Pastry

pear tart / crostata di pere

| Simona

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pear tart / crostata di pere / IMG_3705

the simple elegance of a crostata always wins at the table
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The current Cook the Books Club selection is Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber.1 On her website, the author explains:

The inspiration for this novel came years ago in a song. After hearing the Beatles' "Blackbird" for the first time, it haunted me… I was captivated with the concept of broken wings and how emotional wounds can keep many from being able to metaphorically fly… Blackbird research led me quickly to the Song of Sixpence with its “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie,” and then a tidbit in Celtic folklore revealed that blackbirds were considered guardians and messengers of the "Other world.” With that, the heart of this book took form. What if blackbirds with their songs could pass messages from dearly departed loved ones through, of all things, pie, to bring comfort and love to those left behind?

The novel is a fairy tale (favola) set in a village in Alabama, mostly in the café of the title. Anna Kate, the protagonist, inherits the business and uses her spare time to untangle family secrets. It is a pleasant read and while the ending is fairly expected, there are a few surprises along the way.

Asian pears / IMG_3783

Asian pears and other varieties of pears are delicious and in season now
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Mulberries (more di gelso) play an important role in the story. If this were mulberry season, I would have made something with the delicious fruit, but those fleeting days are gone this year. Apples and pears of the new crop take center stage, crisp and juicy. I am Italian, so when I think about a dessert made with fruit, I think about crostata (tart). I presented crostata di mele (apple tart) some time ago2 so here I am sharing a recipe for pear tart. While the rendition on the photos uses Asian pears (pere asiatiche), the tart can be made with other pear varieties.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Pear tart

Ingredients

For pasta frolla:

  • 1/3 cup / 65 g ultrafine sugar or 1/2 cup powdered sugar (see Note 1)
  • 1/2 cup / 60 g whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup / 65 g unbleached all-purpose flour (see Note 2)
  • 1/4 cup / 30 g almond flour or almond meal
  • 1/4 cup / 30 g whole-grain barley flour OR unbleached all-purpose flour OR a mix of millet and sorghum flours
  • A pinch of salt
  • 6 tablespoons / 85 g / 3 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 large egg (possibly from pastured poultry), lightly whisked to blend yolk and white
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

  • 1 cup / 240 ml fruit preserves of a flavor that goes well with pears (like berries) and made mostly with fruit (see Note 3)
  • 1 pound / 450 g Asian pears or another variety of pears (choose one that bakes well), preferably organic (you should be left with a few extra slices to snack on)

Note 1: Ultrafine or superfine sugar is also referred to as baker's sugar. If you cannot find it, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.

Note 2: The less gluten (as indicated by % protein) in the flour, the better (I like to use Perfect Pastry blend by King Arthur Flour). Do not use bread flour. 

Note 3: I use my homemade low-sugar preserves. I recommend you choose a good quality product, made with mostly fruit and little sugar.

How to make the pasta frolla
Put sugar, flours and salt in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add butter and pulse a few times for 3 seconds at a time until the mix resembles coarse meal. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface.

[If you don't have a food processor: Whisk together sugar, flours and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the sugar and flour mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.]

Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the egg and vanilla extract into it. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, then use your fingertips.

Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball. Use some all-purpose flour as needed to flour your hands to prevent excessive sticking.

Shape the dough into a flat disk 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. I usually make it the evening before and refrigerate it overnight.

How to prepare the bottom layer of the crostata
To bake the crostata, I recommend using a 9 or 9 1/2-inch / 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, about 1 inch / 2.5 cm high.

Take the pasta frolla out of the refrigerator and unwrap it. I recommend you roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper or the plastic film in which it was wrapped as it is quite crumbly.

Lightly dust with flour the top of the dough and the surface on which you are rolling it. Keep some flour handy to lightly dust the dough as you go along.

If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling gently.

Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick. If you used parchment paper or plastic wrap as rolling surface, flip the dough over the tart pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the wrap.

Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan and use it, as necessary, where you find that you came up short and/or to make the border of an even thickness all the way around. Prick the shell with a fork in several places. You will have only a small amount of dough left over, which you can use to make a thicker edge or a cookie or two (1/6 inch / 4 mm thick and cut as desired, baked at the same temperature as the tart for 15 minutes).

Refrigerate the tart shell. After 15 minutes or so, preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

pear tart before baking / IMG_3701

tart ready for the oven

How to fill the crostata
Rinse, quarter and core the pears, then slice them ¼ inch / 6 mm thick.

Take the unbaked tart shell out of the fridge. With the help of a spatula distribute on it the fruit preserves in an even layer.

Arrange the pear slices in circles on top of the preserves, starting from the outside until you reach the center.

How to bake the crostata
Put the crostata in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Check the tart to estimate the time remaining, then continue baking until the tart border is of a light golden hue.

Remove the tart from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack. If you used a tart pan with a removable bottom, release the tart base from the fluted tart ring. Let cool a bit longer on the rack, then, with the help of a wide spatula, slide the crostata onto a serving plate. Make sure the tart is completely cool before slicing delicately and serving.

Serves 10-12.

The tart is best eaten the day it is made.

1 The book's page on the author's website
2 On this blog: Apple Tart, Vinegar Tart

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

crostata di pere

or launch the crostata di pere 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.]

