A sweet, but not overly so, and fruity side dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal.1 The book’s structure surprised me in a good way. Each of the eight chapters has a different narrator, and each chapter contributes to telling the story of Eva Thorvald. She is technically the novel’s protagonist, but doesn’t narrate a chapter, so we see her through the perspective of others who tell their own story and their experience of, or encounter with, Eva. The narrators include Eva’s father, who dies when she is an infant, her cousin Braque, Will, who has a crush on Eva when in high school, Eva’s mother, who left the family shortly after Eva’s birth, and others. I listened to the audio book (narrated by Michael Stuhlbarg and Amy Ryan), which kept in check my desire to jump ahead and see who would be the next narrator.
Eva goes from growing exceedingly hot peppers in her room to becoming a famous and elusive chef who cooks exclusive pop-up dinners in remote locations. While I never wished to attend one of the dinners, I appreciated how Eva helped people in her life, family and strangers. The best moments of the novel for me were those describing kindness and generosity, like when Pat slips the gift card she won at the bake-off competition into the bag of someone who needs it more than she does.
The book includes many references to food, from lutefisk to pepper jelly and succotash, from a variety of bars and traditional Midwest baked goods to the courses of Eva’s famous dinners. I was inspired to create something new in terms of flavor combination, but also simple, since an additional challenge was that I traveled for four weeks between the end of June and the end of July, from Northern California to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, so didn’t have access to my kitchen. Thankfully, I had access to farmers markets and farm stands, and seasonal produce was once again my main source of inspiration: apricots, fresh onions, particularly walla walla, and carrots. Cumin (cumino), ginger root (radice di zenzero), and fresh thyme (timo) contribute to the dish’s flavor profile.
I prepared the first rendition of this dish while we were staying in a lovely house north of Victoria, B.C. I have since made it many times using carrots of various colors. For the version in the photo I used orange and yellow carrots.
2 1/2ounces/ 70 grams ripe apricot(1 large apricot)
Equipment
skillet 10-inch / 25-cm or 9-inch / 23-cm
Method
Scrub carrots well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Thinly slice the onion lengthwise, then separate the layers.
Warm up the olive oil in a 10-inch / 25-cm (or 9-inch / 23-cm) skillet on medium heat.
Add the onion and stir. Lower the heat and after 2 minutes, add the cumin, ginger and thyme. Stir well and cover. Cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes, or until the onion is soft.
Uncover the skillet, turn up the heat to medium, add the grated carrots and stir well. Cover, lower the heat and cook for 8 minutes or until the carrots are just tender.
Halve the apricot, remove the stone and thinly slice each half.
Uncover the skillet, sprinkle in the sea salt and stir well. Distribute the apricot slices on the vegetables and stir gently.
Remove from the heat and serve warm.
This side dish is sweet, but not overly so. Still, I like to pair it with something more decidedly savory. I confess it was difficult to stop eating it, either warm from the pan or at room temperature.
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.
smells comforting (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Coming to My Senses by Alice Waters1 chef and cookbook author, whose name is associated to the renowned restaurant Chez Panisse2 in Berkeley, CA, which she opened in 1971 (with Paul Aratow), the farm-to-table movement and the Edible Schoolyard Project.3
I listened to the audio book, narrated by Waters. I enjoyed learning about certain aspects of what makes Chez Panisse special, like the beautiful menus. Listening to Waters’s stories, it’s important to remember that ideas like farm-to-table restaurants, now mainstream, were new when she started implementing them. I don’t share any of her experiences in terms of “food awakening” as I grew up in Italy and with strong connections to food producers.
Waters describes her travels to France and other parts of Europe. She writes off Italy, where she had an unpleasant experience. Initially I was irritated by her words, then realized that I have done the same with France, after an unpleasant experience in Paris. Indeed, first impressions leave a lasting mark.
I don’t have any of Waters’s cookbooks, but I share her focus and delight in cooking with fresh, local, seasonal ingredients (ingredienti freschi, di produzione locale e di stagione). This is the season of peppers, sweet corn and fresh onions (cipolle), including sweet Walla Walla. I was inspired by a recipe from Saveur magazine: Creamy Poblano Rajas With Corn by Fatima Khawaja.4 In my version, I oven roast poblano peppers and sweet corn, the balance of ingredients is more towards the peppers, and I use fromage blanc rather than Mexican crema or crème fraîche. The result is drier, to be served as a side dish.
People who follow me on Instagram know that I celebrate farmers and their products by creating still lifes like the one below, which include two of the recipe ingredients.
from the farmers’ market, including a poblano pepper and fresh oregano
In the spirit of a Chez Panisse menu, below are the sources of the ingredients used in the various rendition of this recipe, purchased at local farmers’ markets or farm stands:
poblano peppers: Happy Hearts Farm, Luna Farm, Shakefork Community Farm
sweet corn: Earthly Edibles, Flood Plain Produce, Shakefork Community Farm, The Corn Crib
Walla Walla onion: Neukom Family Farm
garlic: Happy Hearts Farm, Luna Farm
fresh oregano (origano): Woven Hearts Herb Farm
Foggy Morning (fromage blanc): Nicasio Valley Cheese Company
ready to start cooking
When sweet corn and peppers are in season, roasting them is a kind of ritual I follow once I get home from shopping.
