date energy bites / bocconcini ai datteri

June 25, 2020December 12, 2025 | Simona

simple ingredients rolled into energy bites (bar board and coaster
by BHV Woodworks, napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)

After reading Laurie King’s Garment of Shadows, 12th of the Mary Russell novels, I decided to read the first: The Beekper’s Apprentice, originally published in 1994. A 20th anniversary edition was issued in 2014 with a new introduction by the author and that is the volume I read. The novel is narrated in first person by Mary Russell a young woman who meets semi-retired Sherlock Holmes while roaming the English countryside—in Sussex, where he is living with Mrs. Hudson—and becomes his investigative partner (with no jealousy on the part of Dr. Watson, whom she affectionately calls Uncle John).

In the book, Russell and Holmes (they address each other using their last name) solve three cases together, then face a much bigger threat. To deal with the latter, the two leave England for a while and, offered a few different options, Russell chooses Palestine as their destination (they will return there in O Jerusalem, book 5 of the series).

Due to a guardian more intent on getting her money’s worth than in taking care of her, Mary is chronically hungry (ha sempre fame), much to Mrs. Hudson’s delight, given that Holmes is a disappointing eater, while Mary’s appetite (appetito) inspires the housekeeper. The novel is set during WWI, part of it in Oxford, where Mary studies. In the style of the times, food is not in the forefront and one worries, particularly about Mary, during the difficult hours spent in hiding, waiting, escaping. Easily portable snacks would address the need to stay nourished.

I have the same need when going for longish rides on my bicycle, or runs. Packaged energy bites are readily available and some are quite good³, but I had wanted to make my own for a while and finally Mary inspired me to do it. Dates are an excellent source of energy (energia) in stable form and are therefore widely used as ingredients for energy bites. I am sure that during their stay in the Holy Land, Russell and Holmes ate dates, a staple in the Middle East.

date palm in Thermal, CA

Many varieties of dates are produced in Southern California and are available at farmers market in the Bay Area. How date palms came to be grown there was the subject of a post I wrote not too long ago⁴ where I also talked about fresh dates (a delicacy I am looking forward to eating again this September)⁵ and cashews (anacardi), a favorite nut — both in the original form and as milk⁶ which I now make at home (rather than buying it).

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Date energy bites

Ingredients (makes 14 bites):

3 ounces / 85 g pitted dates: I used deglet noor, but other varieties are good as well; weigh the dates after pitting them
1 ounce / 28 g toasted cashew pieces (if using whole cashews, chop them before processing them further)
1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1-2 teaspoons / 5-10 ml fresh lemon juice, to taste
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon / 7.5 ml water, as needed
A pinch of fine sea salt
Additional unsweetened shredded coconut and/or sesame seeds for rolling, 1/2 tablespoon each

Line a small container with wax or parchment paper. Choose a container with a flat bottom, so you can use it to store the bites once shaped.

Put all the ingredients up to and including the salt in a strong blender. Since the amount of ingredients is not large, a small bowl is recommended. Process for a short time, scrape the side of the bowl. Repeat until a thick paste forms. If needed (i.e., if the dates are quite dry), add a small amount of water to help the process.

Transfer the paste to the prepared container, cover and refrigerate for several hours.

In a dry skillet, toast the additional unsweetened shredded coconut until light golden, then toast the sesame seeds until fragrant. Set aside.

Cut the chilled paste into 10 g-pieces, roll each between your hands to form a ball, then roll it on the toasted coconut or the sesame seeds. The latter provide a stronger flavor. Put the bites back in the container, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat, or pack for your biking or running adventure.

You can of course make the bites larger in size.

I like the bites because they are not overly sweet and you can taste all the ingredients: dates, a hint of lemon, sesame seeds, coconut. They are tender and not sticky.

The container on my bike with my energy reserves

Basically, they are an additional reason to go on longer rides.

¹ The book introduction on the author’s website
² I purchased the bar board and coaster from BHV Woodworks
³ My favorite being Sun & Swell Snack Bites (Disclaimer: I have no business relationship with the company)
⁴ My post on book The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone, with a recipe Fruit salad with fresh dates
⁵ From Flying Disc farm in Thermal, CA
⁶ My post on Chia pudding made with cashew only milk

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

bocconcini ai datteri

or launch the bocconcini ai datteri 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 39th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 13 years ago and that I continue to host.

