chia pudding with blueberries / budino ai semi di chia con mirtilli

March 24, 2020 | Simona

chia pudding with blueberries / IMG_3168

breakfast treat or dessert?

The novel Winter Cottage by Mary Ellen Taylor is set in Cape Hudson, a coastal town in Virginia. I have never visited that part of the US, so reading descriptions of the landscape was one of the book's attractions. I also liked how the three connected stories unfolded chapter by chapter. In the present, Lucy Kincaid, still grieving for the recent death of her mother, Beth, inherits Winter Cottage and upon arriving discovers that it is actually a mansion. In a relatively recent past, Beth, then a senior in high school, interviews Mrs. Buchanan, the owner and only resident of Winter Cottage, as part of a history project. The story the elderly lady recounts is set in the early part of the 20th century.

The threads are spun in parallel and as the novel progresses we learn the secrets not only Mrs. Buchanan, but also Beth and other people kept until they died. Lucy's main objective is to find out who her father is, a piece of information Beth never revealed to her daughter. As usual, I feel that if I say more I will ruin the reading for anybody whose curiosity about the book is piqued by my post, so I will stop here.

Shortly after her arrival at Winter Cottage, Lucy acquires a house mate, Natasha, a bright girl who, like Lucy, has recently lost her mother. Before Lucy's arrival, she would take refuge in the house to escape her alcoholic father. Lucy tries to provide the girl with a stable household, which includes a stable food supply. The book mentions sandwiches, take-out pizza (compliments of Hank Garrison, also determined to keep Natasha safe and in school), cupcakes. How about something different, healthier, my inner voice kept asking?

chia pudding with blueberries / IMG_3166

either or both!

While I was reading the book, my husband and I had dinner at a restaurant² that offered chia pudding as dessert. Tasting a spoonful reminded me that: 1) I like chia pudding 2) I used to make a version of it for my husband's breakfast when he first started a ketogenic diet, using hemp milk. I decided to work some more on my own version. Also around the same time I enjoyed eating fresh blueberries, so I knew whatever I made would have blueberries.

Chia pudding makes itself: you add the milk of choice and the seeds absorb it—all the more reason for Lucy to adopt it as a breakfast item for Natasha. She can prepare a couple of portions in the evening and they will be ready whenever the girl opens the refrigerator the following day.

My preference goes to unsweetened cashew milk (latte di anacardi)—just cashews, no other ingredients—which makes a luscious pudding. I have also tried using unsweetened coconut hemp milk, which has a lower calorie content and already includes vanilla extract. It makes a slightly less firm pudding. Feel free to try other milks, avoiding products with a lot of additives. My next step will be to try making cashew milk at home, which a friend of mine told me is an easy task. To sweeten the pudding I add some monk fruit³ (frutto del monaco) sweetener, a sugar replacement I have been using recently after a friend of mine gave it to me to try.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Chia pudding with blueberries

Ingredients (per portion, to be multiplied as needed):

1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons monk fruit sweetener, golden or classic (the brand I use contains erythritol)
1/3 cup / 80 ml unsweetened cashew only milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh blueberries, to taste
1/2 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted in a dry skillet

The evening or several hours before you plan to eat the pudding, place the chia seeds and sweetener in a ramekin or serving glass. Add the cashew milk and vanilla extract and stir well. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, stir again, then cover and refrigerate.

Take the pudding out of the refrigerator ahead of time so that, by the time you eat it, its temperature will be of your liking. (For me that is a good hour.)

Wash a handful of blueberries, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel to absorb the water. Decorate the pudding with the blueberries and sliced almonds and serve.

Serves 1

chia pudding with blueberries / IMG_3170

creamy pudding + crunchy almonds + juicy blueberries = total delight

This is now our household's favorite breakfast.

¹ The book introduction on the author's website
² If you visit Franz Joseph Glacier Village, NZ, make sure you eat at SnakeBite (if you like beer, it is a brewery)
³ Some info on monk fruit

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

budino ai semi di chia con mirtilli

or launch the budino ai semi di chia con mirtilli audio file [mp3].

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

This is my second contribution to the 38th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 12 years ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

pudding, chia seeds, cashew milk, almonds, blueberries, dessert, breakfast

recipe: chia pudding with blueberries

March 22, 2020 | Simona

Chia pudding with blueberries

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Rest Time: several hours to overnight

Keywords: breakfast dessert gluten-free low-carb soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan chia seeds cashew milk blueberries almonds

Ingredients (per portion, to be multiplied as needed)

1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons monk fruit sweetener, golden or classic (the brand I use contains erythritol)
1/3 cup / 80 ml unsweetened cashew only milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh blueberries, to taste
1/2 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted in a dry skillet

Instructions

Take the pudding out of the refrigerator ahead of time so that, by the time you eat it, its temperature will be of your liking. (For me that is a good hour.)

Wash a handful of blueberries, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel to absorb the water. Decorate the pudding with the blueberries and sliced almonds and serve.

Go to the full post on chia pudding with blueberries

fruit salad with fresh dates / macedonia di frutta con datteri freschi

September 30, 2019 | Simona

seasonal fruit salad with dates / IMG_2599

fruit fresh from the farmers market makes a great post-run salad
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The story told by Daniel Stone in his book The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats¹ is fascinating, at times riveting, and I found myself staying up late some evenings to read what would happen next. Before reading the book, I didn't know who David Fairchild was. Also, I didn't know who Frank Meyer was, though I am a great fan of the Meyer lemon, named after him; had never read the full story behind the Haas avocado; had no idea how Japanese cherry blossom trees had ended up blooming in Washington D.C. and wondered why a town in Southern California was called Mecca.

These are just a handful of the stories told in the book², which I recommend to all. In brief, David Fairchild went around the world looking for plants that could be grown in the US, with the stated goal of improving agricultural production in the country. In time, there were also others contributing to that work (Frank Meyer being one of them). The book narrates Fairchild's fascinating life, from his fateful encounter with millionaire Barbour Lathrop, who will finance a lot of his travels, to his marriage with the daughter of inventor Alexander Graham Bell, to his retirement in Southern Florida³ where he helped create a botanical garden which bears his name⁴.

fresh Yellow Barhi dates (Khalal stage) at the Berkeley farmers market⁵

The book details not only Fairchild's successes, but also the difficulties he surmounted in his quest and the opposition he faced in later years. Such opposition will not surprise us: importing live plants from around the world risks importing live pests with potentially devastating effects. Ironically, the person mainly responsible for stopping Fairchild's activity had been his best man. The two exposed their different point of views in articles published by the National Geographic Magazine. Fairchild's is titled Our Plant Immigrants⁶.

date palm in Thermal, CA

Of the many stories Stone recounts, one that particularly resonated with me is that of dates⁷. We spent the early days of this year in the Coachella Valley in Southern California, where date palms are everywhere. We also went through a town called Mecca and I wondered what connection to the famous Arabian city had prompted the naming^7,8.