For efficiency's sake, I recommend roasting at least 2 fresh ears of corn, still in their husks and with silks attached (otherwise wrap them in foil before roasting).
Place the corn on a baking sheet leaving a bit of space between the ears and roast for 20 minutes. Let the ears cool briefly, then remove the husks and silks (or foil).
Working in a shallow bowl or dish, stand the corn vertically and use a knife to cut the kernels and scrapings from the cob. (Save the empty cobs to make stock or broth.) Weigh the necessary amount, toss with a fork to separate the kernels, and set aside. Refrigerate (or freeze) the rest.
Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.
Place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the peppers 180 degrees.
Roast for 15 more minutes, then turn the peppers. Repeat after 10 minutes. The peppers are ready when their skin has turned dark and is detaching in places. If necessary, continue roasting for a few more minutes.
Put the peppers in a sealed container or paper bag to steam, then peel off the skin, discard the stem and seeds, and the liquid they release.
Cut the flesh into strips ½ inch wide x 2 inches long (1.25 cm x 5 cm) and transfer to a bowl. Transfer the corn to the same bowl.
In a 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan or large skillet, warm up the olive oil and butter (if using) over medium heat. Add the onion, stir well, turn down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and beginning to brown, 8-10 minutes or as needed. Add the oregano and garlic and cook until fragrant, less than 1 minute.
Add the poblano peppers and corn and stir well, then add the fromage blanc in small dollops and stir to blend.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle the sea salt, taste and adjust, then serve.
Notes
Roast the sweet corn and poblano peppers ahead of preparing the dish.
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
ready to be served (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the historical novel A Bakery in Paris by Aimie Runyan1, which alternates between the story of Lisette and that of her great-granddaughter Micheline. Both lived in Paris. Lisette’s story is set during the German siege (1870-1871)2 and subsequent Commune (1871)3, that of Micheline immediately after the end of WWII.
Lisette is the original founder and owner of the title’s bakery, which Micheline reopens, offering the usual assortment of French pastries, prepared based on Lisette’s recipes (documented in a notebook and provided at the end of some of the chapters) and her culinary academy training.
One of the pastries is croquembouche (pièce montée). Years ago I made a version of it where I used melted chocolate (70% cocoa) instead of caramelized sugar (zucchero caramellato) to bind the choux pastry, because “I don’t like the contrast between the hard caramelized sugar and the lightly crisp bignè shell, which segues immediately into the soft filling. Melted chocolate offers, in my opinion, the perfect binding material: it provides stability by hardening into a layer of the right consistency, so the progression of taking one bite is: 1) crack thin layer of chocolate, 2) break crisp bignè shell, 3) glide into creamy filling. Basically, heaven.”4
After her husband, Théo, dies fighting with the Communards, Lisette, pregnant, is expected to marry her first fiancé and go to Provence (Provenza) with him until after giving birth. She ends up not going and not marrying him (again), but I decided to stay there for inspiration.
Tarte aux blettes is a Provencal dessert made with Swiss chard. While I was not interested in replicating it (we don’t eat dessert), I played with the idea of adding a sweet note to a vegetable I like and eat regularly.
For my first try, I bought a bunch of rainbow chard at the Little Wing Farm stand5 outside Point Reyes Station while I was riding my bicycle. I had planned to stop there, so had a couple of bags in my backpack. The chard was kept in a tub and I didn’t realize until I took up a bunch how big it was, with long colorful stems (which I adore!) and large leaves. When I put it in the backpack, the top stuck out giving me, I am sure, a curious appearance when riding.
At the San Rafael farmers’ market, where I shop when in the Bay Area, some vendors offer slightly blemished or overripe fruit at a discounted price, and I usually get some to add to dishes, like this one. This is the season of stone fruit and I decided to try pairing the chard with white nectarine (pesca noce or nettarina) first. I then tried using a peach (pesca), peeled, and also apricots (albicocche). All the fruit worked well. The sweetness balances the light bitter nuance of chard and the result is a side dish that nods towards dessert without being overly sweet.
1 pound / 450 grams rainbow chard or Swiss chard, stems included, up to 6-7 inches / 15-18 cm (if you have more, save them for another dish: do not discard them)
4 ounces / 112 grams red spring onion
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil OR 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon / 15 grams unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon Harissa spice mix
2 tablespoons / 30 ml warm water if needed
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
4 ounces fruit (e.g., nectarine, peach, apricot), clean weight
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Separate the chard stems from the leaves and chop the stems. Halve the leaves lengthwise, stack 5-6 at a time and cut them into 1-inch / 2.5-cm wide ribbons.
Warm up a 5-qt cast iron Dutch oven and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, then add the stems and sprinkle the Harissa spice mix and thyme. Stir well and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
Cook for 8 minutes or until the onion is soft, stirring often.