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.

dates, sesame seeds, cashews, coconut, chia seeds, lemon

Persian herb and greens frittata / frittata persiana di verdure ed erbe

March 15, 2020 | Simona

Persian herb and greens frittata / IMG_3163

green to celebrate spring
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our Cook the Books Club selection this time brings us to Ireland (Irlanda), yet the flavors are those of Iran (whose cuisine we savored also in a recent edition¹). The novel Pomegranate Soup, by Marsha Mehran² (zuppa di melograno), follows the adventures of the three Aminpour sisters, who escape from political turmoil in their native country to the UK and ultimately settle in the small Irish town of Ballinacroagh, where they open a small café serving dishes from their home country.

The novel's cast includes the sisters' landlady, the town's priest, a young man with a passion for astronomy and other colorful characters. The author expertly weaves past events into the present narrative, so that as the story progresses we learn what pushed the sisters to run away from their home.

Marjan, the eldest Aminpour sister, is the main force behind Babylon Café: she watches as many locals come to appreciate the dishes she creates, their appealing aromas and comforting flavors. The book mentions many dishes and includes a recipe at the end of each chapter. I was particularly intrigued by the description of "a good apple khoresh, a stew made from tart apples, chicken and split peas" (page 60 of the hardback edition), but while I was searching for a recipe for that, I read about Kuku Sabzi, a kind of herb frittata traditionally prepared for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year that is celebrated on the spring equinox. I am a lover of greens, so I decided to try this recipe. I read a number of renditions³ and below is a description of what I made.

In terms of greens, I went with what I found fresh at the farmers' market, namely spinach (spinaci) and dill (aneto). Parsley, thyme and lovage (prezzemolo, timo e levistico) come from my garden. The idea is that you can use greens and herbs you like and have available. A different combination means a different flavor, so this is a recipe that can be repeated without becoming boring.

When I tasted the first bite of my rendition, my first reaction was: why have I not tried making this before?

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Persian herb and greens frittata (Kuku Sabzi)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 ounces / 130 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the dark green portion to make broth or stock)
4 tablespoons / 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 bunches / 14 ounces / 400 g fresh spinach
2 cups of finely chopped fresh herbs: in my case mostly dill (thick stems removed), some sprigs of parsley, leaves of a handful of fresh thyme sprigs and 2 sprigs of lovage
5 large eggs from pastured poultry
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Cut the leek 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 leek pieces 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 a 10-inch / 25 cm skillet over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of the olive oil. Add the leeks, stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and cook on low heat until the leeks are soft (12-15 minutes), stirring every now and then, making sure nothing burns. Transfer the leeks to a plate and clean the skillet.

Wash the spinach carefully and drain. Discard the roots and thicker stems and chop the rest finely. This is a bit tedious but it makes cooking easier, because the amount of eggs is small with respect to the amount of greens.

chopping herbs finely

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, the salt, pepper, and turmeric. Add the cooked leeks, the chopped spinach and herbs and mix everything well. A silicone spatula works well for this step, which requires patience.

Heat the broiler: if your oven allows it, use the low setting; otherwise, move the oven rack down one level.

Heat again the skillet and pour into it the remaining 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of the olive oil, then swirl to coat. Empty the bowl into the skillet and use the spatula to spread the mixture evenly across. Cover the skillet and cook the frittata on low heat until the bottom is just set: check it after 8 minutes and estimate the remaining cooking time.

Uncover the skillet and broil, watching carefully, until the top is set, 1-2 minutes. Let the frittata cool slightly, then slide it onto a platter and serve.

Serves 4-8

Persian herb and greens frittata / IMG_3158

why have I learned about this dish only now?

The intense green of this dish nicely points at the coming spring season. The flavor is a treat for lovers of greens.

¹ My recent post featuring another Persian-inspired recipe: eggplant and yellow split pea stew
² The book introduction on the author's website
³ Some recipes: on Bon Appetit (with useful video), the Kitchn, the Splendid Table

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

frittata persiana di verdure ed erbe

or launch the frittata persiana di verdure ed erbe 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 me, Simona of briciole. (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 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.

frittata, spinach, dill, parsley, thyme, lovage, eggs, Persian cuisine

sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers / cracker integrali al formaggio

September 23, 2018 | Simona

sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers / DSC_8407

one by one, they will soon be all gone
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The August-September selection of the Cook the Books club is the novel Sourdough by Robin Sloan¹. Intriguing title, I thought immediately, but did not know what to expect: I rarely read reviews before I read a book (sometimes do so after turning over the last page²). Being familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area contributed to the story's appeal, but even if you don't know the island of Alameda or the San Francisco Ferry Building, you will enjoy the twists and turns of Lois Clary's adventures in robot-aided bread baking.

