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Eggs and Cheese

Savory Oatmeal and Other Spicy, Herby Breakfasts

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My mother loved oatmeal with butter, salt and pepper. She grew up on a farm and was also fond of bread dipped in buttermilk, always close at hand when you have cows.

The buttermilk-soaked bread I disliked with a vengeance, but over time I found she was right about the oatmeal.

I also learned there’s no reason to stop with salt and pepper. Oatmeal is a beautiful canvas for other spices. My favorite combination includes healthy doses of za’tar, sumac and turmeric, plus a finishing dollop of yogurt. My husband adores hickory salt, which he adds to his portion.

avocado toast with radishes

Avocado toast, also in our breakfast rotation, is seasoned with olive oil, lime juice, lime salt and hot pepper sauce. Put something on top, whether sunflower seeds or tomato slices or–my favorite–thinly sliced radishes. More lime salt on top and snipped chives.

sage-simmered eggs

Eggs simmered with sage in olive oil, another favorite, is a specialty of my husband. He uses olive oil like a Sicilian (make sure it’s good, make sure it’s plentiful) and you should too, for the same results. Slide the pan’s contents onto sourdough or wholegrain toast.

Like most people, I’m not particularly adventurous when it comes to breakfast. Even after my first cup of coffee, I’m just looking for something fast and delicious. But now and then a new idea vaults into our breakfast rotation. Maybe you’re the same? One of these could become a favorite.

savory oatmeal
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Savory Oatmeal
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
 

I usually use steel-cut oatmeal, letting it simmer while I take a shower and read the newspaper. For faster results, use the package's make-ahead method or substitute regular oats. Suggested seasonings can be adjusted to your taste.

Course: Breakfast
Servings: 2 generous servings
Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup steel-cut oatmeal
  • 2 teaspoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon za'atar or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac or to taste
  • 1 or 2 pinches turmeric or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea salt or kosher salt or to taste
  • 2 dollops yogurt
Instructions

  1. Bring 2 2/3 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in oats. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until liquid is absorbed and oats are tender, about 30 minutes.

  2. Stir butter into oatmeal until it melts. Season with za'atar, sumac and turmeric. Taste before adding salt.

  3. Spoon oatmeal into two bowls. Spoon dollops of yogurt on top and sprinkle on more seasonings if you like.

avocado toast with radishes
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Avocado-Radish Toast
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
 

No better way to start the day than with avocado toast. Radish slices on top and lime salt over all make it even better.

Course: Breakfast
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 large avocado or 2 smaller ones
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Lime salt or sea salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • Hot sauce to taste
  • Snipped chives optional
  • 2 to 4 radishes depending on size
  • 2 large slices rye or other wholegrain bread
Instructions

  1. Run a knife around middle of avocado and twist it apart; discard pit. Mash with a fork to a chunky consistency. Blend in olive oil.

  2. Season mashed avocado with lime salt, lime juice, hot sauce and (if using) chives.

  3. Halve radishes if large or use whole. Thinly slice.

  4. Toast bread.

  5. Spread avocado mixture on toast. Top with radish slices and, if you like, more lime salt and chives.

sage-simmered eggs
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Sage-Simmered Eggs on Toast
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
 

After simmering in olive oil with eggs, the taste of fresh sage permeates this dish.

Course: Breakfast
Servings: 1 serving
Author: Toni Lydecker
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil
  • 6 sage leaves more or less, depending on size
  • 2 eggs
  • Sea salt or kosher salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 large slice rye or other whole-grain bread
Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a small nonstick skillet. Add sage leaves and cook until crisped but still green. Remove 3 leaves for garnish.

  2. Gently break two eggs into pan. Season with salt and pepper.

  3. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook eggs until whites are set. Meanwhile, toast bread.

  4. Place toast on a plate. With a spatula, slide eggs onto toast and pour sauce over. Garnish with reserved sage leaves.

 

Italians Eat Crepes, Too

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Mention crepes, and my mind leaps to the thin pancakes, filled with ham and cheese, that I tasted long ago in Normandy. But Italians eat savory crepes, too. Called crespelle, they are a lovely change from pasta and risotto.

The flavor and texture of crepes are improved by incorporating whole-grain flour into the batter. You could use buckwheat flour, as in Normandy, or whole-wheat, rye, chickpea or farro flour. One part whole-grain flour for two parts all-purpose are proportions that work as well for crepes as for regular pancakes.

It’s fun to make crespelle/crepes, and easy, too. The trick is to let the batter sit for a bit, allowing the gluten to relax. Heat the pan, brush with melted butter and get going. As with any other pancakes, the first one might be a dud. But soon you’re happily flipping one bronze-flecked disk after another.

I’m fond of a classic ricotta-spinach filling, with tomato sauce under and over the rolled crepes. They are similar to cannelloni (and filled tortillas, for that matter), but thinner and more delicate.