Add the garlic and stir. After 1 minute add the chard. Cover and cook for 1 minute to let the chard wilt, then stir. Cover and cook for another 7 minutes or until the chard is tender.
In the meantime, cut the fruit into 3/4 inch / 2 cm- side cubes. If using a peach, peel it first.
When the chard is almost cooked, add the fruit, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Transfer to a plate and serve.
Serves 3
A closer look
I like to eat this side dish alongside a more decidedly savory one, like mixed vegetables with thyme6 or the roasted vegetable medley I prepare weekly using zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted corn and garlic.
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.
green on green with a touch of orange (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the historical novel The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson. I borrowed the book by accepting a suggestion within the Libby app. I was intrigued by the long title and wanted to know what it was about. I soon found myself drawn to the story, which is set in the UK in the summer of 1919, post-WWI, during the Spanish flu pandemic. It is a challenging time for veterans re-entering civilian life, for women forced to abandon the jobs many held during the war and for the country overall.
The protagonist, Constance Haverhill, has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. There, she meets a kind refugee waiter, a group of women motorcyclists and a (physically and emotionally) wounded veteran. The elderly woman Constance is tasked to take care of turns out to be a more interesting character than expected.
I enjoyed Simonson’s style and treatment of characters so much that after finishing the novel, I borrowed her earlier ones: “The Summer Before the War” (where again the war in question is WWI) and “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand,” probably her most famous book.
While the Hazelbourne novel is not food-oriented, it includes a number of references to foods. I was inspired by “tiny spring peas” included in a restaurant meal in chapter 2:
There were celery stalks on a long glass dish served with small silver tongs. There were dishes of small green olives, and a plate of the ubiquitous tinned sardines rolled around tiny white onions and stuck through with a cocktail pick. A broth followed, slightly cloudy. Then an indeterminate course of oeufs mayonnaise. Finally, the main course: Mrs. Wirrall had ordered Dover sole for the ladies and the pie for Harris. She had commanded, and was delivered, buttered new potatoes, a dish of tiny spring peas, and a carrot mash. There was even a small wedge of lemon in a muslin cloth, which the waiter squeezed over their fish with a silver tool.
“I haven’t seen a lemon since before the war,” said Constance. There were one or two frowns from ladies at neighboring tables, which indicated that not all patrons had been honored with such an intoxicating spritz.
As we move towards late spring, the farmers’ market is filling with colorful fruit (hello cherries!) and a wider variety of vegetables, including fava beans and peas, both favorite of mine, fresh spring onion (cipollotto) and garlic (aglio — hurrah for no more storage allium!).
green on green with a touch of orange (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
I decided to add a carrot (carota) to the green on green motif and was happy with the result. The small size of the dish reflects the fact that I made it for myself only: you can easily multiply the recipe. Both peas and fava beans require shelling. The latter are much tastier if you remove also the skin (trust me on this).
Shell the fava beans and weigh the necessary amount. Blanch the fava beans for 30 seconds, then drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking.
Slit the skin with your thumbnail then pinch or twist to slip the bright green core out of its coat and into a small bowl. (You don’t need to peel tiny fava beans, whose skin is quite thin.) Set aside.
Shell the peas, weigh the necessary amount and set aside.
Finely chop the spring onion.
Scrub the carrot well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate it using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Peel and mince the garlic clove.
Heat up an 8-inch/20-cm cast-iron skillet, then add the olive oil. When hot, then add the onion and stir well to coat. Sprinkle the Harissa spice mix and stir. Cook on medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stirring a few times.
Add the grated carrot and stir. Cover and cook on low until the onion is soft, 6 minutes or so, stirring often.
Add the garlic, stir and let cook for one minute.
Add the peas and warm water, cover and cook for 4 minutes.
Add the fava beans and stir. Cover and cook until the peas are tender, 2 minutes or so.
Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove from the heat, sprinkle the parsley, stir and serve.
Serves 1
I like to serve half the amount the recipe makes with an egg sunny-side up on top and a side of mixed vegetables with thyme2
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.
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten1. I am aware Garten is a popular cookbook author and food TV personality. I don’t watch TV (of any kind) so don’t know her. The book’s style is lively and if you are interested in the author, you will probably enjoy reading it.
There was a long wait list to get the book from the library, and when I finally started reading it and doing some research on her recipes, I got sick, in a way that made experimenting in the kitchen out of the question for a while. I am finally better, but also short on time and not yet comfortable in straying far from foods I know I can consume. I had made the recipe below a few times while reading the book, before getting sick and I made it again after I got better, as it belongs to the “safe” category. Adjusting to life happening,I may say.
bunches of daikon radish at the San Rafael farmers’ market (my favorite are the purple ones)
Spring brings to the farmers’ market ingredients I enjoy using, including red spring onions, spring leeks, purple daikon. I still remember the day, a few years ago, when a farmer at the Temescal market in Oakland, suggested I try purple daikon: it’s become a favorite, both raw and cooked. And as with other root vegetables, its greens are edible, so when you purchase a beautiful bunch like those in the photo below, you get two vegetables.
