Italian Farmhouse Recipes: Easter Pie

Love, love love this pie - with locally grown organic wheat berries!!! Family Farmers Unite!

I use the "pasta frolla" instructions previously posted on this blog

There are many versions of Ingredients for the filling - here are some - scroll down:

http://www.emikodavies.com/blog/pastiera-napoletana/

• 250 grams of cooked whole grains*
• 200 ml milk
• 30 grams of butter
• 350 grams of fresh ricotta (from sheep and cow’s milk, if you can get a mixture of both)
• 350 grams of caster sugar
• 2 whole eggs, plus two yolks
• 100 grams of mixed candied citrus fruit (such as citron or orange), finely chopped
• grated rind of one organic lemon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (or 1 vanilla bean pod)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water

• The Filling
• 10 ounces (300 g) ricotta (purchase this fresh from a delicatessen) 
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar 
• 3 eggs, separated 
• 1 vial (1/4 cup) acqua di fiori d'arancio (not orange extract, but orange blossom water -- purchase this from an Italian deli)
• A pinch powdered cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup minced candied citron 
• 1/4 cup minced candied orange peel

there are so many recipes out there!  I will try some and let you know which I liked best.  Where we grew up the neighborhood had some good bread and pastry shops!  Lucky, right?

 http://www.pastiera.com/history.htm 

1 kg pre packed frozen short pastry (if you want to make it at home click here for the recipe) 700 gr ricotta cheese 600 gr sugar 400 gr of boiled wheat (you can easily find cans in any supermarket) 80 gr crystallized citron

80 gr crystallized orange a dash cinnamon 100 gr milk 30 gr butter or lard 5 eggs and 2 egg yolks a spoon full of vanilla a spoon of orange flavoured water 1 lemon

Ingredients

http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/recipe/neapolitan_cake

• 1 3/4 cups wheat berries
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 lemon
• 2 pounds fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 cup candied citrus
• 2 tablespoons orange flower water
• 1 orange
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Heat oven to 375°.
  
  Separate remaining 4 eggs. In a large bowl, stir together wheat berries, ricotta, remaining cup sugar, candied citrus, egg yolks, orange water, finely grated zest from orange, 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest and cin

F.A.B. : Artisan Cheese Platter

I am working on a cheese platter of local cheeses for the holidays and any celebration.  Many customers want to buy local but are lacking the resources for a variety of choices all in one place.  Of course, there are farmers markets, now in winter as well as summer, CSAs, orchard and farm stores, health food stores, Amish markets, small artisan purveyors and distributors, even some supermarkets, and online sites.  All give customers a good variety of local farmer, artisan, and baked goods.  But to get a variety of cheeses from small farms and cheesemakers - already tasted and reviewed for balance and diversity in a cheese presentation - that is the aim for this package.  I think the more we small producers come up with creative ways to present and sell our products the more we can capture the consumer interest over the large commercial manufacturers!

This is the label I printed for the basket.  

After I printed the label, I came across a little cheese store - La Petit Fromagerie - in Clinton NY.  It has a great selection of cheeses - not all from NYS.  It's nice to welcome and support local small businesses.  So I am initially tasting their offerings with feedback from customers, as I learn more about other artisans before completing the selection process.

My ultimate aim in creating this collection of cheeses is to support small farmers, artisans and bakers - not necessarily in NY - however I make them a priority because the travel distance and energy is still a consideration!  In places like Vermont, Wisconsin, and California - they have been putting resources into small cheesemakers for a longer period of time.  Coach Farm was one of the first Chevre cheesemakers on the East Coast -  but there are still many varieties and styles of cheese not available in this country... note to young farmers we still have room too grow in cheesemaking.


Here are a list of cheeses I've tried, descriptions, and tasting notes:

Chevre, Poplar Hedge Farm - NY - fresh goat cheese made from his small herd goat's milk  fresh - the flavor is not bold  - this is a relatively new cheesemaker - really nice to work with.  
Mt Tam, Cowgirl Creamery -  CA - "smooth, creamy, elegant, 8 oz, triple-cream. It is made with organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy."  rich cheese (triple cream) - nicely done!
Moses Sleeper, Jasper Hill - VT - "similar in flavor to a French Reblochon but with a milder rind from Ayrshire cow's milk" our initial impression is that this cheese qualifies as a brie and melted nicely when baked but there were no memorable attributes - except we are happy to support a local brie product.

Capri Classic Blue, Westfield Farm- MA- "goats milk cheese log external blue chevre powdery blue rind is a striking color that develops on the surface and slowly ripens toward the center." we all liked this cheese very much - distinct and delicious cheese - a staple for every cheese platter! 
Barely Buzzed, Beehive Cheese Co - UT - "milk from Jersey cows, hand-applied rub of French Superio lavender buds and a Turkish grind of "Beehive Blend" coffee from the Colorado Legacy Coffee Company."   subtle yet aromatic flavors of the lavender and coffee rub! we would purchase again -very unique!
Wild Boar, Creminelli Fine Meats- UT- mixture of field harvested Texas wild boar and all natural pork belly, seasoned with cloves and juniper berries  I think everyone liked this at the party - I am a vegetarian - it looks the part of a fine artisan salami!
Forest Berry Preserves, Darbo- Austria- Okay this is an example of BIG - but they started as the Darbo family and now produce in a large manufacturing facility - can't hold that against them - purchased the jam on sale but will seek more local preserves - not hard to find.  I used this jam mixed with dried figs purchased at Clinton's Natural Food Market in bulk - made fig cookies from an Italian cookie recipe - everyone loved them but I have made better - good figs and jam not too sweet!

