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es in rather nicely with the over riding theme of all the christian pagan and secular celebrations held on february 2 nd in ireland it is known as brigit s day in honour of the great irish goddess of fertility called brigit funnily enough with all these thoughts on new beginnings and fertility we made a pact with a neighbour yesterday to hold a seed swapping party at the end of the fava broad bean season we ll hold the festival of fave once the beans have dried at the end of may or the beginning of june guests will swap any seeds they like not just fava beans but the reasoning is that swapping of the same variety with other gardeners will help maintain a healthy stock of seed whilst tuscans are known as bean eaters in puglia the preferred staples are fava beans and chickpeas fave are refereed to as la carne dei poveri or the meat of the poor an octogenarian neighbour confirms how important they were to the poor in puglia as when he was growing up he ate pureed fava beans for breakfast dinner and tea ncapriata is a puree made from dried peeled fava beans with or without a potato added dressed with olive oil and eaten with cooked bitter greens preferably wild chicory it s a puglian staple and is one of life s simple pleasures which definitely helps fill the hungry gap when the garden is less productive everywhere you go in puglia people have their own variation on this recipe but this is the favoured method in ceglie and the one which will feature heavily in the festa di fave first soak your beans overnight and then remove skins before boiling for around half and hour if using a regular saucepan or around eight minutes if using a pressure cooker the use of a pressure cooker is probably sacrilegious as the dish is generally made in terracotta jugs nestled next to a fire fava beans and chicory a taste sensation drain the beans and then add some chopped peeled potatoes a couple of large potatoes for every 500g of dried beans to the pan before returning the beans salt and cover with water not too much mind as you don t want a watery mix cook until the beans are soft and the potatoes disintegrate i use a vegetable to mill to puree the mix but you could use a potato masher or ricer or go the traditional route by pummelling it with a large wooden spoon season with salt and lashings of puglian olive oil whilst the beans are cooking you need to wash and cook your wild chicory if you can t get hold of wild chicory then any mix of bitter greens such as dandelion rocket and chard will do it takes around 20 minutes to braise or steam the chicory but it s a good idea to change the water midway though cooking to leave a hint rather than an overpowering bitterness alternatively strain the chicory really well before sautéing with garlic in olive oil serve either side by side on a plate or mix the greens and pureed beans together just remember to check seasoning and use lashing of good green oil embellishments are optional and include red onions marinated in vinegar bread chunks fried or pickled green peppers steamed lampascioni fried black or green olives and other condiments puglians really love their fava beans so in the summertime pureed fava beans often appear with the classic puglian stewed peppers with onion and tomato dish called pepperonata the bitterness of the greens and the sweetness of the peppers cut through the creamy nuttiness of the beans perfectly so simple and yet so sublime 40 645018 17 516426 comments 4 a windy start to the year january 7 2012 filed under garden recipes contadina 4 49 pm it s been a pretty wild and windy start to the new year for us down in the heel walking up the lane with the dogs earlier i spotted countless almond and ancient olive trees which have cracked and lost branches in the strong winds we had yesterday and one olive tree had become completely uprooted this highlights the importance of pruning the trees well and regularly feeding them it could be coincidence but the damaged trees were either on land regularly poisoned with weedkiller or they were on abandoned land where the trees are large and unwieldy abandoned trees become too dense at the top causing too much wind resistance the only damage we suffered was a rather large split in our three year old mimosa tree finger s crossed though some rather swift action with some grafting paste an old rag to bandage the wound and a haircut should save the tree gaia inspects the damage one the subject of wind we re now into the fartichoke er artichoke season the artichokes which grow so well here are the best i ve ever tasted and carciofo brindisino globe artichokes from the brindisi region recently received pgi protected geographical indication status our christmas visitors from london were astounded by the price of them in the market 2 for 10 apparently it s more like 2 for 10 in the uk for jane and jules and anyone else who is interested here is a little tutorial on preparing artichokes hearts to be used in a