shishito peppers with cheese — 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.

shishito peppers — 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 — 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.

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.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Shishito peppers with cheese

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces / 140 grams shishito peppers
1 ounce / 30 grams Nicasio Valley Cheese Company tomino or similar cheese
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

Warm up a 10-inch/25-cm cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Drizzle the olive oil and use a cooking brush to oil the skillet evenly.

Add the shishito peppers and spread them in a single layer. They should sizzle slightly in the hot skillet. Turn down the heat to medium-low.

Cook for 3 minutes, until the peppers are blistered in spots underneath.

In the meantime, slice the cheese thinly and quarter each slice. Distribute the cheese on the bottom of a serving plate.

Flip the peppers and cook 2 minutes until they are blistered in spots and tender, but still a bit crunchy.

Sprinkle the sea salt on the peppers and quickly transfer them to the prepared serving plate.

Serve immediately.

Eat the peppers with a fork, making sure to scoop up a bit of the softened cheese along the way from plate to mouth.

Serves 1-2.

a batch of shishito peppers included yellowish and reddish ones
(small bowl by Lily Haas5, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

This dish has become a favorite. My husband does not care for peppers which gives me an excuse to eat a whole basket by myself.

¹The book’s page on the author’s website
² My Instagram account
³ Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station
⁴ Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, makes tomino
⁵ Lily Haas (Instagram feed)

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

Cook the Books logo This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Claudia of Honey From Rock. (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.

savoy cabbage with egg and cheese / pipetto (verza con uovo e formaggio)

February 17, 2024March 5, 2026 | Simona

jump to Recipe
versione in italiano

savoy cabbage with egg and cheese — version with purple savoy cabbage
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Pipetto¹ is a comforting side dish from Crema (a city in Lombardy, northern Italy): savoy cabbage with a mix of spices (noce moscata, pepe nero, cannella, chiodi di garofano), egg and cheese, perfect for winter. I found different recipes for it and below is my rendition.

As the photo shows, I have made the dish with both green and purple savoy cabbage and both were excellent.

I steam the savoy cabbage before cooking it with the egg and cheese, frittata-style, and like I do with frittata, I finish cooking it under the broiler. The original recipe calls for Grana Padano cheese, which is hard to find here and rather expensive, so I substitute it with cave-aged Gruyère.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Savoy cabbage with egg and cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound 9 ounces / 700 grams savoy cabbage (weighed after removing, if necessary, the external leaves)
1 large egg, possibly from pastured poultry
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/2 ounces / 100 grams Grana Padano cheese, freshly grated (I used cave-aged Gruyère)
1 ounce / 2 tablespoons / 30 grams unsalted butter
1 garlic clove

Quarter the savoy cabbage and cut away the tough central core. Halve each quarter lengthwise, then slice each eighth into 1/4 inch strips.

Steam the savoy cabbage until tender (8-10 minutes), if necessary, half at a time to ensure even cooking. Transfer the savoy cabbage to a large bowl.

Break the egg into a small bowl, whisk it with a fork to blend yolk and white, then add the salt and all the spices and whisk briefly. Add the cheese and stir, then pour onto the savoy cabbage and stir well to incorporate. Let rest for 2-3 hours.

Warm up a 10-inch / 25-cm skillet. Add half the butter and, when melted, add the garlic clove, peeled and halved. After a minute, remove the garlic and swirl the butter to coat the bottom of the skillet.

Transfer the savoy cabbage to the skillet and distribute it evenly. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, turn on the broiler. (In a broiler drawer, use the low setting. In a regular oven, place the rack lower than the middle.)

Melt the remaining butter and drizzle it on the savoy cabbage. Place the skillet in the oven for 3 minutes, leaving the door ajar.

Take the skillet out of the oven (don’t forget that the handle is hot) and let rest for a few minutes, then slide the savoy cabbage onto a serving plate, cut and serve immediately.

Serves: 4-6

¹A version of this recipe (as Spiced cabbage with egg) can be found in the cookbook La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy by the Italian Academy of Cuisine

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 the product on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

[jump to Comments]

pipetto (pipèto o nusèt): verza con uovo e formaggio

Ho trovato la ricetta per questo piatto, tipico della zona di Crema, a base di verza sul sito dell’Accademia Italiana della Cucina.¹ Poi ne ho trovate altre² e quella che vi presento è la mia versione, basata sulle ricette e sui miei esperimenti. Sulla versione in inglese del post potete vedere la foto di una varietà di verza con le foglie screziate viola che mi sembra di capire non si trovi in Italia (e che non va confusa con il cavolo rosso).

