Nº 10: Remember Battersby?

and their warm rosemary flatbread with whipped ricotta

Good morning.

I know spring is meant for looking forward, but it seems a recent loss has me finding comfort in the past. So this month, I want to share with you a few memories from some of my favorite eateries that no longer exist.

I’ll start with Battersby. Did you ever go there? From 2011 to 2018, it was a shotgun restaurant tucked in the center of the Smith Street block between Douglass and Degraw Streets. At night, the yellow glow from its British-factory-style windows brought a little bit of London romance to the Brooklyn sidewalk outside.

Its chef-owners, Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern, drew from a range of European cuisines for a menu that I would describe as British-Italian fusion, always with standout pastas and seafood dishes.

But the thing that made it hard from me to stay away from Battersby for long was the bread course. As our first cocktail arrived—we were usually at the two bar stools facing the kitchen and the restaurant’s rear—so did a plate of steaming, fragrant rosemary-topped flatbread with a side of whipped ricotta drizzled with olive oil. Thankfully, Ogrodnek and Stern included the recipe for it in their 2015 cookbook Battersby: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Kitchen. I’ve put it in my own words below and made a few minor changes along the way. Let me know if you make it!

Talk to you soon.

Brian

P.S. I am including a *bonus recipe*—for luxe Pistachio “Ricotta” (Plant-Based)—below the flatbread recipe, for paid subscribers. And over on Formal Assignment P.S.* today, I share a delicious and E-A-S-Y recipe for “Frap-pistachio-ccino” (Plant-Based).

*Formal Assignment P.S. is for paid subscribers. It’s just $5 a month—or even less for an annual subscription.

ROSEMARY FLATBREAD WITH WHIPPED RICOTTA

Adapted from Battersby: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Kitchen by Joseph Ogrodnek, Walker Stern, and Andrew Friedman.

This is the bread course that kept me coming back to Battersby. The chewy bread is fragrant with rosemary, wheat, and olive oil and has a light crunch from the finishing salt. Be sure to serve it hot, whether fresh from the oven or reheated.

Yield: 8 flatbreads and 1 cup whipped ricotta
Active time: 45 minutes
Rising time: 5 to 7 hours
Total time: 5 hours 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the whipped ricotta:

230 g ricotta (1 cup)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (13 g)

For the flatbread:

440 g all-purpose flour (3 1/4 cups) OR 330 g (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose + 110 g (1 cup) whole wheat
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (4 g)
1 tsp salt (8 g)
2 tsp sugar (8 g) OR 1 Tbsp (10 g) date sugar
350 g body-temperature water (1 1/2 cups)
extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
flaky salt, such as Maldon, for sprinkling

PREPARATION:

1. Make the “whipped” ricotta: In a food processor, blend the ricotta until smooth and creamy. Add the olive oil and briefly blend to incorporate. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Mix the dough: In a stand mixer bowl, combine the flour(s), yeast, salt, and sugar. Snap the dough hook onto the mixer and begin stirring on low speed as you slowly add the water to the flour mixture. Once all of the flour has been moistened, set a timer for 5 minutes and let the dough continue to knead for that time on low speed.

3. First rise: Stop the mixer, scrape the wet dough from the dough hook, and cover the bowl with a silicone bowl cover, a plate, or aluminum foil. Let it rest in a warm spot for 4 to 6 hours, until bubbly and doubled in volume.

4. Divide and shape: Line a half-sheet pan with parchment and use a pastry brush to lightly brush the parchment with olive oil. Dust your work surface with flour and scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (each should weigh just over 100 grams). Dusting your fingers with flour, quickly shape a dough piece into a wobbly ball by stretching in all directions towards a central point at the bottom of the ball. Lightly brush the entire surface of the dough with oil. Place it seam-side-down onto the lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of dough, leaving 2 inches of space between them all on the sheet pan.

5. Final rise: Cover the dough with an inverted half-sheet pan (or an oiled sheet of parchment and a couple of kitchen towels). Let rest for 1 hour in a warm spot.

6. Stretch and garnish: Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Put some cold water in a small bowl. Dip your fingers in it to wet them, then use 6 fingertips (3 on each hand) to stretch a piece of dough outward, creating a 5-inch-diameter disc with a total of 18 dimples. Repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of dough.

Top the dough with the rosemary leaves and sprinkle with flaky salt.

7. Bake and serve: Bake in the lower half of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the bread is bubbly with a variety of colors ranging from blond to deep golden to mahogany. Serve immediately with a side of whipped ricotta finished with a drizzle of olive oil. (Storage instructions below.)

Baked rosemary flatbread; with pistachio "ricotta" (BONUS RECIPE below!)

STORAGE:

The flatbreads can be left at room temperature for up to a day and reheated in a toaster oven, or you can freeze them in an airtight container for a month or more before reheating in a toaster oven or oven.

*BONUS RECIPE*: Pistachio “Ricotta” (Plant-Based)

This ricotta has a lovely pastel green hue and, more importantly, the silky, creamy texture of dairy ricotta with a touch of nutty, piney aroma. For a perfectly smooth ricotta, “whip” it in the food processor as you would with dairy ricotta (details above).

Yield: about 2 cups
Active time: 45 minutes
Straining time: 5 to 7 hours
Total time: 5 hours 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS: