Artichoke, la quale ha scelto il tema: carciofi. Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

Contribuisco anche all'evento Tin Can Recipes dedicato alla celebrazione dei 200 anni del cibo in scatola. L'organizzazione dell'evento è di Ale, Fra, Sere e Paola del blog Il Giardino degli Aromi e di Brii che scrive Briggis recept och ideer e Briiblog in English. Le regole per partecipare le trovate su questa pagina. Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

¹ La scatola di cuori di carciofo nella foto è solo a titolo informativo; non è una pubblicità. Non ho alcun rapporto commerciale con l'azienda produttrice.

passato di carote e zucchine al levistico

carrot and zucchini soup with lovage

my exhuberant lovage

In a previous post I mentioned the beautiful lovage (levistico) that I have in my herb garden.The plant is now over four feet tall and looks simply gorgeous. The photo shows just a detail of the copious foliage.

The need to use some chicken stock from a batch I had previously defrosted and the presence in my vegetable bin of two beautiful, dark green zucchine (zucchini) from the farmers' market suggested the word "soup" to me, and I heeded the suggestion. Before starting to make the soup, I cut a stem of lovage.

I can't say I measured or weighed the ingredients: I just went with what I had in the quantity I saw fit. I warmed up some olive oil in a saucepan and added to it:

• half a medium onion (cipolla), chopped
• a small shallot (scalogno), chopped
• a celery rib (costa di sedano), chopped
• two carrots (carote), sliced (6-7 oz.)
• the lovage stem (leaves removed), chopped

The lovage stem was fairly thick and about 8" long. While I was chopping the deep green stem, I was reminded that lovage has an intense flavor: "a little goes a long way."

After all the vegetables had been added to the saucepan, I sprinkled some ground cumin (cumino), stirred well, put the lid on the and let the vegetables cook until soft, stirring occasionally. I then added:

• the chicken stock
• the two zucchini, sliced (an estimated 12-13 oz.)

I brought to a boil and let the soup simmer, covered, until the zucchini were cooked.

With the precious help of my immersion blender, the vegetable mix turned into a creamy soup (passato). The consistency was to my liking, i.e., rather thick. I tasted the soup to adjust sale e pepe (salt and pepper) and my taste buds told me that the flavor of lovage was just right: distinct but not overbearing. Had I needed a bit more, I would have added some of the leaves I had set aside.

For the photo op, I put some soup in glass ramekins and accompanied it with some special crackers whose recipe (which I have already made three times) will be the subject of a future post.

I really enjoyed the passato di zucchine, so much so that yesterday, at the farmers' market, I bought some zucchini with the stated intention of making it again. Having lovage in my herb garden means that I can experiment with it any time I wish.

This is my contribution to edition #242 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 has the roundup of the event.

Hear me pronounce the words on the passato di zucchine al levistico audio file [mp3] or go to the passato di carote e zucchine al levistico audio page for more listening options.

chèvre fresco fatto in casa e levistico

homemade fresh chèvre flavored with lovage

In my cheese making, I like to alternate between fresh and aged cheeses. Fresh cheeses have the advantage of being ready for consumption within a short time frame and so they balance out the need for longer waiting periods required by aged cheeses.

A few days ago, after getting a quart of fresh goat milk, I decided it was time to use the chèvre direct-set packets I had in my freezer. I added to it a quart of cow milk and followed these instructions to make the cheese. This is as easy as it gets in terms of making cheese at home. The result is a creamy cheese that begs to be used in creative combination — besides enjoyed on its own, spread over homemade bread.

Being very familiar with this fresh chèvre, which comes also in delicious flavored versions, I decided to pick something from my small herb garden to flavor my product. A plant that is doing very well in it is lovage (levistico or sedano di monte, literally: mountain celery), an herb about which Deborah Madison recently wrote a nice article. The name lovage (Levisticum officinale) has an interesting etymology, as you can read on this page (Liguria is an Italian region). And here you can read a few more interesting pieces of information, like the fact that, as the title of the article says, "a little lovage goes a long way."

