I had every intention of taking a photo of these once they were done, and completely forgot in my haste to get out the door. However, I am posting the recipe because I promised I would. My apologies for the lack of visuals.
I am lucky enough to have a stand mixer with a dough hook which takes a lot of the work out of making yeast breads - convenient given how gimpy my hands can be. If you don't have a stand mixer, don't worry - this recipe comes together quite beautifully by hand as well, it just takes a bit longer.
These buns turn out very green if you make the pesto yourself - quite striking visually, and very fragrant. You can use a store-bought pesto if you are strapped for time or not inclined toward pesto-making, but I'd encourage you to give it a shot as making pesto from scratch is not hard and the flavour is fantastic. If you are using store bought pesto (the Classico brand is pretty good), you'll use the full amount of the 8 oz jar for the bun recipe. I like using these as hamburger buns, which was why I made them - a group of us were thinking of a barbecue the other evening, but some slightly green, swirling clouds made us reconsider our options once we got to the picnic area. So instead of barbecuing, we withdrew indoors, nibbled these plain, and foraged for other options. I'll make them again for our next adventure.
(As an aside, these are *fantastic* cubed and used as the bread in a strata...)
Pesto Buns
(p. 80, The Art and Soul of Baking)
Makes 8-12 rolls, depending on how big you make them
Pesto
2 cups (1 1/2 oz) loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup (2 oz) olive oil
1/4 cup (1 oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts; traditional, but optional)
Dough
1 cup (8 oz) warm water (110F-115F)
I tablespoon active dry yeast, or 2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 oz) bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
To make the pesto, place the basil, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and first measure of salt in the bowl of a food processor or blender and blend until a fine paste forms. You may not need all of the oil; I start with 1/4 cup in the processor and drizzle in more as it blends until I get a consistency I like.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the yeast and the warm water. Using a hand whisk, whisk in 1/4 cup of the flour until well combined, and let that mixture stand undisturbed for ~10 minutes. The yeast should look foamy and be giving off that lovely yeasty smell. If you don't have bubbles after 10 minutes, your yeast is likely dead and you will have to start again with fresher yeast (store your yeast in the fridge between uses to help it last longer).
Add the pesto to the yeast mixture and hand whisk it in until fully blended together, and then add the remaining 3 cups of flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Put the dough hook on the machine and set to low until the dough starts to come together in a mass, ~2-3 minutes. Make sure all of the dry flour has been absorbed by the mass, and then wrap a slightly damp tea towel around the top of the bowl and let the dough relax for 20 minutes.
Once the dough has rested, scrape down the sides of the bowl and knead on low speed for another 3-6 minutes, until everything is smooth and elastic. Turn dough out into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap (or the damp towel again) and let it rise until it looks like it has taken a deep breath and is roughly doubled in size, ~1 hour (more if the room is cold). If your baking space is cold, try placing the bowl in the oven with just the oven light on. That well help create a stable, slightly warm environment.
Once the dough has finished its first rise, turn it out of the bowl and onto a work surface. You can either lightly flour the work surface, or use a little bit of oil (not both, that just gets messy) to help you shape the dough with out it sticking to the counter. I find the little bit of oil works well with this recipe, but work with whatever makes you comfortable. Press down on the dough to expel some air, but don't knead it again or it will get too tough. If the dough does get tough while you are working it, put it back in the bowl and let it rest for another 10-15 minutes and it will relax again. Divide the dough into your desired number of buns (8 pieces makes fairly large hamburger buns (~5" across once baked), 12 pieces makes smaller buns (~3 1/2" across once baked)). To get the most equal measurements, you can use a kitchen scale (8 buns = 4 oz portions of dough), or you can eyeball the portioning. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place on a baking sheet ~3 inches apart.
Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap or the damp tea towel again and let them rise a second time for 35 to 45 minutes. While they are rising, preheat your oven to 400F.
Bake the rolls for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden. If you are lucky enough to have an instant read thermometer for your baked goods, you are aiming for an internal temperature of 200F. Cool on a wire rack for a little bit and serve warm or at room temperature.
These freeze well, and will keep for a few days on the counter in a sealed tin (if they last that long).
