vegetable tart

savory zucchini and skyr tart / torta salata con zucchine e skyr

| Simona
savory zucchini and skyr tart / IMG_0119

from zucchini and skyr to the finished tart

Last month, I spent some time at Gullkistan1, residency for creative people in Laugarvatn, a town in southern Iceland (Islanda) on the shore of this lovely lake:

Laugarvatn / IMG_0041

Laugarvatn on a sunny day

While there, I read a review2 (recensione) of the memoir The Stones Speak by Icelandic author Þórbergur Þórðarson (Thorbergur Thordarson)3

This is the first book in Þórbergur’s bulk of autobiographical writings dealing with his formative years growing up on a farm on the southern coast of Iceland at the brink of the twentieth century. Þórbergur’s love for his natural surroundings and daily life on the farm is captured in obsessive detail with a humorous and at times absurdist essayistic style, and the communicative authorial presence found in all his writing.

I was intrigued and purchased the book at the bookstore (libreria) Bókakaffið4 in Selfoss.

The translator first introduces the reader to customs described in the book that are unfamiliar to non-Icelandic readers. Whether you have visited Iceland or not, you can immerse yourself in the detailed descriptions of life in the farm, of the inner life of a boy growing up in a fairly intense environment (northern climate, relative isolation) as he finds his place in a world that is a blend of concrete daily physical tasks and intangible presences. Such life is not always idyllic, which is something I appreciate about the book: the author captures the sense of wonder he experienced as a child, but considers some of his experiences through the lens of his maturity.

Storytelling is important in Iceland: there is a story behind almost everything you see or experience, usually going back hundreds of years, all the way to the Vikings. I love the sense of history people have and their readiness in sharing stories. So, back to the US, I loved the kind of continuation of that experience I got from reading The Stones Speak.

outside the greenhouse at Solheimar / IMG_0002 (1)

the sign outside the greenhouse at Solheimar5 (Iceland)

Icelandic cuisine is one of the paragraphs of the introduction and in it, skyr6, the national cheese made with cultured skimmed milk, is described. At Efsti-dalur II7, a cattle and dairy farm not far from Laugarvatn famous for its ice cream, I bought delicious fresh farmhouse skyr, which I ate spread on crackers with some crumbled locally smoked trout8 on top or a thin layer of pesto made at Solheimar5 with the basil (basilico) that grows abundantly in their greenhouse (serra).

I knew about skyr before visiting Iceland. I didn't know about their greenhouses, heated by geothermal energy, in which various types of produce are grown, including, this time of the year, zucchini. Using the ingredients I had available, I prepared a savory tart adapting a beloved recipe of mine for savory carrot and fromage blanc tart.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Savory zucchini and skyr tart

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 1 3/4 ounces / 50 g whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1 3/4 ounces / 50 g whole-grain spelt flour (or another whole-grain flour of choice)
  • 1/4 cup / 60 g lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • A pinch of fine sea salt

Note: the version in the photo has all whole-grain spelt flour, because my extremely limited knowledge of Icelandic did not allow me to locate whole-wheat pastry flour in the grocery store.

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 1 pound / 450 g zucchini, possibly organic
  • 4 ounces / 113 g leek (white and light green portion, clean weight)
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • Leaves of several sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon prepared pesto, optional (I used pesto a la Solheimar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 7 ounces / 200 g Efstidalur II Skyr or fromage blanc

Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth, not sticky at all. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour.

Cut the zucchini into sticks and then each stick into thin slices. Cut the leek in half lengthwise then into thin slices. Rinse well to eliminate any dirt.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the leek and stir to coat. Add the thyme leaves and stir. Cook gently until the leek is tender.

Add the zucchini and stir well. Cook until tender. If the zucchini release a lot of water, let it evaporate, leaving some moisture so it is easy to mix in the skyr later.

Season the zucchini with pesto (if using) salt and pepper and stir. Let cool while you roll the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Lightly dust with flour a piece of parchment paper about 13 inches / 33 cm wide. Working on the parchment paper placed over a work surface, roll the dough into an 11 inch / 28 cm diameter disk.

Add the skyr (or fromage blanc) to the zucchini and stir until distributed uniformly. Spread the zucchini and cheese on the rolled dough to form an even layer, leaving a 1 inch / 2.5 cm border of clean dough all around.

Fold the uncovered border of dough over the filling and pleat it at regular intervals.