variety of recipes first wash your artichoke then cut off the stem you can still eat the stem but not today we won t preparing artichoke part 1 then cut the artichoke just below the halfway mark you can cut it a wee bit higher but you run the risk of including inedible stringy bits in your finished dish preparing artichoke part 2 then break off the tough outer leaves once again don t be shy to take off more than you think as you really don t want any tough scratchy bits remaining preparing artichoke part 3 next cut it into quarters if there is no hairy heart pop them into water which contains the juice of half a lemon to stop them turning black preparing artichoke part 4 if there is a hairy choke cut it out before popping it in the water smaller artichokes when fresh don t always have a hairy choke boil enough water to cover the artichoke hearts with the juice of the other half of lemon and pop the artichoke hearts in and boil for a few minutes if you are using small artichokes and about 10 minutes for larger ones drain and leave to cool before either popping under oil as anti pasti great for putting on pizzas and in salads too dipping in batter and frying tempura style or chopping or using whole in any other recipes to serve whole cut the tough tips of the leaves off with scissors holding the stalk to keep the artichoke steady using a knife slice the base off so that it will sit upright before trimming off the pointed top the younger the artichoke the less you ll need to cut off pull the pale centre leaves out and then scoop the choke out with a spoon without disturbing the heart underneath as before drop each one in a bowl of water to which lemon juice has been added cook them in a pan of boiling salted water for 35 45 minutes when they re ready you should easily be able to pull out a leaf drain upside down to eat pull the leaves off and dip them in hollandaise sauce garlic mayo melted butter or garlic butter etc drawing the leaf through your teeth to remove the tender flesh before discarding the rest 40 645018 17 516426 comments 4 buon natale tutti december 21 2011 filed under uncategorized contadina 4 45 pm 40 645018 17 516426 comments 3 just bring me some figgy pudding november 25 2011 filed under olives recipes contadina 12 20 pm unbelievably we managed to get the olive harvest out of the way before the rains which have caused so much trouble in the north of italy eventually made their way to the heel we picked over six quintales 620 kilos to be precise in just four days which made 105 litres of lovely oil that s a 17 oil return which we re really happy about as the word in the town is that most people are only getting a 13 return this year there are still plenty of olives left on the trees so we may do one more pressing when the rains disappear guarding the nets monsoon like rain seems a good enough excuse to get in the kitchen as any so i ve been preparing a few christmas goodies christmas for us is a mixture of english and italian and as we have abundant supplies of both figs and almonds i always make a figgy pudding the recipe i use doesn t need any suet so it makes for a much lighter pudding which i prefer i ve never been a fan of suet puddings veggie or not as i find them too cloying using butter makes for a lighter dish and no greasy film left in your mouth if you don t have any figs you could use whatever combination of dried fruit you fancy ingredients figgy pudding 8 oz butter 6oz brown sugar 2 3 eggs 4oz plain flour generous pinch of salt half teaspoon nutmeg half teaspoon ground ginger 1 and half teaspoon mixed spice 2oz ground almonds 3oz finely grated carrot or small apple chunks work well 16 oz dried fruit i used about 8oz figs and a mix of currants sultanas mixed peel and cherries for the rest 2oz chopped almonds 4oz breadcrumbs grated rind and juice of one lemon 1tbsp treacle 4 tbsp of water mixed with either rum or brandy butter for greasing bowl grease a two pint pudding basin cream together butter and sugar then whisk in beaten egg a little at a time sift flour salt and spices on top of the butter mix add the remaining ingredients with enough boozy liquid to make a soft mixture which will fall heavily from a spoon mix well spoon the mixture into the basin and cover with pleated greaseproof paper and then foil tie securely and place in large saucepan pour water until half way up sides of the basin bring to the boil and cover the pan and simmer gently for 4 hours or two and half if you are using a pressure cooker check water level and top up with boiling water when necessary remove the pudding from the pan and store in a cool dry place come christmas steam for three hours or less if using a pressure cooker before flaming with brandy luckily i had a generous spoonful leftover so i made a mini pudding which we greedily sampled i also experimented with some savoury biscuits to have with cheese over christmas they are a bit too rich for that but i reckon they d be perfect for passing around with drinks pesto