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

tart, fruit dessert, pear, Asian pear, crostata, Italian cuisine

scone alle fragole / strawberry scones

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

strawberry scones / IMG_2937

not your typical strawberry scones

In The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, the author tells the story of how she built a new life for herself in a lakeside cabin in Michigan after back-to-back divorce and lay-off. Following the seasons of one year, she describes her food sources, meal plans and preservation efforts, and provides some recipes. I already do a fair amount of food preservation in the form of freezing and fruit preserves. I also bake bread, make cheese, kefir and broth. And do my best to support local farmers and food producers. The book therefore didn't hold surprises for me.

The narrative starts in the spring (primavera), which since childhood for me is associated with strawberries. Strawberry season in California starts earlier and last longer than in Italy, but I don't think I will ever get used to it, which is good, because it means every year, the thrill of tasting the first strawberry carries the same intense sweetness as when I was a child.

Scones are a popular breakfast option in our household: quick to make and delicious to eat warm,  they can also be frozen for later consumption. These scones are great by themselves, with something sweet or with something savory, like cheese. As I do in a number of other recipes, I oven-roast the strawberries to concentrate their flavor.

California strawberries / IMG_2929

sweet rubies (rubini)

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Strawberry scones

Ingredients for the oven-roasted strawberries:

  • 8 ounces / 225 g organic or pesticide-free strawberries (see Note below)
  • 1/2 teaspoon / 2 g ultra-fine or granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon / 1.25 ml balsamic vinegar of good quality

Ingredients for the scones:

  1. 6 whole strawberries
  2. 1/2 cup / 65 g all-purpose flour
  3. 1/2 cup / 60 g whole-wheat pastry flour
  4. 1/2 cup / 56 g sprouted whole-wheat flour
  5. 2 tablespoons / 13 g almond meal
  6. 1/2 tablespoon / 6 g baking powder
  7. 1/4 teaspoon / 1.6 g baking soda
  8. A pinch fine sea salt
  9. 1 tablespoon / 12 g sugar
  10. 4 tablespoons / 2 ounces / 56 g coconut oil, cold (so it is hard) OR cold unsalted butter (I have been using Amish Country butter)
  11. 1/2 cup / 120 ml well-stirred [homemade] kefir or buttermilk
  12. 1/4 cup / 60 ml / 60 g puréed oven-roasted strawberries
  13. 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml vanilla extract

How to oven-roast strawberries
Note: The recipe will make more strawberries than you need for the scones, but you can store them and use them in other ways1. In fact, I suggest you double the amount of strawberries you oven-roast, for efficiency's sake.

Wash strawberries and, leaving them whole, carve out the stem. Place strawberries in a bowl, sprinkle sugar and balsamic vinegar, then toss gently.

Heat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

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 the strawberries on the sheet on a single layer. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let strawberries cool slightly then transfer back to the bowl to cool a bit longer. The strawberry juice while baking, so when transferring them, make sure you pour all the juice in the container. 

Process the strawberries with an immersion blender (or blender) until you obtain a cream. Measure the amount to use for the scones and store the rest in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Consume within a couple of days.

How to make the scones
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.

Wash and hull the 6 strawberries. Cut each into 6 slices and set aside.

Measure the dry ingredients (numbers 2 through 9 of the list) and put into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Break coconut oil (or cut butter) into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for 3 seconds until the mix resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl.

With a fork, stir well the kefir or buttermilk. Add the blended strawberries and the vanilla extract and stir again (the wet ingredients). Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula until the ingredients are just combined.

Turn the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Dust the surface of the dough lightly with flour and with delicate hands shape the dough into a 7-inch wide square. With a bench scraper, cut the dough into four strips lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, separate the pieces, so that they are an inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the others, join them. You should end up with 14-16 scones of comparable size.

Place 2 strawberry slices on each scone and press lightly so they sink slightly into the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Transfer the scones onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When you want to serve them, put them straight in a 350 F / 177 C for 8-10 minutes.

1 Recipes that use blended oven-roasted strawberries: lassi, salad.

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

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

scone alle fragole

or launch the scone alle fragole 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.]

scones, strawberry, breakfast

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Newrule

scone alle fragole arrosto

scone alle fragole / IMG_2937

un tocco di colore

Fin da quando ero piccola, per me primavera vuol dire fragole. La stagione delle fragole in California comincia prima e dura più a lungo che in Italia, ma ogni anno quando assaggio le prime fragole provo la stessa emozione di bambina.

