Say cheese

Cauliflower and White Chocolate Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:13:00 +0000

Since we have started to discuss the use of vegetables in desserts, I couldn’t but recollect a wonderful dish by Matt Moran (Aura restaurant, Sidney) which he presented at a master class in one of the episodes of Masterchef Australia Season 4. It was a cauliflower and white chocolate ice cream served with vanilla cauliflower puree, nutmeg sponge and caramelized honey bread. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? But do you know what I love about cooking the most? Nonconformality! Thus, I decided to try the recipe at home.

I really enjoyed cooking this dish. There was much fun about putting sugar and vanilla in cauliflower puree. And I loved the technique of making honey crumble with the bread (I used a French baguette). And despite the “craziness” of the idea the dessert turned out to be one of the best which I managed to try recently. Even my husband who was very skeptical about it (at first he even thought that he misunderstood me when I said that I’m making a cauliflower ice cream) confessed that he liked it. Indeed, there is just a hint of cauliflower aroma in the dish which beautifully compliments white chocolate. The overall sweetness of the dessert is counterbalanced by the tartness of fresh raspberries and freeze dried raspberry powder (which I decided to add in order to get another texture and taste dimension in the dish).

I strongly recommend you to try this dessert and it definitely proves that we should step out of our comfort zone of cooking and start searching new, nontraditional combination of ingredients!

Recipe by Matt Moran

Ingredients

Caramelized honey bread

150 gm butter

100 gm honey

¼ loaf Miche bread, torn into small pieces

Cauliflower and white chocolate ice cream

175 gm cauliflower florets

375 ml pure cream

500 ml milk

180 gm egg yolks

125 gm caster sugar

250 gm white chocolate, finely chopped

Sweet cauliflower and vanilla puree

225g cauliflower, core removed, thinly sliced

375ml milk

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

50 ml pure cream

45g caster sugar

Nutmeg sponge

200 gm egg whites

60 gm egg yolks

180 gm caster sugar

40 gm plain flour

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

To serve

Raspberries

Micro cress

Method

1. For the caramelised honey bread preheat oven to 200°C fan forced. Melt butter and honey in a small saucepan. Add the bread and toss to coat in butter and honey, drain. Spread bread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 80°C and cook for 1 hour to dry out.

2. For the cauliflower and white chocolate ice cream place cauliflower and cream into a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook uncovered for about 12 minutes until cream has reduced by half, strain and discard cauliflower. You should have about 250ml cream. Heat milk in a saucepan to simmering point. Whisk yolks and sugar together until pale then pour hot milk into yolks, whisking constantly. Return to the saucepan, cook over low heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, stir in white chocolate, then cauliflower cream. Strain into a bowl and refrigerate until cold. Churn 500-600ml in an ice cream machine following manufacturer instructions.

3. For the sweet cauliflower and vanilla puree place cauliflower in a small saucepan, cover with milk, add vanilla bean and seeds and cook, covered, over low heat for 10-15 minutes until very soft. Strain liquid, discard vanilla bean and milk, blend cauliflower until chopped, then add cream and sugar and blend until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve, cool before use.

4. For the nutmeg sponge place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a cream canister and charge with 4 nitrous bulbs, shaking after each addition. Make lots of small incisions in the bottom of 8 paper cups to allow steam to escape. Half-fill cups with sponge mixture and microwave on high for 40 seconds. Allow to cool, use a small sharp knife to scrape around the inner edge of the cup to remove sponge, break into 6-8 pieces.

5. To serve spoon some puree in the centre of the plate in a chef ring in a circle. Arrange pieces of nutmeg cake, raspberries, quenelles of ice cream, caramelized bread and micro cress on the plate and serve.

Notes:

Since I didn’t have a culinary siphon I cooked the sponge in a traditional way: by whisking the egg yolks with sugar, adding the flour to it and folding the whisked egg whites. The sponge was baked at 180C for 15 minutes.

Zucchini and Pecan Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 04:42:00 +0000

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

The challenge was supposed to be a wonderful opportunity for young mothers to make their children eat veggies in a form of a dessert. For me, however, it provided a great opportunity to feed my husband!