Sulla pagina di Wikipedia dedicata a questo contorno³ il nome pipèto deriva dal metodo di cottura (stufatura lenta) e nusèt dall’uso della noce moscata per insaporire il piatto.

Ingredienti:

700 grammi di verza (pesata dopo aver rimosso, se necessario, le foglie esterne)
1 uovo codice 0
1/2 cucchiaino di sale fino
1/4 cucchiaino di cannella in polvere
1/4 cucchiaino di chiodi di garofano in polvere
1/4 cucchiaino di pepe nero macinato fresco
1/8 cucchiaino di noce moscata in polvere
100 grammi di Grana Padano grattugiato fresco (io ho usato Gruyère stagionato poiché qui non trovo Grana Padano di qualità ad un prezzo accessibile)
30 grammi di burro
1 spicchio d’aglio

Tagliate la verza in quarti e rimuovete il torsolo. Tagliate ogni quarto a metà per lungo e poi ogni ottavo a listarelle larghe mezzo centimetro. Cuocete la verza al vapore fino a quando sia tenera (8-10 minuti) metà per volta se necessario. Trasferite la verza in un’insalatiera.

Rompete l’uovo in una ciotola e sbattetelo leggermente con una forchetta, poi aggiungete il sale e le spezie e mescolate. Aggiungete il formaggio versatelo e mescolate. Infine, versate il tutto sulla verza e mescolate bene per incorporare. Lasciate riposare per 2-3 ore.

Scaldate su fuoco medio una padella di 25 cm di diametro. Mettete metà del burro nella padella e, quando è fuso, aggiungete l’aglio tagliato a metà. Dopo un minuto, rimuovete l’aglio e distribuite il burro sul fondo della padella.

Versate la verza nella padella e distribuitela in modo da formare uno strato uniforme. Cuocete su fuoco basso per 10 minuti.

Nel frattempo, accendete la parte alta del forno. Posizionate la griglia al di sotto alla metà.

Fondete il resto del burro e distribuitelo sulla superficie della verza. Mettete la padella nel forno, lasciando lo sportello socchiuso, per 3 minuti.

Tirate fuori la padella (fate attenzione: il manico scotta) e fate riposare un paio di minuti, poi trasferite il pipetto su un piatto, tagliate e servite subito.

Porzioni: 4

¹ La ricetta del pipetto dell’Accademia italiana della cucina
² Un’altra ricetta e una terza
³ Wikipedia: pipèto

Un mondo d'ingredienti logo Contribuisco la mia versione del pipetto, contorno a base di verza della tradizione cremasca (Lombardia), alla lettera V 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.

recipe: leek gratin

April 10, 2021 | Simona

Leek gratin

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes total

Keywords: side vegetarian gluten-free soy-free sugar-free leeks blue cheese

Ingredients (serves 2)

8 ounces / 225 g 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
Leaves of a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2-2 ounces / 42-56 g cheese, half Point Reyes Bay Blue OR other sweet blue cheese AND half mild cheddar (or other cheese of choice that melts well like fontina or gouda)

Instructions

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 up the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the leeks. Stir to coat, then add the thyme leaves and stir again. Turn down the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Sprinkle the paprika on the leeks and stir. Cover the pan and cook until quite tender (8-10 minutes or more, as needed, depending on how fresh the leeks are), stirring often. Make sure the pan is never dry. Sprinkle the sea salt and stir.

Crumble the blue cheese, add it to the leeks and stir well. Grate the mild cheddar cheese.

Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.

Divide the leeks into two 4-ounce oval ramekins for baking crème brulee with scalloped edge or similar small baking dishes.

Divide the grated cheese into 2 equal parts and distribute it on the leeks.

Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until hot throughout. Turn on the broiler and broil on low setting for 2 minutes, or for 1 minute if the broiler has only one setting (without burning).

Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and serve the gratin immediately.