Lovage's flavor is indeed pronounced, so you want to use your taste buds to decide how much to add. I did not measure precisely my two ingredients: in a custard cup, I mixed with a fork about 1/4 cup of chèvre and a scant tablespoon of finely shredded young leaves of lovage. I then spread the flavored cheese over slices of my homemade sourdough olive bread (pane alle olive).

I am planning to devote a post to my sourdough bread baking activities, so you will read more about the bread in the photo soon.

This is another contribution to edition #236 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 yours truly. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Update (September 2012). Valerie of A Canadian Foodie has launched a year long event called Cheesepalooza, which encourages people to take up home cheese making via monthly challenges of increasing complexity. The cheese chosen for the second month is basic chèvre and I submitted my previous experience with this lovely simple fresh cheese. This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

erba cipollina

chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

I like to make experiments in my little herb and vegetable garden (orto). I do not call myself a gardener, and manage not to get too disappointed when things don't happen according to expectations. On the other hand, I get very excited when things go well: I feel like I receive a gift I do not deserve.

Last year, I had a small bed built along one side of the house, and in it I planted, among other things, chives. The plant did well (I guess it liked its environment) and I harvested leaves from it for several months. It was a pleasant surprise when, a few days ago, I realized that I could start harvesting again. On this page you can read a few words of advice on growing perennial chives.

I decided to celebrate the event by using chives in a bread recipe from Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart: Soft Cheese Bread, even though I knew I did not have as much as was called for in the ingredient list. I halved the quantities to get one loaf. I more than halved the sweetener using only a tablespoon of agave nectar. Among the options offered, I chose to use potato water and water as liquids, and olive oil as vegetable oil. I substituted some of the bread flour with white whole wheat flour and added extra water as instructed in the recipe. Finally, I opted for cubed cheese (formaggio) and kneaded it into the dough after the overnight rise. I prepared the dough an evening that I was very tired and did a couple of things not exactly as specified in the recipe. The following day, my schedule was hectic, but I managed to bake the bread and it was a life-savior on a day in which we had a lot going on and no time to sit down to a proper meal (pasto).

Not only did the chives come from my little herb garden, but the cheese came from my home production: Monterey Jack, aged for four months. The cheese worked very well in the bread. As the recipe anticipated, the small cubes of cheese become "little cheese bursts" once the bread is baked. I am planning to make cheese bread again, trying the other recipe in the book, Crusty Cheese Bread, this time making sure I have the required quantity of chives.

This is my contribution to edition #223 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now administered by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once and hosted this week by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Here is the roundup.

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

timo

thyme or thymus

In Italian we use the same word to refer to thyme, the beloved herb, and to thymus, the lymphoid organ located behind the sternum. I will devote the rest of the post to timo, the herb.

The genus Thymus, family Labiatae, contains many species. I planted two of them in my little herb garden: Lemon Thyme (photo on the left), and German (Winter) Thyme (photo on the right). I also have some Silver Thyme in a big pot in front of the house: its leaves have a silver rim. I love thyme and I use its tiny fragrant leaves often. They are precious little things, with an enormous power to impart flavor. I don't recall my mother ever using thyme in her cooking, so this herb is a relatively new discovery for me.

For this post, I decided to invent something. Last Wednesday evening, I was by myself for dinner, a rather unusual occurrence. Besides foglie di timo (thyme leaves), I wanted to eat a beautiful porro (leek) leftover from a recent purchase at the farmers' market, and here is what I did. I washed the leek, white and light green part, following Lucy's method, then sliced it. In the meantime, I warmed up a small frying pan generously sprayed with olive oil. I added the leek slices and the leaves of two sprigs of thyme, then cooked, over medium-low heat, until the leek was soft to my liking, stirring every now and then to avoid sticking. I added some vegetable broth to keep the leek moist¹.