Beside daikon radish (daikon), as root vegetables I used carrots (carote) and red radishes (ravanelli), plus another favorite vegetable escarole. It a type of endive, slightly bitter, and delightfully so. In the photo above you see the curly variety of escarole. like to use the outer leaves (foglie esterne) in a cooked dish, while I add the inner, tenderer leaves to salads. Using carrots and escarole in the same dish creates a delicious bittersweet combination.3
Sometimes, when unwell, I crave a specific food: I like to interpret this as my body telling me what it needs, so I listen. This time it was baked tofu. I decided to purchase it already prepared, which makes the dish quite quick to prepare, another nice feature when energy is low.
If using only olive oil, the dish is vegan. I like to substitute 1/2 tablespoon of the oil with butter (unsalted), which goes well with the carrots.
3 ounces purple daikon radishes OR a combination of purple daikon radishes and red radishes
3 ounces / 85 grams escarole leaves
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces red spring onion, clean weight, diced small
¼ teaspoon Harissa spice mix
Leaves from 4-5 thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons / 30 ml hot water
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1 ¾ ounces / 50 grams baked tofu, sliced thin and each slice halved
Scrub the carrots well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate them using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Scrub the daikon radishes and red radishes (if using) then grate them using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Wash and drain the escarole leaves, halve them lengthwise then slice them crosswise into 1/2-inch / 2.5 cm strips.
Warm up the olive oil in a 10-inch / 25-cm skillet.
Add the onion, lower the heat and stir, then after 1 minute, add the grated carrot and stir, sprinkle the harissa spice mix, add the thyme, and stir well. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add the daikon and radishes, if using, to the skillet and stir. Add the hot water and stir, then cover and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the escarole to the skillet, stir well, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring a few times.
Uncover, sprinkle the sea salt and stir.
Distribute the tofu on the vegetables and allow it to warm through, 2 minutes or so. Fold the tofu into the vegetables (as in the top photo) or leave it on the surface (as in the photo below).
Before removing the skillet from the heat, taste to ensure the vegetables are tender to your liking.
Remove from the heat and serve warm.
Serves 2.
one portion, plated
You can add more tofu, if you wish. I find the amount given in the recipe a good balance with the vegetables for a side dish (contorno).
Click on the Play button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post
[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]
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Land of Milk and Honey, a novel by C Pam Zhang. The story is set in a world, where “A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing.”1 The protagonist and narrator is a young chef, who
escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles. There, the sky is clear again. Rare ingredients abound.1
Early in the book, after we are told that one of the ingredients she had to be creative with was “mung-protein-soy-algal flour distributed by the government,” the protagonist gets access to some strawberries: the scene describes in lush, sensual language the encounter with their “rupturing sweetness.” It is a powerful moment. From then on, however, the description of luxury ingredients and rich dishes becomes monotonous and the fact that a lot of food ends up discarded does not help. The novel has a serious purpose and raises questions about personal responsibility towards our planet, the world’s reliance on technical solutions to problems, the role of foods in our life. Readers who enjoy dystopian stories may agree with the praises bestowed upon this one.1,2
After briefly considering to prepare a dish with strawberries, I turned my attention to another food I like that is mentioned in the novel as one the protagonist longs for: radicchio.
radicchio varieties at the San Rafael farmers market (Longer Table Farm)
I understand longing for radicchio: it’s what I did for years after I moved to California, where I could not find it. Then, slowly, things started to change: radicchio di Chioggia for salads became available (see photo below, top right), then radicchio di Treviso (see photo below, the two on the left) and now I can get radicchio varieties (varietà di radicchio) at the grocery stores where I shop and from multiple vendors at farmers markets.
radicchio varieties from a recent trip at the farmers’ market (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Besides being delicious, radicchio is pretty in all its incarnations. While the better known color is reddish-purple, there are other colors, including pink, green and variegato.
Taste-wise the defining characteristic of radicchio is its light bitterness. While I like the pure taste of radicchio, I also like to balance out its bitter note. In a salad, I do that with sweet salad greens, carrots, fruit (for example, persimmon). In a cooked dish, I often use sweet corn3. I had never tried fruit, so decided to do that. A recipe in an issue of Edible East Bay for roasted Brussels sprouts with walnuts and grapes suggested that fruit.
two varieties of radicchio di Verona and other ingredients
The results of various experiments is a recipe that is easy to prepare and makes a side dish with a strong personality. The only — slight — downside of radicchio is that its brilliant, distinctive color does not survive cooking.
The side dish is a little bitter and a little sweet, and you can easily make it vegan by substituting the butter with another tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon / 15 grams unsalted butter OR 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil [vegan]
12 ounces / 225 g radicchio di Treviso, variety precoce (early) or radicchio di Verona (red or pink variety) or a mix
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon smoked paprika4
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
Heat the oven to 350 F / 170 C.
Line a baking or cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Halve the grapes lengthwise and distribute them on the sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and transfer the grapes and any juice they may produce into a small bowl.
In a 10-inch/25-cm deep sauté pan, warm the olive oil and butter (if using) over medium heat. Add the onion, stir well, then reduce the heat to low. After 1 minute, cover the pan and cook over low heat for 8 minutes, or until the onion is soft, stirring often and making sure the pan does not become dry.
