Foraging for food in the modern world.
Something about this combination reminds me of what Springtime is supposed to be about, which is all things fresh and pretty. (At least in the world of greeting cards.)
I guess they are all sort of fresh and pretty:
eggs = Springtime symbol of renewal, new life
sprouts = By definition, newly sprouted
fiocchi = The puckering, dainty, pocket-like shape is pretty dang cute
arugula = A vibrant and zesty leafy green, with a slim-yet-curvy shape, if I ever saw one
I had much fancier plans than to just boil the adorable fiocchi, plate up, drizzle with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and some coarse salt, but I was too busy around the apartment and found myself instead returning to the kitchen repeatedly to “check” on their temperature: i.e. pop one into my mouth. That ended up being dinner.
The lesson: fiocchi are extremely tasty even when plain and simple, as any pasta worth its flour should be.
And, bonus, tonight I discovered they’re extremely pop-able, which is often (if not always) a good quality in my book, opens up a whole new world of dining possibilities. Really, needs cutlery when you can use your fingers?
Fiocchi, Italian-style dumplings, it’s a six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other, sort of question. (And yeah, I’d never heard of them either.) They’re little pasta pockets stuffed with deliciousness, in this case, pear and four cheeses: robiola, Grana Padano, taleggio and ricotta.
Picked up a package of about 20 of them (10 oz.) for $7.99 at Agata & Valentina, the local swanky grocery store in my new neighborhood. There are many, many beautiful things there that I’m sure I’ll be eating in the next few months; check out their cheese counter.
Tonight they went into a bowl with some Brussles sprouts that had been blanched then pan fried with the last ribbons of salami. I was going for a variation of the Brussles sprouts with bacon thing and it sort of worked, mainly I was being lazy. Tomorrow night I’m actually going to cook them up properly with some cream, fresh peas and mint, per the recommendation of the New York Times’ dining section, so stay tuned.
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