Slide the parchment paper with the assembled tart onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven.

Bake until the top crust is crisp, approximately 30-32 minutes.

Take the tart out of the oven, cut and serve.

Serves 4-6

zucchini and skyr tart / IMG_0113

ready to be cut

A lovely tasting tart, which I shared with a fellow artist at Gullkistan. Like Þórðarson's memories, it had the sweetness granted by a special place and special people. 

1 Gullkistan, residency for creative people
2 Review of The Stones Speak in the Reykjavík Grapevine
3 Þórbergssetur the museum dedicated to Þórbergur in Hala, Suðursveit 
4 Bókakaffið in Selfoss
5 Sólheimar (“The Home of the Sun”)
6 The brand of skyr you buy in stores in Iceland
7 Efsti-dalur II
8 The smokehouse in Utey makes three different kinds of smoked trout (silungur)

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

torta salata con zucchine e skyr

or launch the torta salata con zucchine e skyr 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.]

Small_NFlogoThis is my contribution to the 30th 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.

savory tart, zucchini, skyr, Iceland, vegetarian

recipe: onion and ricotta tart

| Simona

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onion and ricotta tart / torta salata con cipolle e ricotta

| Simona
dinner plate: savory tart, frittata and cabbage salad / DSC_7891

onion and ricotta tart in good company
(tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO)

In her memoir Unearthed: Love, Acceptance, and Other Lessons from an Abandoned Garden1 author Alexandra Risen2 tells two stories of discovery: one pertains the garden around the house into which she moves with her husband and young son and the other pertains her Ukrainian-born parents, who were displaced by WWII and finally migrated to Edmonton, Canada, in 1953. 

The book is a pleasure to read. Each chapter moves forward both the story of the garden’s restoration / development and Risen’s personal journey through her earlier life and her mother’s final years. Being a mother herself, Risen reflects how her experience informs her relationship with her son. Each chapter ends with a suggestion on how to make use of plants or fruit foraged in the garden. Not all such suggestions are recipes: for example, there are instructions on how to make a wreath with willow branches, and Valentine cards with bleeding heart flowers.

While a lot of the book is serious—from the Prologue, in which Risen describes her last meeting with her father, to the story of the hardships imposed on both parents by history and the war, to her mother’s funeral—there are also a lot of light moments, mostly related to the evolution of the garden, from dealing with contractors, regulations and unexpected disasters, to how Risen’s husband and son find their place in the garden and make space in themselves for it.

There are no similarities between my parents and Risen’s in terms of character, heritage, or experience—besides the fact that they all lived during WWII. My childhood was also different from hers on many levels. Finally, I am not a gardener, though I have a beloved garden. I think the characteristic that brings me closest to Risen and that has made her book such an interesting reading for me is the desire to understand our parents, a desire that in both cases is intertwined with their aging and death.

FTC disclosure: I have received an advanced reading copy of Unearthed from the publisher3. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

If I were to have tea with Risen one day, I would have garden stories of my own to share, about raccoons and nasturtium, fox and foxglove, poppies and kale, deer and swimming pool. I would also make sure I have some Earl Grey tea to offer her and a slice of the onion and ricotta tart I created inspired by her book.

Our gardens are in different zones, so it is not surprising that different plants grow in them. The one plant I cannot do without from my garden is thyme (timo): I use fresh thyme in most of my dishes. The other day, this is what I saw when I passed one of the several thyme plants I have:

bee on thyme flowers / IMG_4672

a busy bee on thyme

Nasturtium grows exuberantly in my garden, as I have written here and elsewhere4. I can harvest flowers, leaves and seedpods to use in the kitchen. I use some flowers in the tart. The last plant from my garden I use is winter savory.

garden nasturtium / IMG_1660

garden nasturtium grows exuberantly in my garden

When Risen finds sugar maples in her garden, she taps them and makes maple syrup (sciroppo d’acero). I cannot follow her in this enterprise. One of my favorite DIY endeavors is making ricotta using the whey (siero di latte) left over after making certain kinds of cheese. Finally, fresh onions, tender, juicy and sweet, are one of my favorite ingredients this time of the year. To develop the tart recipe I used red onions from the farmers’ market and candy onions5 from my CSA box.

As base for the tart, I used a beloved simple dough from La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiare bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well6), the seminal Italian cookbook Pellegrino Artusi self-published in 1891:

153. PASTA MATTA (CRAZY DOUGH) It is called crazy not because it is likely to do something mad, but for the simplicity and ease with which it can serve as the necessary dress for a variety of dishes, as you will see.