Separate the leaves of radicchio, wash and drain them. Cut them in ribbons 3/8 inch- / 1 cm-wide.
Add the garlic and smoked paprika to the pan and stir well. After 1 minute, turn up the heat to medium, add the radicchio and stir well. Add 1 tablespoon of water and stir well. Cover, lower the heat and cook until the radicchio ribs is just tender (6-7 minutes), stirring every now and then. If the pan becomes dry, add another tablespoon of water.
Add the red grapes and stir. Cover and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until the grapes are heated through. Adjust the salt, give it a final stir and take off the heat. Serve warm.
Serves 2-3.
another rendition of the recipe
In one of the variations I tried, I cooked the cut red grapes with the radicchio. I didn’t like the result as much as when the red grapes are roasted before being added to the radicchio.
In the photo above you can see radicchio di Treviso precoce (top) and eye-catching radicchiovariegato di Castelfranco (bottom).
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.
fall flavors combine to make a delicious side dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Crying in H Mart a memoir by Michelle Zauner. In August 2018, the author had an essay published in The New Yorker magazine1 with the same title. It starts like this:
Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. For those of you who don’t know, H Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in Asian food. The “H” stands for han ah reum, a Korean phrase that roughly translates to “one arm full of groceries.”
The essay became the first chapter of the memoir, which
maps a complicated mother-daughter relationship cut much too short. Stories of Korean food serve as the backbone of the book, as Zauner plumbs the connections between food and identity. That search takes on new urgency after her mother’s death — in losing her mother, she also lost her strongest tether to Korean culture.2
For most of the book, I had difficulty connecting to the author. I finally felt the connection when, after her mother’s death, Zauner experienced the unbearable weight of perceived failure in their inability of winning the fight against cancer. (My mother died 14 years ago, also of cancer.) Adding that crushing burden to a person’s grief is unfair. I believe we should erase the metaphors used to describe cancer’s progression in favor of factual words.
I expected the book to make me want to try Korean food, but it didn’t. Part of the reason is that most of the dishes mentioned (and there are a lot!) are meat-based. Then, the food is part of the language and narrative of the book. Not being Korean, I don’t have any memories of, or associations with those dishes. However, I understand the feeling. Shopping at a supermarket (supermercato) is one of the first things I do when I arrive in Italy for a visit: surrounded by familiar foods, I have truly arrived.
street seller of roasted chestnuts (Perugia, 2012)
So the book inspired me to look at a food from my upbringing, something not only Italian, but from my family traditions. When I was in Italy last month, the smell of roasted chestnuts (caldarroste), which in Italy are sold as street food, reminded me of my mother. Every October, she would buy a large amount of chestnuts from someone in Casperia, the village in central Italy where she grew up. Then, in the following weeks, we would eat them often, as dessert at the end of dinner, alternatively roasted and boiled. I liked them both ways.
a trail above Bressanone through a chestnut grove
In Bressanone, a city in South Tyrol, where we spent the first week of the recent visit, one day I rode my bicycle through a castagneto (grove of chestnut trees) and saw people foraging for chestnuts, freeing them from the spiny burs (ricci). While chestnuts are not widely available where I live now, one farm brings them to the market. When, upon returning from Italy, I saw them, I was inspired to use them to make a side dish, together with other seasonal ingredients: honeynut squash, green cabbage, leeks.
The main ingredients (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
The side dish is earthy and sweet (almost dessert-like) and you can easily make it vegan by omitting the butter and adding another tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. It is a great choice for Holiday-related gatherings as it accommodates a variety of eating styles.
6 ounces / 170 grams leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the darker green portion to make broth or stock)
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon / 15 grams unsalted butter OR 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil [vegan option]
1 pound / 450 grams green cabbage
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon harissa spice mix
¼ cup / 60 ml lukewarm water
¾ -1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
Notes: 1) The chestnuts must be prepared in advance, so plan accordingly. 2) If you cannot find the honeynut squash, you can use a small butternut or red kuri squash.
Do ahead: Cook the chestnuts With a pointed blade, make a slit in the shell without cutting through the meat. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover abundantly with water and add the bay leaf. Cover the saucepan, bring to a lively boil then cook on low heat until the chestnuts are tender (check one after 30 minutes to estimate the time remaining).
Take the pan off the heat. Take out of the water 3 chestnuts. Wait a minute to let them cool and peel the first one. Use a sharp knife with a pointed blade to remove the shell, then the skin. Take another one out of the water, then peel one of the first 3, and so on: this creates a lineup of chestnuts cool enough to handle but warm enough for easier peeling. If a chestnut breaks while being handled, it is fine: they will be roughly chopped later anyway. Set aside.
Prepare the dish Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Deseed the squash, if needed. Slice it, then cut it into cubes no larger than ½ inch / 1.25 cm. (If you use a red kuri squash, quarter it and deseed it first, then peel it.)
Cut the leek (or leeks) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.