Also, as I was reading the book, I encountered fresh Yellow Barhi dates at the Berkeley farmers market. I had never seen fresh dates up close and personal (the view from the bottom of a palm being the closest I had come to them before) and I had no idea you could eat them before they were completely brown. The sign in the photo from the market says "Traditionally served when half yellow and half soft." Before I purchased the branch in the photo below, I tasted one that was indeed half yellow and half soft: it was a revelation. Sweet, but not as sweet as a fully dried one, the date retained a bit of crunch and had a hint of coconut.

fresh Yellow Barhi dates (Khalal stage)
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

It has taken my dates longer than I expected to reach the half yellow & half soft stage (called partially-rutab, where rutab is the final, soft stage⁹), but now they have finally started to do so and I appreciate that they are going slowly, so I get a couple a day ready to enjoy.

Fairchild introduced many types of fruit to the US (though his personal favorite, the mangosteen, never took hold here), so it was easy to decide to make a fruit salad (macedonia) for my breakfast (colazione) with fruit we eat because of his and his department's work and that is available now at the farmers market: Asian pear (pera asiatica), watermelon (cocomero), fig (fico), besides dates. Fairchild also tried to introduce the cashew tree, but domestic production never took hold, though consumption of cashew nuts (anacardi) did.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Fruit salad with fresh dates

Ingredients (serves 1):

Half an Asian pear
A wedge of watermelon (Orchid variety in my case)
1 fig (Turkish brown in my case: Fairchild introduced the Calimyrna fig)
2 fresh Bahri dates, half yellow and half soft OR two soft dates
1 teaspoon cashew butter (Chunky Almond, Cashew & Coconut Nut Butter¹⁰ in my case) diluted with 1 teaspoon water OR a drizzle of lime juice

If possible, choose all organic fruit.

Cut the Asian pear and watermelon into bite-sized pieces. Peel the fig and cut it into 6 pieces.

Cut the dates lengthwise, remove the pit and slice crosswise. Place all the fruit in a small bowl.

Drizzle the diluted nut butter (or lime juice) on the fruit and toss gently. Enjoy!

Best post-run breakfast ever, or delicious dessert.

The photo above shows the version with fully ripe dates and lime juice.

¹ The book introduction on the author's website
² Articles talking about the book: on the Smithsonian website, on the NPR website, and an interview with Daniel Stone on CBS
³ This post includes recipes directly connected to the Kampong, the Fairchilds' home in Florida
⁴ The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden website
⁵ From Flying Disc farm in Thermal, CA
⁶ Fairchild's article Our Plant Immigrants published on the National Geographic Magazine in April 1906
⁷ This article on the NPR website contains some information on the establishment of date palms in the Coachella Valley of Southern California
⁸ Mecca, CA on wikipedia
⁹ This photo of Bahri dates shows the stages
¹⁰ The Cashew and You (article on the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden website)
11 I tasted the Chunky Almond, Cashew & Coconut Nut Butter from Ground Up at a farmers' market I visited while in Portland and fell in love with it. (Disclaimer: I have no business relationship with the company, Ground Up)

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

macedonia di frutta con datteri freschi

or launch the macedonia di frutta con datteri freschi 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.]

This 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.

This is also my second contribution to the 37th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 12 years ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

And I am contributing my fruit salad also to Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Cook the Books club co-host Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.

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.

Asian pear, watermelon, fig, dates, fruit, breakfast

pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts / banana in padella e noci di macadamia

January 31, 2019 | Simona

pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts / IMG_1631

crunchy, soft and sweet

I read the novel Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers¹ by Sara Ackerman, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, in just a few days: the story is interesting, at the level both of the individual characters and of the historical background. To the tragedies of World War II and of the internment of Japanese-Americans, the novel, set on the Big Island of Hawaii, adds the personal tragedies of Violet, whose husband disappeared a year before the story starts, and of their daughter, Ella, whose distress hints at a devastating secret she cannot share.

The title refers to the soldiers stationed on the Big Island (who in the course of the story are sent to fight on Iwo Jima) and the pies Violet and her friends bake and sell to said soldiers, some of whom will play a large role in their lives.

Against the backdrop of war, most people try to live each day with hope, purpose and empathy. Violet is also determined to find out what happened to her husband. A character one would not expect in the novel is Roscoe, a lion and the soldiers' mascot, with whom Ella develops a special relationship.

The point of view alternates between Violet to Ella, which gives texture to the narration (my one quibble here being that Ella's language often feels more appropriate to an older person). I let myself be transported to what is one of my favorite places in the world.

When I think about my visits to the Big Island, one vivid memory is that of tropical fruit (frutta tropicale). A tray of it, including a bunch of small ripe bananas, always awaits us in the kitchen of the place where we stay².

apple bananas

I immediately fell for the small, sweet bananas called apple bananas³, whereas it took me some time to warm up to macadamia nuts. Tasting freshly roasted and lightly salted fresh macadamia nuts at the farmers' market finally made me a convert: they are so good, they are addictive.

A steady supply of apple bananas and macadamia nuts made me think about a possible dessert combining the two. A minimal kitchen made sure I kept it simple.

Cavendish banana and store-bought macadamia nuts

On the mainland I replicated the recipe with regular bananas (Cavendish) and roasted Hawaiian macadamia nuts with a touch of sea salt that I found at the local store. I close my eyes and as I eat, I dream of the Big Island.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts

Ingredients (per portion):

Half a medium banana or one apple banana
A few macadamia nuts, previously roasted and with a touch of sea salt added
A small amount of coconut oil or other fat of choice

Slice the banana not less than 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick. Finely chop the macadamia nuts and set them aside.

Warm up a small cast-iron skillet on medium heat, then add the oil and make sure there is a thin film all around (you don't want the banana to stick to the pan nor to be drenched in oil).

Distribute the banana slices in the skillet and turn down the heat to medium-low. After a couple of minutes, gently flip the slices. The goal is to get a thin caramelized layer. After a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and transfer the slices onto a serving plate.

Sprinkle the chopped nuts on them. Serve immediately.

the original, prepared on the Big Island (archive photo)

When I shared the recipe with two local young men (our guides for a pre-dawn hike), one of them suggested to add a bit of honey (miele). Local honey, another product you can find at the farmers' market is excellent. For me personally the recipe is sweet enough as is, but I leave the suggestion on the table in case you want to try.

¹ The book's website
² You can see some photos of Hawaiian fruit in some of my older posts: from 2010, 2012 and 2014
³ Some information on apple bananas

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

banana in padella e noci di macadamia

or launch the banana in padella e noci di macadamia 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.]

This 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.

dessert, banana, apple banana, macadamia nuts, dessert, Hawaiian food

recipe: pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts

January 31, 2019 | Simona

Pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 minutes

Keywords: pan-fry breakfast dessert snack gluten-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan banana macadamia nuts fruit dessert

Ingredients (serves 1)

Half a medium banana or one apple banana
A few macadamia nuts, previously roasted and with a touch of sea salt added
A small amount of coconut oil or other fat of choice

Instructions

Slice the banana not less than 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick. Finely chop the macadamia nuts and set them aside.

