makes 1 dozen rolls
The overall effect in these rolls is a pronounced background note of pine nuts and herbs—just enough to let you know they are there, but not so much that the flavor takes over. I include pine nuts here in two forms: soaked and then blended, as well as roasted, to capture their full flavor spectrum and highlight umami. As for the herbs, they are blended in milk, which helps preserve their freshness as the dough is prepared. I like this combination of herbs, but feel free to improvise. You may have other herbs that you prefer, or the dish you are serving the rolls with might suggest another herb (for example, sage with roast chicken). Serve these rolls with fava beans or asparagus and, if you’re lucky enough to find some, fiddlehead ferns sautéed in butter. Back on the farm where I worked in Oregon, I might have served them with wild steelhead trout taken from one of the region’s swift-flowing rivers. Salmon would also be a good choice.