The atmosphere is sci-fi, so don't expect your sourdough starter to behave the same way as that of the title. My adventures in sourdough-baking started some years ago with an evening class taught by Rhonda Wiedenbeck now of Beck's Bakery³. I got home that night with 2 tablespoons of Rhonda's sourdough starter (pasta madre), which I have fed, used, refrigerated, frozen (in between uses). I have a relaxed relationship with it. For regular feeding, I use the simple formula I learned in the class: I stir well 2 tablespoons of sourdough starter + 1/4 cup of water + 1/3 cup of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour, cover the (recycled yogurt) container and place it on top of the refrigerator.

I have baked various types of sourdough bread⁴ (pane al lievito naturale) and this time what got me scouting for recipes was the idea of using the starter in between feedings that would otherwise be wasted. I found inspiration on the King Arthur Flour website which has a recipe for Sourdough Crackers⁵, made particularly appealing for the inclusion of whole-wheat flour (farina integrale). I halved the quantities and adjusted the ingredients to my taste, particularly with the addition of cheese to the dough.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers

Ingredients:

4 ounces / 113 g sourdough starter (see Note below on starter feeding)
2 ounces / 56 g whole-wheat flour (I use 1 ounce / 28 g Chiddam Blanc de Mars from Capay Mills⁶ and 1 ounce / 28 g hard red wheat from Beck's Bakery³ both stone-ground)
1 tablespoon / 1/2 ounce unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2-1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs of your choice, optional but nice (I use rosemary)
1 ounce / 28 g sharp cheese of your choice, freshly grated
olive oil for brushing
coarse sea salt for sprinkling on the surface

Note: For regular feeding, I stir well 2 tablespoons of sourdough starter + 1/4 cup of water + 1/3 cup of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour, cover the (recycled yogurt) container and place it on top of the refrigerator. I repeat this morning and evening during the days in which the starter is not in the refrigerator. When I make the crackers, I take the amount of starter needed and use the rest in the preceding formula.

In a bowl, weigh the sourdough starter, whole-wheat flours, butter and olive oil, and stir to make a dough. Sprinkle sea salt and herbs (if using) and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Stir salt and herbs into the mix, transfer on your working surface and knead until you have a smooth, slightly tacky dough. (To make this step easier, I lightly oil my kneading board and wet my hands.)

Shape the dough into a thick rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a couple of hours.

When ready to shape and bake the crackers, preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Lightly flour the surface of the dough and roll it into a long rectangle (top left photo below). Distribute the grated cheese over one half of the rectangle (middle left photo) then fold the other half over the cheese (bottom left photo).

Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and transfer the folded dough onto it. Roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/16 inch / 1.5 mm. Transfer the dough and parchment paper together onto a baking sheet. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt on top. Cut the dough into squares (a pizza cutter wheel works well for this task). Don't worry if the cut doesn't go all the way through: a deep score is good enough (top right photo below). Prick the surface with the tines of a fork.

preparing sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers / IMG_1226

rolling and scoring the dough for crackers

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, until they brown around the edges, or a bit more (the thinner pieces will brown almost fully, bottom right photo above). After 12 minutes, turn the baking sheet front to back to help the crackers bake more evenly.

Take the baking sheet out the oven and transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week (in my case they never last that long, because I also like to share them).

sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers / IMG_1224

composition of shapes

I love these crackers: beyond their delightful crunch, the notes of rosemary (rosmarino) and cheese make them great on their own or with a layer of prosciutto, fresh chèvre or your spread of choice.