Warm up a small cast-iron skillet on medium heat, then add the oil and make sure there is a thin film all around (you don’t want the banana to stick to the pan nor to be drenched in oil).

Sprinkle the chopped nuts on them. Serve immediately.

Go to the full post on Pan-fried banana with macadamia nuts

cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta, raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce / tagliatelle al cacao con ricotta, salsa di lamponi e salsa di cioccolato

August 9, 2015 | Simona

cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce / IMG_3530

pasta for dessert

Author Patricia V. Davis is writing a trilogy set on the Queen Mary¹, the retired ocean liner moored in the harbor of Long Beach, CA. In anticipation of the first book of The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy², titled Cooking for Ghosts and Lost Lovers, Patricia has launched a contest that runs until August 15. The idea is to prepare a personal interpretation of one of two dishes that appear in the book: Cristiano's Spiced Shrimp Rohini or Angela's Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Tarts.

I thought about various ways of deconstructing the dessert and created this recipe. If I were the pastry chef at the Secret Spice Cafe, this would be my raspberry chocolate specialty, something rather surprising — though knowing that I am Italian, the guests would understand.

cocoa pasta dough

The dessert is composed of four elements:

cocoa tagliatelle
ricotta, which I make at home³
raspberry coulis
chocolate sauce

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce

The recipe makes two portions.

Ingredients for the cocoa pasta:

1 tablespoon / 7 g unsweetened cocoa (cacao amaro)
80 g all-purpose flour + more as needed
1 large egg (no less than 2.2 ounces / 62 g)

Ingredients for the raspberry coulis (see Note #1 below):

12 ounces / 340 g fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon / 12 g ultra-fine or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon / 5 ml fresh lemon juice

Ingredients for the chocolate sauce (see Note #2 below):

75 ml heavy whipping cream
50 ml non-fat milk
3 tablespoons / 1 1/2 ounces / 42 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces / 115 g good quality chocolate 70%, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml vanilla extract
1/16 teaspoon fine sea salt

Additionally:

70 g / 2 1/2 ounces fresh ricotta, possibly homemade

Important: I listed the ingredients and provided the instructions following the order of the recipe name. However, both the raspberry coulis and the chocolate sauce can be prepared before the pasta and refrigerated until ready to use.

Note #1: these quantities make more than necessary for the pasta and you can halve them. My thought is that, since you are going through the effort of straining the puréed raspberries to obtain a smooth sauce, you may as well make a nice batch. You will certainly find ways of using it.

Note #2: these quantities make more than necessary for the pasta. However, the sauce keeps in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks and you can find ways of using it within that time. This chocolate sauce was derived from a recipe by David Lebovitz⁴.

How to make the cocoa tagliatelle
Weigh the flour and cocoa in a bowl and stir them with a metal whisk until the cocoa is well dispersed, then add the egg and mix into a cohesive dough, first with a fork and then with your hands.

Empty the bowl onto a kneading board (scraping the container well) and start kneading the dough with your hands.

Add a bit more flour if needed to obtain a dough that is not sticky, but should not feel hard when kneaded. Knead for 8-10 minutes, folding the dough on itself towards you and pushing it away from you with the heels of your hands in a fluid motion that should feel relaxed and meditative. Cover well (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), and let rest for about an hour.

Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces, flatten both with a rolling pin and then roll with a pasta machine until you are down to the last but one notch. Sprinkle the dough with all-purpose flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Let the rolled dough rest for a short while. Sprinkle the dough with a bit of all-purpose flour, then cut each piece into tagliatelle (long strips that are 1/4-inch / 6 mm wide) with the machine attachment or by hand. In the latter case, fold a 3-inch strip of pasta lengthwise away from you. Continue to fold the strip until the entire pasta sheet is folded into a flattened roll. With a sharp knife, cut across the flattened roll. Immediately unfold the cut tagliatelle.

Lay out the tagliatelle in such a way that they don’t stick to each other until you are ready to cook them.

How to make the raspberry coulis
Place raspberries in a bowl and add and sugar. Stir well and let sit for half an hour or so. Process the raspberries briefly with an immersion blender. Press through a fine-mesh strainer, using a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard seeds.

In a saucepan, bring raspberry sauce to a simmer and maintain for 8 minutes or so to reduce it. Remove from the heat, let cool a bit, then add the lemon juice and stir well.

Can be prepared in advance, and, once cooled, refrigerated in a lidded container.

How to make the chocolate sauce
In a small saucepan, warm up the cream, milk and butter until the fluid begins to steam.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, vanilla, and salt, stirring until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth. It will take a little while, so be patient and keep stirring. The chocolate aroma will make this a pleasant task.

Can be prepared in advance. Once the sauce reaches room temperature, pour it in a glass jar, place the lid on and store in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. Warm up the amount of the sauce you need by putting it in a jar or ramekin and placing it in a pan of very hot water.

How to cook and dress the cocoa tagliatelle
Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Since the pasta takes only a short time to cook, prepare the sauces just before tossing it into the boiling water.

Place 1 1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml of chocolate sauce in a ramekin and gently heat until the sauce melts. I do this by heating up in a small saucepan enough water so that I can immerse the ramekin in it without having the water come up its rim. Immerse the ramekin in the water and remove the pan from the heat. Stir as the sauce melts.

Place 3 tablespoons / 45 ml of raspberry coulis in a ramekin and gently heat to lukewarm. I do this in the microwave set to defrost checking often.

Prepare the ricotta as the water comes to a boil. I like to think about this dessert as shared by a couple and given that it is eaten warm, I dress it and toss it in a serving bowl, then plate it and serve immediately. Put the ricotta in a bowl and mash it with a fork to make a cream. If it is on the dry side, add to it a teaspoon or so of the pasta cooking water.

Add some coarse salt to the boiling water, stir and then toss the tagliatelle in it. Bring water back to boiling and keep it there. The time needed to cook the tagliatelle is only a few minutes, so don’t wander away.

When the pasta is ready, remove from the heat, pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and then drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water clinging to it. Toss pasta and ricotta. For the presentation, arrange pasta in a nest shape, pour raspberry sauce in the center, then make a ribbon all around it with the chocolate sauce. Toss well before serving.

If you prefer, divide the ricotta into two bowls and proceed as above, but diving the ingredients between the two bowls and repeating the steps for each one.

cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta, raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce/ IMG_3527

the view from above

I enjoyed making pasta with cocoa, and you will see another version in the next post: stay tuned.

As mentioned at the beginning, this recipe was inspired by, and developed for, the recipe contest organized by Patricia V. Davis. The contest is open until August 15. Details are available on the Secret Spice Cafe's Facebook page.