Many Italian recipes call for just a couple of tablespoons of filling per crepe but for plump ones, use at least a third of a cup. The exact amount depends on the size of your crepes, which in turn depends on pan size. Ideally, use a crepe pan, small and flat, with shallow sloping sides. Mine is about 8 inches in diameter. You could also use a small nonstick sauté pan.

As an alternative to tomato sauce, use cheese sauce with a béchamel base. For this recipe, I mixed cooked chicken with mushrooms. But your refrigerator probably harbors the makings of other delicious fillings. That leftover ragu you made for pasta, for instance. Or sautéed zucchini and peppers.

Crepes are for any time you feel like it. I learned this during our grad school days, when a friend invited my husband and me home for dinner on a whim.

Buzzi found some carrots and ground beef in her fridge, plus eggs, flour and milk for crepes. She handed us each a glass of wine and we chatted while watching her cook. She happened to be one of those people who make cooking look effortless, but I remember thinking at one point, “I could do this.”

At an impressionable age when my own repertoire of dishes was limited, this simple dinner showed me that a good cook can almost always come up with something nourishing and good. I filed away the idea of crepes as one of those options and now I’m passing it on to you.

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Crespelle (Crepes)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: French, Italian
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups milk
  • 3 eggs beaten
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole-grain flour *
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in small saucepan over low heat; add to milk in measuring cup. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in same pan.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk mixture.
  3. Combine flour and salt in a food processor or blender. Pulse to blend. Add milk. Process until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl once or twice. Scrape crepe batter into a bowl. Refrigerate for at least half an hour or overnight.

  4. Over medium heat, heat an 8-inch crepe pan or small sauté pan with sloping sides. Brush with a little melted butter. Off heat, pour about 1/3 cup batter into pan, turning to distribute batter over bottom. Cook until lightly browned, about 10 seconds. Flip crepe and cook for a few seconds until lightly browned. Transfer with a spatula to a plate.

  5. Repeat with remainder of batter, brushing pan with butter before cooking each crepe. Stack crepes on top of one another.

  6. Note: Crepes can be used right away or refrigerated for a day or two. To freeze: layer crepes between pieces of waxed paper, wrap well and freeze.
Recipe Notes

* The wonderful whole-grain flours available now include whole-wheat, rye, chickpea, buckwheat and rye. Any of these can be used in crepes. 

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Crepes with Spinach-Ricotta Filling and Tomato Sauce
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French, Italian
Ingredients
  • 6- ounce box of baby spinach or mix of spinach and parsley leaves
  • 15- ounce container of ricotta or mix of ricotta and crumbled feta
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1½ cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino cheese
  • Kosher salt or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups homemade tomato sauce or purchased marinara sauce
  • 12 to 15 crepes see recipe
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Wilt spinach by microwaving or steaming. Drain, squeeze out liquid and chop.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, wilted spinach, garlic and ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Spread some of tomato sauce over bottom of a gratin pan or large Pyrex baking dish.
  5. To fill crepes: Spread one-third cup of filling along one end of crepe. Roll up and lay in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining crepes until all are filled.

  6. Spread remaining tomato sauce over crepes, making sure all are moistened. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. 

  7. Bake until heated through and lightly browned on top, about 15 minutes.
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Crepes with Chicken-Mushroom Filling and Asiago Cheese Sauce
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
Course: Appetizer, Main Dish
Cuisine: French, Italian
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1½ cups milk or half milk and half chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup Asiago or Taleggio cheese
  • Sea salt or kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black or white pepper
  • 12 ounces cooked chicken diced in ½-inch pieces
  • 8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms sliced and sautéed
  • 12 to 15 crepes see recipe
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. To make cheese sauce: Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, heat milk in microwave.

  3. Blend flour into melted butte. Stir in hot milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes until sauce is thicker but still loose. Stir in ½ cup cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. To make filling: Combine chicken and mushrooms in a medium bowl. Fold in half a cup of cheese sauce.
  5. Spread some of remaining sauce over bottom of gratin pan or large Pyrex baking dish.
  6. To fill crepes: Spread one-third cup of filling along one end of crepe. Roll up and lay in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining crepes until all are filled.
  7. Spread remaining cheese sauce over crepes, making sure all are moistened. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese. 

  8. Bake until heated through and lightly browned on top, about 15 minutes.

Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla Española)

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I barely recall what I ate last week but the memory of eating a tortilla española many years ago, one luscious bite after another, is indelible. It was the classic eggs-potato-onion variety and I ordered it late at night in a Madrid hotel restaurant, an alternative to going straight to bed after a long day of sightseeing.

No expectations, just a waiter’s recommendation, but the silky harmony of eggs, potatoes and onions–seemingly melted together–is a food memory that has lingered for decades.