Warm the olive oil and butter (if using) in a 10-inch deep sauté pan or large skillet on medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the leeks, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the squash, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, stirring often, until the leeks are just tender and the squash has softened a bit.
In the meantime, quarter and core the cabbage. Cut away the external thick ribs. Slice each quarter into ¼-inch / 6-mm-thick ribbons.
Turn up the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic to the pan, sprinkle the harissa on the vegetables and stir well. After 1 minute, add the cabbage and the water, stir slightly (this will be a bit awkward, given the volume of the raw cabbage) and cover. Cook over low heat until the cabbage is almost ready (15-18 minutes, or as needed), stirring often.
In the meantime, cut each chestnut into 6-8 pieces.
Add the chestnuts to the cabbage and stir well. Cover and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the chestnuts are heated through and the cabbage and squash are tender.
Sprinkle ¾ teaspoon of salt on the vegetables, stir, taste and add more salt, if needed. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve immediately.
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.
sweet and crunchy with a note of cheese (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Family Tree by Susan Wiggs1. The novel follow Annie as the life she thought was perfect shatters (physically, as she is the victim of a major accident, and emotionally, as the accident happens on the heels of her discovering her husband’s infidelity) and is slowly rebuilt. I don’t think the publisher’s description “powerful, emotionally complex story” applies. However, if you enjoy stories about second chances, family and small towns you may like this novel.
pretty in bright green (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
At the beginning Annie is the producer of a TV cooking show called The Key Ingredient, starring her husband. At the end, she produces and stars in a food webcast called Starting from Scratch. I don’t watch television nor webcasts, so have no experience of either genres. Still, I played a game in my mind, imagining what I would do if I were given the chance to host a food-centric show. I decided that I’d probably roam farmers markets and interview farmers and also stop at farmstands and do a live version of the still lives with produce I’ve been composing and photographing for some time2. (I usually publish them on Sunday afternoon.)
Little Wing Farm stand near Point Reyes Station is a must stop
When I ride my bicycle, if I encounter a farmstand, I usually stop. One place where I like to do so is the Little Wing Farm‘s unmanned stand just outside Point Reyes Station in Marin County. The last time I stopped there, a couple of weeks ago, it had gorgeous bunches of flowers, which I could not look at too closely, since I couldn’t carry one on my bike. I focused on the baby arugula (rucola) and shishito peppers: I purchased a bag of the former and a basket of the latter and tucked them into my light backpack (which also contained an oat bran date pecan muffin from Bovine Bakery3, in Point Reyes Station, my fuel for the longish ride).
After Point Reyes Station, my ride brought me to the charming village of Nicasio, home of the Nicasio Valley Cheese Company4. Given the warm temperature and the fact that I’d be on my bicycle for at least another couple of hours, I didn’t stop to purchase cheese at the creamery (caseificio), but did so the following morning at the San Rafael farmers’ market and went home with some of their tomino.
just add cheese (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
The baby arugula brightened my dinner salad for several days. As for the shishito peppers, the most common way of preparing them is described also on the sign at the farmstand: cooked in a cast-iron skillet until blistered. Quick and easy, it gives an excellent result. The blistered peppers can be served as appetizer or side dish (antipasto o contorno). I wondered how the small, thin-skinned peppers would taste when paired with the tomino and went to work to find out. I liked the result and made the dish several more times, using shishito peppers from the farmers’ market.
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.
mixed vegetable with thyme (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge1. In post-war Paris, a woman is found murdered in the basement of the building where Paul and Julia Child live, and the murder weapon is a knife from Julia’s kitchen. If this brief introduction sounds intriguing, you’ll probably enjoy the book. I’m afraid I didn’t find the novel believable.2
The narrator, a young woman named Tabitha, lives with her grandfather not far from the Childs and befriends Julia. He grows a variety of herbs (erbe aromatiche) in his greenhouse:
There were rows of planters in the dome-shaped room… filled with herbs like tarragon, chervil, rosemary, thyme, basil, and of course, catnip. (dragoncello, cerfoglio, rosmarino, timo, basilico, erba gatta)
Thyme is probably my favorite herb and I use it with abandon, most recently on the first summer vegetables that have made their appearance at the farmers’ market.Usually, I strip the leaves, but sometimes I add the sprigs (rametti) whole, and remove the almost bare stems at the end, before serving. The tenderest ones blend with the vegetables and are undetectable when eating.
Last month, I spent a week in Los Osos, a town on the Central Coast of California, south of Morro Bay. The Monday farmers’ market there is one of my favorite: small, but offering a rich variety of produce. Also, with respect to the markets in Northern California, it was ahead of time in terms of summer vegetables. As a result, while there I ate the first zucchini (zucchine) and tomatoes of the season and even some sweet peppers. I also found glorious bunches of carrots (carote).
bunches of carrots at the Los Osos farmers’ market: irresistible
At the San Rafael farmers’ market, I recently scored the first eggplant (melanzane) of the season and at the Arcata farmers market, I put in my bag a beautiful head of escarole (scarola): it a type of endive, slightly bitter, and delightfully so. I like to use the outer leaves (foglie esterne) cooked with other vegetables, as in the recipe below, while I add the inner, tenderer leaves to salads. Using carrots and escarole in the same dish creates a delicious bittersweet combination.
summer vegetables are here! (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO
The dish is easy to make and cooks fairly quickly. I finish it with some flavorful creamy white miso3 from a local producer. As is, the dish is vegan. You can enrich it with eggs, cheese or, to keep it vegan, nutritional yeast.