¹ Wikipedia: The Queen Mary
² Cooking for Ghosts and Lost Lovers web page
³ One of the posts in which I talk about making ricotta
⁴ Recipe for Salted Butter Chocolate Sauce by David Lebovitz

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

tagliatelle al cacao con ricotta, salsa di lamponi e salsa di cioccolato

or launch the tagliatelle al cacao con ricotta, salsa di lamponi e salsa di cioccolato 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.]

cocoa pasta, noodles, ricotta, raspberries, chocolate, Italian cuisine

recipe: cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta, raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce

August 8, 2015 | Simona

cocoa tagliatelle ricotta raspberry coulis chocolate sauce

Cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta, raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: pasta: 10 minutes + resting time; coulis: 15 minutes; sauce: 10 minutes

Cook Time: pasta: a few minutes; coulis: 8-10 minutes

Keywords: boil pasta dessert vegetarian nut-free egg flour ricotta Italian

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For the cocoa pasta

1 tablespoon / 7 g unsweetened cocoa
80 g all-purpose flour + more as needed
1 large egg (no less than 2.2 ounces / 62 g)

For the raspberry coulis (see Note #1 below)

12 ounces / 340 g fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon / 12 g ultra-fine or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon / 5 ml fresh lemon juice

For the chocolate sauce (see Note #2 below)

75 ml heavy whipping cream
50 ml non-fat milk
3 tablespoons / 1 1/2 ounces / 42 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces / 115 g good quality chocolate 70%, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml vanilla extract
1/16 teaspoon fine sea salt

Additionally

70 g / 2 1/2 ounces fresh ricotta, possibly homemade

Instructions

How to make the cocoa tagliatelle

Weigh the flour and cocoa in a bowl and stir them with a metal whisk until the cocoa is well dispersed, then add the egg and mix into a cohesive dough, first with a fork and then with your hands.

Empty the bowl onto a kneading board (scraping the container well) and start kneading the dough with your hands.

Sprinkle the dough with a bit of all-purpose flour, then cut each piece into tagliatelle (long strips that are 1/4-inch / 6 mm wide) with the machine attachment or by hand. In the latter case, fold a 3-inch strip of pasta lengthwise away from you. Continue to fold the strip until the entire pasta sheet is folded into a flattened roll. With a sharp knife, cut across the flattened roll. Immediately unfold the cut tagliatelle.

Lay out the tagliatelle in such a way that they don’t stick to each other until you are ready to cook them.

How to make the raspberry coulis

Place raspberries in a bowl and add and sugar. Stir well and let sit for half an hour or so. Process the raspberries briefly with an immersion blender. Press through a fine-mesh strainer, using a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard seeds.

In a saucepan, bring raspberry sauce to a simmer and maintain for 8 minutes or so to reduce it. Remove from the heat, let cool a bit, then add the lemon juice and stir well.

Can be prepared in advance, and, once cooled, refrigerated in a lidded container.

How to make the chocolate sauce

In a small saucepan, warm up the cream, milk and butter until the fluid begins to steam.

How to cook and dress the cocoa tagliatelle

Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Since the pasta takes only a short time to cook, prepare the sauces just before tossing it into the boiling water.

Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of chocolate sauce in a ramekin and gently heat until the sauce melts. I do this by heating up in a small saucepan enough water so that I can immerse the ramekin in it without having the water come up its rim. Immerse the ramekin in the water and remove the pan from the heat. Stir as the sauce melts.

Place 3 tablespoons of raspberry coulis in a ramekin and gently heat to lukewarm. I do this in the microwave set to defrost checking often.

Prepare the ricotta as the water comes to a boil. I like to think about this dessert as shared by a couple and given that it is eaten warm, I dress it and toss it in a serving bowl, then plate it and serve immediately. Put the ricotta in a bowl and mash it with a fork to make a cream. If it is on the dry side, add to it a teaspoon or so of the pasta cooking water.

Add some coarse salt to the boiling water, stir and then toss the tagliatelle in it. Bring water back to boiling and keep it there. The time needed to cook the tagliatelle is a few minutes, so don’t wander away.

When the pasta is ready, remove from the heat, pour a glass of cold water in the pot, stir and then drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water clinging to it. Toss pasta and ricotta. For the presentation, arrange pasta in a nest shape, pour raspberry sauce in the center, then make a ribbon all around it with the chocolate sauce. Toss well before serving.

If you prefer, divide the ricotta into two bowls and proceed as above, but diving the ingredients between the two bowls and repeating the steps for each one.

Go to the full post on cocoa tagliatelle with ricotta, raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce / tagliatelle al cacao con ricotta, salsa di lamponi e salsa di cioccolato

crostata di arance / orange tart

February 15, 2015 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

a flavorful flower
(place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO)

Cara Cara oranges¹ from the farmers' market and an invitation to a potluck inspired this crostata. The success led to encores. Citrus season (la stagione degli agrumi) is the perfect time to make this tart, which brings the sun to your table, regardless of what the thermometer says.

Choose sweet, flavorful oranges. Their juicy freshness contrasts the buttery crust. The peach preserves offers another layer of flavor and texture. There is enough sweetness to please the palate without overwhelming it.

In the photos, the tart rests on my glass serving plate on an elegant place mat by la FABBRICA del LINO.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Orange 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
A pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon grated zest of organic orange
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

For the filling:

1 cup / 240 ml peach preserves (see Note 3)
3 Cara Cara oranges, or other sweet variety, possibly organic

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 peach 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 (2nd through 5th ingredient in the list) 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 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 (2nd through 5th ingredient above) 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 zest 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 orange layer
Rinse well and dry the oranges.

Either peel and set aside the peel to candy it or zest the oranges and freeze the zest for future use, then peel the oranges. Basically, don't throw away something that can be used. Cut oranges into 1/4 inch / 6 mm slices. Depending on the size of the oranges, you may not need all the slices, but prepare them and you can always snack on the leftover slices. Cut all but one slice in half crosswise. Choose a nice one, since it will be the center of the tart.

Remove the white center core from all the slices. Place slices in a bowl and every now and then drain the juice that collects at the bottom and save it.

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 fridge 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.

Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around. Prick the shell with a fork in several places. Refrigerate. After 15 minutes or so, preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

ready for the oven

How to bake the crostata
Take the unbaked shell out of the refrigerator. With the help of a spatula evenly distribute the peach preserves on it to create a thin layer.

Put the crostata in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until the border is golden.

Remove the tart from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack. If you have 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. Set aside.

How to finish the crostata
Shortly before serving the crostata, pour the orange juice into a small saucepan and reduce it to half over low heat.

Distribute the orange slices on the crostata. I start from the outer border and make circles of half slices until I reach the center, where I place the whole slice. Use quarter slices to fill in gaps here and there. With a pastry brush, paint the reduced orange juice on the surface.

Slice delicately and serve.

Serves 10-12.