Sprinkle water and salt in due proportion over the flour and form a dough loaf that can be rolled out wafer thin.

Differently from the previous version of the dough I presented here7, this time I used all stone-ground whole-wheat flour of three wheat varieties, all grown in California. The result is a decidedly rustic tart that is great warm out of the oven but also reheated the day after.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Onion and ricotta tart

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 1 3/4 ounces / 50 g whole-wheat pastry flour, possibly stone-ground (I use locally grown soft white wheat Alturas and milled by Beck’s Bakery8 )
  • 7/8 ounces / 25 g whole-grain stone-ground Sonora wheat (locally grown and freshly milled by Capay Mills9) OR whole-wheat flour, possibly stone-ground
  • 7/8 ounces / 25 g sprouted whole-wheat flour, possibly stone-ground (I use locally grown sprouted Blanca Grande wheat freshly milled by Capay Mills)
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • 2 ounces / 55 g lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 12 ounces / 340 g fresh onions, possibly organic, clean weight (for example, torpedo or candy)
  • 2 teaspoons / 10 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • Leaves of several sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Leaves of a sprig of winter savory, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • A dozen fresh garden nasturtium flowers, cleaned (optional)
  • 5 ounces / 140 g fresh ricotta, possibly homemade

How to make the crazy dough
Place the flours and salt in a bowl, add the water and oil and mix until you obtain a dough. Knead until nice and smooth. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour. 

How to prepare the onions
Slice onions into thin half moons. If large, cut in short sections.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. (Alternatively, if you have an oil mister, coat well the bottom of the skillet.) Add onion and stir to coat. Add the thyme and winter savory leaves and stir. Cook on gentle heat until the onions are tender, 20 minutes.  

Season with salt and pepper, add the nasturtium flowers, if using, and stir. Let cool while you roll the dough. 

IMG_4674How to prepare the base and assemble the tart
Preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Lightly dust with flour a piece of parchment paper about 13 inches / 33 cm wide. Working on the parchment paper placed over a working surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch / 28 cm diameter disk. 

Add the ricotta to the onions and stir until distributed uniformly. Spread the onion and ricotta on the rolled dough to form an even layer, leaving a 1-inch / 2.5 cm border of clean dough all around.

Fold the uncovered border of dough over the filling and pleat it at regular intervals.

The final act
Slide the parchment paper with the assembled tart onto a baking sheet.

Bake approximately 32 minutes until the crust is crisp. Check after 30 minutes of baking.

Take out of the oven, cut and serve.

Serves 4-6

onion and ricotta tart / DSC_7894

a rustic tart with a surprisingly delicate flavor

I love this tart: it is surprisingly delicate in flavor and the creaminess of ricotta makes it rich without being heavy. The crazy dough offers a rustic support to the duo. 

UnearthedBlogpartyThis post participate to the blog party organized by the Book Club Cookbook (Twitter – Facebook – Pinterest

Check out the Unearthed blog party page 

1 The book’s page on the publisher’s site
2 Alexandra Risen’s Facebook page and Instagram account @alexandrarisen
3 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Twitter • Facebook • Tumblr • Pinterest • Instagram
4 Garden Nasturtium on my writing blog
5 Candy onions from my CSA box
6 English version of Artusi’s cookbook
7 Post with recipe for Carrot and fromage blanc tart
8 Beck’s Bakery, Arcata
9 Capay Mills

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

torta salata con cipolle e ricotta

or launch the torta salata con cipolle e ricotta 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.]

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.

tart, onion, ricotta, Italian cuisine

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc / savory carrot and fromage blanc tart

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

brilliant

Did you read Carrot Top (Pel di carota) by Jules Renard when you were a child? Published in 1894, the autobiographical story recounts the childhood and the trials of a red-headed child. I don't remember anything about the book, except that it made me want to have red hair (capelli rossi).

I was reminded of that episode from my childhood when, in the novel A Share in Death, author Deborah Crombie describes Gemma James as having red hair. This physical trait is one of the reasons I like that character of the mystery novels Crombie has written that have as protagonists Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Detective Inspector Gemma James.