1 tablespoon white miso or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
Scrub the carrots well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate them using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Warm up the olive oil in a 10-inch/25-cm deep sauté pan.
Add the onion, lower the heat and stir, then after 1 minute, add the grated carrot and stir. After 2 minutes, sprinkle the harissa spice mix, add the thyme, and stir well. Cook on low heat for another 2 minutes, stirring often.
In the meantime, trim top and bottom of the eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch / 6 mm slices lengthwise, then cut each slice into small dice.
Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir. After 1 minute, add the diced eggplant and stir, then add the water and stir. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes, stirring a few times.
Wash and drain the escarole leaves, halve them lengthwise then slice them crosswise into 1-inch / 2.5 cm strips.
Add the escarole to the pan, stir well, cover and cook for 4 minutes.
In the meantime, trim the zucchini, then grate them using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Add the zucchini, turn up the heat to medium and stir well. Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for 4 minutes or so, until the zucchini are just tender.
Uncover, add the white miso and stir until well blended (or sprinkle the sea salt and stir).
Remove from the heat and serve warm.
Serves 3-4.
I have already prepared this dish several times and I see myself doing it often this summer.
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.
a simple pairing with a lot of flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
This is my interpretation of a traditional dish from Italy. The first recipe I read uses black-eyed peas (fagioli dall’occhio) so that’s what I used in my first version, together with some Musquée de Provence squash I found at the farmers’ market. I then read other recipes which referenced “white beans” (fagioli bianchi). I had some Zolfino bean1 (fagiolo zolfino), an Italian heirloom variety, so I used that. For my final try, I used locally grown organic Yellow Eye beans, which performed best in the recipe.
black-eyed peas (top), zolfino (middle) and yellow eye beans (bottom), Speckled Hound squash (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
In terms of squash, besides the Musquée de Provence, I used Speckled Hound (locally grown by the same farm that grows the beans) and a Honeynut squash, also from the farmers’ market. All the squash varieties performed well.
All the recipes I read list cooked beans as one of the ingredients. I start with dried beans and my recipe below includes instructions on cooking the beans. The fresh ginger (zenzero) is my addition: it is the perfect complement to winter squash.
1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Yellow Eye beans or other similar beans
2 cups / 480 ml water
1/2 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2 small onion, halved
A couple of parsley stems
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Ingredients for the dish:
Half of the cooked beans and their liquid (see below)
1 pound / 450 grams winter squash (for example, Speckled Hound, Musquée de Provence), clean weight
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces / 112 grams red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Cook the dry beans
Rinse the beans then place them in a small saucepan with the water, the aromatics and the sea salt. Cover, bring the water to a lively boil and keep it there for 4-5 minutes. Turn down the heat and let the beans simmer, covered, until they are tender. Taste them after 1 hour and estimate how much longer they should cook.
Check the beans at regular intervals. If necessary, add some hot water to ensure there is enough liquid to cover the beans.
Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.
Prepare the dish
Drain the beans and weigh separately the beans and their liquid: set aside half of each for the recipe. Put the rest of the beans back in the rest of the liquid and refrigerate for use within the next few days.
Peel and deseed the squash. I use a grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds and a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Depending on the type of squash, you may halve it first, then deseed it, then peel it. This is what I did with the Speckled Hound squash. If you are using a honeynut squash, however, it is easier to peel it first, then cut it. I purchased the Musquée de Provence cut into sections and already deseeded, so I only had to peel it.
Weigh the amount of squash needed. Cut the squash into small bit-sized pieces.
In a 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan, warm up the olive oil on medium heat, add the onion, stir well, then turn down the heat. After 1 minute, add the grated ginger and stir well. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, until the onion is soft, stirring often and making sure the pan does not become dry.
Add the garlic to the pan and stir well. After 1 minute, turn up the heat to medium, add the cut squash and stir well. Add 2 tablespoons of the bean broth and stir well. Cover, lower the heat and cook until the squash is just tender (15 minutes or as needed), stirring every now and then. Add the beans and stir well. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the parsley on the vegetables and stir well. Serve immediately.
Serves 2-3.
take a small portion or a big one (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
By using different varieties of winter squash and beans, every time you get a slightly different dish.
1 Zolfino bean page on the Slow Food Foundation site
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post
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.
un connubio semplice e gustoso (tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)
Lettera dopo lettera, siamo arrivati alla Z, ultima tappa del nostro viaggio alfabeto-gastronomico. Dopo aver contemplato ricette da varie parti del mondo, ho deciso di rimanere in Italia con un piatto semplice e gustoso, nel quale si incontrano due ingredienti che amo molto: la zucca e i fagioli.