Cheeses, Descriptions andand Tasting Notes (contd):

Cana de Cabra, Spain  - "A soft ripened goat cheese log from Spain much like the French Bucheron.  The cheese is aged 21 days and is buttery and delicious. As it ages, the flavor intensifies...
I would purchase this again - very and rich texture -a triple cream goat cheese!

Brie, Ferme de Jouvence, France -  "small dairy near Versailles, France. It has an assertive mushroomy flavor, with notes of garlic and hay, and its body is wonderfully luscious and silken." noted Saveur Magazine a very "stinky'" cheese but that could be good - the flavors are very strong - the texture was a pure melted brie -naturally!  I would prefer this cheese young with less aggressive flavors but kudos to the farm in France!

Rogue River blue cheese, Rogue Creamery, Oregon - "wrapped in grape leaves macerated in pear brandy. A creamy, crunchy-smooth texture ... hints of sweet pine, wild ripened berries, hazelnuts, morels and pears.  Rogue River blue is made during the autumnal equinox and before the winter solstice from Brown Swiss and Holstein cow’s milk, certified sustainable by Food Alliance. The cows graze in 1250 foot elevation pastures bordering Rogue River, where they eat a variety of pasture and native grasses, hop clover, wild herbs, Himalayan blackberries and wild flowers, supplemented with grass hay, alfalfa and grain off the ranch." excerpt from their website a very pricey cheese and would not be my first choice for a blue cheese but I will try again and write more!
Selected Items at this writing:
aged goat cheese - Cana de Cabra, Spainfresh goat cheese - Chevre, Poplar Hedge Farm - NY
blue goat cheese - Capri Classic Blue, MAaromatic cow's milk cheese - Barely Buzzed, Beehive Cheese Co - UTcharcuterie - Wild Boar, Creminelli Fine Meats- UTtriple cream cows milk cheese- Mt Tam, Cowgirl Creamery -  CA
Still Searching:
more Northeast cheeses
a good brie made in the US, of possible
replace Spainish cheese with something similar
Sheeps milk cheeses

Locally Grown: Farmhouse Pizza

The reason I am posting about homemade ricotta has mainly to do with our goats and uses of their goats milk.  Early on in my farming life, I read about Coach Farms also in NYS, and how successful they have been with goat's cheese - chevre - the fresh kind.  Twenty years later, we have goats, and our herd is growing.  Now I have to decide what is the best use of the goat's milk!  Since our farm is specializing in all things Neopolitan pizza - I thought it may be good to see how homemade ricotta comes out with some goats milk and some heavy cream from cows milk.  We have a really great dairy - Evans Farmhouse - that makes a decadent heavy cream - so yellow/cream colored and rich.

Nearby to the farm, we already have 2 cheesemakers - one that makes raw milk aged cheeses of different varieties.  And another that makes the chevre.  So I thought instead of duplicating their work - (I use their cheese on our pies too) - and I'll try a different cheese and see how it comes.   I know a dairy nearby that produces curds and I'll work with them on fresh mozzarella.

Ultimately, the pizzas will be entirely fresh picked and locally grown and baked all right here in the Unadilla Valley and expanding to other areas of the Northeast.  I've had the idea to freeze prepared veggies and meals since 2005 and things are only finally coming to fruition.  We already grow the tomatoes, basil, garlic and the cheeses, mushrooms, other herbs can be purchased from others.   To be continued...

Homemade Ricotta: Lemon Juice

Makes about 1 generous cup of ricotta

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (see Note above about using less)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Turn off the heat [Updated] Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.) Discard the whey, or, if you’re one of those crafty people who use it for other things, of course, save it. Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

from Smitten Kitchen

Homemade Ricotta: Calcium Lactate

Mrs G's Homemade Ricotta

2 teaspoons calcium lactate

2 litre whole milk

300ml pure cream 

1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

water

Mix 1/2 cup of lukewarm water with the calcium lactate and stir to dissolve.

 

In a non reactive pan mix the milk, cream and salt. Stir in the water/calcium lactate mixture and place over medium heat. Do not stir. Have ready a bowl of water and a ladle this will be used to control the temperature of the milk. I assume this was used before there ever was thermometers to measure that the temperature was correct. It just goes to show we don't need fancy equipment to make good food.

As you see a bubble rise to surface pour a little ladleful of water to cool it. You will see the curds forming. It will not take long. Do not allow it to boil or heat for too long or your ricotta will be tough.  When all the ricotta has come to the surface turn off the heat and ladle out the curds into a fine strainer. You can line it with cheese cloth but Mrs G never bothers.

From Marcellina in Cucina