My preference for mystery novels is not a novelty nor is my interest in Scotland Yard characters, having already read stories featuring Adam Dalgliesh and Thomas Lynley (by P.D. James and Elizabeth George, respectively). Whether set in London, one of my favorite cities, or in some charming corner of the English countryside, all these novels make for a pleasant, relaxing reading at the end of my often hectic day.

The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novels I have read so far are:

  1. A Share in Death
  2. All Shall Be Well
  3. Leave the Grave Green
  4. Mourn Not Your Dead

They all made me want to visit London and the English countryside again, and again drink tea and eat warm scones, admire the roses in Kew Garden, glide on a boat along the canals.

I am currently reading the fifth novel of the series, Dreaming of the Bones, but ever since reading the first one, I have had in mind to create a dish inspired by Gemma's hair. Fresh carrots in my CSA share were my other source of inspiration: I would make a tart with them.

carrots

smiling for the camera

Another thing I had in mind was to try a special dough from La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), the seminal Italian cookbook Pellegrino Artusi self-published in 1891:

153. PASTA MATTA (CRAZY DOUGH) It is called crazy not because it is likely to do something mad, but for the simplicity and ease with which it can serve as the necessary dress for a variety of dishes, as you will see.

Sprinkle water and salt in due proportion over the flour and form a dough loaf that can be rolled out wafer thin. [source]

This is not the introduction, but the whole recipe. You'll see below how I used it to prepare the base of my tart.

homemade fromage blanc

freshly made and whipped fromage blanc

I wanted the filling to include some cheese. I thought creamy and light fromage blanc would work well, so I made a batch using half a gallon of whole milk and half a gallon of non-fat milk. This is an easy cheese to make: after you add the culture (this one is already measured and ready to be used), you leave the milk alone overnight and the morning after you drain the curd for some hours. A brief whipping with an electric beater and the light creamy cheese is ready to eat — as is, or flavored with herbs like chives or lovage (erba cipollina, levistico) — or use in some dish.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

freckled crust

Flecks of bran in the whole-wheat pastry flour stone-ground from locally grown wheat in the dough give a lovely freckled appearance to the tart shell.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for savory carrot and fromage blanc tart

Ingredients for the dough:

  • 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g whole-wheat pastry flour, possibly stone-ground
  • 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g 00 wheat flour (I used King Arthur Italian-style flour)
  • 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml EV olive oil
  • A pinch of fine sea salt

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 12 oz. / 340 g fresh carrots, possibly organic
  • 2 teaspoons / 10 ml EV olive oil
  • Leaves of several sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g spring onion or red onion from the new crop, clean weight
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 7 oz. / 200 g fromage blanc, possibly homemade

How to make the crazy dough
Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth, not sticky at all. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour. 

How to prepare the carrots
Scrub carrots well and scrape surface with a blade to remove a thin layer of skin. Grate carrots using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.

Finely chop the onion.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. (Alternatively, if you have an oil mister, coat well the bottom of the skillet.) Add onion and stir to coat. Add the thyme leaves and stir. After 1 minute, add the grated carrots and stir well to coat. Cook on gentle heat for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking, stirring every now and then, until the carrots are tender, 10-12 minutes.  

Season carrots with salt and pepper and stir. Let cool while you roll the dough. 

How to prepare the oven
Right before rolling the dough, prepare the oven.

I baked the tart on terracotta tiles. I place two on a rack. A pizza stone will work as well. Whichever surface you use, place it in the cold oven.

You can also bake the tart on a regular baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C.

How to prepare the base and assemble the tart
Lightly dust with flour a piece of parchment paper about 13 inches / 33 cm wide. Working on the parchment paper placed over a working surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch / 28 cm diameter disk. 

Add the fromage blanc to the carrots and stir until distributed uniformly. Spread the carrot and cheese on the rolled dough to form an even layer, leaving a 1-inch / 2.5 cm border of clean dough all around.

Fold the uncovered border of dough over the filling and pleat it at regular intervals.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

spreading the filling on the base

The final act
Slide the parchment paper with the assembled tart onto the tile or stone in the oven or on a baking sheet.

Bake approximately 32 minutes until the crust is crisp. Check after 30 minutes of baking.

Take out of the oven, cut and serve.

Serves 4-6.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

Perfect!

The last time I made the tart, I baked it in the wood-fired oven (without the parchment paper): the photo above shows the result. 

I love this tart: the sweetness of carrots and the creaminess of fromage blanc blend well and the crazy dough offers a discreet and slightly rustic support to the duo. 

