Cooking/Italia!!!
Cooking/Italia!!!Fregolotta Trevigiana (Crumb Cake from Treviso)
My good friend, Mary LaVigne Butler, sent me this recipe. She has been talking about it for some time, so I am anxious to share it with you. Mary is a remarkable person, and friend. When we're not talking about employment law, we're always talking about either food or politics. She is a remarkable teacher, attorney, and (get this) pastry chef! So here is a treat from Italy that you are certain to enjoy.
Mary says, "It is so simple but so good! In summer, I serve it with ice cold peaches soaked in red wine. In winter,with a dollop of whipped cream that has almond flavoring -- either through an almond liqueur or almond extract."
4 oz. whole, unblanched almonds 2 oz. yellow cornmeal 9 oz. flour 7 oz. sugar pinch salt 1/2 pound butter, melted and cooled Process almonds in a food processor by pulsing them until ground coarsely (the largest pieces about 1/8 inch across). Combine the remaining ingredients (excepting the butter) in a mixing bowl and add the almonds. Stir with a rubber spatula to mix. Stir in the melted butter with the spatula so that all the ingredients are evenly moistened with it. Using both hands, rub the mixture between your palms to make crumbs, the largest of which should be about 1/4 inch across. Butter a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9 inch glass pie plate. Scatter 3/4 of the mixture in the pan or plate and press down very lightly with your fingertips to compress the mixture. Scatter the remaining crumbs on top without pressing them down. Bake the fregolotta in the middle level of a 350º oven for about 25 minutes, until the fregolotta is a light golden color and baked through. Cool the fregolotta in the pan or plate on a rack. If using the tart pan, remove the sides and slide the fregolotta off the pan base onto a platter. If using a pie plate, leave it in the plate.Savoy Cabbage with Leeks and Walnuts
Arthur and I subscribe to a organic farm in Winters, California. Once a week, after his gym session, Arthur picks up the box sent from Terra Firma Farms. On this particular week we got leeks, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, savoy cabbage, "baby" bokchoy (they're huge!), apples, navel oranges, carrots, dino kale, and melogold grapefruit (they are incredible - white and sweet!). There's always information about the food in the box, an article on sustainable agriculture, and a recipe featuring some of the contents.
We made this recipe and used it as a base on the plate with some true cod fillets that I picked up that day. There was also a side of yukon gold potato wedges that had been roasted in the oven with olive oil and herbs. It was good. I hope that you enjoy the recipe
1 leek 1 savoy cabbage shreded (3 cups) 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons white wine (or lemon juice) salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Cut the leaves off 1 leek, then cut down into the stem and rinse under water until clean. Cut the leek in half lengthwise, then thinly slice into half rounds. Saute the leek over low heat in the butter and olive oil, for at least 10 minutes. Cut the savoy cabbage in half across its "equator", then cut one of the halves in half again, top to bottom. Slice the cabbage along the vertical cut, not too thin. Add 3 cups of the cabbage to the leeks and cook, stirring until the cabbage is tender. Add either the white wine, or lemon juice (if yuo perfer zesty flavors to sweet ones), cook for another minute, then season with salt and pepper. In a separate pan, toast the walnuts and then toss with the cabbage.