alexandra’s kitchen: Peach Bruschetta

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Peach Bruschetta

For the past year, I have been listening to two of my most reliable sources rave about an Italian restaurant in Northern Liberties. My friends, Meredith, a Jeff med student and native Philadelphian, and her fiancé Matt, a private chef on the Main Line, rank Sovalo as one of their favorite spots in the city.

Joseph and Karey Scarpone, a husband and wife team with children named Sophia and Valentino (hence Sovalo), left the Napa Valley to open this bistro in early 2005. With a great wine list and a menu filled with homemade pastas such as burrata-filled ravioli and seasonal items such as chilled melon soup and local heirloom tomato salad, Sovalo has earned a reputation as one of the city's best new restaurants.

A few weeks ago, I finally had the chance to experience this highly praised establishment with none other than the restaurant's two biggest fans. To celebrate Matt's new job and Meredith's start of her final year of med school, and in general, to continue celebrating their recent engagement, the three of us trekked across town to Sovalo.

As we approached the front door of this adored Northern Liberties bistro, however, Meredith expressed some anxiety. She worried that the peach bruschetta she and her family had enjoyed a week earlier might no longer be offered: Sovalo prints its menu daily, changing its dishes depending on ingredient availability. To everyone's relief, however, this peach, robiola, arugula and prosciutto topped grilled bread again starred on the menu. We all savored the delectable combination as a second course and ultimately pegged it the highlight of the evening.

Fortunately, this peach bruschetta, unlike Sovalo's homemade ravioli or ricotta fritter dessert, can easily be replicated at home. I have a weakness for Claudio's fresh ricotta and have used that in place of the robiola, but a number of cheeses — fresh mozzarella, mascarpone, goat or Brie — would work well in this tasty summer starter.

Peach and Prosciutto Bruschetta
Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 baguette
olive oil
2 peaches
6 oz. fresh ricotta*
2 oz. baby arugula or watercress
12 thin slices prosciutto di Parma
*I love the fresh ricotta from Claudio's. At Sovalo, the chef uses robiola, also very delicious.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (or preheat a grill to high). Slice the baguette into 12 ½-inch thick slices, place on a cookie sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. (Or grill for 1-2 minutes a side). Transfer to a cooling rack. Slice each peach into about 12 wedges.

Spread each slice of bread generously with ricotta. Top each with a small handful of arugula or watercress. Top each with 2 peach wedges followed by one slice of prosciutto. Serve.

The Eggmobile

The eggmobile houses laying hens. It follows the herd of cattle, arriving to grass they've grazed on four days earlier.The hens peck at the four-day-old cow pies, eating various insects, larvae and parasites - rich sources of protein - and accomplishing a whole lot more along the way: By eating the fly larvae and parasites, they rid the land of potential pathogens and disease; by scratching through the droppings and spreading them across the grass, they enable the manure to sink into the ground and fertilize the soil; and by eating the pesky insects, they reduce the presence of one of the cows' biggest irritants.

The Barn

Joel Salatin stands in the open-sided shelter where his cows spends a portion of the winter. During the winter, the cows eat hay (dried grass accumulated throughout the growing season), and live on a bedding consisting of woodchips, sawdust and old hay to absorb the cows' excrement. When the heavy cows tread on their nitrogen-rich manure and on the carbon-rich bedding, packing it together, they allow the mixture to ferment (anaerobic composting). By adding corn to the bedding, Salatin entices his pigs to turn the bedding into compost: When the cows return to pasture in March, the pigs dig through the densely packed bedding, searching for the tasty fermented corn, aerating the pile and turning it into compost for the spring.

Corn Pudding