I am sure Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid would enjoy a slice of my tart as part of their dinner at the end of a long day, just as I enjoy reading about their adventures at the end of mine.

Small_NFlogoThis is my second contribution to the 21st 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.

Shop-local-badgeCarrots from my CSA share, homemade fromage blanc from local milk, local whole-wheat flour, onion from the farmers' market and thyme from my herb garden make my tart perfect for the Shop Local Food Blogging Challenge organized by Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

 The roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

or launch the torta salata con carote e fromage blanc audio file [mp3].

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

[jump to Comments]

tart, carrot, fromage-blanc, Italian cuisine

Newrule

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

una delizia carotosa

Avete letto Pel di carota di Jules Renard da bambini? Pubblicata nel 1894, è la storia autobiografica di un ragazzino coi capelli rossi. Non mi ricordo i dettagli, ma mi fece venire voglia di avere i capelli rossi. La cosa mi è tornata in mente quando ho letto che Gemma James, co-protagonista insieme a Duncan Kincaid di una serie di gialli scritti da Deborah Crombie ha i capelli rossi.

Non sono riuscita a stabilire con certezza che i romanzi della Crombie sono stati tradotti in italiano, quindi perdonatemi se non scrivo i titoli. Ho letto i primi quattro e sono alle prese col quinto. Mi hanno fatto venire nostalgia di Londra e della campagna inglese.

I capelli rossi di Gemma e la dose settimanale di carote nella mia cassettina sono state le muse ispiratrici di questa torta salata, insieme ad una ricetta dell'Artusi.

carrots

sorriso per la fotografa

153. PASTA MATTA
Si chiama matta non perché sia capace di qualche pazzia, ma per la semplicità colla quale si presta a far la parte di stival che manca in diversi piatti, come vedrete. Spegnete farina con acqua e sale in proporzione e formate un pane da potersi tirare a sfoglia col matterello.

Tutto qui. Vedrete in basso la mia interpretazione.

homemade fromage blanc

fromage blanc fresco e montato

Ho pensato che il fromage blanc, leggero e cremoso, sarebbe stato il compagno perfetto per le carote e quindi ne ho fatto un bel po' usando 1,9 litri di latte intero e 1,9 litri di latte scremato. Il fromage blanc, come altri formaggi freschi, è facile da fare in casa: dopo aver aggiunto i fermenti (questi sono pronti per l'uso), si lascia riposare il latte durante la notte e la mattina dopo si drena il caglio per alcune ore. Una passata con il battitore elettrico per montarlo leggermente e il formaggio è pronto da mangiare (al naturale oppure con l'aggiunta di erbe aromatiche fresche) o da usare come ingrediente.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

pasta lentigginosa

Fiocchetti di crusca nella farina integrale macinata a pietra sembrano lentiggini sulla pasta base.

Ingredienti per la pasta base:

  • 50 g farina per dolci integrale, possibilmente macinata a pietra
  • 50 g farina 00
  • 50 g acqua tiepida
  • 5 ml olio EV d'oliva
  • Un pizzico di sale fino

Ingredienti per il ripieno:

  • 340 g carote, possibilmente bio
  • 10 ml olio EV d'oliva
  • 50 g cipollotto o cipolla rossa novella, peso netto
  • Le foglie di diversi rametti di timo fresco
  • 1/4 cucchiaino sale fino, o a piacere
  • Un pizzico di pepe nero macinato fresco
  • 200 g fromage blanc

Dose per 4-6 porzioni.

Preparare la pasta matta
Preparare un impasto con tutti gli ingredienti. Deve essere liscio e non appiccicoso. Farlo riposare, ben coperto (per esempio, avvolto in pellicola), per mezz'ora.

Preparare le carote
Lavare bene le carote e raschiarne la superficie con una lama per rimuovere la pellicina. Grattugiatele con la grattugia a buchi grossi.

Tritare il cipollotto (o cipolla).

Scaldare l'olio in una padella. Aggiungere il cipollotto e le foglioline di timo e mescolare bene. Dopo un minuto, aggiungere le carote e mescolare bene. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per un paio di minuti. Coprire la padella e continuare la cottura, mescolando di tanto in tanto, fino a quando le carote siano appena tenere, 10-12 minuti.

Condire le carote con sale e pepe e mescolare. Lasciar intiepidire mentre stendete a pasta.

