Forrest Gander’s Twice Alive tastes like...
Whipped Ricotta and Feta Dip with roasted Za’atar Broccoli, Caramelized Shallot and Garlic-Sage Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In my last newsletter, I mentioned that some of my future writing and recipes would be inspired by what I am reading and listening to. This week’s recipe is inspired by a set of poems from Twice Alive by Forrest Gander. I picked up Gander’s “Twice Alive” at Brookline Booksmith a few months ago. I quickly read through it during my last few days in Medford. I have since returned to a handful of poems that I found really beautiful, and many which resonate with me. I’d be sat on my stoop, eating cherries and reading (and then re-reading) this collection, their images becoming increasingly clear and visceral for me. The collection discusses ‘ecologies of intimacy’: the ebbs and flows of relationships, and the ways in which “our identity, all identity, is combinatory”. Gander explores these intense (and often fractured) human, mycological, and environmental mutualities with vivid descriptions of fragrant oakmoss, sunburst lichen, and “soft light with its vacuum fingertips”. I was captivated by the tenderness with which Gander writes about personal and ecological tragedy. His writing has been a tool of reflection and a source of inspiration for me these past few months. This week’s recipe for whipped ricotta and feta with roasted za’atar broccoli is inspired by the following poems from Twice Alive.
An excerpt from Twice Alive by Forrest Gander
I crush oak moss between finger and thumb
For its sweet perfume persistent on
Your skin when I touch your throat, so slow
To evaporate, the memory of seeing
Sunburst lichen on the sandstone cliff
An excerpt from Unto Ourselves by Forrest Gander
And as for the budding-out of being we’d called passion? Or the sensual
Moments phrased into our gait
When we were coming to feel something
When our shadows merged (not as
Romance, but the real consequence
Of our mutuality) with
Shadows of conifers along the steep
ravine, and completely naked and
Without relief, the world parsed us
into the inhuman where rosette
Lichen surged across rocks lacking nothing
That might be needed to answer
For our existence?
...
[we] wondered to each other, even the weight of
Our own sorry initiatives? Life, someone
countered is pure gratuitous magnitude. Just
look: the light is there, grace itself. But
It was already noon and as we looked,
The colors of the hills began to blanch.
And all around us in the field of the visible,
We sensed, without speaking, duration’s ebb.
My thought process
Translating his images, and my interpretations of these poems into flavors was an exciting and challenging exercise. Because I cook so often and have developed my own kitchen sensibility, I am able to connect how things make me feel...or what things remind me of...into flavor combinations.
The connection between Oakmoss, conifers, and broccoli is admittedly obvious. I imagined the combination of whipped feta and ricotta looking something like white sunburst lichen or even white moss. I chose feta and ricotta specifically because I think the salty, briny, and crumbly quality of feta compliments the richer, more buttery texture (and subtle flavor) of ricotta. And the fluffy appearance of the whipped spread offers a bright canvas for anything else I would layer on it.
Gander’s description of perfumed Oakmoss between fingers brought to mind the earthy, damp, kind-of dirty smell of moss. That’s of course, not appetizing. But when I think of a deeply earthy flavor, sage is one of the first ingredients that come to mind. This summer my sister has been growing big leaf sage in our family garden. It’s unlike the sage I’ve seen in the grocery store. Its leaves are near palm-sized with round leaves while the sage I typically find is more spear-shaped with short leaves. When ground this sage is a darker green and is more fragrant than other sage I’ve used. In fact, it has a really mossy quality when ground— both in its fragrance and appearance.
I identified my core ingredients and then thought za’atar would compliment broccoli and sage, and more fragrance and earthiness to the dish. The combination of oregano, thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds is just fantastic. Not much else to say there.
I decided to add caramelized shallot and serrano peppers for more flavor and textural complexity to the dish. Again, the poetry collection focuses on interdependence, mutuality. In his author’s note, Gander writes, “the thought of two things that merge, mutually, altering each other, two things that, intermingled and interactive, become one thing that does, not age, brings me to think of the nature of intimacy”. Here he is referring to how the photosynthetic and fungal components of lichen come together in unique ways to produce this freaky and enigmatic organism. In a culinary sense, seemingly opposing flavors, textures, and to an extent color, can come together to produce a cohesive dish.
This recipe feeds 4-6 people.