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad
This past weekend was an excellent weekend. In particular I enjoyed a potluck held by some friends on Friday, where I was introduced to their circle of people. Their people love food: we had fantastic Turkish kabobs, a dizzying array of breads with cheeses, meats, olives, and pickles, to die for mashed potatoes, burgers, veggies, and awesome desserts, all while beef jerky smoked away on the deck outside making the air itself quite savoury. I contributed vanilla shortcakes with strawberries and whipped cream, and given that they were brought up in conversation again during a visit last night they seemed to go over well. I love cooking for people who enjoy eating. ^_^
I've been wanting to make this salad for a while, as part of the preparation and flavour combinations in it reminded me of another salad I'd made and loved out of a Moroccan cookbook, using peeled orange segments, chopped dates and a bit of orange flower water. This salad from Plenty contains the peeled orange segments and orange flower water, and then adds a handful of burgundy ingredients: Treviso, beets, and red onion for a beautiful and unexpectedly tasty experience. Treviso, also called red chicory, can be hard to find and also a little bitter. Its flavour is a good counterpoint to the sweetness of the oranges and beets in the recipe, so I recommend trying it. However, if you can't find it or don't care for the flavour, you can probably get away with shredded red cabbage in its place. The brininess of the black olives is a lovely addition to the salad and I'd think you'd lose out if something salty weren't there in small measure, so if olives aren't your thing, try a little bit of feta or perhaps some capers.
When it comes to peeling the orange segments, I admit, that part is a little fussy. I don't mind doing it because I know from past experience it really adds to the tender texture of the salad, but I do find it easier to peel each segment by hand rather than cutting them with the knife the way Yotam illustrates. If you were pressed for time you could probably get away with using tinned mandarin slices as those are pre-peeled and just need to be drained, but they won't have the same flavour as the fresh oranges. I do recommend using fresh beets that you cook yourself though, as tinned beets don't have the same sweet and vaguely mineral flavour as the fresh ones. I found it created less humidity and tending for me to cook the beets in my slow cooker on high for a few hours rather than boiling them on the stove. If you choose to do that, just make sure they beets are submerged in the crock before you start cooking and you should be set. Yotam says that this salad serves two generously; however, I found it could comfortably serve four as a side dish, or three as a main salad entree if served with a little bread or something on the side. It seemed to make a lot.
As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written instructions include my observations and any alterations.
Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad
(p. 15, Plenty)
Serves 2 generously
5 small or 2 large beets
2 oranges
1 Treviso (red chicory)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp chopped parsley
5 tbsp black olives, pitted and halved
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp orange flower water
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
Place the beets in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, or until the beets are tender - a knife piercing them should go in smoothly and come out easily. If you choose to cook the beets in a crockpot rather than on the stove, make sure they are fully covered by water and set the crock pot on high. The beets should be done within an hour or two, the same as if you did it on the stove. Once the beets are tender, leave them to cool completely in the water they were cooked in. This can take several hours, so plan ahead for this stage. Once the beets are cool, take them out of the cooking water and peel them (this is a lot easier than peeling them before they are cooked).
To prepare the peeled beets, cut each beet in half, and then cut each half into wedges. Yotam recommends wedges with a 1-inch base. I chose to go smaller than that, aiming for pieces around 3/4-inch wide at the base because that felt closer to bite size and it meant each of my halves got divided into even quarters, which was simple.
When the beets are ready, put them into a fairly large mixing bowl and begin to prepare the oranges. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top and base of each orange, then cut down the sides of each orange following its contour. You want to remove the rind and the white pith but still leave as much of the orange flesh itself as possible.
Once the orange has had the skin removed, you can either break it up into segments and peel each segment by hand to remove the inner connective membranes, or you can use a small, sharp knife to slice between the membranes and remove each segment. It's best to do either of these methods over a small bowl or the bowl with the beets in it so that any orange juice squeezed out during this process can be added to the dressing. Once all of the orange segments have been peeled, add them and any juice to the bowl with the beets. Discard the peels and membrane.
Cut the Treviso vertically into 1-inch thick slices. Break each section up into individual leaves by hand and add them to the bowl with the beets and the oranges. Add the parsley (I missed this step), the onion, and the olives to the bowl as well. In a separate container measure out the oil, orange flower water, and red wine vinegar.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything well to combine. Season with salt and pepper as required and toss again.
Serve and enjoy.
I've been wanting to make this salad for a while, as part of the preparation and flavour combinations in it reminded me of another salad I'd made and loved out of a Moroccan cookbook, using peeled orange segments, chopped dates and a bit of orange flower water. This salad from Plenty contains the peeled orange segments and orange flower water, and then adds a handful of burgundy ingredients: Treviso, beets, and red onion for a beautiful and unexpectedly tasty experience. Treviso, also called red chicory, can be hard to find and also a little bitter. Its flavour is a good counterpoint to the sweetness of the oranges and beets in the recipe, so I recommend trying it. However, if you can't find it or don't care for the flavour, you can probably get away with shredded red cabbage in its place. The brininess of the black olives is a lovely addition to the salad and I'd think you'd lose out if something salty weren't there in small measure, so if olives aren't your thing, try a little bit of feta or perhaps some capers.
