Seasonal Inspiration

Kristina’s Bookshelf

Ciderhouse Cookbook: 127 Recipes That Celebrate the Sweet, Tart, Tangy Flavors of Apple Cider
By Jonathan Carr, Nicole Blum and Andrea Blum
(Storey Publishing, 2018)

Inside: A family of cider makers shares 127 recipes for dishes that incorporate cider in creative ways. Pantry basics like cider syrup, molasses, quick pickles, and vinegar add flavor to many of the recipes.

What Looks Good: Baked Apple Butter; Kale Salad with Butternut Squash Chips, Pecans, Feta, and quick pickles and an apple cider dressing; Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Hard Cider Syrup; Apple, Onion, & Fennel Panade with Greens; Potato-Apple Gratin with Morels, Leeks, & Chard; Apple Pommeau Cake; Roasted Crepes with Fried Apples and Cider Caramel Sauce.

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Pies & Tarts for All Seasons
By Annie Rigg
(Quadrille Publishing, 2018)

Inside: Highly creative recipes and terrific photos for 100 sweet and savory large and hand-sized pies and tarts.

What Looks Good: Cheese and Onion Tartlets; Roast Onion, Smoked Bacon, and Gruyere Tarts; Manchego, Pear, & Serrano Ham Pastries; Pumpkin, Cavolo Nero, & Gorgonzola Tart; Malted Custard Tartlets with Bourbon-Soaked Raisins; Marsala Pear and Hazelnut Tarts; Crème Brûlée Tarts with Anise-Roasted Blackberries; Apple Rose Tarts; Ruffled Milk Pie.

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Feed Your People: Big-Batch, Big-Hearted Cooking and Recipes to Gather Around
By Leslie Jonath with 18 Reasons
(powerHouse Books, 2018)

Inside: Recipes to feed a crowd from San Francisco’s 18 Reasons cooking school, which hosts regular community suppers. Instructions for scaling recipes that feed 8–10 up to 24 and tips for hosting big gatherings.

What Looks Good: Frittata with Charred Leeks, Roasted Grapes, and Camembert; Cinnamon Almonds; Chocolate Honeycomb Candy; Nepalese Momos (use that leftover turkey!); Alice Medrich’s Ultimate Butter Cake

 

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Edible East Bay’s book editor Kristina Sepetys is eager to share her ideas and book recommendations

with our readers. 

Recipe excerpted with permission from Pies and Tarts by Annie Rigg, published by Quadrille (October 2018), RRP $19.99 hardcover. <br>
Photo: Nassima Rothacker
Recipe excerpted with permission from Pies and Tarts by Annie Rigg, published by Quadrille (October 2018), RRP $19.99 hardcover.
Photo: Nassima Rothacker

PUMPKIN, CAVOLO NERO, & GORGONZOLA TART

Here’s a deeply savory tart filled with caramelized roasted pumpkin, bitter greens, salty blue cheese, squidges of roast garlic, and hits of warm espelette pepper. If you can’t get hold of espelette pepper you could use dried chili flakes, a pinch of smoked paprika, or a drizzle of harissa.

Serves 6–8

Parmesan pastry
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
A good pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled and diced
¾ cup finely grated Parmesan
About 4 tablespoons ice-cold water
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Filling
25 ounces pumpkin, peeled weight (queen or butternut squash are ideal)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 fat garlic cloves
3½ ounces cavolo nero, trimmed
4 medium eggs
1½ cups ricotta

⅔ cup grated Parmesan or pecorino

3½ ounces gorgonzola, broken into pieces
1 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
A good pinch of espelette pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need a 10-inch tart tin or ring

Parmesan Pastry: Tip the flour into a bowl and add the salt and black pepper. Add the chilled, diced butter and, using a round-bladed or palette knife, cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are half their original size. Now switch to using your hands to rub the butter into the flour. Working quickly, pick up handfuls of the flour and butter and allow it to pass across your fingertips, gently pressing and rubbing the mixture as it falls back into the bowl. Still working quickly, continue rubbing the butter into the flour until there are only very small flecks of butter remaining.

Add the Parmesan and rosemary and mix to combine. Make a well in the middle of the ingredients, add the ice-cold water and the vinegar and, using a palette knife, mix until the pastry starts to clump together. Gather into a neat ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°. Cut the peeled pumpkin into thick slices, tip into a roasting tray, toss with the olive oil and season well with salt and black pepper. Add the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves, mix to combine and roast on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes until tender and just starting to caramelize at the edges. Leave to cool.

Blanch the cavolo nero leaves in boiling, salted water for 30 seconds to soften. Drain, cool under cold running water, and pat dry on paper towels.

Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the pastry to a neat round 2 inches larger all around than the tart tin. Carefully line the tin, pressing the pastry into the corners, leaving the excess pastry hanging over the edges, and chill for 20 minutes while you continue to prepare the filling. Place a solid baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven to heat up.

Whisk together the eggs, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season well with salt and black pepper and pour the mixture into the pastry case. Arrange the roasted pumpkin wedges and cavolo nero on top, squeeze the soft roasted garlic from its skin and dot the garlic purée around the veggies along with the gorgonzola. Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and espelette pepper, slide the tart onto the hot baking sheet and cook for 30–35 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the filling is set and golden. Using a serrated knife, trim the excess pastry from the top of the tart and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, cut into wedges.