Ricotta, ricotta, ricotta.  So versatile, so simple, so delicious when done well, and so awful when done wrong.  For most of my life I hated ricotta, thinking it too rubbery and tasteless.  That is, until I tried (quote unquote) REAL ricotta.  Not the stuff from the grocery store, but the artisan cheese that is traditionally the by-product of making mozarella.

Artisan ricotta is an entirely different entity than typical grocery store ricotta.  And for those of you who think I might just be snobby about these things, well, I must say it’s simply not true!  Take cottage cheese, for example. I have sampled and re-sampled artisan cottage cheese and compared it to regular cottage cheese…. and the result?  the grocery store variety is good enough for my day-to-day.  However, this is absolutely not the case with ricotta.

So now that we’ve established my ricotta obsession, let’s move onto the gnocchi!

About two weeks ago Steven and I decided to do a night on the town, complete with a few Berlioz pieces at the San Francisco Symphony and a dinner at the much renowned Zuni Cafe.  After two hours of wonderful music, we sat down to a late dinner at Zuni.  After perusing their tempting menu we decided on the ricotta gnocchi with brown butter sauce, along with their world famous burger.

The gnocchi were the first to arrive, and after taking the first bite I turned to Steven and said, “I just ate a little piece of cheesy heaven”.

They were that good.  If you are in SF, run, don’t walk, to Zuni to get these gnocchi.

Returned home, the wheels started turning and I decided I must make these at home.  After perusing one of my favorite blogs, The Paupered Chef, I came across a recipe that seemed like it might be as good as the Zuni gnocchi — Ricotta Gnudi from The Spotted Pig.

A week and a few cups of semolina later, I found myself fishing ricotta gnocchi out of their flour bath and dropping them into a vat of boiling water.  And the result?  Wonderful!  When you bite into them, the gnocchi basically explode with warm ricotta in your mouth.  Though that may or may not sound appealing to you, it is simply delightful.

The other thing about these little balls of deliciousness is that though they take time, the effort required is quite minimal.  MUCH easier than making, say, homemade fettucine or lasagne noodles since no pasta machine or rolling is required.  But even though they are easier to make, the effect is no less dramatic, and if you were to serve these at your next dinner party, accolades would most surely follow.

Zuni inspired Ricotta Gnocchi
serves 2-3

1 c. high quality ricotta, preferably sheep milk
1 c. grated parmesan
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1/2 c. AP flour
3-4 c. semolina flour
Your favorite sauce (suggestions: brown butter with fried sage, bright and spicy tomato, light cream, pesto, bacon/cream/parmesan/parsley/olive oil)

Combine the ricotta, parmesan, eggs and egg yolk, and nutmeg in a bowl.  Whip until light and fluffy.  Fold in flour and mix until well combined.  Add more flour if the mixture is too sticky to roll into balls.

Roll the mixture into roughly 1 inch balls.  Pour a 1/2 inch layer of semolina into a baking pan, and place the balls in the flour, spaced about 1 inch apart.  Cover with the rest of the semolina and make sure the ricotta balls are well-buried.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, carefully fish out the gnocchi from the semolina, gently shaking the balls to rid them of excess flour.  The flour that remains can be sifted and saved for a later use.

Allow the gnocchi to come to room temperature, and in the meantime bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.  Carefully slide the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook until they float to the surface, about 1-2 minutes.  Be careful that you do not overcook them, which results in a rubbery texture.

Serve immediately with your favorite sauce, perhaps browned butter with fried sage, a bright and spicy tomato sauce, a light cream sauce, or even with a crumble of bacon along with some olive oil, red pepper flakes, and parmesan.

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Agretti and Ricotta Cheesecake

- 48 Hours in New York, 3 recipes: Nora’s Beets with Ricotta; Roasted five-spice Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Chevre Bites; The MB Hangover Cure and General Wellness Drink

The tumbleweed rolled and tumbled down the windy street as we sat in the diner. Little plumes of dust swirled in its wake, lit by the morning sun. I remember watching the tumbleweed as I ate my breakfast, thinking… where *are* we? I felt like I was in some eerie, abandoned Old West town, but my dad kept things light by making Wile E. Coyote jokes and doing voices from Looney Tunes because that’s the kind of guy he is :)

Who’d have thought that more than ten later I would open up my Mystery Box of vegetable from Mariquita Farms and find a close cousin of that tumbleweed. And furthermore, that I would cook it up into a cheesecake and write a post about tumbleweed and cooking.

