This is an interesting recipe. I get why she chose ”babka” as a word—the finished appearance—but it's not that. You can mess around with the flavor ingredients all you want. There is a clarity that the designated ingredients have which you'll lose with ”Italian seasoning”. That makes me think you don't have dried oregano except in the blend. If I'm wrong, just substitute dry for fresh. Cayenne powder is a decent substitute for red pepper flake, though will be a different eating experience. For many things, pistachios are an okay sub for pinenuts, but I think they might be lost in this, and they have a different texture, but pinenuts don't have a lot of flavor, so if you don't mind ”wasting” the pistachios, it could work. My own suggestion, since you'd be making several substitutions, is to build your own flavor profile around the gruyere, garlic and Italian herb seasoning. Those go together fine. Add a textural component and a heat component, or not, as they please you. Heat a teeny taste of all your bits together and decide if you like them Pay attention to the proportions and adjust quantities to fit what you have, rather than what the recipe gives for the original ingredients. Do you have any hazelnuts? They might go well? Just think through what will go best with your herbs.

It's probably too late for today's endeavor, but pinenuts don't have to be exhobitant. They're currently a few dollars more than pistachios, for half a pound, if you shop around, but they're not always outrageous.

Have fun and good luck. I'm sure they'll be fine. And I'm saving the recipe. :)

Thanks, you always are able to explain what I am not able to. Just for what it’s worth, I checked just now and a small 140 g package of pine nuts is $14.99. That’s a lot for a few nuts!

I agree that it's an interesting recipe! It sounds good in general... bread and cheese, with some extra flavors, so how bad can it be? lol!

Re your questions:

- I wouldn't hesitate to use a dried Italian herb mix as a substitute for the fresh oregano. I'd probably us up to 1 tbs. of dried.

- I think you could use cayenne as a substitute for the crushed red pepper if you want a little bite, but I'd use less than 1.5 tsp.

- Without pinenuts, I wouldn't add nuts to the filling. And I would only add pinenuts if using fresh oregano.

I might make this sometime as a party appetizer. I never have gruyere, so I'd be substituting on the cheese right off. lol! Chances are that I'd do cheddar cheese, OO, garlic, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper. Perfect. :)

The small packets are always premium priced, and I also didn't realize how far apart Candian dollars and US had gotten. But if you don't want half a pound of pine nuts, it's not worth it. About a quarter kilo here in USA, in Canadian dollars, is about $19C for decent quality. At Canada Amazon, they're charging that for 100g! Makes your small packet sound like a good price, but ridiculous for something that's going to be ground up in a recipe. Not even worth thinking about. If you're ever at a bulk bins store, check the price. Packaging costs a lot.

I don't think PM's cheddar wouldn't suit me with garlic and oregano, as well as I'd think it too oily a cheese for this, which is why I said to make a taster. PM's vision of what it should be like is different from mine, and likely yours is different from both of ours as well. Figure out what you like and your guests will like it too. (Usually—but the dough is the deal on this one. Any likely filling will be fine!)

I use walnuts in place of pine nuts when I make pesto. I think their slightly bitter flavor goes well with herbs and garlic. I'll bet they'll be yummy regardless 😃

Well, the verdict. My husband said they’re really cool. I will make them sgain but with a couple changes.. I made them in a mini loaf pan. I would do that again. I got 8. I used the gruyere, but wouldn’t again. There are cheaper cheeses that I like better. More garlic. I overbaked them a tad and they were a little drier than I like.. I think less baking would solve that. I didn’t use any nuts. May have been good. BTW, pillog, I did check the bulk pine nuts and they are the same price within pennies, of the package. I’m not sure they would have been great anyway.

Pine nuts make a huge difference in lots of things.

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Eats-Pine-Nuts-Ounce/dp/B072MZM9NY/ref=asc_df_B072MZM9NY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241895447499&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13547447672899113790&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017856&hvtargid=pla-646707425644&psc=1

$2 per oz is cheap my by book.

Louise is in Canada, where they cost more.

I have bought the ones at Costco over the years and was still buying them when the bag had gone up to over twenty dollars because a bag would serve my purposes for about a year, or so.

Now that same bag is $41 making them $1.70 per ounce. Adding that extra $40 to the total bill can be a bite for many people.

Currently, walnuts are about thirty cents per ounce.

I agree that pine nuts are wonderful and are different from walnuts, but for what I get from them I can make some changes. And, I can also just pony up the cash for them if I want to. There are other grocery items that I do indulge in despite the cost because I have the means to choose quality over quantity. Life is short , we are both aging and the world is devolving, so why not have pine nuts if you want, right? I might spring for a bag of them, but right now I am still working on that bag of walnuts. Walnut are a bit more versatile than are pine nuts.

Pine nuts and real vanilla have both gone up so much. Vanilla had some problems on the global market and got expensive. I bought a good sized bottle of it anyway.