Go to the full post on Leek gratin

recipe: pumpkin and cheese focaccia (focaccia alla zucca con formaggio)

November 29, 2014 | Simona

Pumpkin and cheese focaccia

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 15 minutes + resting time

Cook Time: 16-18 minutes + time to cook pumpkin

Keywords: bake bread snack nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian pumpkin flour cheese Italian

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

115 ml water at 85 F / 30 C
2.4 g / 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
65 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I use to make bread)
50 g stone-ground whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
110 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
4 1/2 ounces / 130 g roasted pumpkin or winter squash (see instructions below) at room temperature + 2 teaspoons / 10 ml additional water, if needed (see below)
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
5 g fine sea salt
1 ounce / 30 freshly grated hard cheese of choice (a hint of sharpness works nicely here)
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 2-3 leaves fresh sage, slivered
Extra-virgin olive oil in a mister (to oil the bowl and the dough)

Instructions

How to prepare the pumpkin / winter squash

Different types of pumpkin / winter squash have different water content. If the specimen you choose is quite watery, drain it before using it. On the other hand, if it is dense, you’ll need to increase the amount of water (see later).

Preheat the oven to 375 F. If the pumpkin is hard, pre-process it as follows: pierce it with a blade in a few places, place it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake it for 15 minutes, then let is cool slightly. This makes it easier to cut it in half.

Cut the pumpkin (pre-processed or raw) in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Place halves on the silicone baking mat, cut side down. Put in the oven and bake until tender, easily pierced with a blade. Let cool, drain any water, then scrape the flesh off the skin, again using a grapefruit spoon, and place in a bowl or suitable container.

Let the pumpkin pulp cool completely and weigh the amount required by the recipe: avoid watery pulp by spooning it from the surface. If there is no liquid in the bottom of the container, it means the pumpkin or squash is more on the dry side, so add 1-2 teaspoons of water to the pulp. Mash well with a fork and set aside to use for the focaccia. Use leftovers to make this soup, these scones or this bread.

How to prepare the dough

In a bowl, measure the water. Add the yeast and stir well, then add the first amount of flour (#3 in the list) and stir with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in a draft-free place.

In the meantime, weigh the other two amounts of flour (#4 and 5 in the list). Also, add olive oil, salt, cheese and the herb of choice to the mashed pumpkin and stir well.

Add the flours to the yeasted mixture and stir briefly, then add the pumpkin mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, oil well the bowl in which the dough will rise. A glass bowl makes it easy to manipulate the dough.

Transfer the dough to the prepared oiled bowl. This is a fairly sticky dough, hence I recommend you wet your hands before handling it. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough and then flip it to oil the surface. This is your time 0. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 45 minutes.

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website describes and shows stretching and folding: as Mac says in the video, the stretching part is of fundamental importance in gluten development. The video is not long, but if you don’t have time to watch it in its entirety, you can start at 4′:30″ and watch Mac show how to stretch and fold.

A) Stretch and fold the focaccia dough in the bowl along both sides (length and width).

B) Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.

Repeat A and B two more times, at which point you will be at time 3 hours and your dough should be ready for shaping.

How to shape the focaccia

Lightly oil a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment paper resting on a baking sheet. Flip the bowl onto the mat and let the dough drop. Cover it with another baking sheet or oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Push the dough out gently with your fingertips to spread it into a roughly square shape, about 8 inches / 20 cm wide, of even thickness. Cover it as before and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Push the dough gently with your fingertips to spread it a little bit more, until it is about 9 inches / 23 cm wide, then mist the surface lightly with olive oil. Cover as before and let rise for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the oven.

Prepare the oven

Place a baking stone or tile in the cold oven and preheat the oven to 425 F / 220 C.

Bake the focaccia

Lightly mist the dough with olive oil one last time. Transfer the baking mat or parchment paper with the dough onto the hot stone or tile.

Bake for 15 minutes then check. The focaccia is ready when golden on the bottom and surface. Bake a few minutes longer, as needed.

Carefully slide the baking mat or parchment paper with the focaccia onto a baking sheet and then transfer the focaccia to a wire rack to cool slightly. Transfer to a wooden cutting board, slice and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Go to the full post on focaccia alla zucca con formaggio / pumpkin and cheese focaccia

cagliata / cheese curds

May 22, 2014 | Simona

a quick peek under the cloth

When I make cheese, my kitchen acquires a luminous quality. The pearly white of milk and curds reminds me of Galadriel, the royal Elf, as protrayed by Cate Blanchett in The Lord of the Rings movies.

I took the photo while making Crescenza, a soft cheese I have been using most recently

This week, I have the honor of hosting Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar. Send your contribution at simosite AT mac DOT com, namely

your name
your blog's name
the image(s) (max 500 px wide, either orientation, max 150 kb file size)

You have until Wednesday, May 28 at 9 am Pacific time to do so. If you are unfamiliar with the event or need a reminder of the rules, you will find the details in this post (and in Italian here). Feel free to use the logo below. If you have a photo, but no blog, send it to me and I will include it in the roundup, which will be published on Wednesday, May 28.