Gli scone sono molto popolari a casa nostra: veloci da preparare, sono deliziosi appena sfornati e si conservano bene surgelati. Questi sono perfetti sia mangiati da soli che insieme a pietanze dolci o salate. Come faccio anche per altre ricette, cuocio al forno le fragole per concentrarne il sapore.

fragole fresche / IMG_2929

rubini dolci

Ingredienti per le fragole:

  • 225 g fragole bio o senza pesticidi (vedi Nota in basso)
  • 1/2 cucchiaino / 4 g zucchero, possibilmente finissimo
  • 1/4 cucchiaino / 1,25 ml aceto balsamico

Ingredienti per gli scones:

  1. 6 fragole intere
  2. 65 g farina di grano per dolci
  3. 60 g farina di grano per dolci integrale
  4. 56 g farina di grano germogliato
  5. 2 cucchiai / 13 g farina di mandorle
  6. 1/2 cucchiaio / 6 g lievito per dolci
  7. 1/4 cucchiaino / 1.6 g bicarbonato di soda
  8. Un pizzico di sale fino
  9. 1 cucchiaio / 12 g zucchero
  10. 56 g olio / burro di cocco freddo (in modo che sia piuttosto duro), oppure burro freddo
  11. 120 ml kefir [fatto in casa] o latticello
  12. 60 ml / 60 g purè di fragole cotte al forno
  13. 1/2 cucchiaino / 2,5 ml estratto di vaniglia

Preparare le fragole
Nota: questi ingredienti vi danno più crema di fragole del necessario ma potete utilizzarla in altri modi1. Infatti, vi suggerisco di raddoppiare le quantità per amor di efficienza.

Lavare le fragole e privarle del picciolo lasciandole intere. Mettere le fragole in una ciotola e aggiungere zucchero e aceto balsamico. Mescolare con delicatezza.

Scaldare il forno a 177 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno che sia più lungo e più largo della lastra, in modo che il succo prodotto durante la cottura in forno non finisca sotto il tappetino.

Mettere in forno e cuocere per 30 minuti. Lasciar intiepidire leggermente le fragole poi trasferirle di nuovo nella ciotola facendo attenzione ad includere tutto il succo prodotto durante la cottura.

Con il minipimer (o frullatore) ridurre le fragole ad una crema omogenea. Misurare la quantità da usare per gli scone e conservare il resto in frigorifero. Consumare entro un paio di giorni.

Preparare gli scone
Scaldare il forno a 218 C.

Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno e spargere un po' di farina sulla superficie.

Lavare e mondare le 6 fragole, poi tagliare ciascuna in 6 fettine.

Misurare gli ingredienti secchi (dal numero 2 al 9 della lista) e metterli nel robot con la lama d'acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro di cocco (o il burro a dadini) e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po' di volte per 3 secondi per sabbiare. Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola.

Con una forchetta, mescolare bene il kefir o latticello. Aggiungere il purè di fragole e l'estratto di vaniglia e mescolare ancora un po', poi versare sugli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.

Rovesciare l'impasto sulla lastra foderata. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina e con mano delicata dargli la forma di un quadrato di 17-18 cm di lato. 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. Alla fine avrete 14-16 scone di dimensioni simili.

Depositare 2 fettine di fragola su ciascun scone e fare un pochino di pressione in modo da farle affondare leggermente nell'impasto.

Infornare e cuocere per 15 minuti, o fino a quando il fondo sia dorato. Quando sono pronti, trasferire gli scone su una griglia e servirli caldi o a temperatura ambiente.

Una volta raffreddati, potete surgelare alcuni scone. Quando poi volete servirli, metteteli direttamente in forno riscaldato a 177 C per 8-10 minuti.

1 Ricette che utilizzano purè di fragole al forno: lassi, insalata (in inglese).

 

scone ai cachi / persimmon scones

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

IMG_2160 / persimmon scones

fall favorite fruit: an unripe Hachiya (left) and a Fuyu (right)

Persimmons make me happy: it’s a simple as that. In this recipe, I use some ripe and some dried persimmon and also a new ingredient: grape seed flour (from a company called WholeVine, shown in the glass bowl on the photo above), which gives the scones a warm brown color. This is totally optional, so don’t let the lack of it stop you from making these scones, which are our household current favorite.

You probably know that, but it is worth repeating: the persimmons most readily available in grocery stores and farmers’ markets are of the species Diospyros kaki. The various cultivars are divided into two categories: astringent (like the Hachiya in the photo above) and non-astringent (like the Fuyu). Astringent persimmons must be eaten when fully ripe, their pulp the consistency of custard. Non-astringent persimmons can be eaten when still firm or can be let ripen and soften to your taste before consumption. 

Fuyu persimmon

persimmons glow like lanterns

Language corner: in Italian, caco is the name of the tree and cachi is the fruit, both singular and plural.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Persimmon scones

Ingredients:

  1. 1/4 cup / 30 g finely diced dried persimmons (see Note below)
  2. 1/2 cup / 120 ml well-stirred [homemade] kefir or buttermilk
  3. 1 teaspoon grape seed flour (Cabernet Sauvignon) + 1 tablespoon sorghum flour + 1 tablespoon millet flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup / 130 g OR 1 cup / 130 g all-purpose flour
  4. 1/2 cup / 60 g whole-wheat pastry flour
  5. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  6. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  7. 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  8. 1 tablespoon / 12 g sugar
  9. 4 tablespoons / 2 oz. / 56 g coconut oil, cold (so it is hard) OR cold unsalted butter
  10. 1/4 cup / 60 ml pulp from a fully ripened persimmon
  11. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  12. 1/4 cup / 30 g chopped, lightly toasted walnuts (the way I prepare walnuts for use is described in the post on walnut cake)

Note: If you cannot find dried persimmons, use another dried fruit, like apples, (unsulphured) apricots, peaches or pears. And the grape seed flour is optional, so don’t let the lack of it stop you from making these scones. 

The evening before baking the scones, place the diced persimmons in a small bowl and pour the kefir or buttermilk on them. Cover and refrigerate overnight until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.

