Fiadone

For a couple of years now, I have been fascinated with Corsica. It all started several years ago during a trip to Paris when I wandered into a tiny restaurant in the 15eme Arr. called Le Beau Violet (92 Rue Entrepreneurs). It was a single room--the chef, Roger, cooked in clear view and frequently smoked a cigarette despite the laws to the contrary. If you wanted to use the restroom, you needed to leave and walk a few doors down the street. You basically eat what Roger gives you (with the occasional choice;) deferring to his judgement is probably best. Several courses later and close to midnight, I finished the meal with dessert and some myrthe liqueur. The final course was fiadone--a Corsican lemon cheesecake made from brocciu (an AOC whey cheese produced in Corsica).

It's hard to find brocciu outside of Corsica, but you can simulate the experience using ricotta. This is a slightly grainy, lemony cheesecake with no pastry shell. And as far as cheesecakes go, it's simple to make and good for a light, summertime dessert. In the first instance, I was guided by Rolli Lucarotti's Recipes from Corsica; Clotilde has also blogged about it. Here's how to do it.

Ingredients

• 500g brocciu or ricotta
• 150g caster sugar
• 4 large or 5 medium eggs
• zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 Tbsp. eau de vie (I used some limoncello) 
• salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
2. Separate the yolks from the whites. With the yolks, combine the sugar, zest, limoncello and cheese until smooth. 
3. Add a pinch of salt to the whites and whisk them into soft peaks. Fold some of the egg whites into the cheese mixture, then fold the mixture into the remaining egg whites until combined. 
4. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured spring form pan. 
5. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least half an hour. 

Not everyone whips their egg whites--but I think this improves the texture. And with a hand-mixer, it's no big task. 

Fondant à la châtaigne (Chestnut Fondant) Nº1

The location: A square off the Cours Napoleon in the late afternoon, Porto Vecchio, Corsica.

The actors: Two weary, famished hikers coming off two weeks on the GR20, sitting in the shade of Église St. Jean-Baptiste.

The discovery: le fondant à la châtaigne

Here's our first attempt at recreating the experience...


Ingredients:

• 1 can (435g) chestnut purée, unsweetened
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, separated yolks and whites
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (170ºC fan-assisted)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chestnut purée with the caster sugar until well blended. Then add in the butter and vanilla extract, and finally the yolks. Mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
4. Combine egg whites with chestnut mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Pour into baking tins either with baking cups or well-floured.
6. Bake for approximately 25 mins until a skewer comes out almost clean but not entirely.
7. When cooled, remove from tin and place in refrigerator or leave to reach room temperature.

So Michel Roux jr may not like the air bubbles or some of the colours. But he hasn't tasted it. Just as decadent and delicious as the original of Corse. The texture was quite as sticky as the first one, and I don't think that the purée was as smooth. Any suggestions on tweaking the recipe are much appreciated.