The tart is best eaten the day it is made.

this slice is for you
(place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO & handmade wood cake server)

¹ Cara Cara oranges on wikipedia

FTC disclosure: I have received the place mat free of charge from the manufacturer. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting them on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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

crostata di arance

or launch the crostata di arance 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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tart, fruit dessert, orange, crostata, Italian cuisine

crostata di arance

come un fiore
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)

Arance a polpa rossa dal farmers' market e un invito ad una festa hanno ispirato questa crostata. Il suo successo mi ha spinto a replicare diverse volte. La stagione degli agrumi è il momento giusto per preparare questa crostata che porta il sole a tavola indipendentemente da quello che dicono le previsioni del tempo.

Scegliete arance dolci e ricche di sapore. La loro succulenza contrasta con la base burrosa. La conserva di pesche contribuisce un altro strato di sapore. C'è abbastanza dolcezza da soddisfare il palato senza sovraccaricarlo.

Nelle foto, la crostata è posata su un piatto da portata di vetro sopra una tovaglietta de la FABBRICA del LINO.

Ingredienti:

Per la pasta frolla:

65 g zucchero fine o a velo
60 g farina integrale per torte
65 g farina 00 per dolci
30 g farina d'orzo integrale oppure 30 g farina 00 per dolci
30 g farina di mandorle
un pizzico di sale
1/4 cucchiaino buccia grattugiata di arancia bio
85 g burro freddo non salato tagliato a pezzetti
un uovo codice 0, leggermente sbattuto per mescolare albume e tuorlo

Per il ripieno:

una tazza / 240 ml confettura di pesche, possibilmente fatta in casa (vedi Nota 1 sotto)
3 arance dolci e ricche di sapore, di medie dimensioni, possibilmente bio (vedi Nota 2 sotto)

Nota 1: io utilizzo la mia marmellata di pesche a basso contenuto di zucchero. Vi raccomando di utilizzare un prodotto di qualità che contenga soprattutto frutta (piuttosto che zucchero).

Nota 2: A seconda delle dimensioni delle arance, potreste non utilizzarle tutte, ma è meglio avere qualche fettina di arancia che avanza che non averne abbastanza. Potete sempre godervi uno snack alla frutta.

Fare la pasta frolla
Mettere zucchero e farine nel robot e pulsare alcune volte. Aggiungere il burro e pulsare un po' di volte per 3 secondi per sabbiare. Vuotare il contenitore del robot sulla superficie di lavoro.

[Se non avete il robot, lavorare il burro nel misto di farine e zucchero con le dita.]

Disporre gli ingredienti a fontana e versare l'uovo nel centro. Incorporarlo con una forchetta e poi con le dita.

Lavorare l'impasto solo fino a quando si forma un composto coeso. Se necessario, usare un pochino di farina 00 per infarinare le mani.

Formare un disco piatto di 2,5 cm di spessore e avvolgerlo nella pellicola. Far riposare la pasta frolla in frigorifero per almeno due ore. Io di solito la preparo di sera e poi la utilizzo il giorno dopo.

Preparare le arance
Lavare e asciugare le arance.

Sbucciare le arance e mettere da parte la scorza per candirla, oppure grattugiare la buccia e congelare per usarla al bisogno, poi sbucciare le arance. Insomma, non scartare questa parte della frutta senza utilizzarla.

Tagliare le arance a fettine spesse 6 mm. Tagliarle poi a metà (a mezzaluna) tranne una. Scegliere una carina dal momento che sarà al centro della crostata.

Rimuovere il filamento bianco al centro delle fettine. Mettere le fettine in una ciotola e ogni tanto scolare il succo che si raccoglie sul fondo e metterlo da parte.

Preparare la base della crostata
Per cuocere la crostata consiglio di usare una teglia per quiche (col bordo scanalato) di 23-24 cm di diametro, alta 2,5 cm e col fondo che si separa dal bordo.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la pasta frolla. Potete stendere la pasta su un pezzo di carta da forno o sulla pellicola in cui era avvolta. Questo rende poi più facile trasferirla sulla teglia.

Infarinare leggermente la superficie della pasta frolla e la superficie su cui la stendete. Tenere a portata di mano un poco di farina per infarinare al bisogno.

Se la pasta frolla è dura, premerla con il matterello cominciando dal centro del disco. Muovere il matterello di una larghezza e premere di nuovo. Ruotare la pasta frolla di 90 gradi e ripetere. Quando si è ammorbidita abbastanza, cominciare a stenderla con delicatezza fino ad uno spessore di 3 mm.

Trasferire la pasta frolla sulla teglia e premerla tutt'intorno in modo che il fondo sia ben coperto. Se usate carta da forno o pellicola, rovesciare la pasta frolla sulla teglia e rimuovere il supporto con delicatezza.

Tagliare la pasta frolla in eccesso intorno al bordo ed utilizzarla dove non ce n'è abbastanza o per formare un bordo di larghezza uniforme. Dovrebbe avanzare solo una piccola quantità di pasta frolla che potete utilizzare per fare il bordo più spesso o un paio di frollini.

Punzecchiare il fondo con i rebbi di una forchetta in diversi punti. Mettere in frigorifero.

la base con la marmellata prima della cottura

Cuocere la crostata
Attendere 15 minuti e poi scaldare il forno a 177 C.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la base di pasta frolla e con l'aiuto di una spatola, distribuire su di essa in modo uniforme la marmellata di pesche formando uno strato sottile.

Infornare e cuocere per 40-45 minuti, fino a quando il bordo sia dorato.

Sfornare e far raffreddare leggermente su una griglia. Se avete usato una teglia col fondo che si separa, staccare il bordo.

Far raffreddare ancora un po' sulla griglia, poi con l'aiuto di una spatola larga, far scivolare la crostata su un piatto da portata. Mettere da parte.

Completare la crostata
Mezz'ora prima di servire la crostata, versare il succo d'arancia in un pentolino e, a fuoco basso, ridurlo a metà.

Distribuire le fettine di arancia sulla marmellata per creare lo strato superiore. Io comincio dal bordo esterno e faccio cerchi concentrici di mezze fettine verso il centro, dove pongo la fettina intera. Utilizzare quarti di fettine qua e là per riempire spazi.

Tagliarla con cura e servirla.

10-12 porzioni

La crostata è al meglio il giorno che viene fatta.

questa fettina è per te
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO & spatola di legno fatta a mano)

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto la tovaglietta gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice. Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarla sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

crostata con crema all’aceto / vinegar tart

December 2, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Italianized vinegar pie on Italian linen (from La FABBRICA del LINO)

Bob Dollar, the protagonist of That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx, which is the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, is a shy man confused about his place in the world, who finds himself transplanted in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, a place full of interesting characters and rich in local customs and stories, a sliver of America in space and time.

The states of Texas and Oklahoma stacked like dirty pots in the sink, their handles touching. The same obelisks of sunlight fell on both sides of the state line, both shared out the same cold cuts of wind. Both lay in country of metallic light, tarnished brass clouds.

Bob's secret mission is to buy land so the company he works for can establish an industrial hog farm. Many of the same people that show Bob kindness oppose the hog farm which would pollute the air, the land and their dreams, a nightmare (incubo) from which there is no waking up.