After coming home, I followed a recipe or two for this kind of tortilla, failing to recapture that magic. The dish is usually translated as omelet or frittata, and I’ve certainly had many of those made with similar ingredients. My husband makes a frittata with onions, potatoes and pancetta, and it’s delicious, but nothing like that tortilla española.

Then Vivian Fueyo, who’s in a small cooking group I belong to, invited us to her seaside home to learn how to make one of her specialties. To my delight, it was tortilla española. Vivian is proudly Cuban, not Spanish, but her heritage includes dishes that migrated from Spain to Caribbean islands. She makes her version the way her mother and grandmother did.

There’s never a good place to insert a digression, but I’ll choose this moment to recap the difference between a Spanish tortilla and the much more familiar Mexican tortilla. “Tortilla” just means “little cake,” so the term is elastic enough to include an egg concoction as well as a versatile cornmeal or wheat flour flatbread.

Vivian started by completely covering a panful of thin potato and onion slices with olive oil and simmering until they almost fell apart. It was entirely different from the sautéing action that usually leads off the making of a frittata or omelet.

That’s when I had the aha! moment I’ve experienced so often with Italian cooking: It’s about the olive oil. It’s drained away but only after saturating the vegetables with flavor.

With the take-charge approach of her academic administration background showing through, Vivian directed us in the making of the tortilla. “The proportion of egg to onions and potato makes all the difference in the umami effect of the tortilla.” “No, wait until the pan is hotter!” “A neat edge to the tortilla is important. You must use a fork to tuck in the edges.”

We obediently followed Vivian’s directions and the reward was two presentable six-inch tortillas. They taste best when cooled to lukewarm, Vivian advised. Typically, a tortilla is eaten as a snack or hors d’oeuvre, but it is also great as a main dish with dressed greens.

Of course, there are many variations on the Spanish tortilla. Vivian shared a recipe for a Basque tortilla that includes chorizo, shrimp, bell pepper and asparagus in addition to the basics. On the simple side, she remembers her mother making tortillas with just peas and eggs, and her family does Caribbean-style tortillas with ripe plantains.

As with an Italian frittata, you can create your own combination with what’s in season or appeals to your fancy–right now I’m thinking of leeks, sauteed greens and a sharp cheese like pecorino.

But I recommend first mastering the method for a straight-up potatoes-and-onion tortilla. You won’t be sorry.

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TORTILLA ESPANOLA (SPANISH TORTILLA)
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 

Not at all like the Mexican tortillas we know so well, a Spanish tortilla is often compared to a frittata or omelet. But, as the directions reveal, it's different. 

Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch) Yukon Gold or other boiling potato firmly packed *
  • 1 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch) onion firmly packed *
  • 1 heaping teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt or to taste
  • 1½ cups extra virgin olive oil plus more as needed
  • 3 large eggs beaten
Instructions

  1. Spread a layer of potato slices in a medium saucepan or skillet, followed by a layer of onions. Sprinkle with a little salt. Continue layers until potato and onion are used. Pour olive oil over vegetables, pressing gently to make sure vegetables are submerged.

  2. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook until potato and onion are fork tender, about 25 minutes. Cool mixture until warm. Strain oil through a strainer into a bowl. Turn vegetables into a second bowl and gently mix with beaten eggs. Push vegetables down into egg mixture with a spatula and let stand for 15 minutes.
  3. Pour 1 tablespoon of reserved olive oil into a cast-iron skillet 6 inches in diameter.** Heat over medium heat. Spoon half of egg mixture (about 1 cup) into skillet. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, pressing down with a spatula to help mixture brown and running a fork around tortilla edges to prevent sticking and form a nice edge.
  4. Lift tortilla gently to check bottom. Once browned and the top is mostly set, run a fork around entire outer edge and gently shake skillet to loosen tortilla. Cover skillet with a plate and invert tortilla onto plate. Slide tortilla back into pan to brown on other side. Using a fork, tuck in tortilla edges to make a smooth edge. Remove from heat. Invert or slide onto a plate and let cool for about 10 minutes.

  5. Clean pan. Using remaining potato-onion mixture, cook a second tortilla the same way.***

  6. Cut tortillas in wedges to serve.
Recipe Notes

* Use a mandoline, the planer on a box grater or the slicer attachment on your food processor, or a cook’s knife.

** Alternatively, use an 8-inch skillet to cook the entire mixture.

***Refrigerate the remaining oil in a jar to use for seasoning potatoes and other vegetables.

Brothy Bread Soup with Poached Eggs

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Acqua cotta means “cooked water,” a name that undersells a delicious and nurturing bread soup prepared in less than an hour.

Travelling in the Maremma, on the Tuscan coast, I started seeing this soup on menus. It didn’t sound promising. But the soup itself was a delight.