But that’s far enough down memory lane. Let’s talk agretti!

A bunch of Agretti

Please do not judge agretti by its appearance. It hardly looks like a vegetable, but rather a strange grass you might find growing at the edge of a pond or an oasis in the high desert. When eaten raw, agretti is the slightest bit lemony, reminiscent of sorrel, and when you bite into it, has the tendency to pop, a little like a juicy grape. Cooked, it loses its pop but retains its flavor. Raw or just barely cooked it has a brilliant green color, which darkens after about 5 minutes of cooking.

When confronted with this vegetable I had never seen before in my life, I was a little… intimidated. The internet offered few ideas, and it isn’t mentioned even once in my LARGE stack of cookbooks… what to do? But of course! Cheese, eggs, herbs, more cheese, bake… this combination rarely fails me.

I’ve yet to see this vegetable anywhere besides vegetable boxes from Maraquita farms, but if you do happen to come across it, I encourage you to pick up a bunch and try out this unusual vegetable!

Agretti and Ricotta Cheesecake
Inspired by 101 Cookbooks

1 large bunch Agretti, rinsed and dried
2 medium shallots
5-6 cloves garlic

8 oz. neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese)
2 c. ricotta, drained for 10 minutes
a large handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used a mix of tarragon, sage, and parsley)
1/2 c. grated parmesan
2 eggs

1/3 c. goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 325. Oil a 7 inch spring form pan*.

Trim the bottom 1-2 inches from the agretti stems and discard. Chop the rest into 1-2 inch pieces.

Heat about 2 T. olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shallots, cook 1-2 minutes, then add the garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the agretti and very generously season with salt and pepper. Saute until the agretti has reduced to about 1/3 it’s original size. Allow to cool, then transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop.

Put the neufchatel into a large bowl and whip either with a fork or an electric whisk to soften. Add the ricotta, herbs, parmesan, and eggs and mix until well combined. Fold the agretti mixture into the cheese. Pour into the spring form pan, place on a baking tray, and bake for 1 hour.

Sprinkle goat cheese over the top of the cheesecake and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, until goat cheese has softened. If desired, place the cheesecake under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the top is golden. Remove from oven, allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then release from spring form pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Note: if you don’t have a spring form pan, you may use a regular pie plate. Keep an eye on the cooking process though, as the depth of the cheesecake is quite different when using a pie dish versus a small spring form pan. You will likely need to cook the cheesecake for less time.

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It’s not that often that I get fluttery thinking about cookies.  Most of the time cookies are cookies, and I could take or leave them (well, to be honest I’ll usually take them).  These cookies, however, are certainly an exception.  I think I could eat them everyday for the rest of my life.  They are so unique — a little crunchy, earthy, sweet but not cloying, buttery, and with just a hint of saltiness.

The first time I made these was years and years ago, when I was living in a co-op in the Santa Cruz mountains outside of Palo Alto.  We had a huge garden filled with tomatoes, squash, and all sorts of herbs.  There was a large sage plant growing alongside some rosemary, and through some fortuitous series of events, I decided to try baking a dessert with this strong, musty herb that people seem to either love or hate.

And the result?  Absolutely fantastic.  The recipe quickly became my favorite cookie recipe.

Anytime I take a plate of these cookies somewhere new, a very predictable series of events occurs:  Someone will ask what kind of cookies they are.  I tell them they are made with dried apricots, sage, and cornmeal.  People look at the plate with some trepidation.  A brave soul tries one.  Within about 10 minutes, the entire plate is gone.

Try them.  They are simply delicious.