Bob is a gentle, lost soul: he must live with the fact that the two people who should have loved him best, that should have supported and encouraged him and been there for him as he was growing up, abandoned him like an unnecessary piece of luggage. This is like Bob's personal hog farm: a nightmare from which he tries to wake up and make something out of his life.

To fulfill his assignment, Bob settles in a rough bunkhouse in Woolybucket and helps out at Cy Frease's Old Dog Cafe. Cy runs the Cafe in his own way:

Every other Saturday he drove down to Austin to shop at Whole Foods.
"Cowboys deserve to eat wholesome too," he said, opening himself to criticism (not long in coming) that he was a health food nut and probably a left-wing liberal if not a Communist.
He had a steady clientele of older men because he included on the menu eight or ten favorites from the Depression days when they had been boys and their tastes set: vinegar pie, cocoa gravy over biscuits, fried salt pork, and for the old cowboys, son-of-a-bitch stew.

Vinegar pie? The name seemed to describe a paradox, so I looked for more information and some recipes and then created my own version, which is not a pie, but a crostata (Italian tart), whose crust is made of pasta frolla (tart dough) and whose filling, the part where I kept closer to the tradition, is a vinegar-flavored cream.

It sounds strange and I was quite skeptical the first time I prepared it. The taste and texture, however, were a pleasant surprise: The apple cider vinegar (aceto di sidro di mele) makes the creamy filling's flavor sparkle and complements the buttery crust. The result is a tart that tastes like nothing else and certainly deserved a place on the Old Dog Cafe's menu.

After choosing the filling of this recipe from Gourmet as my main guide, I played a bit with the ingredients and this is the version I settled on. In the photos, the tart rests on my glass serving plate on an elegant place mat by la FABBRICA del LINO (Margherite collection).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Vinegar 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
A pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon grated zest of organic orange or lemon
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

For the filling:

2 large egg (possibly from pastured poultry)
50 g ultrafine OR granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon Lebkuchen spices or alternative spice mix (see Note 3)
50 g golden brown sugar OR 50 g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn flour
225 ml / 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml apple cider vinegar

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: Lebkuchengewürz is a spice mix used in Germany to make Lebkuchen. There are many versions of this mix, which contains mostly cinnamon and a variety of other spices. The one I use includes, besides cinnamon, coriander, star anise, orange and lemon zest, nutmeg, fennel, cloves and cardamom. You can substitute it with some pumpkin pie spice mix (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace and cloves) or a mix of cinnamon, ginger and a hint of nutmeg.

How to make the pasta frolla
Put sugar, flours (2nd through 5th ingredient n the list) 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 until the mix resembles coarse meal. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface.

Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the egg and zest 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.

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, no less than 1 inch / 2.5 cm high.

Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge 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.

Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan and use it, as necessary, where you find that you came up short. Make sure the dough comes well up to the edge all around and even a bit higher, as the filling is liquid when poured into the baked shell and it will fill it to the brim.

How to blind-bake the shell
Heat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Take the unbaked shell out of the refrigerator. Line it with a piece of parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights.

Bake the shell for 20 minutes, then take it out and remove the parchment paper with the pie weights. Bake for another 10 minutes, then take out of the oven and set aside.

While the shell bakes, prepare the filling.

How to make the filling
Whisk eggs and first amount of sugar in a bowl until bubbly. Sprinkle spices and whisk briefly to incorporate them.

Whisk together corn flour and second amount of sugar in a saucepan, then whisk in water and vinegar. Bring to a boil, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat. Add liquid to the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

Pour filling into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it reaches 175 F /80 C or coats the back of the spoon (the photo above shows that the line stays clear when I draw my finger across). Do not let the filling boil. Place the saucepan into a cold water bath and stir briefly. Take saucepan out of the cold water bath. If the shell is not yet ready, cover the surface of the filling with a piece of wax paper.

How to fill and bake the crostata
Make sure the oven is at 350 F / 177 C.

Pour the filling slowly into the baked tart shell and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, or until the filling is set. After the first 20 minutes, or earlier if needed, cover the rim of the shell with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Remove the tart from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack. If you have 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 it is completely cool before slicing and serving.

Serves 10-12.

Would you like a slice of my tart?
(place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO & handmade wood cake server)

I made this tart a few times to finess the recipe, including on Thanksgiving Day. Traditional? I don't know, but I know that it was welcome on our Holiday table.

the view from above in delicate sepia tone
(place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO & handmade wood cake server)

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.)

The roundup of the event.

If you are interested in joining us in the future, this post introduces the four book selections for the upcoming eight months.

The photo is my contribution to edition #152 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 Aparna of Stories from the Mahe Coast.

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

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

I contribute my vinegar tart also to the 13th 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. M like Minneapolis (USA) is hosted by me, Simona of briciole.

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

crostata con crema all'aceto

or launch the crostata con crema all'aceto 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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tart, crostata, vinegar, egg, Italian cuisine, American cuisine

crostata con crema all'aceto

"vinegar pie" italianizzata (su tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)

La mia versione di questo dolce tradizionale americano è una crostata con la base di pasta frolla ripiena di crema aromatizzata all'aceto. Scetticismo è stata anche la mia reazione la prima volta che ho letto il nome, ma poi mi sono dovuta ricredere: è davvero buono.

Nelle foto, la crostata è posata su un piatto da portata di vetro sopra un'elegante tovaglietta de la FABBRICA del LINO (collezione Margherite).

Ingredienti:

Per la pasta frolla:

65 g zucchero fine o a velo
60 g farina integrale per torte
65 g farina 00 per dolci
30 g farina d'orzo integrale oppure 30 g farina 00 per dolci
30 g farina di mandorle
un pizzico di sale
1/4 cucchiaino buccia grattugiata di arancia o limone bio
85 g burro freddo non salato tagliato a pezzetti
un uovo codice 0, leggermente sbattuto per mescolare albume e tuorlo

Per il ripieno:

2 uova codice 0
50 g zucchero fine o granulato
1/8 cucchiaino spezie per Lebkuchen o misto spezie alternativo (vedi Nota sotto)
50 g zucchero di canna biondo o zucchero semolato
1 cucchiaio farina di mais finissima (fumetto)
225 ml acqua fredda
1 cucchiaio e mezzo / 22,5 ml aceto di sidro di mele

Nota: Lebkuchengewürz è un misto di spezie (che si trova già pronto) tra le quali prevale la cannella. Ce ne sono molte versioni Quello che uso per questa ricetta contiene anche coriandolo, anice stellato, scorza d'arancia e limone, noce moscata, finocchio, chiodi di garofano e cardamomo. Potete sostituirlo con in misto di cannella, zenzero e un pochino di noce moscata.

[Se non avete il robot, lavorare il burro nel misto di farine e zucchero con le dita.]

Disporre gli ingredienti a fontana e versare l'uovo nel centro. Incorporarlo con una forchetta e poi con le dita.