¹The book's page on the author's website
² The NPR review, the Guardian review the Washington Post review
³ Beck's Bakery
⁴ My bread collection
⁵ Recipe for Sourdough Crackers on the King Arthur Flour website
⁶ Capay Mills

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

cracker integrali al formaggio

or launch the cracker integrali al formaggio 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 Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

This is also my contribution to the 34th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 11 years ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the 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.

crackers, whole-wheat flour, cheese, sourdough

“empty the crisper” side dish / contorno “svuota frigorifero”

March 16, 2018 | Simona

"emtoy your crisper" side dish / P1030844

there is no secret, though there is a sauce
(napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)

I enjoyed reading the novel Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts¹ more than I expected. I read Deb of Kahakai Kitchen's review² tried my luck at her giveaway and won a copy. Once I started reading the book, it was hard to put it down: I wanted to know whether Elena would sort out her life, how the children she takes care of would adjust to their new life, whether the truth of Elena's aunt's disappearance decades earlier would eventually emerge. Everything in the book is well-measured: the plot, the characters and their evolution, the conversations and the descriptions. The writing is graceful and the reader gladly follows the story of hurtful truth, redemption and finding contentment in the individual moments of our life.

Elena accepts the offer to take care of two children whose mother recently died and whose father is often away for work. Adjustments on both sides are needed. Providing nutritious and varied meals that the children enjoy is a source of concern for Elena and sometimes, focused on ensuring that they are engaged in interesting activities, she ends up having to make do with what's available in the refrigerator (there is also a "secret" stash of food in the house, but you'll have to read the novel to find out about that ;)

red onion and celery in a cast-iron Dutch oven / P1030859

and so it begins, with red onion and celery

I don't have two children to feed, so the challenge to create a dish with what I have available is more driven by the fact that I have an assortment of vegetables (verdure) in the crisper that I must consume. For all my trust in, and reliance on, recipes (usually my own), I also believe in serendipitous mixing of ingredients to produce a pleasant result.

sliced cabbage on cutting board / IMG_0870

I stopped slicing just to enjoy the simple beauty of fresh cabbage

What I share below then is not so much a recipe as an invitation to be creative with what you have, to try matching flavors you have not tasted before. The important thing is that you use all the vegetables you have, without waste and with pleasure.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for "Empty the Crisper" side dish

Ingredients: what you have available in the crisper, garden and storage (e.g., onions). In the case of the photo above:

3 tablespoons / 45 ml extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
7 ounces / 200 g red onion, diced small
Leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme (timo)
7 ounces / 200 g celery, diced small
5 ounces / 140 g rainbow carrots, scraped, rinsed and sliced (if large, sliced into half-moons)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Harissa spice mix³
1 1/4 pound / 20 ounces / 570 g green cabbage, quartered and thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons / 30-45 ml coconut milk (latte di cocco)
Fine sea salt, to taste

Warm up the oil in a lidded 5-Qt cast-iron Dutch oven.

Add the onion and stir well, then add the thyme leaves and stir. After a couple of minutes, add the celery and carrots and stir. After a couple of minutes, cover the pot and cook the vegetables on gentle heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Uncover the pot, add the garlic and sprinkle the Harissa, stir well and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Add the cabbage, stir well, cover and cook gently for 20 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and, if necessary 1-2 tablespoons of water to the vegetables, stir well, cover and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft. Check after 20 minutes and gauge the amount of time still needed.

Adjust salt, give it a final stir and take off the heat. Serve warm.

Serves 5

The latest "empty the crisper" side dish I made included: a large leek, stalks from a bunch of rainbow chard⁴ and a small bunch of red Russian kale from my vegetable garden (orto).

Sometimes the result will be better than others. It will be a surprise (sorpresa). If it is blah, add cheese and use it as a topping for a vegetable tart, like this one.⁵

Final note: the sauce in the top photograph is my rendition (vegan and gluten-free) of mole poblano (recipe in this post).

¹ The novel's page on the publisher's website
² Read Deb's review of the novel and the recipe she paired with it
³The Harissa spice mix I use
⁴ See this post for the recipe that uses the green portion of the chard
⁵ From the blog archives: savory zucchini and skyr tart

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

contorno "svuota frigorifero"

or launch the contorno "svuota frigorifero" 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 32nd edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the napkin 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.

celery, cabbage, carrot, side dish, braise, Italian cuisine

rhubarb and berbere cranberry beans / borlotti con rabarbaro e berbere

July 31, 2016 | Simona

garden flavors
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather start a catering company in Dublin, Ireland, and in so doing bring together the large cast of characters in Maeve Binchy's novel Scarlet Feather, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club. Such cast includes the protagonists' families, spouse and spouse's family (for Cathy), girlfriend (for Tom), friends, clients and more.

