Hello from NL 53. This is Bake Sense, the somewhat ordered record of ramblings that concern the world of baking. Here, we champion flavour and wholesome ingredients and keep an open and curious mind that questions where those ingredients come from and how we can make the most of them.
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April, the great harbinger of Spring, you’ve crept up on me, disorientated me with daylight savings, advanced the clock and left my mind and body playing catch up. I know I’ll adjust with time, and you’ll be forgiven as you bring with you displays of Magnolias and Tulips.
Outside the window and in the ground, things are beginning to stir, but I spy the hungry gap on the horizon, the few in-between weeks each year here in our temperate island climate when winter crops come to an end, but the new season goods are not quite ready to harvest. Our geographical limit is realised as early spring crops are unlikely to survive the cold, yet the slight temperature increase causes the hardiest winter greens to bolt.
But don’t be dismayed; these in-between times are the interface of seasons, fertile ground for serendipity and play, a chance for colours and flavours to reveal themselves and buddy up on the plate or in a bake and it is with that mindset that I present today’s letter and recipes, of which there are two. A very straightforward Bianca base that does double/triple duty, useful as a glorious toast topper or a supremely simple pasta sauce and a pistachio cream that you can use to dress salads or make sandwiches feel special.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli is the hardy green to savour right now. It presents its virtues in the form of tender, but rich Brassicaceae bites tinged with a delicate mustard bitterness and a violet hue that bleeds. Enjoy it simply steamed with butter and sea salt or blanched and tossed with sesame oil and soy.
At the bakery, we’re enjoying its colour and texture on pizza, a top a Bianca base made with ricotta and parmesan. It chars in the hot deck and leaches into the creamy base like a bruise. Upon exit from the oven, we finish the pizzas with abandon…fresh mozzarella, roughly torn parsley, lemon zest, a handful of emerald green pistachios and pangrattato made with the crusts from loaves of golden brioche.
Complimentary in every sense of the word. We eat with our eyes first, and the colour palette is a symbolic nod to the season change, running from dark purple to blue-green, through forest and moss, and on to sap green tinged with yellow. Textures jostle—soft, buttery pistachios against crisp, crunchy crumbs and milky, cool mozzarella with confetti, lemon and parsley.
Bianca Base
Use of this well-seasoned creamy concoction should not be limited to a pizza. It works just as well spread across toast or tossed with pasta; proceed to top with blanched purple sprouting broccoli or any other hardy green and all of the above-mentioned accoutrements.
The following ratios make enough to top two 12-inch pizzas, a few rounds of lunch toasts, or a family-sized bowl of linguine.
300g ricotta
135g parmesan
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black pepper
Sea Salt to season
Notes:
Mix all of the above together until smooth. Spread on pizza bases before baking and on toast after toasting. A little extra pasta water and olive oil emulsify the mix into a silky sauce.
Thyme, oregano and sage work well in place of the rosemary.
Keeps in the fridge for up to three days.
Pistachio Cream
Akin to a silk camisole against the skin, a little feeling of luxury under everyday attire. It makes your sandwich feel fancy and your salad supreme.