Spice (77 page)

2 to 3 tablespoons butter

1 small white onion, finely chopped

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 ounces or ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup grated kasseri cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 recipe homemade yufka or 2 large commercial yufka sheets or 8 sheets thick country-style phyllo

2 tablespoons olive oil

To Make the Homemade Yufka Dough

1.
Sift the flour with the salt into a medium mixing bowl.

2.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the oil and 2/3 cup lukewarm water. Using your hands to draw flour in from the sides, work the mixture into a sticky dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for about 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

3.
Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls on a floured surface, cover them with a damp cloth, and leave them to rest for about 20 minutes.

4.
Roll the balls of dough into flat rounds, using a lightly floured rolling pin, so that they are about 6 inches in diameter.

5.
Heat a griddle or a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and wipe it with a little oil. Slap one of the flat rounds onto it. Use your fingertips to shift the dough about, making sure it browns and puffs up here and there. Brush the upper side with more oil, and flip it over.

6.
While the second side is cooking, spread ¼ cup of cheese filling evenly over the cooked side. After about 1 minute, lift the pancake with its filling on to a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and roll it up into a cone. Wrap the paper around it to make it easier to hold, and eat it while it’s hot.

To Make the Filling

1.
In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool and set aside.

2.
In a large mixing bowl, prepare the filling by combining the cheeses, onion, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3.
If you’re making your own pastry, follow the recipe for yufka dough and pick up at step 4, below. If you’re using commercial yufka, cut each sheet into 4 pieces. If you’re using thick phyllo, brush each piece with a little olive oil and fold in half along the narrower dimension, then cut the folded piece in half so that you have 2 double-thick pieces about 4½ × 7 inches each.

4.
Place ¼ cup of the cheese mixture in the center of each pastry and fold them up like envelopes.

5.
Heat the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan, over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to brown, place 2 to 3 pancakes (depending on the size of the pan) seam-side down and cook them for about 4 minutes, until golden and a little puffy. Flip the pancakes and cook for another 4 minutes Repeat the process until all pancakes are cooked, and serve hot.

Ricotta and Bread Dumplings with Red Wine and Porcini Mushrooms

This is a classic bread dumpling recipe from Puglia, on the heel of Italy’s boot.The people of that region have some of the longest life spans in the world—thanks to lots of olive oil, red wine, vegetables, dark leafy greens, fish, and very little red meat.I visited Puglia in 1988 with an organization called Oldways Preservation and Trust to study the diet.

The dumplings are a great way to use day-old bread. By soaking it in milk and kneading in eggs, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese, the stale bread turns back into dough. When cooked, the dumplings are light, soft, and a little crisp on the outside: perfect for soaking up the delectable tomato and porcini mushroom sauce.

Porcinis are rich, heady, meaty mushrooms that are amazingly versatile. Delicate enough to give grace to this elegant sauce, they’re also vigorous enough to stand up to a steak or a rich glass of red wine.

At Oleana, we add escarole to the sauce in the fall, Bibb lettuce in the spring, and dark leafy greens like kale in the winter to make this dish into a full meal.

These dumplings pair well with a dark, earthy Mourvedre from Provence.

M
AKES TWENTY-FOUR
1½
-İNCH DUMPLİNGS TO SERVE
4
TO
6

For the Dumplings

1 large French baguette (about 12 ounces), some of the crust removed, cut in half and then into rough pieces (day-old bread is best because it absorbs more milk)

1 cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 whole egg

¾ cup fresh ricotta cheese

¾ cup freshly grated Reggianno or Grana Padana Parmesan cheese plus 4 tablespoons for garnish

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

For the Sauce

2 teaspoons olive oil

¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained and roughly chopped, or ¼ pound fresh or frozen porcini mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 leek, white part only, cut into ¼ -inch slices, then washed

1 cup dry red wine

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic (about 1 clove)

2 cups crushed canned tomatoes or 2 cups peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped fresh plum tomatoes (about 12)

1 cup water or vegetable broth

½ head Bibb lettuce or escarole (about 1½ cups of torn leaves) or 4 to 6 leaves of kale, stems removed, washed and roughly cut

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

To Make the Dumplings

1.
Place the bread pieces in a large mixing bowl and toss them with the milk and cream. Push the bread down with your hands and hold for about 1 minute, so that the bread absorbs most of the liquid. Let the bread rest and soak for about 10 more minutes.

2.
Squeeze as much milk as you can out of the bread, a little at a time, between the palms of your hands, until there aren’t any more drips. Discard the excess milk and cream.

3.
Using a food processor fitted with a metal blade, purée the bread until the mixture is a doughy consistency and starts to form a ball. It’s not important that it is completely smooth; just process it for a couple of minutes until it rolls around the blade into a ball.

4.
Place the egg, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and about ¾ teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together until the egg and cheeses are completely incorporated and smooth. Stir in the bread mixture and season with black pepper. You should have a biscuit or soft cookie dough consistency.

5.
Form 1½-inch balls from the dough, using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon. Roll them between the palms of your hands into about 24 little dumplings. Line them up on a platter or baking sheet and flatten them slightly so that they are not completely round, about the size and shape of a large sea scallop. Cover and refrigerate them for at least 20 minutes.