Measure the dry ingredients (numbers 3 through 8 of the list) and put into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Break coconut oil into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for 3 seconds until the mix resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl.

With a fork, stir well the kefir or buttermilk. Mash the persimmon pulp, then add that and the vanilla extract and stir again (the wet ingredients). Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula a couple of times, then add the walnuts.  Continue stirring until the ingredients are just combined.

Turn the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Dust the surface of the dough lightly with flour and with delicate hands shape the dough into a 7-inch wide square. With a bench scraper, cut the dough into four strips lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, separate the pieces, so that they are an inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the others, join them. You should end up with 14-16 scones of comparable size.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottom is rich brown, but not burnt. When ready, move the scones onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

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

IMG_2129 / persimmon scones, Fuyu persimmon and dried persimmons

persimmon scones, a Fuyu persimmon and dried persimmons

We loved these scones for their light, fruity sweetness and the lightly crunchy texture. As with other scones I bake, their balanced flavor makes them nice solo performers and also ideal companions for both sweet and savory foods, like my roasted applesauce and homemade cheese.

Shop-local-badgeOrganic fresh and dried persimmons from local growers make my scones suitable for the Shop Local Food Blogging Challenge organized by Elizabeth of Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary.

The roundup of the event. 

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

scone ai cachi

or launch the scone ai cachi 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.]

scones, persimmon, walnut, breakfast

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Newrule

scone ai cachi

IMG_2160 / persimmon scones

un cachi Hachiya immaturo (a sinistra) e un Fuyu (a destra)

I cachi mi mettono allegria. In questa ricetta, utilizzo della polpa di cachi maturo e dei cachi secchi, e anche un nuovo ingrediente: farina di semi d’uva (a sinistra nella foto in alto), che dà agli scone un bel colore dorato intenso. Quest’ultima è facoltativa e il fatto che non l’abbiate non deve impedirvi di provare questi deliziosi scone autunnali, che in questo periodo vanno per la maggiore a casa nostra.

Forse le sapete già ma è bene ripeterlo: i cachi che si trovano in negozi e mercati sono della specie Diospyros kaki. I diversi tipi appartengono a due categorie: astringenti (come l’Hachiya nella foto in alto) e non astringenti (come il Fuyu, chiamato anche cachi mela). I cachi astringenti devono essere mangiati quando sono ben maturi e hanno la consistenza di una crema gelatinosa. I cachi non astringenti possono essere mangiati quando sono ancora sodi oppure possono essere lasciati maturare prima del consumo, a seconda dei gusti. 

Fuyu persimmon

i cachi sembrano lanterne orientali

Ingredienti:

  1. 30 g cachi secchi tagliati a dadini (vedi Nota in basso)
  2. 120 ml kefir fatto in casa o latticello
  3. 1 cucchiaino farina di semi d’uva [5 ml] + 1 cucchiaio [15 ml] farina di sorgo + 1 cucchiaio [15 ml] farina di miglio + abbastanza farina di grano per arrivare a 130 g, oppure 130 g di farina di grano per dolci
  4. 60 g farina integrale fina (per dolci)
  5. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) lievito per dolci
  6. 1/4 cucchiaino (1,25 ml) bicarbonato di soda
  7. 1/8 cucchiaino sale fino
  8. 1 cucchiaio / 12 g zucchero bianco fine
  9. 56 g olio / burro di cocco freddo (in modo che sia piuttosto duro), oppure burro freddo
  10. 1/4 cup / 60 ml polpa di un cachi ben maturo
  11. 1/2 cucchiaino / 2,5 ml estratto di vaniglia
  12. 30 g noci tostate tritate (nel mio post sulla torta alle noci ho descritto come preparo le noci)

Nota: Se non riuscite a trovare i cachi secchi, scegliete un altro frutto, come albicocche, mele, pere o pesche. E la farina di semi d’uva è facoltativa e il fatto che non l’abbiate non deve impedirvi di provare questi deliziosi scone autunnali.

La sera prima di cuocere gli scone, mettere i cachi secchi in una ciotolina e versarci sopra il kefir o latticello. Coprire e conservare in frigorifero fino al momento dell’uso.

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.

Misurare gli ingredienti secchi (dal numero 3 all’8 della lista) e metterli nel robot con la lama d’acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro di cocco e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po’ di volte per 3 secondi per sabbiare. Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola.

Con una forchetta, mescolare bene il kefir o latticello. Schiacciare con i rebbi la polpa di cachi, aggiungere l’estratto di vaniglia e mescolare ancora un po’, poi versare sugli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, mescolare un paio di volte, poi aggiungere le noci. Continuare a mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.

Rovesciare l’impasto sulla lastra foderata. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina e con mano delicata dargli la forma di un quadrato di 18 cm di lato. 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. Alla fine avrete 14-16 scone di dimensioni simili.

Infornare e cuocere per 15 minuti, o fino a quando il fondo sia di un bel nocciola scuro, ma non bruciato. Quando sono pronti, trasferire gli scone su una griglia e servirli caldi o a temperatura ambiente.

Una volta raffreddati, potete surgelare alcuni scone. Quando poi volete servirli, metteteli direttamente in forno riscaldato a 175 C per 10 minuti.