When it comes to peeling the orange segments, I admit, that part is a little fussy. I don't mind doing it because I know from past experience it really adds to the tender texture of the salad, but I do find it easier to peel each segment by hand rather than cutting them with the knife the way Yotam illustrates. If you were pressed for time you could probably get away with using tinned mandarin slices as those are pre-peeled and just need to be drained, but they won't have the same flavour as the fresh oranges. I do recommend using fresh beets that you cook yourself though, as tinned beets don't have the same sweet and vaguely mineral flavour as the fresh ones. I found it created less humidity and tending for me to cook the beets in my slow cooker on high for a few hours rather than boiling them on the stove. If you choose to do that, just make sure they beets are submerged in the crock before you start cooking and you should be set. Yotam says that this salad serves two generously; however, I found it could comfortably serve four as a side dish, or three as a main salad entree if served with a little bread or something on the side. It seemed to make a lot.
As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written instructions include my observations and any alterations.
Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad
(p. 15, Plenty)
Serves 2 generously
5 small or 2 large beets
2 oranges
1 Treviso (red chicory)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp chopped parsley
5 tbsp black olives, pitted and halved
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp orange flower water
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
Place the beets in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, or until the beets are tender - a knife piercing them should go in smoothly and come out easily. If you choose to cook the beets in a crockpot rather than on the stove, make sure they are fully covered by water and set the crock pot on high. The beets should be done within an hour or two, the same as if you did it on the stove. Once the beets are tender, leave them to cool completely in the water they were cooked in. This can take several hours, so plan ahead for this stage. Once the beets are cool, take them out of the cooking water and peel them (this is a lot easier than peeling them before they are cooked).
To prepare the peeled beets, cut each beet in half, and then cut each half into wedges. Yotam recommends wedges with a 1-inch base. I chose to go smaller than that, aiming for pieces around 3/4-inch wide at the base because that felt closer to bite size and it meant each of my halves got divided into even quarters, which was simple.
When the beets are ready, put them into a fairly large mixing bowl and begin to prepare the oranges. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top and base of each orange, then cut down the sides of each orange following its contour. You want to remove the rind and the white pith but still leave as much of the orange flesh itself as possible.
Once the orange has had the skin removed, you can either break it up into segments and peel each segment by hand to remove the inner connective membranes, or you can use a small, sharp knife to slice between the membranes and remove each segment. It's best to do either of these methods over a small bowl or the bowl with the beets in it so that any orange juice squeezed out during this process can be added to the dressing. Once all of the orange segments have been peeled, add them and any juice to the bowl with the beets. Discard the peels and membrane.
Cut the Treviso vertically into 1-inch thick slices. Break each section up into individual leaves by hand and add them to the bowl with the beets and the oranges. Add the parsley (I missed this step), the onion, and the olives to the bowl as well. In a separate container measure out the oil, orange flower water, and red wine vinegar.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything well to combine. Season with salt and pepper as required and toss again.
Serve and enjoy.
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Fresh Mango Bread
This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours", which is one of my favourite baking books. Her tone is conversational, her instructions are clear and invite a lot of play with the recipes, and she advocates chocolate in many forms for breakfast. Really, what's not to love?
I made this loaf yesterday in an attempt to cheer myself up with after non-success that was the attempted roasted beet and balsamic bread from last Friday. I am happy to say, this loaf turned out beautifully. The chunks of mango seem to melt into the dough while everything bakes, leaving a subtle flavour and exceptional moistness. I may revisit the beet bread yet, just need to think through a few things... In the meantime, make this one. It's fantastic. Be sure to have your mango diced before you combine the dry and wet ingredients to get the best lift out of your baking powders.
Fresh Mango Bread
(p. 45)
Yields 1 loaf
3 large eggs
3/4 cup flavourless oil, such as canola or safflower
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 cups diced mango (from 1 large, peeled and pitted mango)
3/4 cup moist, plump golden raisins
Grated zest of 1/2 lime
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350F. Butter and flour the inside of a loaf pan (8 1/2 - x - 4 1/2 is what Dorie has listed) and tap out the remaining flour. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or two regular baking sheets stacked on top of each other - this will help keep the bottom of the bread from over baking (I didn't find this to be an issue).
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the eggs and oil together.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients except for the brown sugar. Once the dry ingredients have been well combined, rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, and then stir it in. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine them - the batter will be very thick and almost unwieldily - keep going, it will come together after a moment or so. Add the mango, raisins, and zest and stir to combine. The addition of the moisture from the mango will help loosen the batter considerably. Scrape everything into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If the top of the loaf is browning too fast, cover it loosely with a piece of foil and continue the baking (I did have to do this). Once the baking is finished, transfer the loaf to a rack and let it cool for 5 minutes before unmolding the loaf from the pan. Let it cool right side up on a rack before slicing. Slicing it while it is hot will make it fall apart.