Apricot, Cornmeal, and Sage Cookies
From Epicurious
Makes 25-30 3-inch cookies

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 c. chopped dried apricots
2 T. minced fresh sage
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix the butter, sugar, and egg until smooth.  Sift in the flour and baking soda, mix until combined, then add apricots, sage, cornmeal, and salt and stir until well combined.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (the cookies spread quite a lot).  Bake 10 minutes, or until pale golden.  Remove from oven, allow to cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Gooey Chocolate Cherry Mint and Oatmeal Cookies

- Skillet Roasted Celeraic with Potatoes, Celery, Olives, and Sage

These preserves are the result of a co-worker’s citrus bounty from his backyard tree.  He brought in a bag of delicious, juicy oranges a few days ago, and I was the happy recipient of what was left at the end of the day, under the condition ‘bring me a jar of whatever you make‘.  Sounds fair to me.

I have been enjoying these preserves on toast, mixed into plain yogurt, and on top of creamy vanilla ice cream.  I imagine the preserves would also be delicious mixed into homemade buttermilk cheese (minus the thyme and lemon), heated and drizzled over pork, or as a glaze to cooked chicken thighs.  With it’s subtle mix of sweet and savory flavors, the possibilities are numerous…

And just a quick note about preserve making and canning: while it is entirely possible to make pickles and preserves without specialized equipment (jar lifter, lid lifter, canning funnel, etc), these tools are really useful and make the process much simpler.  And they’re cheap!  I think you can get a jar lifter + magnetic lid lifter + canning funnel for about $12 total.  It’s absolutely worth it.  I don’t have a special water bath canner, but instead use my 12 qt. stock pot, which works like a charm.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Five Spice Orange Preserves
Adapted from Christine Ferber’s Mes Confitures
makes about six 1/2 pints

2 1/2 lbs Granny Smith Apples
4 2/3 c. sugar, plus 1 c.
About 3 lbs oranges, or 2 c. 1 oz juice and pulp
3 c. 2 oz water, plus 7 oz
2 attractive medium sized oranges
Juice of 1 small lemon
3/4 t. Chinese five-spice powder (a mixtures of cloves, cinnamon, anise, ginger, star anise, and ginger)
2 or 3 three inch pieces of cinnamon stick (optional)

Special Equipment:
6 half pint canning jars with two piece lids.

Rinse the apples in cold water.  Remove the stems and cut them in quarters without  peeling.  Put them in a preserving pan and cover with about 3 1/2 c. water.  Bring to a boil and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

Collect the juice of the apples by pouring the apple mixture into a fine sieve, pressing lightly on the fruit to extract the juices.  Filter a second time through a clean handkerchief or cheesecloth that has been previously wet and wrung out.  Refrigerate the juice overnight.

The next day, measure 2 c. 1 oz of the juice, leaving in the bowl any sediment that formed during the night.

Sterilize the jars and lids by 1) boiling the lids and rings in a medium saucepan for about 5 minutes; leave the lids in the water until ready to use, and 2) place the empty jars on a baking sheet and place in a 225 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave jars in the oven until ready to use.

Squeeze the 3 lbs of oranges.  Measure 2 c. 1 oz juice and put the seeds into a cheesecloth bag.

Wash and brush the 2 oranges under cold water and cut them into very thin round (1/8 – 1/16 inch or so).  In a preserving pan, poach them with 1 c. sugar and 7 oz water.  Cook at a boil until the slices are translucent, about 15-20 minutes  Add the apple juice, orange juice, lemon juice, five spice powder, cinnamon sticks, 4 2/3 c. sugar, and the seeds in the cheesecloth bag.  Bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Skim.  Continue cooking on high heat for about 10 -15 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove the cheesecloth bag of seeds.  Check the set*.  Put the jam into jars, close with two piece lids (lid + ring), and process in a boiling water bath for about 8 minutes.  Allow to cool, and enjoy!

*To check the set, I typically place a small plate in the freezer when I start boiling the preserves.  When the preserves are nearly set, I do the ‘wrinkle test’.  Spoon about 1/2 t. of the preserves onto the cold plate, place in the freezer for about 2-3 minutes, remove, then press the preserves with your finger.  If it wrinkles, it is ready; if it looks more like honey, keep cooking it.  For a more exact approach, use a candy thermometer — the preserves should be set around 220 degrees F.

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Orange, Pomelo, Lemon and Ginger Preserves

- Blood Orange Marmalade with a Hint of Rosemary

- Plum and Cardamom Preserves

Here it is, the end of Dungeness crab season and I am *finally* getting around to posting this delicious roasted crab recipe…  don’t walk… RUN to get the last of the dungeness before it is gone!  Tender, sweet, and oh so sustainable, dungeness crab is one of my favorite wintertime treats.