Ingredients:
Sage and garlic olive oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (This recipe uses about 1/4 cup of oil, so reduce it to this amount if you wish)
3 large leaves of sage (~1 destemmed regular bunch cut into strips, ~1/4 of a bunch for reduced oil)
5 cloves garlic, whole and peeled (~2-3 cloves for reduced amount)
For the whipped ricotta and feta spread
1 cup of homemade ricotta
1 block of feta in brine
2.5 tbsp (sage and garlic EVOO) olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
Several, generous cracks of black pepper (to taste)
Roasted za’atar broccoli and shallot
2 medium broccoli heads
1 medium sliced shallot
2 tbsp sage and garlic olive oil
2 tbsp za’atar
2 tsp kosher salt
Cracked black pepper to taste
A sprinkle of onion powder, ground sage, garlic, and chili powder
Caramelized shallots
3 medium sliced shallots
2 sliced serrano peppers
1 tbsp salted butter
1 tsp turbinado sugar
Homemade ricotta
I followed Pierce Abernathy’s video on how to make homemade ricotta. Here is the link:You Can Make This 2-Ingredient Cheese RIGHT NOW - Easy Homemade Ricotta It’s really straightforward (if you have cheesecloth) and way better than store-bought.
Sage and garlic olive oil
Pour your olive oil into a saucepan. Add the 5 cloves of garlic and bring the oil to a simmer on medium-low for 40-minutes. The garlic will get brown and smashable. That’s great. Your garlic should not, however, burn and become crispy. The oil doesn’t need to be agitated but take a look at your garlic to make sure your heat isn’t too high.
At the 40 minute mark reduce the heat to low. The simmering oil should settle a bit. Toss in the chopped strips of sage. Stir the sage around in the oil and let it infuse, on low, for 20 minutes. Once done, let cool for 20 minutes before transferring into a glass jar.
You can remove the garlic and use it by smashing it on toast, or even by adding it into your whipped fets and ricotta. If you prefer the garlic to remain in the oil, then refrigerate it and bring it to room temperature before using it. If you prefer your oil outside of the fridge, remove and use the garlic. It’s fine for the sage to stay in the oil whether you refrigerate it or not.
Roasted za’atar broccoli
Cut two medium heads of broccoli into florets. Place in a sheet pan with two medium sliced shallots.
Add oil, za’atar, salt, pepper, ground sage, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, Toss everything together until broccoli and shallots are evenly coated.
Roast in the oven at 375 for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes set out to cool. Broccoli should be crispy at the ends and tender at the stem.
Whipped ricotta and feta
Crumble one block of feta into a food processor. Then 1.5 tbsp of the sage and garlic oil Give it a couple of pulses then add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Process until somewhere between crumbly and smooth. Scoop the cheese out with a spatula and put it in a large/serving style bowl.
Whipped feta
In the same food processor (no need to clean it) add one cup of your homemade ricotta, 1 tsp salt, and 1tbsp sage garlic oil. Process until smooth. Add to the same bowl with the feta.
Whipped ricotta on whipped feta
Combine the two cheeses. Taste the whipped feta and ricotta, and add salt and pepper to taste. Place the whipped ricotta and feta in the fridge while you make caramelized shallots.
Caramelized shallot
In a small pan add 1tbsp of butter and warm on medium-low heat for a minute. Add shallots and sliced serranos. Cook until soft and the slivers of shallots begin to brown. Add 1 tsp turbinado sugar and continue, stirring around the shallots for 10-15 minutes until jammy and brown. Since this is a small amount of shallot you aren’t *really* going to need to carmelize for upwards of 40 minutes.
Assembly
Add 1/2 tbsp za’atar, a drizzle of plain evoo onto the whipped cheese. Add 1/2 tbsp za’atar and combine. Be sure to wipe the edges of your bowl. Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the whipped spread.
Add half of your caramelized shallot and serranos. Then as much broccoli as you can plate without hiding all of the spread underneath. Put the remaining broccoli in another bowl. Add remaining caramelized shallots on top. I had another block of feta in the fridge and crumbled a bit on top, but this is totally optional.
Don’t forget the remaining broccoli! Use it to top your serving, and to scoop more spread.
Serve with toasted sourdough or pita.
Photos:
Final Notes:
In my first newsletter, I also mentioned that I would share more information about tiered subscriptions. If you’re familiar with the structure of Substack and similar platforms like Patreon, you might know that writers publish exclusive content for paid subscribers. Next week I will be sharing my first drink recipe inspired by Chico Blanco’s “Fantasia”. It will also be my last free recipe for three weeks. In that time I will be publishing two recipes for paid subscribers only. It’ll be a special set of recipes that my dear friend (and editor!) Michelle and I will be making for my birthday. After that, there will be one free recipe a month and two additional recipes for paid subscribers. As a paid subscriber you will be able to shape the karealeats newsletter by suggesting ingredients for me to feature in addition to being able to vote on polls and weigh in on discussions on my substack page. For now, I am only introducing one form of paid subscription but in the near future, I plan to introduce a subscription level where you can pay for me to do things like design a special menu for your next special occasion.
Until then, listen to Fantasia and consider becoming a paid subscriber to support my work and access more recipes for $5 a month :))
*Kar