A Healthy Snack Idea, Straight from the Italian Countryside
Chef Riccardo Severi makes this squacquerone soft cheese snack and pairs it with with a glass of Braschi’s Sweet Albana white wine .
In Italy, every meal has its name, and one of the lesser known ones is the merenda, or afternoon snack. A merenda can be a wide variety of snacks, from savory to sweet. While cooking live from his garden in Romagna, Italy at a VeroTalk, Chef Riccardo Severi showed us one of Romagna’s traditional merendas: Squacquerone con Pane, made from a local soft, tangy cheese pronounced ‘skwa-kwe-ROH-nay’ which is spread on fresh bread. But Chef Riccardo didn’t leave it there: naturally he added his own farm-to-table touch with a homemade apricot jam and some radish leaves picked from his garden.
One can see Chef Riccardo’s passion blossoming in his farm-to-table project, Sovescio which he started at the beginning of the Covid lockdowns last year. Sovescio, is Italian for a ‘green manure’ method of farming using plant based organic and biodynamic methods. To learn more about Riccardo’s farm-to-table cooking philosophies read this previous blog article which talks about one of his favorite aperitivos.
Tradition is also an important part of Sovescio, and this means Chef Riccardo naturally thought about squacquerone for dessert. A fresh, soft cheese made from cow’s milk, squacquerone has a consistency like a mushy cream cheese. Versatile, it can be enjoyed either sweet or savory, and has a tangy, creamy flavor similar to a greek yogurt. It is used in many different aspects of the cucina, or cooking, of Romagna, such as with figs for dessert or served on bread with a little sugar sprinkled on top for an after school snack for kids. One of the most Romagnolo ways to enjoy it however, is in a piadina. From Romagna, a piadina is flatbread, almost like a thicker, heavier tortilla made with flour. It can be used to create sandwiches or wraps, and when stuffed with squacquerone and arugula/rocket for a delicious and filling lunch.
In his farm-to-table version, Chef Riccardo chose to pair the squacquerone with fresh apricot jam from his orchard and hand-picked radish leaves on top. This means that with every bite, the radish leaves give a peppery aftertaste reminiscent of ginger, contrasting the sweet apricot jam and creamy squacquerone for a rounded and balanced flavor and experience while enjoying this dessert or snack.
During the VeroTalk while Chef Riccardo cooked for us, an owner of local Romagna-based Braschi winery was there pairing this simple yet delicious snack with their Sweet Albana wine.
Get the recipe below for this Italian countryside merenda and buy some wines to pair with it in our online shop, for example, the Taste of Romagna Set (with shipping included) which includes a bottle of Albana sweet wine, and a sangiovese and the famoso white wine. Be sure to check out other recipes to try pair these wines with in our blog.
Soft Cheese with Apricots - Squacquerone con Albicocca e Ravanello
Cooking and Prep Time: 30 minutes
Portions: 2 servings
Ingredients:
Squacquerone (or use Plain Greek Yogurt to soften cream cheese)
Sliced Whole Wheat Bread
For the Jam:
250 grams Apricots
125 grams Sugar
To Garnish:
Radish leaves
Fresh Apricot Slices
Suggested Wine Pairings:
Braschi | Sweet Albana White Wine | Organic
Procedure:
1. Wash and cut 250 grams of apricots into small pieces; keep apart one or two apricots for garnish in the end. In a small saucepan, mix the apricots and sugar and start to cook, stirring constantly over medium heat. Keep stirring until the apricots are well cooked and soft. Gently mash them with a fork, or use an immersion blender to create a jam-like consistency. Set aside.
2. If you like, lightly toast the whole wheat bread slices, or use them untoasted as well. Then, gently spread a generous amount of the squacquerone on each slice. If you cannot find squacquerone, a spoonful of whole plain greek yogurt will work well mixed in with some cream cheese.
3. Dollop some apricot jam on each slice of bread, on top of the squacquarone. Finish each piece off with a few slices of the fresh apricot and one or two small radish leaves.
4. Pour a glass of Sweet Albana, and enjoy your dessert or merenda afternoon snack.
Shop Wines from Romagnolo winery Braschi to enjoy with Squacquerone cheese.