IMG_2129 / persimmon scones, Fuyu persimmon and dried persimmons

scone ai cachi, un cachi Fuyu e cachi secchi

Questi scone ci sono piaciuti molto per la loro lieve dolcezza fruttata e la croccantezza delle noci. Come anche altri scone che faccio, si possono mangiare da soli o possono accompagnare cibi sia dolci che salati, come la mia salsa di mele arrosto e formaggio fatto in casa.

scone pera e cocco / pear and coconut scones

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

IMG_2033 / pear and coconut scones

freshly baked and ready to be eaten

The World Culinary ABC has started with a lovely sojourn in Samoa (South Pacific). In researching the culinary traditions of the country, one thing became immediately clear: they use a lot of coconut (noce di cocco). 

I had unsweetened shredded coconut in my pantry and a jar of organic coconut oil (olio di cocco) still sealed — ready for a chance to prove itself in a baking good. I found references to skogi, Samoan scones, but could not find a recipe. As I was already in the mood for scones, I adapted my base recipe to use the coconut ingredients I had. I tinkered with a few variations and below is the version I settled on.

IMG_2027
These pretty Asian pears (pere) I got at the farmers' market, crisp, juicy and firm, wanted to be baked as well.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Pear and coconut scones

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup / 130 g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup / 60 g whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon / 12 g sugar
  • 4 tablespoons / 2 oz. / 56 g coconut oil, cold (so it is hard)
  • 1/4 cup / 20 g unsweetened shredded coconut (dried)
  • An Asian pear, to be grated later to obtain 2 1/2 oz. / 70 g grated pear; Asian pears are ideal here because they are firm and juicy
  • 1/2 cup / 120 ml well-stirred [homemade] kefir or buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoons shredded, unsweetened coconut for the topping

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.

Measure the dry ingredients (the first six of the list) and put into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Break coconut oil into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for 3 seconds until the mix resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut.

Wash, quarter and core the pear then grate the required amount using the coarse side of a hand grater. In a small bowl, with a fork stir the pear into the kefir or buttermilk then stir in the vanilla extract (the wet ingredients). Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined.

Turn the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Dust the surface of the dough lightly with flour and with delicate hands shape the dough into a 7-inch wide square. Sprinkle the coconut on the dough. With a bench scraper, cut the dough into four strips lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, separate the pieces, so that they are an inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the others, join them. You should end up with 14-16 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 two more minutes and check again. When ready, move the scones onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

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

IMG_2024 / pear and coconut scones

ready for tea time

We loved these scones for their delicate coconut flavor and light, fruity sweetness. As with other scones I bake, their balanced flavor makes them nice solo performers and also ideal companions for both sweet and savory foods, like lightly sweetened jam and cheese.

How do they compare to Samoan skogi? If I find out, I will let you know.

IMG_2027-2 / Asian pears

pretty pears

Pretty in their mottled skin (buccia), these excellent pears performed quite well in the scones, allowing me to add a local note to the exotic coconut.

I contribute my scones to the 1st installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. A like Apia (Samoa) is hosted by Martissima of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

New bww logoThe monochromatic photo is my contribution to edition #147 of Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Sreevalli of Ammaji Recipes.

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

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

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

scone pera e cocco

or launch the scone pera e cocco 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.]

scones, pear, coconut, Samoan cuisine

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Newrule

scone pera e cocco

IMG_2033 / pear and coconut scones

appena sfornati e pronti ad essere gustati

La prima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale è Samoa, stato nel Pacifico meridionale. Quando ho cominciato a cercare informazioni sulla cucina del paese, è emerso immediatamente che in essa si usa molta noce di cocco. 

Avendo del cocco grattugiato secco (non dolcificato) e un vasetto ancora sigillato di olio di cocco, mi sono sentita pronta. Ho trovato dei riferimenti a skogi, scone samoani, ma non una ricetta. A quel punto però ero decisa a fare degli scone al cocco e quindi ho adattato la mia ricetta base. Ho provato alcune varianti e quella di seguito è la versione che preferisco.

IMG_2027
Ho comprato queste belle pere asiatiche al farmers' market: sono sode e succose, perfette per essere cotte al forno.

Ingredienti:

  • 130 g farina di grano per dolci
  • 60 g farina integrale fina (per dolci)
  • 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) lievito per dolci
  • 1/4 cucchiaino (1,25 ml) bicarbonato di soda
  • 1/8 cucchiaino sale fino
  • 1 cucchiaio / 12 g zucchero bianco fine
  • 56 g olio / burro di cocco freddo (in modo che sia piuttosto duro)
  • 20 g cocco secco grattugiato non dolcificato
  • una pera asiatica da grattugiare per ottenere 70 g di pera grattugiata; le pere asiatiche sono ideali perché sono sode e succose
  • 120 ml kefir fatto in casa o latticello
  • 1/2 cucchiaino / 2,5 ml estratto di vaniglia
  • 1-2 cucchiai cocco secco grattugiato non dolcificato per la superficie

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.

Misurare gli ingredienti secchi (i primi sei della lista)e metterli nel robot con la lama d'acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po' di volte per 3 secondi per sabbiare. Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere il cocco e mescolare.