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

This is my contribution to edition #131 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 me, Simona of briciole.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white (Lightroom preset Split Tone 1).

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza / savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

April 27, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

ready for the plate

Last week was a difficult one at briciole's headquarters due to the major disruption brought to TypePad, my blog service provider, by multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. For several days, visitors could not access posts or pages and starting Monday, they would get an error message stating that the domain did not exist. It feels good to be able to write again on my blog.

It was also a busy week for briciole's writer, as I attended a bread-baking class at the San Francisco Baking Institute, which was a great experience. You will hear (and see) more about the baguettes and other breads I made and then brought home every day for the joy of the people with whom I shared them. Today, however, we are baking a savory tart.

my "Red Russian" kale and parsley jungle

Spring (primavera) brings new life in our vegetable gardens and new, seasonal vegetables to our markets — a welcome change after the more limited choices we had during the winter. For my small vegetable patch, spring means baby kale to thin and therefore baby kale recipes.

Last year, I made some nice baby kale pesto with cashews and then used it to dress a bean and albacore tuna salad, while this year, with the tender leaves I topped a savory tart.

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

To accompany baby kale on the tart, I chose my homemade Crescenza, a cheese I had not made in a while and to which I went back recently with nice results. This is a versatile soft cheese, great to eat with bread or to use as an ingredient. I hope you can find Crescenza or Stracchino (which is the same cheese) at your local cheese store. If not, you can try making it at home: it is a great beginner's cheese.

savory tart with kale and crescenza cheese

ready for the oven

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. / 42 g leek, white and light green portion, washed and cut into 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick half-moons
5 1/4 oz. / 15o g baby kale (mine is "Red Russian" variety)
1 teaspoon / 5 ml EV olive oil
A pinch of fine sea salt
165 g / 5 3/4 oz. (half a batch) of "alternative" puff pastry OR equivalent amount of regular puff pastry
Crescenza or Stracchino cheese, to taste (without overdoing it)

Rinse leek well and drain.

Wash the baby kale and don't drain them completely. Discard the tougher end of the stalks, then cut leaves into ribbons no more than 1/2-inch wide.

Warm up olive oil in a medium skillet. Add leek and and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring often. Cover the skillet and cook leek for 5 minutes longer on gentle heat, until quite tender.

Uncover the skillet, turn up the heat to medium and add the cut kale leaves. Cook in the water clinging to them for 2 minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking on gentle heat until kale is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir to make sure kale cooks evenly and doesn't stick to the pan. Season with salt and let cool briefly.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Roll out the pastry until fairly thin, then place it on the lined baking sheet. I like to make a rectangular tart. Prick the shell with a fork in several places.

Distribute kale over rolled pastry, leaving a border all around (about 1/2 inch).

Cut thin slices of cheese and distribute in pieces on the kale at regular intervals. I never weigh the cheese, relying on my sense of balance to adjust the quantity: you want to be able to taste all the ingredients.

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

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, let rest briefly, then move the tart to a plate or wooden tray, cut it, serve and enjoy.

Cut into smaller pieces, the tart makes a nice appetizer (antipasto).

snails like kale too

The snails and slugs in my small vegetable patch appreciate baby kale. I have to remind them that they need to vary their diet, so I move them to another spot, far away from temptation.

This is my contribution to edition #430 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 Brii of briggishome. and hosted this week by me, Simona of briciole.

The roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza

or launch the torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza audio file [mp3].

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

[jump to Comments]

puff pastry, cheese, savory tart, kale

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza

pronta da servire

La scorsa settimana è stata difficile al quartier generale di briciole, a causa di un cosiddetto distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. ripetuto per diversi giorni, durante i quali post e pagine non erano accessibili ai visitatori. Mi fa piacere poter scrivere di nuovo sul mio blog.

È stata anche una settimana impegnativa poiché sono stata un corso di panificazione al San Francisco Baking Institute, un'esperienza molto bella di cui parlerò ancora più avanti. Nel frattempo, oggi prepariamo una torta salata.

la mia giungla di cavolo riccio "Red Russian" e prezzemolo

La primavera porta nuova vita nei nostri orti e verdure di stagione nei mercati — un cambiamento gradito dopo l'inverno che offre scelte limitate. Per il mio orticello, primavera significa cavolo riccio novello e ricette che lo utilizzano.