He is not a great fan of vegetables but he definitely has a sweet tooth (well, who doesn’t?) Ironically, once I’ve made a vegetable-based dessert. It was a cauliflower and white chocolate ice cream (by Matt Moran from one of Masterchef Australia master classes). My husband refused to try it when he learnt what it was made of. But when I finally convinced him into trying it, he was amazed and confessed that it was really yummy.

So, as I’ve chosen to make a zucchini cake for this month challenge, I made up my mind to keep the list of ingredients in secret. I presented the dessert as just “another cake”. And my husband was absolutely happy to have it. He enjoyed every single piece of it – and was quite shocked afterwards, when I revealed the secret ingredient of the cake.

I loved the cake myself as well. It was super moist due to zucchini and had a nice spicy note. I’ve a made a sour cream frosting – not an American-style one with lots of icing sugar (which I find to be way too sweat) but a Russian-like (more creamy and less sweat). The cake couldn’t have a better frosting and – topped with the nuts – served as a healthy and amazing dessert.

Yum, yum, yum!

Recipe from Delicious magazine, adapted

Ingredients

Cake

200 gm plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2/3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

200 gm caster sugar

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

2 eggs

2/3 cup sunflower oil

200 gm grated zucchini

60 gm dried apricots

100 gm pecans, chopped

1 tbsp orange zest

Topping

200 gm sour cream

3 tbsp castor sugar

Pecan halves

Metho:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20 cm cake pan.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar till light and creamy, gradually add oil and vanilla/ Add the flour mixture and beat till well combined. Fold in the grated zucchini together with the apricots, walnuts and orange zest.

3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1–1 1/4 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, for the icing, beat sour cream with the caster sugar till creamy.

5. Remove cake from pan and decorate with icing and pecan halves.

Orange Foaming Cookies and Cappuccino Cookies with Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:47:00 +0000

        Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

          I decided to wait for December to try all the recipes while making sweet gifts for my family and friends. Meanwhile, I chose a chose a recipe of Peta’s mother-in law – foaming cookies, and a recipe of Pierre Herme – cappuccino cookies – for completing this month’s challenge. So, I ended up having gift packs with two types of cookies (“black” and “white”)– similar in shape, but so different in taste!

          I loved the recipe of foaming cookies as it leaves a lot of space for creativity! Peta claims that one can make them with milk, water or juice, and use any kind of flour like rice or almond one. Besides, any spices, nuts, dried fruits and chocolate chips can be used for developing a flavor. I guess I will be experimenting a lot with this recipe from this moment on!

         Pierre Herme’s cookies turned to be softer and richer – probably, because of chocolate chunks and a good shot of espresso in them. I added crushed macadamia as the recipe called for but I guess any other nuts will work brilliant as well. The cookies are good in their own and sinfully awesome after being put for a quick while in a cup of morning coffee and eaten – almost at the edge of falling apart!

         A great challenge and a great way to feel the atmosphere of the upcoming holiday season!

Orange Foaming Cookies

(recipe by Peta, adapted)

Ingredients:

150 gm sugar
¼ cup orange juice
280 gm plain flour
112 gm softened butter
½ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp hot water
Zest of 1 orange

Method:

1.    Rub the butter into flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs or blitz together in a food processor (If you use your food processor tip the flour and butter into a bowl after it). Add the orange zest.
2.    Put orange juice and sugar in a pan, stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Dissolve baking soda in a hot water, add it to the orange juice and mix everything quickly into the flour/butter until combined.
3.    Let the mixture cool slightly then shape it into a log and put for a few hours in a fridge (or until firm).
4.    Preheat the oven to 180C. Take the log out of the fridge and slice it – the discs should be 5-7 mm thick. Place them on a silicon mat or on a greased baking tray and put in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool slightly on the tray and then move to cooling rack.