When the leek was ready, I adjusted the salt and sprinkled a few leaves of maggiorana (marjoram), an herb I like a lot as well, which is conveniently planted next to my lemon thyme. While the leek was cooking, I poached an egg, following the instructions on this page (option: No poacher). Poached egg is uovo in camicia (shirt). A few seconds before the egg was ready, I spooned the leek in a bowl, then gently placed the poached egg over the prepared pale green bed and finished off the dish with a tablespoon of parmigiano, freshly grated. I took a quick photo and then enjoyed my creation, especially the bites that got some of the yolk mixed with the leek. I definitely will make this again. Note that I did not use any salt (besides that in the water for poaching the egg), but you can certainly do it, adding it to the leek when it is cooked.

¹ Addendum: I have since made the dish a couple more times and measured a quarter cup of added liquid, 2 tablespoons broth, 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon white wine.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, a food blogging event started over two years ago by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and a very kind cook, too. Susan has announced that she will give away a copy of Aliza Green’s "Field Guide to Herbs and Spices" to one of the participants. Thanks Susan! Here is the roundup of WHB #129.

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

santoreggia

There are two main kinds:

1. santoreggia: summer savory (Satureia hortensis)
2. santoreggia montana: winter savory (Satureia montana)

The word comes from the Latin satura, indicating a mixed dish, usually of legumes, which was seasoned with santoreggia and other herbs. According to my dictionary, there is also an influence of the word santo (holy) as a reference to the therapeutic properties of the plant, which have been known since ancient times. Santoreggia has a flavor reminiscent of thyme, with mint and pepper tones. Besides being used as seasoning, it is an ingredients of herb liqueurs.

My experience with savory prior to last Sunday, when I bought the lovely plant you can see in the photo, was exactly equal to zero, but I will catch up rapidly. I used a few leaves right away to season an improptu salad I made with quinoa, a roasted red bell pepper, grilled tofu and toasted pistachios (pistacchi, which I will talk about in an upcoming post) and I could taste it among the other herbs I had used.

My next step will be to 'do as the Romans did' and use santoreggia to season legumes, like the lentils (lenticchie) I have in my cupboard.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, a food blogging event started by Kalyn's Kitchen, hosted this week by The Chocolate Lady from In Mol Araan. Here's the roundup of WHB #92.

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

prezzemolo

parsley (Petroselinum sativum Hoffm., Petroselinum hortense Auct., Petroselinum crispum Hill — apparently, these are all synonyms)

Prezzemolo derives from the Greek word petroselion, meaning celery of the rocks, and it refers to the fact that the herb can grow on less than hospitable terrain. I find this particularly encouraging, because I consider my little herb garden a rather welcoming place, which means parsley should find adequate accommodation in it.

The best known varieties are the one with flat leaves, most commonly used in Italy, and the one with curly leaves, which I had never seen before moving to California.

In Italy we often use the expression come il prezzemolo (like parsley) to describe someone or something that tends to be always present, because parsley is an almost ubiquitous ingredient of Italian savory dishes and it is the base of many sauces. Prezzemolo is a component of gli odori, our version of the bouquet garni. When I went grocery shopping for my mother as a child I always had this item on my list, and I would get it for free from our neighborhood fruit and vegetable store. The owner prepared it on the fly, choosing among what he had available: a few sprigs of parsley, a carrot and a celery rib were a constant presence, while other components varied according to the season.

I have to admit I am still not adjusted to the fact that here I have to buy a big bunch of parsley: I would prefer to get a smaller quantity, even though that would mean buying it more often. About a month ago I scattered a small package of parsley seeds in a corner of my herb garden. I could not see anything happening, so last Saturday I bought a small plant of parsley Gigante d'Italia to cheer me up. When I went to transplant it (photo above), I noticed green speckles where I had put down the seeds (photo below), so I am hoping that in time the plant will have plenty of company. Then I will be able to pick prezzemolo fresco for my dishes not far from where I am preparing them.

The promise of plants to be.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, a food blogging event started by Kalyn's Kitchen, hosted this week by the founder herself, just returned from a trip to San Francisco. Here is the roundup of WHB #89.

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