Preparare il forno
Io cuocio la torta su delle mattonelle di terracotta. Ne metto due sul piano del forno. Una pietra da forno va bene lo stesso. Mettere il supporto scelto nel forno prima di accenderlo.

Potete anche cuocere la torata salata su una placca da forno.

Scaldare il forno a 177 C.

Stendere la pasta e preparare la torta
Infarinare leggeremente un pezzo di carta da forno largo circa 33 cm e stenderci sopra la pasta fino ad ottenere un disco di 28 cm di diametro. 

Aggiungere il fromage blanc alle carote e mescolare bene, poi distribuire il composto sulla pasta in modo uniforme, lasciando scoperto un bordo di 2,5 cm tutto intorno.

Ripiegare il bordo sopra il ripieno e fare delle pieghe ad intervalli regolari per spianare la pasta in eccesso.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

distribuire il ripieno sulla pasta

Il finale
Trasferire la torta nel forno (o sulla placca e poi nel forno). La carta da forno facilita questo passaggio.

Cuocere per circa 32 minuti, fino a quando la crosta sia bella croccante. Controllare dopo 30 minuti di cottura. (Ogni forno è diverso e i tempi di cottura variano.)

Sfornare, tagliare e servire.

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

Perfetta!

L'ultima volta che ho fatto questa torta l'ho cotta nel forno a legna (senza la carta da forno) e la foto qui sopra fa vedere come è venuta. 

Adoro questa torta salata: carote dolci e formaggio cremoso si sposano bene e la pasta matta fornisce un supporto leggero e un po' rustico alla coppia.

Sono sicura che a Gemma James e Duncan Kincaid piacerebbe una fetta della mia torta per cena al termine di una lunga giornata di lavoro, proprio come a me piace leggere le loro avventure al termine della mia giornata.

Small_NFlogoQuesto è il mio secondo contributo alla ventunesima edizione di Novel Food, L'evento lettero-culinario che Lisa di Champaign Taste ed io abbiamo creato qualche tempo fa e che io continuo ad ospitare.

Il raccolto dell'evento.

 

 

 

 

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Wortelstoemp
scorze di mandorle con carote / almond shells pasta with carrots

tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis / sklandrausis-inspired vegetable tart

| Simona
sklandrausis-inspired vegetable tart

a three-[layer/texture/flavor] tart

In Latvia (Lettonia), I went down the wrong path — figuratively, of course.

Having baked eight types of bread out of 20 dishes from the EU countries visited so far in our virtual tour, I decided to bake a Latvian bread. I found a recipe, I made it a couple of times, was almost ready to write about it and then decided I was not enthusiastic enough about the recipe to share it on the blog. So, I started researching Latvian dishes again and finally found one that intrigued me: sklandrausis.

The sklandrausis, a small… pie made of rye flour with a filling of potatoes and carrots, has received a “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed” designation from the European Commission, according to the commission’s representative office in Rīga. [source]

Sklandrausis obtained TSG designation a few months ago. (If you are not familiar with the EU designations for products, on this page you can find an explanation.) As part of the process, the organization requesting the designation must provide information in support of its petition, including a detailed description:

'Sklandrausis’ is a round pie, 8-14 cm in diameter. The base of a ‘Sklandrausis’ is made of firm rye-flour dough rolled out to a thickness of 2-3 mm. Discs, which form the bases of the pies, are cut or pressed out of the rolled-out dough and their edges are folded upwards. The base of the ‘Sklandrausis’ is filled with layers of boiled potato and carrot filling in a ratio of 1:2 to 1:1. The potato is put in first and the carrot is placed on top. The finished ‘Sklandrausis’ is between 1,5 cm and 2,5 cm thick. The base of the ‘Sklandrausis’ is firm and well-baked, and the filling is porous. Typically it has a yellowy orange carrot colour. A layer of cream may be spread over the surface, or it may be sprinkled with cinnamon or caraway seeds. ‘Sklandrausis’ may range in taste from sweetish to very sweet. Although the base leaves the unmistakable taste of bread in the mouth, the taste of carrots predominates.

The full document is available online and it contains also a recipe. I was immediately intrigued by the combination of ingredients — rye flour, potatoes and carrots (farina di segale, patate e carote) — and also by the layering. When planning my rendition, I decided to make a number of changes. Most importantly, I omitted sugar altogether and, instead of making individual pies, I made one large tart. Hence, I am calling my rendition "sklandrausis-inspired" vegetable tart.

sklandrausis-inspired vegetable tart

brilliant orange

I tested a few variations, including using rainbow carrots vs. orange carrots (see top photo) and baking the tart at high vs. moderate temperature. Here's the recipe, based on our household's preferences.