No need for brodo! Vegetables, including onion and some kind of greens, create their own broth. Each serving, as it’s dished up, is enriched by adding bread, grated hard cheese and, most important, an egg poached in the soup itself.

Acqua cotta belongs to the same tradition as ribollita, making thrifty use of stale Tuscan bread, but it’s a far less time-consuming soup to make. Of course, authentic Tuscan bread is hard to come by in the States, but I’ve found that croutons made from any bread with a dense texture–including rye and other whole grain breads–work reasonably well.

As I gathered recipes for Piatto Unico, my cookbook on one-course Italian meals, this soup came to mind. Later on, Tina Rupp’s photo of acqua cotta, its elements suspended in a light but nourishing broth, looked so appetizing we chose it for the book cover.

A simple soup like this is easy to forget until the larder is almost empty. The last carrot, some greens, a few crusts of bread–aaahh! The makings of acqua cotta.

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Brothy Vegetable and Bread Soup with Poached Eggs
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

This recipe for this soup, typical of coastal Tuscany and Lazio, is eaten along the coasts of Tuscany and Lazio.

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup medium bread cubes cut from a country-style white or whole-wheat loaf about 2 slices
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 small carrot thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 1 small stalk
  • 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
  • Sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1 cup chopped or shredded chard, spinach or kale
  • 1 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes with some of the puree
  • 4 eggs
  • Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat an oven or toaster oven to 400°F. Toss the bread cubes on a baking sheet with a little olive oil. Cook until dry to the touch and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, leaving the cubes in the oven.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft but not colored, stirring often. Reduce the heat and add the carrot and celery, sauteing for a couple of minutes longer. Add the garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes, cooking just until the garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add 2 quarts cold water and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil. Stir in the chard and tomatoes; reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, to blend the flavors. Taste the broth, and season as needed with more salt and hot red pepper.

  4. Break the eggs one by one into a small dish and, holding it close to the surface, slide into the soup. Poach for about 3 minutes. The eggs will sink from sight but rise to the surface when almost fully cooked. The whites should be opaque and the yolks slightly firm but still soft.

  5. Using a skimmer or slotted spatula, lift each egg and slide into a soup bowl. •  Top each with a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano and some warm croutons.

Recipe Notes

Note: In addition to the other garnishes, add small torn strips of prosciutto di Parma to the soup bowls just before serving.

 

Making Pizzoccheri with Buckwheat Tagliatelle

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I’d been curious forever about the northern Italian dish known as pizzoccheri, but never tasted it. I just knew it combined short buckwheat tagliatelle with potatoes, cabbage, onions and lots of luscious cheese.

Looking on a map, I could see how this hearty dish came to be. Its place of origin, Valtellina (with Teglio as its capitol), is to the far north of Lombardy, not far from Switzerland. Pizzoccheri is border cuisine from a place where the traditions of what are now two countries mingle–a dish for people who work and play hard in a challenging climate.

Buckwheat has long been grown here, turning up in whole-grain breads and steaming bowls of whole-grain polenta taragna. So why not pasta? Italy takes pride of ownership and I was interested but not surprised to find a site by a group called Accademia del Pizzocchero di Teglio that shares the story of this northern dish as well as a recipe from a participating restaurant.

According to the Accademia, pizzoccheri is the sort of dish locals conduct spirited conversations about–how the flour should be milled, how to fry the garlic, the ideal age of the cheese. Everyone has an opinion that remains intact at the end of the discussion.

After consulting several recipes, including one from The Silver Spoon and another from a Slow Food collection of recipes from Italy’s osterias, I concluded that there’s room for variation in ingredients and proportions as long as the essentials are retained. For instance, the most authentic mountain cheese would be Valtellina Casera. But other, easier-to-find Alpine cheeses can be substituted–Italian Fontina Valle d’Aosta, French Comté or Swiss Gruyère.

Most recipes call for piling the steaming mixture onto a platter, but I gravitated toward layering the pasta, vegetables and cheeses to create a casserole for baking briefly. It can be held after assembly for a while and, if any is left over after cooking, reheated successfully the next day.

Don’t count on leftovers, though. Pizzoccheri is an absolutely delicious dish and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to discover it.

Like any dish made with homemade pasta, pizzoccheri takes time but is especially worthwhile because you’d be hard put to buy buckwheat tagliatelle. It’s a great group project–my husband and I had a blast making pizzoccheri with our friends Maria, Mel and Vivian.

Next on my Valtellina cooking agenda is sciatt, a dialect word for “toad.” I’ll have to look into the story about that, but only after test firing a batch of these cheese-filled buckwheat fritters, served on a bed of chicory.

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Pizzoccheri
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 

This buckwheat pasta dish is a specialty of the Italy's Valtellina area, close to the Swiss border.