L'anno scorso ho preparato pesto di cavolo riccio novello con anacardi che poi ho usato per condire un'insalata di fagioli e tonno (ricetta solo in inglese), mentre quet'anno ho inventato una torta salata che usa le tenere foglie.

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

Come accompagnamento per la verdura novella ho scelto la mia Crescenza fatta in casa, formaggio che non facevo da un po' e al quale sono tornata di recente con buoni risultati. Formaggio fresco versatile, la Crescenza, o Stracchino, si trova facilmente nei negozi ma è anche facile da fare in casa.

pronta da infornare

Ingredienti:

42 g porro, parte bianca e verde chiaro, lavato e tagliato a mezzelune spesse 3 mm
15o g cavolo riccio novello (la varieta che ho io si chiama "Red Russian")
5 ml olio EV oliva
Un pizzico di sale fino
165 g pasta sfoglia "alternativa" (metà di quella che ottenete seguendo le dosi della ricetta), oppure la stessa quantità di pasta sfoglia tradizionale
Crescenza or Stracchino cheese, a piacere (ma senza esagerare)

Sciacquare bene il porro.

Lavare il cavolo riccio senza sgrondarlo del tutto. Scartare la parte più dura del gambo di e tagliare le foglie a nastri non più larghi di 1,25 cm.

Scaldare un po' d'olio in una padella di dimensioni medie. Aggiungere il porro e cuocerlo per 2 minuti, mescolando spesso. Coprire la padella e cuocere per altri 5 minuti a fuoco basso fino a quando il porro sia tenero.

Scoprire la padella, alzare il fuoco e aggiungere le foglie tagliate. Cuocere per 2 minuti nell'acqua che hanno ancora attaccata. Coprire la padella e cuocere per altri 5 minuti a fuoco basso fino a quando il cavolo riccio sia tenero, circa 8 minuti. Mescolare e fare attenzione che la verdura non si attacchi al fondo della padella. Condire con sale e far intiepidire.

Scaldare il forno a 190 C e foderare una lastra da forno con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Stendere la pasta sfoglia fina e poi muoverla sulla lastra foderata. A me piace darle forma rettangolare. Bucherellare la superficie con una forchetta in diversi punti.

Distribuire il cavolo riccio sulla pasta sfoglia, lasciando tutto intorno un bordo di circa 1,25 cm.

Tagliare il formaggio a fettine piuttosto sottili e poi a pezzi e distribuirlo sulla verdura ad intervalli regolari. Non poso il formaggio, ma mi baso sul mio senso dell'equilibrio per la quantità: l'idea è di poter distinguere il sapore dei vari ingredienti.

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

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

Tagliata a quadrotti, questa torta salata può essere servita come antipasto.

il cavolo riccio piace anche alle chiocciole

Chiocciole e lumache nel mio orticello adorano il cavolo riccio. Devo ricordare loro che hanno bisogno di una dieta variata e quindi le trasferisco in un altro posto, lontano dalla tentazione delle tenere foglioline.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 430 di Weekend Herb Blogging, evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, ora organizzato da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome e ospitato questa settimana da me, Simona di briciole.

Il raccolto dell'evento.

recipe: savory tart with baby kale and crescenza (torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza)

April 27, 2014 | Simona

Savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes total

Keywords: bake saute appetizer entree cheese kale

Ingredients (Serves 2 as entrée)

1 1/2 oz. / 42 g leek, white and light green portion, washed and cut into 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick half-moons
5 1/4 oz. / 15o g baby kale (mine is “Red Russian” variety)
1 teaspoon / 5 ml EV olive oil
A pinch of fine sea salt
165 g / 5 3/4 oz. (half a batch) of “alternative” puff pastry OR equivalent amount of regular puff pastry
Crescenza or Stracchino cheese, to taste (without overdoing it)

Instructions

Rinse leek well and drain.

Wash the baby kale and don’t drain them completely. Discard the tougher end of the stalks, then cut leaves into ribbons no more than 1/2-inch wide.

Warm up olive oil in a medium skillet. Add leek and and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring often. Cover the skillet and cook leek for 5 minutes longer on gentle heat, until quite tender.

Uncover the skillet, turn up the heat to medium and add the cut kale leaves. Cook in the water clinging to them for 2 minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking on gentle heat until kale is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir to make sure kale cooks evenly and doesn’t stick to the pan. Season with salt and let cool briefly.