When it is cool, slice and serve. The bread is actually slightly better the next day as the fruit and spice flavours have had a chance to intensify a bit.
I made this loaf yesterday in an attempt to cheer myself up with after non-success that was the attempted roasted beet and balsamic bread from last Friday. I am happy to say, this loaf turned out beautifully. The chunks of mango seem to melt into the dough while everything bakes, leaving a subtle flavour and exceptional moistness. I may revisit the beet bread yet, just need to think through a few things... In the meantime, make this one. It's fantastic. Be sure to have your mango diced before you combine the dry and wet ingredients to get the best lift out of your baking powders.
Fresh Mango Bread
(p. 45)
Yields 1 loaf
3 large eggs
3/4 cup flavourless oil, such as canola or safflower
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 cups diced mango (from 1 large, peeled and pitted mango)
3/4 cup moist, plump golden raisins
Grated zest of 1/2 lime
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350F. Butter and flour the inside of a loaf pan (8 1/2 - x - 4 1/2 is what Dorie has listed) and tap out the remaining flour. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or two regular baking sheets stacked on top of each other - this will help keep the bottom of the bread from over baking (I didn't find this to be an issue).
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the eggs and oil together.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients except for the brown sugar. Once the dry ingredients have been well combined, rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, and then stir it in. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine them - the batter will be very thick and almost unwieldily - keep going, it will come together after a moment or so. Add the mango, raisins, and zest and stir to combine. The addition of the moisture from the mango will help loosen the batter considerably. Scrape everything into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If the top of the loaf is browning too fast, cover it loosely with a piece of foil and continue the baking (I did have to do this). Once the baking is finished, transfer the loaf to a rack and let it cool for 5 minutes before unmolding the loaf from the pan. Let it cool right side up on a rack before slicing. Slicing it while it is hot will make it fall apart.
When it is cool, slice and serve. The bread is actually slightly better the next day as the fruit and spice flavours have had a chance to intensify a bit.
Sweet Corn Polenta
Two things about this recipe:
1) It's delicious. Fresh corn polenta is a world away from the cooking process and flavour of instant polenta. I am very glad to know that now, and will definitely be making it again in the future.
2) This was the messiest recipe I've made out of Plenty to date. I am fairly sure there has to be a better way of getting the kernels off the corn without them skittering all over my cutting board, but if there is, I didn't figure it out last night. That said, I have been wondering about making the polenta again using frozen corn kernels, on the logic that most frozen vegetables have been picked at peak ripeness and then flash-frozen, so they retain their optimal flavour... if I could get away with using frozen corn for this, it would cut the prep time and effort immensely. That will probably be my next experiment...
I very much recommend making the eggplant sauce that goes along - it's very tasty. And don't cut out the feta from the polenta - you hardly taste it, but it adds a nice textural contrast.
As usual, the ingredients are directly from the book and the written description includes my alterations and observations.
Sweet Corn Polenta
(p. 266, Plenty)
Serves 4
Eggplant Sauce
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)
6 1/2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped oregano
Polenta
6 ears of corn
2 1/4 cups of water
3 tbsp butter, diced
7 oz feta, crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
To begin making the eggplant sauce, heat the oil on medium in a large pan and fry the eggplant until nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to your pan and most of the sides take on come colour.
Once the eggplant has been browned, drain off as much of the remaining oil as possible. Initially, I thought I could just short the oil measure to avoid having to throw the excess away, but it didn't work and I ended up having to add the remainder to the pan to get things frying nicely. Once everything was browned, I scooped it into a colander and let it drain for a minute or two before returning the eggplant to the pan. Add the tomato paste to the pan, stir it into the eggplant and let everything cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, stir it into the eggplant and let it cook for another minute. Then add the chopped tomatoes, water (it works out to ~1/3 cup water), salt, sugar, and oregano, stir everything together and let it cook for another five minutes. The sauce is now finished. You can set it aside while you make the polenta and reheat it a bit before serving.
To make the polenta, you'll need to remove the husks and the silk from each of the ears of corn. I would then recommend cutting a bit off of the narrow, pointy top of each ear of corn so you have a flat base to rest the corn on. From there, stand each ear upright on the flat surface you just made and use a sharp knife to cut straight down the side of the corn in a line, shaving off the kernals.
Be warned, they will probably skitter a bit as they come free. Rotate the ear of corn and shave down again, and continue doing this until all of the corn kernels have been removed from the ear. You want to end up with roughly 1 1/4 lbs of kernels, and corn cobs that look like this:
Once you have cut all of the kernels free, place them in a large saucepan and cover them with the water.