Lavare la pera, tagliarla in quarti e rimuovere il torsolo, poi grattugiarla in modo grossolano fino ad ottenere la quantità necessaria. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare la pera con il kefir o latticello. Aggiungere l'estratto di vaniglia e mescolare ancora un po', poi versare sugli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.

Rovesciare l'impasto sulla lastra foderata. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina e con mano delicata dargli la forma di un quadrato di 18 cm di lato. Distribuire il cocco sull'impasto. 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. Alla fine avrete 14-16 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, potete surgelare alcuni scone. Quando poi volete servirli, metteteli direttamente in forno riscaldato a 175 C per 10 minuti.

IMG_2024 / pear and coconut scones

ne gradite uno?

Questi scone ci sono piaciuti molto per il loro delicato sapore di cocco e lieve dolcezza fruttata. Come anche altri scone che faccio, si possono mangiare da soli o possono accompagnare cibi sia dolci che salati, come conserva di frutta e formaggio.

Vi farò sapere se scopro la differenza tra i miei scone e skogi samoani.

Partecipo alla prima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. A come Apia (Samoa) è ospitata da Martissima di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.

 

 

scone con zucchine novelle e noci / baby zucchini and walnut scones

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

zucchini and walnut scones

rustic beauty

I owe zucchini: for years I detested this vegetable with unmatched zeal. When I finally learned to appreciate it, I became a devout fan, and every year I try to expiate my early sin by singing its praise.

Zucchini season is in full swing, which means zucchini of all varieties are readily available at local farmers' markets and stores. Hence, this is the time to get creative with them. A bunch of baby zucchini and some basil (basilico) in a recent CSA box made me realize another winning version of my basic scone recipe (described in this post).

Once again, I reached for calendula flowers (the last ones of the season, I am afraid). The recipe can be realized without them: the scones won't have the pretty touches of orange you see in the photos, but they will still be excellent. 

zucchini and walnut scones

and savory fragrance

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for baby zucchini and walnut scones

Ingredients:

  1. 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and no ricotta)
  2. 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 2 tablespoons millet flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
  3. 1/2 cup (6o 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. 3 oz. (85 g) baby zucchini
  9. 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
  10. 2 large basil leaves, finely chopped
  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.) chopped toasted walnuts (the way I prepare walnuts for use is described in the recent post on walnut cake)
  14. 1 tablespoon petals of calendula flowers (optional)

Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.

Grate zucchini using the medium side of your grater. Measure flours and sift into a bowl. Place ingredients number 2 through 7 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.

Empty the food processor bowl into a bowl, add zucchini and herbs. 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 walnuts and petals. Stir briefly until ingredients are just combined.

Turn dough onto the lined sheet and shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. 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.

These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute. They are particularly good paired with fresh chèvre (homemade, in my case).

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.

Whb393This is my contribution to edition #393 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 Siri of Cooking with Siri.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

image from 3.bp.blogspot.comMy scones participate to the tenth 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. J like Jacket Potatoes (UK) is hosted by Alex of Food 4 Thought.

This page contains the recipe for Jacket Potatoes and the list of dishes contributed to the event.

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

scone con zucchine novelle e noci

or launch the scone con zucchine novelle e noci audio file [mp3].

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

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scone, zucchini, walnut, kefir

Newrule

scone con zucchine novelle e noci

scone con zucchine novelle e noci

bellezza rustica

Ho un debito nei confronti delle zucchine: per anni le ho detestate con zelo militante. Quando poi ho imparato ad apprezzarle, ne sono diventata una fan devota e ogni anno cerco di espiare il mio peccato di gioventù cantandone le lodi.

Siamo nella stagione delle zucchine e al mercato e nei negozi si trovano zucchine fresche di diverse varietà. Questo è perciò il momento di usarle in modo creativo. Delle zucchine novelle e del basilico in una recente cassettina mi hanno ispirato a realizzare un'altra versione vincente della mia ricetta base per gli scone (descritta nel mio post sugli scone zucca e zenzero con curry).

Anche in questa occasione ho usato dei petali di calendula (gli ultimi della stagione, temo). Potete realizzare la ricetta senza di essi: gli scone non avranno le pennellate arancioni che vedete in quelli delle foto, ma saranno ottimi comunque.

scone con zucchine novelle e noci

e fragranza saporita

Ingredienti:

  1. 50 g burro nocciola (oppure 57 g di burro normale e non usare la ricotta)
  2. 2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di grano saraceno + 2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di miglio + 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. 85 g zucchine novelle
  9. 1/2 cucchiaino foglioline di timo fresco
  10. 2 foglie grandi di basilico tagliate a pezzettini
  11. 1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) ricotta o formaggio cremoso
  12. 120 ml kefir fatto in casa; alternative: latticello, yogurt bianco o panna acida (va bene anche parzialmente scremato o magro)
  13. 30 g noci tostate tritate (nel mio recente post sulla torta alle noci ho descritto come preparo le noci)
  14. 1 cucchiaio di petali di calendula (facoltativi)

Togliere dal frigorifero il burro nocciola e farlo ammorbidire leggermente mentre preparate gli altri ingredienti. 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.

Grattugiare le zucchine usando il lato della grattugia con i buchi medi. Misurare le farine, passarle al setaccio e porle in una ciotola. Mettere gli ingredienti dal numero 2 al 7 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.