Lavorare l'impasto solo fino a quando si forma un composto coeso. Se necessario, usare un pochino di farina 00 per infarinare le mani.

Preparare la base della crostata
Per cuocere la crostata consiglio di usare una teglia per quiche (col bordo scanalato) di 23-24 cm di diametro, alta almeno 2,5 cm e col fondo che si separa dal bordo.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la pasta frolla. Potete stendere la pasta su un pezzo di carta da forno o sulla pellicola in cui era avvolta. Questo rende poi più facile trasferirla sulla teglia.

Infarinare leggermente la superficie della pasta frolla e la superficie su cui la stendete. Tenere a portata di mano un poco di farina per infarinare al bisogno.

Punzecchiare il fondo con i rebbi di una forchetta in diversi punti. Mettere in frigorifero mentre preparate il forno.

Cuocere in bianco la base della crostata
Scaldare il forno a 177 C.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la teglia. Coprire la pasta frolla con un pezzo di carta da forno o di alluminio e distribuire sulla superficie i pesi da pasticceria (vedi foto sopra).

Infornare e cuocere per 20 minuti, poi sfornare e tirare via la carta o alluminio con i pesi. Infornare e cuocere per altri 10 minuti, poi sfornare e mettere da parte.

Mentre la base cuoce in forno, preparare il ripieno.

Preparare il ripieno
In una ciotola, sbattere con la frusta le uova con la prima quantità di zucchero fino a che si formino delle bolle. Aggiungere le spezie e sbattere ancora un poco per incorporarle.

In un pentolino, mescolare la seconda quantità di zucchero e la farina di mais, poi aggiugere acqua e aceto mescolando con la frusta. Portare ad ebollizione, mescolando fino a quando sia sciolto lo zucchero. Togliere il pentolino da fuoco. Versare molto lentamente il liquido nella ciotola con le uova mescolando costantemente con la frusta.

Versare il composto nel pentolino e scaldarlo su fiamma bassa mescolando costantemente con un cucchiaio di legno fino a quando raggiunge la temperatura di 80 C o vela il lato convesso del cucchiaio (nella foto in alto si vede che la riga tracciata dal mio dito rimane pulita). Evitare che il liquido giunga a bollore. Immergere il pentolino in acqua fredda e mescolare brevemente. Tirare fuori il pentolino dall'acqua. Se la base della crostata non è ancora pronta, coprire la superficie del ripieno con un pezzo di carta oleata.

Riempire e cuocere la crostata
Assicurarsi che il forno sia a 177 C.

Versare lentamente il ripieno nella base e infornare. Cuocere per 30 minuti o fino a quando il ripieno si sia addensato. Dopo 20 minuti, o anche prima se necessario, coprire il bordo della crostata con della pellicola di alluminio per evitare che imbrunisca.

Sfornare e far raffreddare leggermente su una griglia. Se avete usato una teglia col fondo che si separa, staccare il bordo.

Far raffreddare ancora un po' sulla griglia, poi con l'aiuto di una spatola larga, far scivolare la crostata su un piatto da portata. Fatela freddare del tutto prima di tagliarla e servirla.

10-12 porzioni

Posso offrirvi una fettina della mia crostata?
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO & spatola di legno fatta a mano)

Ho fatto questa crostata diverse volte per mettere a punto la ricetta, compreso il Giorno del Rngraziamento. Tradizionale? Non lo so, ma so che è stata molto gradita sulla tavola della festa.

Con questa ricetta partecipo alla tredicesima 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. M come Minneapolis (Stati Uniti) è ospitata da me, Simona di briciole.

crostata di pesche / peach tart

September 1, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

IMG_1807 / peach tart / crostata di pesche

a splendid sun

Through Neukom Family Farm, this summer life has been giving me a steady stream of peaches. As I eat them, I stash my sensory memory, so once the long peach-less months set in, I will close my eyes and take a large virtual bite, feel the juice flood my mouth and trickle down my hand, taste the sun in the soft flesh of the beloved sweet summer fruit.

I roasted peaches and made our family’s favorite frittata. I baked a good number of peach, berry and rhubarb cobbler. I sliced and froze several pounds for future use. I made jars of low-sugar peach preserves and, finally, made crostata — many times. Peaches are so pretty that the tart makes a visual splash even though this baker is not particularly famous for beautiful desserts.

Last year, at the San Francisco Baking Institute, we made pie crust containing also teff flour, one of my favorite gluten-free flours — the other being millet flour (farina di miglio). For my peach tart, I created a version of one of my pasta frolla (tart dough) recipes using 1/3 teff flour. Cacao-colored teff flour gives pasta frolla a warm brown tone that goes beautifully with golden peaches. The tart crust’s somewhat exotic flavor stands quite well next to the sweetness of peaches.

DSC_6081 / peach tart / crostata di pesche

the best part is sharing

The crostata has three layers: a base of pasta frolla, a thin layer of peach preserves and a pretty composition of peach slices.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Peach tart

Ingredients:

For pasta frolla:

1/3 cup / 64 g / 2 1/4 oz. ultrafine sugar or 1/2 cup powdered sugar (see Note 1)
60 g teff flour
60 g whole-grain farro or spelt flour
30 g almond flour or almond meal
30 g millet flour
A pinch of salt
5 tablespoons / 70 g / 2 1/2 oz. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg (possibly from pastured poultry), lightly whisked to blend yolk and white
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml vanilla extract of good quality
Brown rice flour, as needed for making and rolling the dough

For the filling:

1 cup / 240 ml peach preserves, possibly homemade (see Note 2)
450 g / 1 lb ripe peaches, preferably organic (see Note 3)

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: I use my homemade low-sugar peach preserves. I recommend you choose a good quality product, made with mostly fruit (rather than sugar).

Note 3: This is a bit more than you need, but it is better to have some leftover slices than not enough. You can always have a peach snack.

How to make the pasta frolla
Put sugar, flours (2nd through 5th ingredient above) and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.

Add butter and pulse a few times until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.

Empty food processor’s bowl onto your work surface.

[If you don’t have a food processor: Whisk together sugar, flours (2nd through 5th ingredient above) 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 beaten 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 brown rice flour as needed to flour your hands to prevent excessive sticking.

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 fridge 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 brown rice 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.

Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan and use it, as necessary, where you find that you came up short. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around. You will have only a small amount of dough left over, which you can use to make a thicker edge or a couple of cookies (frollini).

Prick the shell with a fork in several places. Refrigerate while you prepare the peaches and the oven.

Wait 15 minutes or so, then preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

How to fill and bake the crostata
Rinse well the peaches, quarter them, remove the stone, then cut each quarter into slices 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick.

Take the shell out of the refrigerator and with the help of a spatula evenly distribute the peach preserves on it to create a thin layer.

Arrange the peach slices on top of the preserves to make the top layer. Having tried both ways, I prefer starting from the outside and make circles until I reach the center.

Put the crostata in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, then check.