Cook for 12 minutes on a low simmer. From there Yotam suggests removing the cooked kernels with a slotted spoon and placing them into a food processor - you want to reserve the cooking liquid. I found it easier to set a strainer over a large bowl and pour the contents of the pot through it. The strainer caught the corn and the bowl reserved the liquid. It just seemed simpler.
Process the cooked corn in the food processor for a few minutes - you want the kernel casings as mashed up as possible. If the corn mixture gets too dry to blend, add a bit of the reserved cooking liquid to loosen it up and continue to process until you get a smooth consistency.
Once the corn has been sufficiently mashed, return it to the pot you had cooked it in and cook on low heat, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to something resembling mashed potatoes. Fold in the diced butter, the crumbled feta, the salt, and some pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if needed.
To serve, divide the polenta between shallow bowls and spoon some of the warmed eggplant sauce into the centre. Then enjoy!
1) It's delicious. Fresh corn polenta is a world away from the cooking process and flavour of instant polenta. I am very glad to know that now, and will definitely be making it again in the future.
2) This was the messiest recipe I've made out of Plenty to date. I am fairly sure there has to be a better way of getting the kernels off the corn without them skittering all over my cutting board, but if there is, I didn't figure it out last night. That said, I have been wondering about making the polenta again using frozen corn kernels, on the logic that most frozen vegetables have been picked at peak ripeness and then flash-frozen, so they retain their optimal flavour... if I could get away with using frozen corn for this, it would cut the prep time and effort immensely. That will probably be my next experiment...
I very much recommend making the eggplant sauce that goes along - it's very tasty. And don't cut out the feta from the polenta - you hardly taste it, but it adds a nice textural contrast.
As usual, the ingredients are directly from the book and the written description includes my alterations and observations.
Sweet Corn Polenta
(p. 266, Plenty)
Serves 4
Eggplant Sauce
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)
6 1/2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped oregano
Polenta
6 ears of corn
2 1/4 cups of water
3 tbsp butter, diced
7 oz feta, crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
To begin making the eggplant sauce, heat the oil on medium in a large pan and fry the eggplant until nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to your pan and most of the sides take on come colour.
Once the eggplant has been browned, drain off as much of the remaining oil as possible. Initially, I thought I could just short the oil measure to avoid having to throw the excess away, but it didn't work and I ended up having to add the remainder to the pan to get things frying nicely. Once everything was browned, I scooped it into a colander and let it drain for a minute or two before returning the eggplant to the pan. Add the tomato paste to the pan, stir it into the eggplant and let everything cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, stir it into the eggplant and let it cook for another minute. Then add the chopped tomatoes, water (it works out to ~1/3 cup water), salt, sugar, and oregano, stir everything together and let it cook for another five minutes. The sauce is now finished. You can set it aside while you make the polenta and reheat it a bit before serving.
To make the polenta, you'll need to remove the husks and the silk from each of the ears of corn. I would then recommend cutting a bit off of the narrow, pointy top of each ear of corn so you have a flat base to rest the corn on. From there, stand each ear upright on the flat surface you just made and use a sharp knife to cut straight down the side of the corn in a line, shaving off the kernals.
Be warned, they will probably skitter a bit as they come free. Rotate the ear of corn and shave down again, and continue doing this until all of the corn kernels have been removed from the ear. You want to end up with roughly 1 1/4 lbs of kernels, and corn cobs that look like this:
 |
| I was really tempted to roll one in acrylic paint and see what kind of pattern it would leave on paper... |
Cook for 12 minutes on a low simmer. From there Yotam suggests removing the cooked kernels with a slotted spoon and placing them into a food processor - you want to reserve the cooking liquid. I found it easier to set a strainer over a large bowl and pour the contents of the pot through it. The strainer caught the corn and the bowl reserved the liquid. It just seemed simpler.
Process the cooked corn in the food processor for a few minutes - you want the kernel casings as mashed up as possible. If the corn mixture gets too dry to blend, add a bit of the reserved cooking liquid to loosen it up and continue to process until you get a smooth consistency.
Once the corn has been sufficiently mashed, return it to the pot you had cooked it in and cook on low heat, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to something resembling mashed potatoes. Fold in the diced butter, the crumbled feta, the salt, and some pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if needed.
To serve, divide the polenta between shallow bowls and spoon some of the warmed eggplant sauce into the centre. Then enjoy!