Vuotare il contenitore del robot nella ciotola, aggiungere zucchine ed erbe aromatiche. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare ricotta e kefir e poi aggiungerli agli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, mescolare brevemente, poi aggiungere noci e petali. 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. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. 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.

Questi scone sono ottimi per colazione e a me piace anche servirli per cena, al posto del pane. Sono particolarmente buoni con del formaggio caprino fresco (io lo faccio in casa).

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.

Whb393Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 393 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Kris di Tutto a occhio.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

image from 3.bp.blogspot.comCon i miei scone partecipo alla decima 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. J come Jacket Potatoes (UK) è ospitata da Alex di Food 4 Thought.

Questa pagina contiene la ricetta delle Jacket Potatoes e la lista dei piatti contribuiti all'evento.

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

Related articles
zucchine al mercato / zucchini at the farmers' market

scone alle carote arrosto / roasted carrot scones

| Simona
roasted carrot scones

with the first pink rose from my garden

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

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

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

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

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

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

  1. 3 ounces (85 g) leftover roasted carrots, chopped
  2. 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and no ricotta)
  3. 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 1 tablespoon cornmeal + 1 tablespoon teff flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
  4. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
  5. 1/4 cup finely chopped uncrystallized candied ginger (zenzero candito)
  6. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  7. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  8. 3/8 teaspoon sea salt
  9. 1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
  10. 1/2 tablespoon ricotta or plain kefir cheese or cream cheese
  11. 1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)

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

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

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

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

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

roasted carrot scones

golden mix

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CtB This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

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

scone alle carote arrosto

or launch the scone alle carote arrosto audio file [mp3].

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

scone, carrot, ginger

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

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

red beet, apple and pistachio scones

photo could be better — 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. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons 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 one in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until easily pierced with a knife. Alternatively, place clean beets in a baking pan or dish, add 1/4 inch of water to the pan and cover tightly with foil or dish's lid, then proceed as with the other method. Let beets  cool until easy to handle, then slip off the skin.

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

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

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. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. With a bench scraper, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, 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.

red beet, apple and pistachio scones

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.

Whb383This 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

Newrule

scone con barbabietola rossa, mela e pistacchi

red beet, apple and pistachio scones

la foto non è gran che — gli scone sono perfetti

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

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

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

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

Ingredienti:

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

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

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

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

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

Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere mela e aneto. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare ricotta e kefir e poi aggiungerli agli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, 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. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. 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.

red beet, apple and pistachio scones

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.

Whb383Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 383 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Simona di briciole (che poi sarei io).

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

Related articles
Weekend Herb Blogging #383: il raccolto / the roundup
scone alle carote arrosto / roasted carrot scones

scone alla ricotta con semi di papavero / ricotta scones with poppy seeds

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

poppy seeds and pod

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.

Image
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.

ricotta scones with poppy seeds

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

For this recipe, inspired by the curried pumpkin and ginger scones I presented a few days ago, I used 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 dust the surface lightly with some flour. 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. Dust surface of dough lightly with some flour. With a bench scraper, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, 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.

Whb337This 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

Newrule

scone alla ricotta con semi di papavero

poppy seeds and pod

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.

Image
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.

scone all ricotta con semi di papavero

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

Per questa ricetta, ispirata dal quella degli 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. (Vedi il mio post sugli scone zucca e zenzero con curry per ulteriori informazioni riguardanti la ricetta che mi ha ispirato.)

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; 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. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. 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.

Whb337Questo 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

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

curry pumpkin and ginger scones

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.

Pumpkin
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).

browned butter

solidified browned butter

My list of ingredients (overall, I halved the quantities of the original recipe):

  1. 3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons 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 dust the surface lightly with flour. 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. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. With a bench scraper, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, 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.

Whb336This 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.]

[jump to Comments]

scone, ginger, pumpkin, kefir, curry

Newrule

scone zucca e zenzero con curry

curry pumpkin and ginger scones

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.

Pumpkin
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).

browned butter

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. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. 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.

Whb336Questo 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.

Related articles
scone alle carote arrosto / roasted carrot scones

pasta sfoglia “alternativa” / “alternative” puff pasty

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

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I agonized a bit over the title for this post. Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare (eating is a bit like traveling) whose post inspired me, calls it pasta sfoglia light, using the English adjective in a way that is very common in Italy to describe food items that are less caloric (usually due to a lower fat content) than their traditional counterpart (disclaimer: this is simply a linguistic explanation; I don't know how the all-butter puff pastry I make compares to the one described below in terms of calories, so I make no claims in this regard). One of the posts Marta references calls it finta sfoglia, fake puff pastry, which I don't like as it may also discourage people for giving the recipe a try. The other post referenced calls it sfoglia dei poveretti, poor people's puff pastry, a nice alliteration that has an interesting social connotation: however, it doesn't quite apply to the US, where true ricotta is very hard to find. So, I decided to use "alternative" puff pastry, meaning, it is not the traditional all-butter puff pastry, but an alternative you may choose to make.