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian, northern Italian
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter 8 tablespoons
  • 2 large onions thinly sliced
  • Sea salt or kosher salt
  • 2 large potatoes peeled, diced small
  • 5 cups shredded cabbage preferably Savoy
  • 2 or 3 garlic cloves peeled, slivered
  • Leaves from 2 sprigs sage snipped in ribbons
  • 1 pound buckwheat tagliatelle recipe follows
  • 6 ounces Alpine cheese such as Italian Fontina Valle d'Aosta, French Comté or Swiss Gruyère shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese shredded (about 1 cup)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Use 1 tablespoon soft butter to coat a large baking dish.
  2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Saute onions until soft and golden brown. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Saute garlic and sage until bronzed but not browned. Mix with sautéed onions.
  3. Bring a large saucepan two-thirds filled with water to a boil. Add a small handful of salt. Cook potatoes 5 minutes. Add cabbage and cook until vegetables are just tender. Dip vegetables out with a strainer (an Asian kitchen “spider” works best) and transfer to skillet with onions. Mix gently.
  4. When water returns to a boil, add tagliatelle, stirring gently to separate strands. When water returns to a boil, cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Using a strainer, transfer to a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter in bits and toss gently to coat as butter melts.
  5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Assemble dish: Spread one third of tagliatelle on bottom of prepared pan. Spread one third of potato-cabbage-onion mixture on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add one third of fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses. Repeat layers twice.
  6. Cook uncovered until heated through and top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Print
Buckwheat Tagliatelle
Prep Time
45 mins
 

These noodles, cut shorter than regular tagliatelle, are used in the Valtellina to make a dish called pizzoccheri.

Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1¾ cups buckwheat flour about 200 grams
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour about 200 grams (preferably Italian doppio zero), plus more flour for the counter
  • 2 large pinches kosher or sea salt
Instructions
  1. Make tagliatelle: Whisk together buckwheat and all-purpose flour with salt in a bowl. Drizzle with water, mixing with a fork, until dough begins to cohere (about 1 cup altogether). Knead until smooth and not sticky, about 10 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rest 10 minutes.

  2. Break off a piece of dough the size of an extra-large egg. Flatten into a square, dust with all-purpose flour and run through widest setting of pasta maker.* Change setting to next slot and run pasta through again. Continue to narrower settings, stopping on the second or third to last. Cut sheet horizontally in half if necessary for length of about 8 inches. Lay sheet on floured counter or tray, and continue in same way with remaining dough.

  3. Attach handle to pasta cutter. Cut each sheet to make tagliatelle. Place on floured trays, with a tea towel or waxed paper between layers, or on spokes of a pasta dryer. Dry for at least 20 minutes before cooking.
Recipe Notes

* Alternatively, roll the piece of dough until very thin and cut in narrow strips. 

Perfect Eggplant Parmesan

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Nobody needs more than one recipe for eggplant parmesan, any more than you need multiple methods for perfect scrambled eggs or a perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Problem was my eggplant parmesan recipe, acquired years ago from an Italian-American cook, wasn’t perfect. The eggplant slices were brushed with oil and broiled. It contained ricotta as well as mozzarella and parmesan.  Sounds okay but the result was always a bit disappointing. Eventually I drifted away from it.

Then I tasted eggplant parm–otherwise known as melazane alla parmigiana–as executed by Maria Silvestri, co-owner of Casa del Pane in St. Pete Beach. Under a bronzed crust, a meltingly delicious marriage of fried eggplant, cheeses and tomato sauce.

At Casa del Pane, you can savor a mozzarella & grilled veggie sandwich made with Pugliese bread still warm from their ovens.  Or sip a cappuccino at the bar while chatting in Italian with a regular. Or stock up on artisanal pasta, regional wines and choice canned tomatoes.

But you can’t eat Anna’s eggplant parmesan at Casa del Pane. “It’s a family dish we enjoy at home, made the way I learned in Puglia,” she says.

Anna agreed to share the recipe for publication in Food + Art: Cooking around Tampa Bay with the Museum of Fine Arts (buy a copy if you haven’t already). To make sure I had it right, I asked lots of questions. Are the eggplants peeled? “I do but it’s the cook’s decision.” How thick are the slices? She held thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart. What kind of canned tomatoes? “A good imported brand such as La Valle.” What else makes her version special?  “No breadcrumbs! I think they make the dish too heavy.”

The eggplant is fried, after being dipped in flour and beaten egg, and I’ve never had a guest who didn’t ask for a second helping. I think there’s a connection. That never happened with my broiled eggplant parm.

I could give you the argument that, when food is fried properly, most of the oil stays in the pan. That happens to be true, but the real reason I make this classic dish Maria’s way: It tastes perfect.