While some characters have more elements on the negative plate of the scale than on the positive, all of them have something on both, and the story for me is about how even well-intentioned, generous, good people end up hurting others when they are focused exclusively on their personal goals. I think we can all relate to that. There are times when we need to focus on a single aspect of our life, be it our partner, a child, work or a specific project, to the exclusion of everybody and everything else. But when that continues for a long time, what is not the subject of our focused attention suffers and the consequences may be painful.

The novel also shows what happens when someone is neglected for years. Simon and Maud are nine-year-old twins born from parents who don't pay attention to them. They are "children from hell" and it is not their fault. They change in response to various people's efforts. In particular, Cathy's father gives them what no other adult in their life has: time and attention. He is not the only one: Cathy and her mother make sure the children are taught manners and discipline.

fresh borlotti beans

In an episode early on in the book, Simon and Maud gorge themselves on food they find in the refrigerator and get sick. The reason they get out of control is not, as we may think, because they are gluttonous children: they wanted to stock up on food because they weren't sure when there would be more, thus giving the reader a view of their life in their parents' grand, but completely dysfunctional house.

Simon and Maud made me think of my eating preferences as a child. There is a long list of foods I didn't like then that I have come to like a lot: beans (fagioli) are high on that list. My mother did not prepare dry beans, so we had beans only when fresh borlotti were in season. She also foraged for chicory (cicoria), whose bitter taste is definitely an acquired one: I did eventually acquired it. Every time I harvest kale and collard greens from my serendipitous garden, I am reminded of the dark chicory of my childhood.

a pretty plant of rhubarb in my neighbor's vegetable garden
(only the stalks are used; the leaves are not edible)

I never tasted rhubarb as a child. I didn't even know what it looked like. All I knew was that rhubarb was used to make a digestive liqueur with a cute ad (Rabarbaro Zucca). After moving to California, I learned how rhubarb is used in the US and I have used it to make cobbler¹, but I want to use it also in savory dishes: after all, it is a plant. I have a neighbor who grows rhubarb and kindly shares it with me.

In honor of Simona and Maud, I created a recipe using locally grown cranberry beans (Warren Creek Farms). I shelled and froze over 15 pounds of them last summer in ready-to-cook bags of 8 ounces / 225 g and that is what I used to develop this recipe, this year crop not being here quite yet. On the spice side I applied a favorite of mine berbere, the traditional Ethiopian spice blend, successfully used in an earlier bean recipe².

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Rhubarb and berbere cranberry beans

Ingredients for the beans:

8 ounces / 225 g fresh (or frozen) cranberry beans
2 cups / 475 ml water
A small bay leaf
1/2 small onion (or a quarter of a medium one), halved
A clove of garlic, sliced
A couple of parsley stems
A 1-inch / 2.5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Additionally:

2 teaspoons / 10 ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces / 85 g fresh onion, finely chopped
3 ounces / 85 g rhubarb, finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced or thinly sliced
1/2-1 teaspoon / 2.5-5 ml berbere, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

Whether you purchase berbere or make your own, the level of hotness is variable: adjust the quantity to your taste.

How to cook the beans
Place the beans in a saucepan with the water, the aromatics and the salt (no need to thaw them if frozen). Cover and bring the water to a lively boil quickly, then turn down the heat and let the beans simmer until just tender. Taste them after 20 minutes and estimate how much longer they should cook.

Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.

How to finish the dish
Warm up the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Stir well to coat. After a minute, add the rhubarb and stir well. Cook on gentle heat about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the garlic, stir well and continue cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Sprinkle the berbere and stir well. Continue cooking for a minute, stirring often.

Add the beans and their cooking broth to the saucepan and stir. Cover, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the beans are quite tender.

Season with salt and give it a final stir. Serve hot.

Serves 2-3.

a deeply flavored dish, though maybe not photogenic
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The result may not be a vibrant-colored dish, but it is one that surprises with its flavor: creamy, slightly sweet beans, a hint of tartness from the rhubarb and warm berbere to round the dish. The greens in the photos are Red Russian kale, collard greens and Swiss chard from my garden.