IMG_1877 / Peach tart / crostata di pesche

raw tart ready to go into the wood-fired oven (forno a legna)

The crostata is ready when the border is golden brown. If necessary, put the crostata back in the oven and check it again after two minutes. Repeat the last step as needed. In my oven, the baking takes 42 minutes.

Remove the crostata from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack. If you have 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 it is completely cool before slicing and serving.

Serves 10-12.

playing with textures

I shared this tart with a good number of friends and they all liked it. It is a pleasure to bring to the table, a way to honor the good fruit that goes into it. It is rich, but a slice, brilliant and bursting with flavor, goes a long way to satisfy the senses.

Organic peaches from my CSA share and egg from a local farm make my tart perfect for the Shop Local Food Blogging Challenge organized by Elizabeth of Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary.

The roundup of the event.

The monochromatic photo is my contribution to edition #141 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 Susan.

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

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

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

crostata di pesche

or launch the crostata di pesche 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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tart, fruit dessert, peach, crostata, Italian cuisine

crostata di pesche

un sole stilizzato

Grazie a Neukom Family Farm, questa estate ho avuto molte pesche da gustare e serbare nella memoria dei sensi per i mesi durante i quali il loro sapore sarà un dolce ricordo.

Ho cotto pesche nel forno per fare la frittata. Ho preparato un buon numero di cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro. Ne ho affettare e surgelate un paio di chili. Ho preparato vasetti di conserva di pesche a basso contenuto di zucchero e infine ho fatto questa crostata — un bel po’ di volte. Le pesche sono così belle che la crostata è uno spettacolo, anche se io non sono famosa per fare bei dolci.

L’anno scorso al San Francisco Baking Institute, preparammo una base per pie contenente anche farna di teff, una delle mie farine senza glutine preferite (l’altra è quella di miglio). Per la mia crostata di pesche ho creato una versione di una delle mie ricette per pasta frolla contenente 1/3 di farina di teff (seme piccolissimo che viene dal Corno d’Africa). Questa farina color cacao done alla pasta frolla un colore marrone delicato che si abbina bene alle pesche dorate. La crosta ha un sapore un po’ esotico che esalta la dolcezza delle pesche.

condividere è bello

La crostata ha tre strati: la base di pasta frolla, uno strato sottile di conserva di pesche e uno strato di fettine di pesche disposte a cerchi concentrici.

Ingredienti per la pasta frolla:

60-65 g zucchero fine o a velo
60 g farina di teff
60 g farina integrale di farro per dolci
30 g farina di miglio
30 g farina di mandorle
un pizzico di sale
70 g burro freddo non salato tagliato a pezzetti
un uovo codice 0, leggermente sbattuto per mescolare albume e tuorlo
1/2 cucchiaino di estratto di vaniglia
farina integrale di riso, q.b. per impastare e stendere la pasta frolla

Ingredienti per il ripieno:

una tazza / 240 ml confettura di pesche, possibilmente fatta in casa (vedi Nota 1 sotto)
450 g pesche, possibilmente bio (vedi Nota 2 sotto)

Nota 1: io utilizzo la mia marmellata di pesche a basso contenuto di zucchero. Vi raccomando di utilizzare un prodotto di qualità che contenga soprattutto frutta (piuttosto che zucchero).

Nota 2: questa quantità è un po’ più di quanto ne avete bisogno, ma è meglio avere qualche fettina di pesca che avanza che non averne abbastanza. Potete sempre godervi uno snack alla frutta.

Fare la pasta frolla
Mettere zucchero e farine (numer 2-5 nella lista degli ingredienti) nel robot e pulsare alcune volte.

Aggiungere il burro e pulsare un po’ di volte per diversi secondi per sabbiare.

Vuotare il contenitore del robot sulla superficie di lavoro.

[Se non avete il robot, lavorare il burro nel misto di farine e zucchero con le dita.]

Disporre gli ingredienti a fontana e versare l’uovo e l’estratto di vaniglia nel centro. Incorporare gli ingredienti liquidi e solidi con una forchetta e poi con le dita.

Lavorare l’impasto solo fino a quando si forma un composto coeso. Utilizzare un po’ di farina integrale di riso per evitare che si appiccichi troppo alle mani.

Preparare la base della crostata
Per cuocere la crostata consiglio di usare una teglia per quiche (col bordo scanalato) di 23-24 cm di diametro, alta 2,5 cm e col fondo che si separa dal bordo.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la pasta frolla. Suggerisco di stendere la pasta su un pezzo di carta da forno o sulla pellicola in cui era avvolta dal momento che si sibriciola molto facilmente.

Con la farina integrale di riso, infarinare leggermente la superficie della pasta frolla e la superficie su cui la stendete. Tenere a portata di mano un poco di farina per infarinare al bisogno.

Trasferire la pasta frolla sulla teglia e premerla tutt’intorno in modo che il fondo sia ben coperto. Se usate carta da forno o pellicola, rovesciare la pasta frolla sulla teglia e rimuovere il supporto con delicatezza.

Tagliare la pasta frolla in eccesso intorno al bordo ed utilizzarla dove non ce n’è abbastanza o per formare un bordo di larghezza uniforme. Dovrebbe avanzare solo una piccola quantità di pasta frolla che potete utilizzare per fare il bordo più spesso o un paio di frollini.

Punzecchiare il fondo con i rebbi di una forchetta in diversi punti. Mettere in frigorifero mentre preparate le pesche e il forno.

Attendere 15 minuti e poi scaldare il forno a 177 C.

Riempire e cuocere la crostata
Lavare bene le pesche, tagliarle in quarti, rimuovere il nocciolo, poi tagliare ogni quarto a fettine spesse 6 mm.

Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la base di pasta frolla e con l’aiuto di una spatola, distribuire su di essa in modo uniforme la marmellata di pesche formando uno strato sottile.

Distribuire le fettine di pesca sulla marmellata per creare lo strato superiore. Io preferisco cominciare dall’esterno e fare cerchi concentrici verso l’interno.

Infornare e cuocere per 40 minuti, poi controllare la cottura.

crostata pronta per essere cotta (nel forno a legna)

La crostata è pronta quando il bordo è color nocciola dorato. Se necessario, infornare di nuovo la crostata e controllarla dopo 2 minuti. Ripetere quest’ultimo passaggio al bisogno. Nel mio forno per la cottura ci vogliono 42 minuti.

Sfornare e far raffreddare leggermente su una griglia. Se avete usato una teglia col fondo che si separa, staccare il bordo.

Far raffreddare ancora un po’ sulla griglia, poi con l’aiuto di una spatola larga, far scivolare la crostata su un piatto da portata. Fatela freddare del tutto prima di tagliarla e servirla.

10-12 porzioni

Ho condiviso questa crostata con un buon numero di amici ed è piaciuta a tutti. È un piacere portarla in tavola, un modo gustoso per rendere onore a frutta di ottima qualità. Una fettina, dal colore brillante e dal sapore ricco è sufficiente ad appagare la voglia di dolce — di tutti i sensi.