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Eggplant Parmesan
Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 25 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 28-ounce can good-quality plum tomatoes in puree
  • Salt
  • 4 small eggplants about 2½ pounds
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour or as needed
  • 4 or 5 eggs
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 pound mozzarella cheese coarsely grated, divided
  • 4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano grated, divided
  • 1 cup basil leaves divided
Instructions
  1. Make sauce: Saute onion with olive oil until golden in a medium saucepan. Add tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook at a brisk simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until onion is cooked and tomatoes soften, about 10 minutes. Cool to warm. Using a blender or food processor, process to a chunky sauce.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Peel eggplant or not, depending on preference. Cut in ½-inch slices. Place flour in a shallow bowl and, in a second bowl, beat eggs with 1 teaspoon salt. Coat slices with flour on both sides, dusting off excess.  Dip in egg, allowing excess to drop off.
  3. Fill large deep skillet with at least ½ inch vegetable oil. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry eggplant until golden brown on both sides. Drain on a platter lined with paper towels and blot with more paper towels.
  4. Ladle sauce over bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan (see Note). Arrange a layer of eggplant on top. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano and basil. Repeat layers, finishing with sauce and cheeses.
  5. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling and browned on top. Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes

Note: In a smaller pan, you may need to repeat the sequence of layers three times rather than twice.

 

 

 

Making Ricotta at Home–Worth the Trouble?

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Homemade ricotta had been on my “to do” list for awhile. Not a big deal: three ingredients and maybe 10 minutes of active attention. So I can’t explain why I didn’t get around to it. But one fine afternoon…ricotta making rose to the top of the list.

Ricotta means “recooked” and for a cheese maker, is a thrifty way of capturing remaining nutrients in whey, a byproduct of the process for more celebrated cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano. Whey isn’t exactly a supermarket staple, so homemade ricotta is usually made from milk and sometimes, for extra richness, with cream.  Instead of calling for rennet or a cheese culture, ricotta is formed by adding an acid, usually white vinegar or citric acid, to the heated liquid. Curds are separated from the whey, draining through cheesecloth to make the soft cheese.

How-tos are not to be found in the works of Pellegrino Artusi, the so-called “father of Italian cooking” or in a sampling the several hundred Italian cookbooks on my shelves. These sources assume that ricotta is a purchased ingredient unless you happen to own a cow or ewe.

Instead, I found advice by diving into Internet adventures of cheese making enthusiasts–some chefs or professional cheese makers but mostly hobbyists. Invariably they rave about the ease of making ricotta and urge the rest of us to get going. But even before heading for the kitchen, I picked up a pattern from the troubleshooting hints and reader comments. It seems that sometimes quantities of fluffy ricotta rise magically to the top of the hot milk, and sometimes they do not. The fact is that milk can behave in a temperamental way, presenting challenges even for a simple cheese such as ricotta.

For instance, it makes sense that you’d want to start with the best possible milk–perhaps your favorite organic brand. In my case that’s Organic Valley. But organic milk is typically ultra pasteurized and, uh oh, often doesn’t curdle properly. Ditto for heavy cream.

A second issue: The amount of acid needed to maximize curdling can vary. I discovered this on my first test, which happened to be with raw goat milk. The milk failed to curdle and, hesitant to add more vinegar for fear of creating an off taste, I discarded it.

Next I did several batches using pasteurized whole milk. These were my most successful, especially after I learned a trick for maximizing the quantity of ricotta formed. According to a cheesemaker’s site, keep adding vinegar until the liquid stops looking milky and becomes a watery whey with floating islands of curd. After straining the cheese, stir in a little baking soda to neutalize the acid and eliminate any off flavors. It sounded too chem lab to be true, but I have to say it works.

My last batch was made with the same brand of pasteurized milk, to which I added a little cream. That  mixture failed to curdle no matter how vinegar I added–which seemed to confirm the idea that ultra-pasteurized dairy products don’t take well to ricotta making.

After coming home, my husband was treated to a blind tasting of three ricotta samples. Two were ones I had made. They were received kindly but the winner was the third, which he described as “creamy and mild, with a nice milky finish.”

It came not from our kitchen but from Mazzaro’s, a local Italian specialty market.

So my personal answer to “Worth the trouble to make ricotta at home?” is no–although I do want to try goat milk one more time–because I have a good source of freshly made ricotta. If your only choice is a supermarket brand, bland tasting and laced with stabilizers, give homemade ricotta a try. I suggest you do it in small batches (say, two cups of milk) until you get the results you’re going for. Then ramp up to as much as 1 gallon of milk at a time.

There are a zillion things to do with good ricotta–I use it to make spinach-ricotta gnocchi, baked ricotta (a Sicilian dish), a layered zucchini casserole and, for dessert, a ricotta tart or fried ricotta fritters drizzled with honey. Whether you’ve made ricotta or bought it, be sure to eat some in a simple way. Spread it on crostini, finishing with sea salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Or place a generous dollop on pasta dressed with a fresh tomato sauce. The flavor is pure, comforting and always welcome in my kitchen.