¹ Peach, berry and rhubarb cobbler recipe (with recipe)
² Ethiopian-style black-eyed peas recipe
³ Wikipedia entry for Berbere

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

borlotti con rabarbaro e berbere

or launch the borlotti con rabarbaro e berbere 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 Claudia of Honey from Rock. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

beans, onion, borlotti, rhubarb, berbere, Italian cuisine

treccia di pane con uvetta e noci / raisin walnut braided bread

October 24, 2013 | Simona

patterned slices are a pleasure to savor

There is such a thing as falling in love (innamorarsi) with a recipe at first sight. The moment I saw a photo of Cranberry orange braided bread on the King Arthur Flour's catalog, I knew that my version of it would soon come out of the oven. Besides being the kind of bread I sometimes like to bake, it was exactly what I was looking for to go with the book I had just finished reading: the Outcast by Jolina Petersheim.

I was very intrigued by the description of the novel as a modern retelling of "The Scarlet Letter," a book that I read when I was in college and loved (I also saw the 1979 miniseries and liked it a lot). Isn't it interesting that the story narrated by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 is still relevant 160 years later?

I read the Outcast right after The Baker's Daughter and it made me continue the meditation on evil that the earlier book had triggered. The story told in the Outcast shows how much misery we bring to the world the moment we decide, as mentioned in my earlier post, that another person is "less," or that we ourselves are "less." Happiness is only found where the bond connecting people is made of love, a feeling that knows nothing about less or more. The book illustrates what happens to people when love is substituted with judgment. Fortunately, one can travel in the opposite direction and it's never too late to do so.

a bit rustic on the outside

Parts of the Outcast are set in a Mennonite community and several dishes are mentioned, so my original idea was to make one of them. But the recipes I found were not satisfactory and the unhappiness wrapped around everything in the book in the end made me look elsewhere for something joyful to bring to one of the characters, little Eli, who faces a special challenge when he is diagnosed with a malignant disease. When I saw the recipe for Cranberry orange braided bread, I thought it would be perfect for little Eli recovering from invasive treatments: it is soft and lightly sweet, nourishing and texturally intriguing.

While a touch of sweetness is called for, I think that the amount of sugar in the original recipe is excessive. Also, instead of dried cranberries, I used organic raisins from my pantry. And as usual, I replaced about 20% of the white wheat flour with whole-grain flours (farine integrali). I made other changes and also baked the bread in a slightly different way.

Important: this bread uses a starter that is left to ferment overnight, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients:

For the starter:

1/2 oz. / 14 g whole spelt flour
1/2 oz. / 14 g white whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 oz. / 100 g all-purpose flour (King Arthur Flour is the brand I always use to make bread)
1/2 cup / 120 ml cool water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

For the dough:

1 oz. / 28 g whole spelt flour
1 oz. / 28 g white whole-wheat flour
7 oz. / 200 g all-purpose flour (same as above), plus as needed to knead and shape the bread
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast (see Note 1 below)
3/4 oz. / 20 g agave nectar or honey
2 tablespoons / 30 ml olive oil
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk (reserve the egg white)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated peel of 1/2 lime

For the filling

3 oz. / 85 g raisins, chopped if large
3 oz. / 85 g walnuts (see below)

For the surface

1 large egg white (see above)
Poppy seeds (semi di papavero)

Note: the original recipe uses sugar in both the dough and the filling and hence calls for osmotolerant instant yeast, a strain of yeast that is specially formulated for sweet dough; regular instant yeast can be used when osmotolerant is specified, in which case the dough will take longer to rise and proof. In my dough I use a small amount of sweetener, so regular instant yeast should have no problem thriving in that environment.

Make the starter the evening before baking the bread
In a bowl, mix the starter ingredients, cover, and leave at room temperature overnight.

Prepare the walnuts
If your walnuts are freshly cracked, toast them lightly in a dry pan, shaking the pan often.

Otherwise, in her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren't freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry. Measure the amount required and chop rather finely.

preparing one strand

Make the bread
Combine the starter with the dough ingredients. Let rest 10 minutes or so. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until elastic and satiny.

Place dough in an oiled bowl or suitable container, cover and let rise until puffy, 1 to 2 hours.

With the help of a scale, divide the dough into three pieces. Flatten each one into a 6" x 12" / 15 x 30.5 cm rectangle.