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Surprise Tatin
I decided to make this yesterday in an effort to ward off some of the chill and damp that was happening along with the weather. It takes a bit of time to put together, but none of the prep is especially difficult and the results are very tasty. I was quite taken with the semi-roasted cherry tomatoes... I can see using them in a few other applications as well. I recommend using store bought puff pastry to streamline the prep time for this, unless you happen to have some already made and in the freezer. Also, a neat trick for cutting soft cheeses like goat cheese is to use a thin, supple wire, or if you don't have one of those, dental floss. Just be sure to not use a flavoured dental floss, like mint, as it can transfer some of that flavour to your cheese. I once had the unfortunate mishap of using flavoured toothpicks to hold together some stacked, baked appetizers... yeah. Not as awesome as it could have been. ^_^ If you already know you aren't a fan of a strong goat cheese flavour, substitute the aged goat cheese for a younger one, but I'd encourage you to give the aged cheese a shot with this recipe, it's a nice counterpoint to the caramel and oregano.
Also, Yotam says it's 'Surprise Tatin' because no one really expects potatoes in a tart. I didn't - traditionally the filling of a tatin is apples and sweet rather than potatoes and savoury, but it works quite well.
As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description incorporates my observations and alterations.
Surprise Tatin
(p. 22, Plenty)
Serves 4
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive, plus extra for drizzling over the tomatoes and for the pan
salt and black pepper
1 lb new potatoes (skins on)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp butter
3 oregano sprigs
5 oz aged goat cheese, sliced
1 puff pastry sheet
Assemble your ingredients, making sure you take the puff pastry out of the freezer so it has a chance to come up closer to room temperature before you need to roll it out:
Preheat the oven to 275F. Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them skin side down on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper if you want to make clean up a bit easier). Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and freshly ground pepper.
Place in the oven and let dry for ~45 minutes.
As the tomatoes enjoy the oven, cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water until they can be easily pierced with a knife, ~25 minutes.
When they are finished cooking, drain in a colander and let them cool until you can handle them comfortably. While the potatoes are cooling, saute the onion in a bit of olive oil with some salt for roughly 10 minutes, or until the onions start to turn a golden brown colour. I decided I wanted mine fairly well coloured, and so continued to cook them beyond this photo.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, trim a bit off the top and bottom of the potatoes and then cut them into 1-inch thick disks. I was using the tiny bagged potatoes, so largely all I had to do was cut them in half. I cut the tiny bit off the ends for a while and then figured it was an unnecessary step and opted out of it.
Once all of the vegetables have been prepared, brush a 9-inch cake pan (Yotam uses a round one, I used my square Pyrex one as I don't have a round pan at the moment) with olive oil. Yotam advises lining the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment cut to fit - I opted to put just a touch more oil in the bottom of the pan instead and it worked out well for me.
In a small pan, melt the butter over high heat and then add the sugar. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the butter stops foaming and you end up with a reasonably dark caramel. I noticed the caramel colour coming on pretty quickly and actually took the pan off heat to finish making it which prevented it from burning.
If you do end up letting the caramel get too dark and it smells or tastes burnt, you will probably need to start over, so mind your pan. Mine was a little broken - not completely smooth or perfectly incorporated, but it tasted fine. Going to have to do some reading to figure out why that happened.
Once the caramel is made, pour it while still quite warm into the prepared cake pan. I waited a bit too long and my caramel hardened in one place and wouldn't spread when I tilted the pan, but that wasn't too much of a problem as it went to a liquid state when it baked in the oven a bit later and spread out then. So no worries if yours looks like mine did with the oregano sprinkled over it:
Next, lay the potato slices together over the caramel, fitting them together closely, cut side down. I missed the part about laying them cut side down, oops...
Layer the onions on top of the potatoes and press them into any gaps.
Add the tomatoes and try to spread them evenly over the onions.
Then slice the cheese thinly and place it as evenly as possible over the tomatoes. Apparently I forgot to take a picture of that step. Once that has been done, your tart is assembled and just requires the pastry lid.
Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until you get a piece that is about an inch greater in diameter than the pan you are using. You want the pastry to still be fairly cold while you do this; if it starts to get too warm the layers will melt together and it won't rise and become flaky as it bakes. Lay the pastry over the pan and then tuck the edges of the pastry down around the filling in the pan, as far down as the potatoes if you can get it there. At this stage you can chill the tart in the fridge for 24 hours, or go ahead and bake it.
Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, and then reduce the temperature to 350F until the pastry is golden and thoroughly cooked, approximately 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes.
Place an inverted serving plate or platter over the pan and quickly and carefully flip them over. The tart should drop right down onto the plate. There will be liquid caramel in the pan that can get out and burn if you aren't careful. It caught me off guard, but luckily most of it got onto the stovetop instead of my skin. Serve hot or warm.