La prima ricetta l’ho trovata sul sito dell’Accademia Italiana della Cucina: zucca e fagioli dall’occhio ‘all’uso di Formia’.1 Ho poi trovato un paio di altre ricette2 (‘alla napoletana’) che utilizzano fagioli bianchi (e la cipolla). Come al solito, ho fatto vari esperimenti, utilizzando diverse varietà di zucca e di fagioli, non solo quelli dall’occhio, ma anche il fagiolo zolfino, originario della Toscana.3 e una varietà chiamata “Yellow Eye” coltivata in un’azienda agricola vicino a dove abito, che è anche l’origine della zucca Speckled Hound nella foto qui sotto. In termini di zucca ho utilizzato anche della Musquée de Provence e Honeynut.
fagioli dall’occhio (in alto), fagiolo zolfino (in mezzo) e yellow eye (in basso) e zucca Speckled Hound (tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)
Nessuna delle ricette che ho letto descrive la cottura dei fagioli quindi io ho usato la mia ricetta base per cuocerli. L’uso dello zenzero fresco è dettato dal mio gusto: lo zenzero è complemento perfetto alla zucca.
Ingredienti per i fagioli:
100 grammi di fagioli piccoli, come il fagiolo zolfino
400 ml d’acqua
1/2 foglia d’alloro
1 spicchio d’aglio a fettine
1/2 cipolla piccola tagliata a metà
2 steli di prezzemolo
1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino
Ingredienti per il piatto:
metà dei fagioli cotti e del loro liquido di cottura
450 grammi di zucca, peso pulito
2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine d’oliva
112 grammi di cipolla rossa tritata
1 cucchiaio di radice di zenzero grattugiata
1 spicchio d’aglio tritato
1 cucchiaino di sale fino
1 cucchiaio di prezzemolo fresco tritato
Preparate i fagioli
Sciacquate i fagioli, poi metteteli in una piccola pentola con l’acqua, gli odori e il sale. Coprite, portate a bollore vivace rapidamente e mantenete per 4-5 minuti. Abbassate il calore, e fate cuocere i fagioli a fuoco dolce fino a quando siano teneri. Controllate i fagioli ad intervalli regolari e, se necessario, aggiungete dell’acqua bollente per tenerli immersi nel liquido di cottura.
Fate freddare i fagioli nel liquido di cottura, poi rimuovere gli odori e scartateli. Lasciate i fagioli nel loro brodo fino a quando siete pronti ad utilizzarli.
Preparate il piatto
Scolate i fagioli e pesateli separatamente dal loro liquido di cottura: mettete da parte metà dei fagioli e del liquido per la ricetta. Mettete il resto dei fagioli nel resto del loro liquido di cottura. Conservate in frigorifero e utilizzate nel giro di pochi giorni.
Sbucciate la zucca e rimuovete i semi. Io uso un pelaverdure verticale per sbucciare la zucca e un cucchiaio da pompelmo per rimuovere i semi. A seconda del tipo di zucca che utilizzate, tagliatela prima a metà, poi togliete i semi e poi sbucciatela. Ho fatto così con la Speckled Hound, mentre con la Honeynut e più facile prima sbucciarla, poi tagliarla. Ho comprato la Musquée de Provence tagliata a sezioni e senza semi quindi ho dovuto solo sbucciarla.
Pesate la quantità di zucca necessaria e tagliatela a cubetti.
In una padella di 25 cm a bordi alti, scaldate l’olio su calore medio, aggiungete la ciposlla, mescolate bene, poi abbassate il calore. Dopo un minuto, aggiungete lo zenzero e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete a fuoco basso per 8 minuti, fino a quando la cipolla sia tenera, mescolando spesso e assicurandovi che il fondo non si asciughi.
Aggiungete l’aglio e mescolate bene. Dopo un minuto, alzate il calore a medio, aggiungete la zucca e mescolate bene. Aggiungete 2 cucchiai del liquido di cottura dei fagioli e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete a fuoco basso fino a quando la zucca sia appena tenera (15 minuti circa, o il tempo necessario), mescolando di tanto in tanto.
Aggiungete i fagioli e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete per 5 minuti.
Salate e mescolate. Togliete la padella dal calore, spargete il prezzemolo e mescolate bene. Servite immediatamente.
Porzioni: 2-3
prendete una porzione piccola o grande (tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)
La possibilità di creare accoppiate diverse scegliendo diverse varietà di fagioli e di zucca rende questo piatto particolarmente attraente.
Contribuisco questo piatto di zucca e fagioli dall’Italia (che ho preparato anche col fagiolo zolfino e che comprende lo zenzero tra gli ingredienti) alla lettera Z di Un mondo d’ingredienti evento creato dall’instancabile Aiu’ di Trattoria Muvara
FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall’azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.
This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)
This is my contribution to 
Contribuisco questo piatto di zucca e fagioli dall’Italia (che ho preparato anche col fagiolo zolfino e che comprende lo zenzero tra gli ingredienti) alla lettera Z di Un mondo d’ingredienti evento creato dall’instancabile Aiu’ di