Using again the scale, divide the filling into three equal amounts. Distribute 1 oz. / 28 g of walnuts on each rectangle of dough, then do the same with an equal amount of raisins, leaving a margin of 1 inch / 2.5 cm all around (see photo above: it's not pretty but should make it clear what I mean).

Starting with a long edge, roll each rectangle into a log. Place logs on a lightly floured silicone baking mat resting on the back side of a baking sheet. Braid the logs together.

Cover the braid, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, until puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C, and place another baking sheet in the oven.

When you are ready to bake the braid, combine the egg white previously set aside with 1 tablespoon / 15 ml water, and brush the surface. Sprinkle poppy seeds.

Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide on it the silicone baking mat with the braid. Bake the braid for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. I use the convection baking option of my oven, which automatically adjusts the temperature. When the bread is done, a digital thermometer inserted into the center should register 190 F / 88 C.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool. Let it cool undisturbed before slicing.

isn't it lovely?

I know this is partly my imagination and nostalgia playing a trick, but the bread reminds me of panettone, an additional reason for loving it. The thin crust made crisper by poppy seeds, the tender crumb dotted with sweet raisins and crunchy walnuts make this a bread for all meals. As its flavor is subtle, it goes well with both sweet and savory accompaniments, from roasted apple sauce to roasted red pepper and almond dip, from fasole bătută to various cheeses and soups. And like challah, it is perfect for French toast.

Now I need to find out whether little Eli likes it.

This is my second contribution to the 20th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I am sending this bread also to the October edition of Panissimo, a monthly event created by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena? and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that is, by me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

And, via Panissimo, to the monthly showcase Sourdough and Yeast by Wisla (in Polish). This post contains the roundup of the event.

Finally, I am sending my braided bread to Yeastspotting. This post contains the second part of the roundup and links to the other two parts.

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

treccia di pane con uvetta e noci

or launch the treccia di pane con uvetta e noci audio file [mp3].

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

bread, raisins, walnuts, poppy seeds

pane di mais con mirtilli / blueberry cornbread

June 26, 2012 | Simona

blueberry cornbread for breakfast

Please, help yourself to a square of the moist, golden cornbread punctuated with juicy blueberries that I just cut. It’s light and substantial at the same time, lightly sweetened and rich in flavor. After partaking of this sunny bread, follow me as I introduce you to a beloved author and one of his novels.

Years ago, during one of my usual bookstore browsing adventures, I picked up a slim volume: The Warden (1855) by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It was the first book I read by the famous novelist from the Victorian era and the beginning of a passion that, in the years that followed, brought me to read the majority of his output. I am, in short, a big fan of Trollope. And thanks to a number of superb movie adaptations of his novels, I turned my husband into one as well. We recently watched The Barchester Chronicles, the BBC’s adaptation of “The Warden” and of its sequel, Barchester Towers: if you are into period drama, I recommend the movie, which presents the characters and the story faithfully, memorably and enjoyably. (Trollope wrote four additional novels and the six-novel series is known as the Barset Novels.)

After watching the movie, I read “The Warden” again. The protagonist, Rev. Septimus Harding is precentor of Barchester Cathedral and warden of Hiram’s Hospital, a charitable retirement house for 12 old men. He is a gentle man, who finds himself at the center of legal action brought against him by a young reformer. While the novel also has a love story as part of the plot (the reformer is in love with the Warden’s youngest daughter), the focus is on Rev. Harding’s ordeal and his decision to renounce his office at Hiram’s Hospital, which was granted to him by the bishop (and the income of 800 pounds a year he derives from it).

In his struggle to clear up his position, he clashes with the family Titan, Archdeacon Grantly, who is his son-in-law, the bishop’s son and the rector of Plumstead Episcopi. In chapter 8, we get a glimpse of the rectory and its inner dynamics. For this post, I will focus on the table and the food:

And now let us observe the well furnished breakfast parlour at Plumstead Episcopi… The breakfast-service on the table was equally costly and equally plain; the apparent object had been to spend money without obtaining brilliancy or splendour. The urn was of thick and solid silver, as were also the tea-pot, coffee-pot, cream-ewer, and sugar-bowl; the cups were old, dim dragon china, worth about a pound a piece, but very despicable in the eyes of the uninitiated. The silver forks were so heavy as to be disagreeable to the hand, and the bread-basket was of a weight really formidable to any but robust persons. The tea consumed was the very best, the coffee the very blackest, the cream the very thickest; there was dry toast and buttered toast, muffins and crumpets; hot bread and cold bread, white bread and brown bread, home-made bread and bakers’ bread, wheaten bread and oaten bread, and if there be other breads than these, they were there; there were eggs in napkins, and crispy bits of bacon under silver covers; and there were little fishes in a little box, and devilled kidneys frizzling on a hot-water dish; which, by the bye, were placed closely contiguous to the plate of the worthy archdeacon himself. Over and above this, on a snow-white napkin, spread upon the sideboard, was a huge ham and a huge sirloin; the latter having laden the dinner table on the previous evening. Such was the ordinary fare at Plumstead Episcopi.

And yet, I have never found the rectory a pleasant house. The fact that man shall not live by bread alone seemed to be somewhat forgotten.

The excerpt is a prime example of Trollope’s delightful style. One characteristic of his writing that I particularly appreciate is his insightful treatment of women and of gentle souls, like the Rev. Harding.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about the novel’s characters, this website has short introductions. The one dedicated to Septimus Harding includes a nice comment by Horace Walpole: “He is Trollope’s grandest gentleman.” And here’s the page dedicated to Dr. Grantly described by Trollope as “a fitting impersonation of the church militant here on earth.”

A final note: Rev. Harding plays the cello, and when he finds himself in a stressful situation, he plays an imaginary one to calm himself. On the subject of the Warden as a cello player, I found this interesting commentary by Steven Isserlis, my favorite cellist.

As I was reading the passage reported above, I decided to make something for Dr Grantly’s breakfast table, something that is not specifically listed, and I thought about a quick bread I had made often a few years ago, then set aside, for no special reason. It is a variation on the beloved theme of cornbread that uses blueberries to great advantage. The recipe works well with either fresh or frozen blueberries. (Once again, blueberry season is upon us and I still have some frozen blueberries from our U-pick expedition to a local farm last year.) And it works well when using buttermilk (latticello), as in the original version, or a combination of homemade kefir and yogurt, which is what I used in my adaptation. The original recipe was published in Shape Cooks, a short-lived magazine that ceased to be published some 13 ago. In my rendition, I use cornmeal and whole-wheat flour (farina integrale) from my grain CSA.

Ingredients:

1 cup (130 g) yellow [stone-ground] cornmeal
1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking power
a pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons (45 ml) agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup plain [homemade] yogurt + 1/2 cup [homemade] kefir OR 1 cup buttermilk (235 ml)
1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular unsalted butter), melted
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and oil or butter the sides not covered by the paper. Combine all the dry ingredients (1-6) into a bowl. In another bowl, combine egg, agave nectar, yogurt and kefir, then gradually pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Incorporate the butter, then gently fold in the blueberries.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cornbread passes the toothpick test. Check the bread first after 18 minutes and, if it needs more time in the oven, keep a close watch as it is easy to overbake the cornbread.

Remove cornbread from the pan and place on a rack. The cornbread is very nice eaten warm. For a berry-rich breakfast, serve also a strawberry lassi. (No need to use fine china or silverware.) I particularly enjoyed it as an accompaniment to fresh cheese like my homemade kefir cheese.

after making cornbread and lassi for breakfast

I suspect that the kitchen at Plumstead Episcopi did not look as chaotic as mine during the preparation of breakfast (colazione). I must admit I am careless with bowls and tools when I cook. I justify myself with the need to be unfettered by material constraints during the creative act.

Nota per i lettori italiani. Il romanzo di Anthony Trollope che descrivo in questo post è stato tradotto e pubblicato da Sellerio con il titolo L’amministratore. Sellerio ha anche pubblicato non solo gli altri cinque romanzi del ciclo del Barsetshire, ma anche altri romanzi di Trollope, tra i quali uno molto moderno nel tema intitolato La vita oggi.

This is my contribution to the 16th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

The photo above — shot in color and then converted to black and white — is my contribution to edition #39 of Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by the creator herself.

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

And I am contributing the cornbread to the June edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

This post has the list of contributions to the event.

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

pane di mais con mirtilli

or launch the pane di mais 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.]

cornbread, cornmeal, blueberry, kefir, yogurt