The picture in the book is slightly prettier with its inverted potatoes, but this was just fine, and I imagine it tasted about the same. Which is to say, *really* good. I'd definitely make this again. Might be interesting to use a flavoured goat cheese (chives and pepper could be awesome) in some future iteration.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Zucchini and [Hazelnut] Salad
I recently found out I am the recipient of a fantastic scholarship and I have been trying to decide what I would like as a 'treat' to celebrate. I've been tossing around a few options - some completely unreasonable but fun to daydream about, others more pragmatic, most of them for the kitchen which probably isn't a surprise, really. Today I decided that I wanted a ridged griddle pan so that I could make this salad. And presumably other things, but mostly I was thinking of this salad at the time (since then I've been daydreaming of making stuffed naan bread on it, but that will be another project). I walked to the mall and went to Stokes, which tends to be the most affordable option, and saw a basic metal pan for $39. Then I went to the Bay and saw other pans for $89. Then I went to Sears and found a sale. I ended up with a ceramic-clad, cast iron pan (I've been coveting these for a while, so finally getting one is kind of awesome) for less than what the basic pan from Stokes would have cost me. Huzzah! So I brought it home and proceeded to get it and my smoke detector acquainted. Wish I were joking.
I am going to preface this recipe with a suggestion - if you, like me, live in a small space that perhaps doesn't have a hood fan, maybe do your grilling with grapeseed oil in place of the olive oil. I say this because grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil does, and that might make things a bit less smoky. The downside is that grapeseed oil has a very neutral flavour, so there might be a slight loss there. But it would be very slight. And I might be exaggerating the issue - it's really that my place doesn't have a hood fan, yet comes equipped with the most sensitive smoke detector I've ever known. You'll probably be okay.
If have access to fresh hazelnuts (in season from mid-August to October), Yotam suggests trying them and deciding if you want to have them fresh or toasted in the salad. He also says you can serve the salad without the hazelnuts if desired or required. I couldn't find any, and so ended up substituting pecans with wonderful effect. As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description included my alterations and any substitutions.
Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad
(p. 70, Plenty)
Serves 4
1/3 cup shelled hazelnuts
7 small zucchini (1 3/4 lbs in total)
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups mixed green and purple basil leaves
3 oz top-quality Parmesan, broken up or very thinly sliced
2 tsp hazelnut oil
To roast the nuts, preheat the oven to 300F. Scatter the nuts over a baking sheet and roast for 12-15 minutes, or until nicely browned and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool down before roughly chopping or, as Yotam suggests "crushing lightly with the side of a large knife".
While the nuts are roasting, heat your griddle pan on high heat for at least five minutes. You want it very hot as the goal is to get the char marks on the zucchini without cooking the zucchini slices all the way through.
While the pan is heating, slice the zucchini at an angle into 3/8-inch slices. Place them in a fairly large bowl and add half the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything evenly. I found that I had roughly 1 tbsp of oil left in in the bottom of my bowl at the end of this process, so either I wasn't tossing enough (everything seemed coated just fine), or the amount of oil can be scaled back here a bit, if you so desire.
Place the slices of zucchini on the heated pan and grill for roughly 2 minutes each side - this goes pretty quick. I recommend having a set of tongs to help you turn the slices as required.
As the zucchini finish grilling, remove them from the pan and place them in a large bowl - this will likely be your serving bowl, unless you choose to re-plate the finished salad later. Continue to grill the remaining zucchini until there are no more pieces requiring time in the pan. When all of the zucchini is in the bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, toss to coat, and then set the bowl aside and allow the zucchini to cool to room temperature.
Once the zucchini has cooled sufficiently, add the remaining olive oil, the basil, and the nuts. Mix gently, and then taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Add the Parmesan and incorporate into the salad. Finally, drizzle with the hazelnut oil and serve. Enjoy!
Dinner tonight looked really good:
And I just discovered that Yotam has another book out, which includes recipes for meat, fish, bread, and cakes; I think it may arrive by book-faery at some point. I can't even begin to imagine his take on cakes...
I am going to preface this recipe with a suggestion - if you, like me, live in a small space that perhaps doesn't have a hood fan, maybe do your grilling with grapeseed oil in place of the olive oil. I say this because grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil does, and that might make things a bit less smoky. The downside is that grapeseed oil has a very neutral flavour, so there might be a slight loss there. But it would be very slight. And I might be exaggerating the issue - it's really that my place doesn't have a hood fan, yet comes equipped with the most sensitive smoke detector I've ever known. You'll probably be okay.
If have access to fresh hazelnuts (in season from mid-August to October), Yotam suggests trying them and deciding if you want to have them fresh or toasted in the salad. He also says you can serve the salad without the hazelnuts if desired or required. I couldn't find any, and so ended up substituting pecans with wonderful effect. As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description included my alterations and any substitutions.
Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad
(p. 70, Plenty)
Serves 4
1/3 cup shelled hazelnuts
7 small zucchini (1 3/4 lbs in total)
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups mixed green and purple basil leaves
3 oz top-quality Parmesan, broken up or very thinly sliced
2 tsp hazelnut oil
To roast the nuts, preheat the oven to 300F. Scatter the nuts over a baking sheet and roast for 12-15 minutes, or until nicely browned and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool down before roughly chopping or, as Yotam suggests "crushing lightly with the side of a large knife".