Ricotta
Print
Ricotta Made at Home
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
22 mins
 
Course: Ingredients, Products
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1 quart whole milk pasteurized, NOT ultra pasteurized
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar or more
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda optional
Instructions
  1. 1. Suspend a medium strainer over a bowl. Line it with a double layer of cheesecloth or paper towels.
  2. 2. Over medium-low heat, bring the milk and salt to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan. Add vinegar and stir once or twice. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Let rest for 10 minutes.

  3. 3. Scoop off curds with a skimmer and place in the strainer. If the liquid in the pan looks milky, reheat it gently and drizzle in vinegar until more curds form and the liquid turns a translucent yellow-green color. Transfer curds to the strainer (or pour mixture into the strainer).

  4. 4. When curds have drained to a consistency you like, spoon into a bowl. Taste and, if you have added extra vinegar or detect a sour flavor, stir in the baking soda. Refrigerate and use within three days.

 

 

 

Ricotta Fritters with Maple Syrup

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Corner of Vermont is a store that sells maple syrup, maple sugar and maple candies. Also, the state’s maple-flavored creemees, which look like soft-serve ice cream but have more butterfat and therefore taste better.

Nothing too surprising, except what’s a store named Corner of Vermont doing in the heart of Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood?

“I got tired of losing money as a Vermont farmer,” says Mark Hastings. He noticed that many customers at his seasonal roadside stand were from Brooklyn. So he followed them, setting up shop in Park Slope to sell products from the 250-acre Guilford Farm.

Another question: Why’s his single-estate maple syrup better than the 100% Vermont maple syrup found in any supermarket? Seems that, as with wine or olive oil, terroir can make a difference. Maple syrup is a living thing whose flavor and color vary according to the soil, climate and advancing season. So maple syrup from a single farm is likely to have distinctive properties lacked by supermarket syrup, which might be made with sap from 5,000 farmers. The bottle I chose was a dark amber that Hastings promised would deliver “straight-ahead maple flavor.”

Just then a stream of middle-schoolers charged into the store, demanding creemees and other after-school treats. I stopped asking questions and left.

And started thinking about what to do with my maple syrup. The usual, of course–pancakes, French toast, the occasional marinade. But this blog is about “cooking Italian anywhere” and therein lies the challenge. Italians don’t typically consume maple syrup. Or even like it, which may disappoint the proud Americans who give it to Italian friends as a gourmet gift.

Still, there had to be some good use for maple syrup in the Italian cooking canon. And then it came to me: the sweet ricotta fritters known as bombolette or, in Tuscany, as cenci. If honey is drizzled over them (and it is), why not maple syrup? I whipped up some fritters, and–oh yes!  Maple syrup, right at home in Italy.

Print
Ricotta Fritters with Maple Syrup
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

Adapted from Marcella Hazan's More Classic Italian Cooking

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 ounces best-quality ricotta
  • 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
Instructions

  1. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until light and foamy. Add the ricotta and butter. Continue whisking until creamy. Add the flour a little at a time until incorporated. Beat in the zest and salt. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour but no more than 3.

  2. Fill a small skillet or wide saucepan with enough oil to come 1/2 inch up the sides. Heat over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Working in batches, add the batter 1 tablespoon at a time, pushing it off with another spoon. The batter will sink, then rise to the top and puff up a little. When golden brown, turn and cook on the other side. Drain on paper towels.
  3. Place the fritters on a platter or individual plates and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

Lemon Ricotta Gelato, Made at Home

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lemon ricotta gelato

Researching my Tampa Bay Times article on the best gelato in Florence, Italy, was a good excuse for guilt-free gorging. Now I’m thousands of miles away, consoling myself with my own lemon ricotta gelato.

The idea of making gelato at home occurred to me during an interview with Silvana Vivoli of the renowned gelateria Vivoli. Americans love exotic flavors, but she told me her Florence customers’ top choices are crema, chocolate and strawberry.

Crema? It’s an egg-based custard gelato. The best gelaterias take pride in the honest goodness of their crema–and without masking flavors, lesser gelaterias can’t hide. Sometimes crema is flavored with vanilla or lemon zest, but not necessarily. Crema was the first flavor Silvana’s grandfather made when Vivoli opened during the ’30s.  (Fior di latte is the other pale gelato you’ll see in Italy–the difference is it’s made just with milk and cream, no eggs.)

Could I make crema successfully at home? Silvana shrugged: Sure. Use the best eggs, milk and cream you can get, she advised. And, before freezing the custard, refrigerate it overnight so the flavors mature.