Typically when preparing crab, I opt for a very simple preparation — I warm the crab in a steamer then make a lemon butter sauce for dipping — simple and delicious.  But, sometimes it’s fun to be adventurous and try an unexpected combination.  Enter Ms. Shafia’s Roasted Crab with Fennel and Orange.

I first came across Louisa Shafia’s new cookbook Lucid Food while perusing the latest 10 Speed Press offerings.  With regards to cookbooks, they are tops.  A large percentage of my favorite cookbooks are published by 10 Speed Press (Super Natural Cooking, Asian Dumplings, Fat: A Misunderstood Ingredient, The River Cottage Meat Book, and the whole Moosewood series, to name a few…).  So, I guess it is no surprise that I am really enjoying this latest publication that has recipes ranging from down home american to out there asian interpretations (ginko nut dumplings with foraged ginkos!) to persian delicacies.

Anyhow, this cookbook is really lovely.  In its layout, it reminds me a bit of Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking (read: beautiful pictures, nice typography, overall beautiful layout), though the recipes have a focus on omnivorous eco-concious cooking instead of vegetarian cuisine.  It is divided by season, and stresses the use of locally available seasonal ingredients.

Some of the other recipes on my to-cook list are (mostly from the Fall and Winter sections… Summer seems too far away to read the chapter yet!):

- Buckwheat Crepes with Mashed Potatoes and Jack Cheese
- Amaranth Porridge with Fruit and Nuts
- Kale Salad with Avocado, Almonds, and Toasted Nori
- Pan-Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Mashed Parsnips
- Red Cabbage, Apple, and Dulse Salad
- Fesenjan (Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce)
- Fava Beans and Seared Zucchini with Garlicky Croutons
- Rhubarb and Pistachios over Thick Yogurt

Speaking of those foraged ginkos, I’ve noticed quite a few elderberry trees coming into bloom near my office.  Anyone have plans to make any elderflower creations?

Oven-Roasted Dungeness Crab with Fennel and Orange
Adapted from Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia
Serves 2

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. dijon mustard
1/2 an orange, zested, then cut into supremes
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 dungeness crab, cooked, cleaned, cracked, and split into halves or pieces
1 small shallot
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
3/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. orange juice
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, quartered

Whisk together the garlic, 3 T. of the olive oil, the mustard, and orange zest.  Toss in 6 of the thyme sprigs.  Place crabs in a shallow baking dish and smear the garlic mixture all over them, working it into the cracks in the shell.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Heat a large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 T. olive oil.  Add the shallot and saute for 1 minute.  Add the fennel and the rest of the thyme and saute for 1 minute.  Pour in the wine and orange juice and bring to a boil.  Add salt to taste, decrease the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Uncover and simmer for about 5 more minutes.

Add the crab and all of the marinade to the pan and bring to a boil.  Taste the sauce and season as needed.  Cover the pan and put it in the oven for 5 minutes.  Baste the crab with the sauce and roast for 5 minutes more.  Take the pan out of the oven and carefully pour the sauce through a large strainer into a bowl.  Cover the crab to keep it warm.

Pour the sauce into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Reduce the sauce, stirring often, for 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.  To serve, divide the crab among the plates.  Pour the sauce over the crab and season with pepper.  Garnish with orange slices and a lemon quarter.  Serve with crusty bread and a tender green salad.  Enjoy!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Simplest Tomato Sauce with Roasted Onion, Shallots and Garlic

- Potato Gratin with Caramelized Fennel and Leek

- Braised Caramelized Fennel

Yesterday I inaugurated my new canning equipment — a huge 12 quart stockpot, a canning funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a bright red rubber coated jar lifter.  Joy!  Granted, I actually received most of this for Christmas last year, but since I didn’t envision myself doing much canning in Germany, I packed everything away in storage and forgot about it for a year.