As a child, I thought that puff pastry was magical: I mean, what makes all those layers that give the pastry the texture everybody loves? In my case, the magic was demistified a few years ago:

In July 2008, I interviewed Trace Leighton, Chef de Patisserie of Nibblers Eatery & Wine Bar, in Pleasant Hill1 for an article that was later published on Edible East Bay (you can download the pdf of "The Physicist and the Baker" from this page). The main topic of our conversation was puff pastry, and I owe to Trace the fearlessness of my first attempt at it, which was a success. Therefore, puff pastry is now part of my repertoire. A great characteristic of puff pastry is that it can be frozen and, in fact, for this recipe I used part of a batch that I had made and frozen a few weeks ago. The recipe for vol-au-vents on the Daring Bakers' site has also instructions on how to make puff pastry. [from my post on vol-au-vents]

The recipe in Marta's post caught my attention because it uses ricotta as an ingredient, together with flour and butter (farina e burro). As most of you know, I make ricotta at home fairly regularly, using the whey (siero di latte) from various cheeses I make, so ricotta is an ingredient that is readibly available to me. A portion of the first batch of ricotta that I made after reading Marta's post went into the preparation of this alternative puff pastry. The rest went into the filling of the tart I made with some of that pastry. The recipe for the tart, the first rendition of which is portrayed in the photo at the top, will be in the next post.

In the traditional puff pastry recipe, the dough contains a certain amount of water. The alternative puff pastry does not have water among its ingredients: the whey in ricotta contributes the liquid component. Thanks to Lory of La Mercante di Spezie for sharing her recipe (which uses ricotta), to Adriano of Profumo di Lievito for offering his take (which uses cream cheese instead of ricotta and lowers the amount of butter) and photos, and to Marta for her version, which combines the previous two in using ricotta as the first one and the amount of butter of the second one.

Here, I am providing the English version of Marta's recipe, plus a couple of personal notes based on my experience making it.

puff pastry made with ricotta

Ingredients (see the notes below):

  • 125 g (4.4 oz.) all-purpose flour (about a cup minus a teaspoon)
  • 125 g (4.4 oz.) ricotta, mashed
  • 80 g (2.8 oz.) cold unsalted butter (a little less than 6 tablespoons) cut into small pieces
  • a generous pinch of salt

Note #1: invest in a digital kitchen scale that has both metric and US units. I use cups and spoons, but more often than not, I weigh ingredients. And having a scale allows you to follow recipes not written for a US audience.

Note #2: the amount of whey in my homemade ricotta depends on the length of the draining period. Differently from gnocchi di ricotta, this pastry does not require a very dry ricotta, but you don't want something dripping whey. After the regular draining period, I let the unmolded ricotta sit overnight in a bowl (in the fridge) and the morning after I take my 125 g from the top layer. I also usually have a small quantity of whey at the bottom of the bowl and I remove it.

Note #3: I am not good at cutting butter into flour with anything other than my hands, so that is what I do. Some people like to grate the very cold butter using a coarse grater. I prefer cutting it into small pieces, but it is good to have options, isn't it?

Cut the butter into the flour and then add the ricotta. Make a dough, shape it into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick (see photo above), wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one day. The dough won't be nice and homogeneous at this point and that is fine.

The following day, fold the dough. To make one fold, roll the dough in both directions into a thinner rectangle. Fold along the longer side: fold the right third towards the center, then fold the left third over it to make a letter-shaped package (see photos in this post). Wrap the folded dough again and refrigerate for half an hour or so. (If it is more, it is fine: I honestly never time part of the process.)

puff pastry made with ricotta: fold

Repeat the fold twice more in the same way. In the process, you will see that the dough becomes more homogeneous and smoother. After the last fold, refrigerate again and use as you wish. (I ended up making a fourth fold, just to see what would happen.) As mentioned above, puff pasty can be frozen, which makes it a great resource to have on hand. If you roll it and then freeze it, it will take less time to thaw when you need it.

Marta halved the quantity of the ingredients used in the recipes she quotes and I followed her lead. Whenever possible, I recommend making a smaller batch of a new recipe until you become comfortable with the process, then go for the full amount. The recipe as given makes a nice amount of puff pastry to play with.

Once you have the savory puff pastry, you can make vol-au-vents, savory tarts, pizzette (my childhood's dream party food brought to life in the post referenced by Cara and Stefano of Due Spaghetti), etc.

1 The restaurant is now called The Fig Tree.

Bookmarked recipes new logo

I am submitting this recipe, bookmarked on the blog Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare to the January edition of Bookmarked Recipes, an event originally started by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and now hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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

pasta sfoglia "alternativa"

or launch the pasta sfoglia "alternativa" 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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puff pastry, ricotta

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pasta sfoglia "alternativa"

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La ricetta che presento è praticamente la traduzione in inglese della ricetta per pasta sfoglia light di Marta (a.k.a. Martissima) del blog Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare. Nel suo post, Marta spiega la genealogia della ricetta e fa riferimento ai post che l'hanno ispirata. Le uniche due differenze tra la ricetta di Marta e quella che ho seguito io sono l'uso di un pizzico abbondante di sale invece di un cucchiaino e quello della mia ricotta fatta in casa. Grazie, Marta!

La foto qui sopra ritrae la torta salata che ho preparato utilizzando la pasta sfoglia di cui sopra: la ricetta della torta sarà argomento del mio prossimo post, che farà parte della raccolta per Weekend Herb Blogging di questa settimana.