The next decision was how to flavor my gelato. I wanted something different, without straying too far from a straight-out crema. I decided on vanilla and for emphatic lemoniness, both lemon zest and limoncello, the Southern Italian lemon liqueur. And ricotta, because I always enjoy eating ricotta gelato in Italy and rarely find it here, even in Tampa Bay’s top-rated Paciugo, just a three-minute walk from my home.

Making the crema base was a simple matter of “tempering” the beaten eggs by gradually adding the hot liquid and then cooking the mixture until it thickened. While the mixture chilled overnight in the fridge, excess liquid drained off the ricotta, set over a strainer.

The next day I tasted the gelato and–brava, me! Maybe not the best I’ve ever tasted but certainly the best I’ve made, with a deliciously creamy texture that doesn’t turn icy when frozen.

I love the simple goodness of crema and the fact that it goes with anything. If you want to embellish beyond what’s here, soak small-diced dried Mission figs in limoncello before adding to the custard mixture. Or drizzle the gelato with sweetened berry puree or a rich chocolate sauce.

 

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Lemon Ricotta Gelato
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 1 quarts
Ingredients
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 large pinch sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons limoncello liqueur optional
  • 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
Instructions
  1. With a whisk or electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until it reaches a pale yellow, creamy consistency.
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream over medium heat until steaming. Gradually add about ½ cup of the hot liquid to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Blend into the milk mixture, stirring, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, sea salt and limoncello (if using). Cool.
  3. Transfer the custard to a nonreactive container, cover and chill for several hours or overnight. Scrape the ricotta into a small strainer positioned over a bowl. Chill for the same length of time.
  4. Thoroughly mix the drained ricotta into the custard. Freeze until firm in an electric ice cream maker.  Shortly before serving, move to the refrigerator or kitchen counter until soft enough to scoop easily.

Asparagus, Ham & Ricotta Pie: Beats Quiche

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Even though we can get them anytime, foods like asparagus, ham and eggs still trigger thoughts of spring. That’s also when quiche gets its annual rebirth, at brunches and such. But here’s something better: this Italian asparagus, ham and ricotta pie, a variety of torta salata (“savory pie”).

The ricotta stands in for cream and, in place of quiche’s gruyère, there’s a generous sprinkling of pecorino cheese. This recipe (which appears in my cookbook Piatto Unico) came from our friend Sara, shown here in the garden of Il Poggiolo,  her Tuscan hilltop home.

Sara made her torta salata in less than an hour, using prepared dough made with butter and vegetable oil. In Italy this dough is packaged in a nifty triangular oblong and unfolds to fit in a pie/cake dish, with higher sides than ours. At home I usually make my own pasta frolla, an easy-to-work Italian dough containing egg, but you could substitute a high-quality prepared crust (avoid ones with hydrogenated fat).

Serve the pie warm or at room temperature as part of a brunch buffet, or pair it with dressed spring greens and crusty bread for a one-course meal.

Print
Asparagus, Ham and Ricotta Pie
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 
Course: Main Dish, Pie
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • Unbleached all-purpose flour for dusting
  • Pastry dough for a single-crust pie or a prepared crust
  • 1/2 pound asparagus ends trimmed
  • 1 medium red or yellow onion
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 ounces prosciutto cotto available in some U.S. delis or other cooked ham cut in ½-inch cubes
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole-milk or part-skim ricotta
  • 1/3 cup grated aged pecorino Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons snipped parsley or basil leaves
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. If rolling the crust: Lightly dust a marble pastry board or other smooth surface with flour. Roll the dough into a disk about 11 inches in diameter, dusting the top  as necessary with a little more flour to prevent sticking. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate; press it into the pan; trim all but ½ inch of overhanging edges with kitchen shears or a knife; flute the edges or finish as you like. Chill in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Angle cut the asparagus in 1-inch lengths. Halve the onion, pole to pole, and cut crosswise in thin slices.
  3. Fill a small saucepan two-thirds full of cold water and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool under running water.
  4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and golden, about 10 minutes; cool. Add the asparagus and ham.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the ricotta and ½ cup water, whisking until well blended. Stir in half of the pecorino cheese, the parsley, salt and pepper.
  6. Spread the asparagus and ham mixture in the pie shell. Add the ricotta-egg mixture and use a spatula to distribute it evenly and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining pecorino on top.
  7. Bake the pie on a rack in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes or until the bottom crust is well browned. Move to a rack in the top third of the oven and continue to cook until the filling is set, 10 to 15 minutes. The top doesn't necessarily brown much; if you want a deeper hue, brush with melted butter or sprinkle on extra cheese in the last minutes of cooking. Cool for at least 10 minutes on a rack before serving.
Recipe Notes

Variations: This pie takes well to other vegetable combinations--sauteed zucchini and mushrooms, for example. Salami or cured pancetta cut in small pieces could be substituted for the ham. It’s fine to omit cured meats altogether, but the filling may need a little more seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs) if you do.