While the nuts are roasting, heat your griddle pan on high heat for at least five minutes. You want it very hot as the goal is to get the char marks on the zucchini without cooking the zucchini slices all the way through.
While the pan is heating, slice the zucchini at an angle into 3/8-inch slices. Place them in a fairly large bowl and add half the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything evenly. I found that I had roughly 1 tbsp of oil left in in the bottom of my bowl at the end of this process, so either I wasn't tossing enough (everything seemed coated just fine), or the amount of oil can be scaled back here a bit, if you so desire.
Place the slices of zucchini on the heated pan and grill for roughly 2 minutes each side - this goes pretty quick. I recommend having a set of tongs to help you turn the slices as required.
As the zucchini finish grilling, remove them from the pan and place them in a large bowl - this will likely be your serving bowl, unless you choose to re-plate the finished salad later. Continue to grill the remaining zucchini until there are no more pieces requiring time in the pan. When all of the zucchini is in the bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, toss to coat, and then set the bowl aside and allow the zucchini to cool to room temperature.
Once the zucchini has cooled sufficiently, add the remaining olive oil, the basil, and the nuts. Mix gently, and then taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Add the Parmesan and incorporate into the salad. Finally, drizzle with the hazelnut oil and serve. Enjoy!
Dinner tonight looked really good:
And I just discovered that Yotam has another book out, which includes recipes for meat, fish, bread, and cakes; I think it may arrive by book-faery at some point. I can't even begin to imagine his take on cakes...
Roasted Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes with Caper Vinaigrette
This combination of roasted vegetables was really easy to put together, yet tastes like something that required far more labour. It was so easy, in fact, that I actually took my leftover time and made a Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad to go with it for dinner. I am happy there are leftovers. ^_^
As usual, the ingredients are straight from the book and the instructions incorporate my observations and any alterations.
Roasted Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes with Caper Vinaigrette
(p. 16, Plenty)
Serves 4
4 parsnips (1 1/2 lbs in total)
4 medium red onions
2/3 cup olive oil
4 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
1 head garlic, halved horizontally
salt and black pepper
2 medium sweet potatoes (1 1/4 lbs in total)
30 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp small capers (roughly chopped if large)
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375F. While the oven is heating, trim and peel the parsnips and then cut into segments roughly two inches long. Cut each segment into halves or quarters, trying to get evenly sized pieces so they roast at the same rate. Yotam espouses 1/2-inch wide segments, but I didn't get quite that particular. When the parsnips are prepared, peel the onions and cut each into six wedges.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the parsnips, onions, 1/2 cup of the olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and some pepper. I ended up peeling my cloves of garlic and adding them to the diced vegetables.
Mix everything well and spread it out in a large baking or roasting pan.
Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
While the parsnips and onions are roasting, start preparing the sweet potatoes. Trim each end, but to not peel them. Cut them in half widthways, and cut each half into wedges of a similar size to the parsnips that are already in the oven. I found that was anywhere from 4 to 6 wedges per sweet potato half, depending on the size of the sweet potato.
After the 20 minutes roasting time for the parsnips has elapsed, add the sweet potato wedges to the roasting pan.
Give everything a good stir and return to the oven for another 40 to 50 minutes.
While the roots roast, halve the cherry tomatoes if you haven't already. When the vegetables have cooked through and are turning golden in the pan, stir in the halved cherry tomatoes and roast for a further 10 minutes.
While the vegetables finish their final roast, make the vinaigrette by whisking together the lemon juice, maple syrup, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When well combined, stir in the capers. I was sadly out of Dijon and so it was omitted, but I imagine it would be lovely. Next time.
When the vegetables have finished roasting, remove the pan from the oven and pour the dressing over them immediately while everything is still very hot. Stir well to combine all of the flavours, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if required. Scatter the sesame seeds over the vegetables, if using, and serve at the table directly from the roasting pan if desired.
Then enjoy!
I scaled back on the onion when I was prepping, using two large yellow onions as they were what I had on hand. They were incredibly strong and I decided I didn't want the trial of cutting another one up to add to the reaction-tears. In hindsight, that was a little silly as the onions caramelized so nicely in the pan... I should have suffered a bit more for the delayed gratification of their deliciousness later. Now I know. I also think that the Dijon would be a lovely addition, and when I make this again, I will be sure to have some on hand so I can include it. I could have sworn I had a jar in the fridge, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
This is simple and delicious, and is almost comfort food for me. It reminds me of fall, a bit, which worked well with the cool evening we are having here. I highly recommend this dish.
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