But, now I am back in San Francisco and getting settled into ‘life as normal’, whatever that means.  One of the things that signifies ‘life as normal’ is being settled enough that I feel like embarking on culinary adventures.  Homemade tofu, jelly, pickles, sauerkraut, tempeh, and sausage are the sorts of things I am talking about here — things you can easily buy at the grocery store, but sometimes are just fun to make from scratch because 1) seeing the process is interesting, and 2) the results are often more unique and flavorful than their store bought counterparts.  When things are up in the air or unsettled, the farthest thing from my mind is making something like tofu from scratch, but I can tell when I have finally settled in somewhere because I typically develop the urge to make sausage, pickle something, or cook up some marmalade.

Such is the case now… finally!  sigh of relief that our move is over…

This recipe is adapted from Christine Ferber’s beautiful and imaginative book, Mes Confitures.  Divided by season, this volume focused entirely on unusual preserves and jellies is the jam maker’s dream.  There are SO many things I want to try out of here.  Judging from the fantastic results of my first foray into her book, I expect great things from her other recipes.  A few of the standouts that I plan to make are: Pineapple with Vanilla and Rosemary, Banana with Bittersweet Chocolate, Clementine with Lemon and Cinnamon, Kumquat with Apple and Grapefruit, and Praline Milk Jam to name a very few (and these are just from the ‘Winter’ section!).

This both is and is not a great book for beginners — to me it feels a little like reading through a grandmother’s notes — scant detail, few instructions regarding proper sterilization methods, no tips on how to tell when the jam is set, etc.– but on the other hand it has so many wonderful and imaginative recipes that are sure to inspire the beginning preserver.  Also, there is no packaged pectin to be found in any of her recipes!  For low pectin fruits, Ms. Ferber calls for the addition of green apples or pectin-rich homemade Green Apple Jelly.  I really like this aspect of the book, as I have always felt a little put off by those strange little packages of powdered pectin one buys at the grocery store.  Call me crazy and old-fashioned, but they just don’t feel natural to me.  Her approach is truly ‘from scratch’, and instead of being daunting, I think it actually demystifies the whole process of making preserves (i.e. no magic powders…)

Anyhow, these preserves of orange, pomelo, lemon, and ginger are a wonderful mixture of sweet, bitter, sour, and spicy.  So far my favorite thing to do with it is stir it into plain yogurt.  It’s also tasty on toast or stirred into oatmeal.  Ms. Ferber recommends mixing these preserves into fromage blanc, which I am sure would be delicious as well.  As with so many things, the final result depends heavily on the quality of the ingredients you use.  Citrus is in prime season right now, so try to buy the ingredients at your local farmer’s market.  You will get fruit that is flavorful, perfectly ripe, and truly in season.

Do you make preserves? do you have any favorite recipes?  I’d love to hear them.

Essential ingredients: citrus and sugar

Bring mixture to a boil, then refrigerate several hours

Notice the foamy bubbles — these preserves are not set  yet

See how the bubbles have changed? They are less foamy now.  These preserves are nearly set (set point is ~220 degrees F)

Orange, Pomelo, Lemon and Ginger Preserves
Adapted from Christine Ferber’s Mes Confitures
makes a scant 6 cups

1 3/4 lb oranges (800 g), or 1 lb 2 oz (500g) net (cara-cara oranges are delicious here)
2 lb pomelos, or 1 lb 2 oz (500g) net (or substitute grapefruits to follow Ms. Ferber’s original recipe)
2 lemons
3 3/4 c. (800 g) sugar
11 oz (300g) candied ginger, finely chopped

Peel the oranges and pomelo, removing all the white with the rind.  Slice the fruit into rounds a little less than 1/2 inch thick.  Remove the seeds and cut the slices into quarters.  Rinse and brush the lemons under cold water and cut them in very thin slices, removing the seeds as you go.  In a preserving pan (5 qt is a good size), combine the citrus fruits, sugar, and ginger.  Bring to a simmer, then turn the preparation into a bowl.  Cover with a round of parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Pour the mixture into a preserving pan and bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Skim and continue cooking on high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring continuously.  Check the set.  Put the jam into jars immediately and seal.

This post is part of Food Renegade‘s Fight Back Fridays!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Three Infused Vodkas: Persimmon, Lemon, and Pear/Ginger

- Wild Elderberry Preserves with Honey and Almond

- Lacinto Kale with Lemon and Candied Ginger