biscuits pesto biscuits ingredients shortcrust pastry 2 or 3 tbsp pesto i made regular basil pesto with added sun dried tomatoes but i reckon mint pesto would work just as well good handful of parmesan or pecorino cheese some extra basil leaves 1 egg seasoning while the pastry is resting in the fridge make your pesto roll your pastry into a rectangle as thin as you can spread pesto all over but leave about 1cm from the edge add some torn basil leaves and most of the cheese season and fold in half roll as thin as you can some pesto will escape and then cut into shapes brush milk on top and then scatter the rest of the cheese on top and leave for around 10 mins before popping in a fairly hot oven for around 5 10 mins until they begin to brown and the cheese is bubbling cool on a rack before scoffing with a festive tipple or two although these are only made with shortcrust pastry i reckon the oil in the pesto makes them a bit more melt in the mouth while on the subject of drinks no christmas would be right without a good supply of limoncello so i ve got my freshly picked lemons peeled and the rind is currently steeping in a couple of bottles of alcool they will remain infusing for a week before i strain the lemon peel and mix the lemony boozy remains with some sugared water for quantities i find a third of each is about right providing the perfect kick and sweetness balance if you need inspiration to make your own booze and cordials for christmas i d thoroughly recommend booze for free by andy hamilton of self sufficientish fame if you pick up a copy now you can still get some drinks ready before christmas alternatively it would make a great christmas gift for anyone interested in home brewing saluti 40 645018 17 516426 comments 5 a cure for bitterness october 28 2011 filed under olives recipes contadina 1 57 pm last year i tried three different olive curing methods lye brine and brine and bruise and ever keen to experiment i m trying four different methods this year to discover the table olive taste that i like best first a few notes on last year s olives i ve decided after trying it quite a few years in a row that i m not a big fan of lye curing this seems to be the most popular method in puglia as it s both quick and effective it works so effectively though that i can t really taste the olives although it does smell wonderfully christmassy to be honest i didn t really see a great difference in the two brine curing methods they both tasted good and kept us in olives for the year but they were perhaps a little too salty for my taste even after several water changes it s quite a balancing act between getting rid of the bitter oleuripenals to reveal the taste of the fruit and not making them taste too salty now onto this year s quest to find the perfect table olive choosing several methods from the multitude which have developed in olive growing nations around the world starting clockwise from the small jar dry cure water method 3 1 and 2 dry cure method this is one of the more basic curing methods and just involves covering the olives in rock salt traditionally this would have been done in a hessian sack basket or wooden box in which you cover the olives in salt and wait for the bitter juices to leak out by shaking daily and adding a little more salt every few days the olives should be cured in around three or four weeks i ve tried the same method in a glass jar alternate layers of olives with course rock salt and shake every day for three weeks adding more salt to absorb juices once cured sufficiently rinse add warm water and 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar to cover and top with a layer of olive oil they will be ready to eat after 4 5 days you can also store these in olive oil after you have rinsed the salt off after leaving them to drain until they are dry so maybe i ll try both methods when they are ready water method 1 cleaned olives are placed in a non reactive bowl terracotta ceramic or glass and covered in water the water is changed daily for 10 days before the olives are jarred and covered in a brine solution 1 part salt to 10 parts water until they are cured of their bitterness as i glaze over at the mere mention of numbers i used the floating egg method again place your olives in jars and cover with sufficient water to allow you to pop something over them to ensure they remain submerged strain the olives but keep adding salt to the water until an egg will float in it i ll change the brine solution when i remember hopefully once a month until they are ready water method 2 make a vertical cut or two down each olive using a sharp knife or prick them with a cocktail stick and place them in a brine solution see above cover the bowl ensuring that the olives are submerged shake the bowl daily changing the brine solution once a week start tasting olives for bitterness after week three but continue until necessary once they taste good remove the olives from the old brine make a new batch of brine and fill jars w...