Distribute kale over rolled pastry, leaving a border all around (about 1/2 inch).

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, let rest briefly, then move the tart to a plate or wooden tray, cut it, serve and enjoy.

Cut into smaller pieces, the tart makes a nice appetizer.

Go to the full post on torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza / savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

biancore / whiteness

January 28, 2013 | Simona

One of the joys of making cheese at home is making ricotta with the leftover whey. The batch in the photo was a particularly good one. The whey came from making Leerdammer. The surface texture of snow-white ricotta is due to the draining basket and it’s what I have tried to highlight in the photo.

I recently enjoyed a very nice post by Nancy Harmon Jenkins titled Ricotta, a true story. I recommend you follow the link and read Nancy’s report of a visit to a cheese maker in the Mugello valley of Tuscany. (Nancy’s words about ricotta echo words I have written in the past, for example, in this post.)

This is my contribution to edition #68 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 Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once.

The photo was shot using the Hi preset of my Nikon D5000 and then converted to black and white (using Lightroom preset B&W Look 1).

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

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

fare il formaggio richiede pazienza / making cheese requires patience

December 2, 2012 | Simona

Limburger in progress

I know, I have said it before.

I actually like this aspect of cheese making. You get to see your cheese change every day and it's exciting.

The markings on the surface of the cheese in the photo are due to the mat on which the cheese rests. You see that around the center, the surface is different: Geotrichum candidum is growing (that's good 😉

This mold powder will produce a white to cream color surface and it plays a significant role in the ripening process for surface ripened cheese of the soft ripened or washed rind types…
Geotrichum can also be used in conjunction with Brevibacterium linens to creat the right conditions for the formation of the surface smear on washed rind cheeses. (source)

Limburger is washed-rind cheese. It means that the surface is washed a number of times, a step necessary for the correct aging of the cheese. If you are interested in learning more about Limburger, you can take a look at the recipe I followed.

I am done with the washing, but that doesn't mean I can forget about the cheese as it ages in my cheese fridge. I check it every day to make sure nothing undesirable happens on the surface and that the humidity in the compartment is adequate (I can set the temperature and the fridge takes care of keeping it constant). It will be the new year before I know whether the texture and flavor of the cheese are to my liking.

Making cheese requires patience.

This is my contribution to edition #61 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 Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums.

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

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

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

recipe: savory apple baked in puff pastry (mela al cartoccio salata)

November 8, 2012 | Simona

Savory apple baked in puff pastry

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: bake nut-free soy-free sugar-free apple fall

Ingredients (serves 1)

An apple of a variety that is good for baking: I used Braeburn (see this page for alternatives)
1/4 of the amount made by the recipe for “alternative” puff pastry (about 3 oz. / 83 g); while I have not tried making the recipe with regular puff pastry, I don’t see why it would not work with it
20 g / 3/4 oz. aged Cheddar cheese, shredded using an extra-coarse grater

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Peel and core the apple. You may or may not want to use a vegetable peeler for the first task, but you want to use an apple corer for the second (trust me). Stuff the apple cavity with the cheese.

Roll the puff pastry into a thin square. Place the apple in the center of the pastry square and wrap it, pinching the seams. Where you see that there is extra puff pastry, you may want to cut a wedge and use it to seal the top or to make a decoration. I skipped the egg wash, but you don’t have to: in a small bowl, beat an egg lightly with a tablespoon of water, then brush the surface with the egg wash.

Place the apple on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and put the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the surface is golden. Serve with fanfare (it’s justified). When you cut the apple, the smell of melted cheddar and baked apple is irresistible.

Go to the full post on mela al cartoccio salata / savory apple baked in puff pastry

briciole

Simona Carini serves recipes and Italian words related to food

cheese

shishito peppers with cheese / peperoni shishito col formaggio

savoy cabbage with egg and cheese / pipetto (verza con uovo e formaggio)

pipetto (pipèto o nusèt): verza con uovo e formaggio

recipe: leek gratin

recipe: pumpkin and cheese focaccia (focaccia alla zucca con formaggio)

cagliata / cheese curds

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza / savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza

recipe: savory tart with baby kale and crescenza (torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza)

biancore / whiteness

fare il formaggio richiede pazienza / making cheese requires patience

recipe: savory apple baked in puff pastry (mela al cartoccio salata)