Ingredients:

For the potato layer:

  • 300 g / 10 1/2 oz. potatoes of a variety that is good for mashing
  • 60 ml / 1/4 cup homemade kefir
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • A dash of freshly ground black pepper

For the carrot layer:

  • 340 g / 12 oz. / 3/4 lb carrots (the orange variety preferred)
  • Olive oil
  • 1 large egg, preferably from pastured poultry
  • 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. homemade ricotta
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • A dash of ground cinnamon

For the base layer:

  • 150 g dark rye flour
  • 7 g lard + 7 g browned butter OR 14 g / 1 tablespoon / 1/2 oz. unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon / 5 g caraway seeds, lightly smashed in a mortar with a pestle
  • A pinch of fine sea salt
  • 60 ml / 1/4 cup water

How to prepare potatoes and carrots
I opted to roast the vegetables. I chose 3 medium potatoes weighing about 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. each and a nice bunch of freshly harvested carrots from the farmers' market, still sporting their green mane. This time of the year, the carrots are fairly small and quite tender.

Preheat oven to 375 F / 190 C.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Scrub potatoes and carrots well (after cutting away the greens, if present). With a knife, scrape carrots' to remove then skin.

Place potatoes on the baking mat. Place carrots in a bowl and with a mister, spray some olive oil on them and roll to coat, then spread on the baking mat.

Place vegetables in the oven and bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Check the vegetables after 30 minutes to estimate how much longer they need.

Peel potatoes as soon as you can handle them and rice them. Let cool a bit, then add kefir and stir. Finally, season with salt and pepper and stir. Cover to keep warm.

Roughly chop carrots and place in a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade. Process to mince.

Add egg to the bowl and process briefly.

Add ricotta to the bowl and process until all the ingredients are blended. Season with salt and cinnamon and give a final whirl.

How to prepare the base
Rub the fat into the flour. Mix in caraway seeds and salt. Add the water and make a firm dough.

I found that the easiest way to roll the dough is to use wax paper as surface. (I also found that I did not need to flour the dough as it was not at all sticky.) Roll the dough to a disk of 3 mm / 1/8 inch thickness.

Prepare a 9 or 9 1/2-inch / 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom. If you used wax paper as rolling surface, flip the rolled dough over the tart pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the paper.

The tart pan I have is about 1-inch / 2.5 cm high, which is too high for sklandrausis, so with a knife, I trim the border at 1 cm / 3/8 inch, then use the excess dough, as necessary, where I came up short, making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around (see photo below).

potato layer of sklandrausis

after adding the potato layer

How to assemble and bake the tart
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Spread the mashed potatoes evenly on the dough.

Spread the puréed carrot and ricotta blend evenly on the dough.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the visible rim of the crust is golden.

Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack and let rest for a couple of minutes.

With the tip of a knife, gently probe the small arches all around the pan to ensure that the crust does not adhere to them. Push up the tart bottom to remove the fluted ring and place back on the cooling rack.

After a couple more minutes, with the help of a spatula, transfer the tart onto a plate (a long icing spatula is perfect for this step).

Slice and serve.

sklandrausis-inspired vegetable tart

the three layers

The tart has layered texture and taste: the rustic crust is nicely flavored by the caraway seeds. The potato layer is soft and the natural sweetness of potatoes is balanced by the tangy kefir. The carrot layer moves the palate more clearly on the sweet camp, thanks in part to the cinnamon nuance, but not too far into it. The combination is satisfactory to all the senses.

I most recently served this vegetable tart with a side of purple sprouting broccoli and it was a nice pairing.

My take on sklandrausis can be served as appetizer or main course. As the filling is firm, I can imagine offering thin slices of it even at a party where finger food is on the menu.

image from 3.bp.blogspot.comI contribute my vegetable tart to the 21st installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. U like Ūdens klinģeri (Latvia) is hosted by Brii of briggishome.

 

image from 1.bp.blogspot.comThis is also my contribution to edition #425 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post. I could not find a phonetic description of the pronunciation of the Latvian word sklandrausis, so I cannot vouch for that part of the recording.

tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis

or launch the tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis 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.]

rye flour, potato, carrot, Latvian cuisine

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