Cappuccino cookies with chocolate

(the original recipe by Pierre Herme, from the book "Larousse Gastronomique du Chocolat")

Ingredients:

170 gm flour
3 gm baking powder
2 gm baking soda
115 gm butter, softened
125 gm brown sugar
15 gm honey
3 gm salt
1 egg
30 ml coffee extract
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
90 gm macadamia, crushed
130 gm dark chocolate (55%), chopped

Method:

1.    Beat the butter in food processer till creamy; add brown sugar, honey and salt, beat till combined. Add the egg, coffee extract and instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water; beat for a few minutes more.
2.    Sift the flour, baking powder and soda. Add to the butter mixture, together with the chocolate and nuts. Beat for a few minutes.
3.    Transfer the dough to the working surface. Form a log, wrap it in a cling film and place in he fridge for a few hours or overnight.
5.    Preheat the oven to 170C/ Take the log out of the fridge and slice it – the discs should be 1 cm thick. Place them on a silicon mat or on a greased baking tray and put in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool slightly on the tray and then move to cooling rack.

Blueberry and Lime Millefuille

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 18:58:00 +0000

Our October 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Suz of Serenely Full. Suz challenged us to not only tackle buttery and flaky puff pastry, but then take it step further and create a sinfully delicious Mille Feuille dessert with it! I was happy to learn that this month’s challenge is Mille-fuille because I’ve never actually made a real puff pastry myself – I only had an experience of making the soc called “quick puff pastry” which does not require laminating the dough a lot. My huscband was also very happy to learn that this month I’m gonna cook a mille-fuille – “napoleon” slice was his favourite dessert from the childhood! We even argued a bit because of it: I wanted to go creative with this challenge and he wanted to have a classic version of the cake!

We reached a compromise: I made a classic French mille-fuilee instead of making traditional Russian Napoleon. For those who do not know the difference, let me explain: in Russia the slice is made with lots of thin layers of puff pastry and cream (which is usually not cream patisserie but more like a buttercream – a combination of butter and condensed milk) and is covered with crushed pieces of puff pastry (no icing – never!); the cake is left overnight in the fridge so that it becomes soft. Well, you see, that is what my husband always loved – and I wanted him to taste an original mille-fuille, French-style! So Ive made a custard-based cream and three layers of puff pastry and even an icing with strips of chocolate!

   One week later, however, I felt like doing something more. I remembered “Milena” – a beautiful slice by Pierre Herme consisting of raspberry jelly, dacquiouse biscuit, mint mousse and two layers of puff pastry. Taking it as an inspiration I decided to cook something similar – an idea of blueberry and lime ice cream mille-fuille came up!

    Was it better than French millefuille or Russian napoleon? It was - just because it was different and it had more complicated textures and flavours: crispiness of puff pastry and softness of a sponge, sweetness of ice cream and sourness of jelly, zing of lime and freshness of blueberries.

    Don't you like a fresh touch on a traditional dish?

Ingredients

Puff pastry
250 gm plain flour
50 gm unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 tsp salt
150 ml cold water
Beurrage
200 gm butter, room temperature
30 gm plain flour
Additional flour for rolling/turning

Lime Ice Cream
600 ml heavy cream
400 gm condensed milk
40 ml Cointreau
Zest of 3 limes

Lime sponge
3 eggs
75 gm castor sugar
80 gm flour
Zest of 1 lime

Soaking syrup
150 ml lime juice
150 gm castor sugar

Blueberry jelly
320 gm blueberry puree
50 gm sugar
5 gelatin leaves

Method:

1. For puff pastry cut the larger quantity of butter into smallish pieces and set aside at room temperature. Put the larger quantity of flour into a bowl with the salt and the cold, cubed butter. Lightly rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until it forms a mealy breadcrumb texture. Add the cold water and bring together with a fork or spoon until the mixture starts to cohere and come away from the sides of the bowl. As the dough begins to come together, you can use your hands to start kneading and incorporating all the remaining loose bits. If the dough’s a little dry, you can add a touch more water. Knead for three minutes on a floured surface until the dough is smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.　
2. While the dough is chilling, make beurrage: take your room temperature butter and mix with the smaller amount of plain flour until it forms a paste. Place the butter paste between two sheets of clingfilm, and either with a rolling pin or your hands shape it into 12cm square. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes so the butter firms up slightly.
3. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface into a 15cm square. Place the square of butter in the middle, with each corner touching the centre of the square’s sides. Fold each corner of dough over the butter so they meet the centre and it resembles an envelope, and seal up the edges with your fingers. You’ll be left with a little square parcel. Turn the dough parcel over and tap the length of it with your rolling pan to flatten it slightly.
4. Keeping the work surface well floured, roll the dough carefully into a rectangle 6 mm in thickness. With the longest side facing you, fold one third (on the right) inwards, so it’s covering the middle section, and ensure that it is lined up. Then, fold the remaining flap of dough (on the left) inwards, so you’re left with a narrow three-layered strip.
5. Repeat the previous step. Wrap up in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes. Repeat step 4 twice. Wrap up in clingfilm and chill again for at least 30 minutes. Repeat step 4 two final times. Wrap up in clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
6. Preheat the oven to 220 C. Line and grease a baking tray. Roll you puff pastry till 6 mm thick. Use a 6 cm cutter to cut 12 rounds. Place them on a prepared tray and prick them all over with a fork. Place another sheet of greaseproof paper over the top and then a heavy baking tray. Bake for about 25 minutes removing the top layer of greaseproof paper 10 minutes before the end for the tops to brown. Remove the baked rounds from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool.
7. For lime ice cream line a a 20x30 cm tin with a foil. Whip the cream, gradually add the condensed milk and Cointreau. Stir in the lime zest and pour the mixture into a prepared tin. Put in the freezer till it sets. Use a 6cm cutter to cut 12 rounds. Keep them in the freezer till needed.
8. For lime sponge, preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease 26-cm round cake tin. Place eggs with sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat till pale and creamy (start at low speed and gradually increase it); stir in the lime zest. Sift flour over the egg mixture and fold it with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into a prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and quite firm to touch. Allow to cool completely, them use a 6 cm cutter to cut 12 rounds.
9.    For soaking syrup combine lime juice and castor sugar in a small pan. Bring to boil over medium heat, decrease the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes.
10.    For blueberry jelly, line a 20x15 cm tin with a foil. Soak the gelatine in small amount of cold water. Reserve a few tablespoons of blueberry puree for decoration. Put the rest of puree in a saucepan with sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and stir in the gelatine and any soaking liquid. Pour in six small demisphere flexipan moulds and in the prepared tin and put in the refrigerator until set. Use a 6 cm cutter to cut 6 rounds out of the jelly from the tin. Keep them in the fridge.
11.    To assemble the mille-fuille put a round of puff pastry on a plate, top it with lime ice cream, a sponge soaked in the syrup and a round of blueberry jelly. Repeat the layers in reverse order starting with the sponge and finishing with puff pastry. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with a piece of blueberry jelly from the mould. Serve with the reserved blueberry puree.

Note:

If you want to have a look at a traditional millefuille that I made initially, here it is:

Empanada Gallega

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

Empanada traces its origin to Galicia and Portugal. Traditionally they are made in a form of a pie which is afterwards cut in pieces. Nowadays, however, other variations exist – like “calzone-style” big pies or individual “turn-over style” small pies (which – when made in on oval shape, looks similar to Russian “pirozhki”!).

The fillings of empanada usually include tuna, chorizo or sardines but it can also contain cod and pork loin. Since my husband is not fond of tuna and pork and since we had brandada with salted cod the same day, I decided to choose ground beef for my pie. I wanted the filling to have “a Spanish hint” so I added bell pepper, tomatoes, black olives, paprika and lots of parsley. I wish I had some anchovies in my cupboard – they would have made the whole thing “undoubtedly Spanish”!

Anyway, the pie was very good: a juicy, hearty filling wrapped in bread-like paprika-scented dough. What a great way to create Galician atmosphere at home!

Ingredients:

Dough
500 gm plain flour
1 cup warm water
100 ml olive oil
30 gm fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 egg

Filling
450 gm minced beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
100 gm black olives
1 tsp sweet paprika
A bunch of parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. For the dough, sift the flour into a big bowl and make a well in the middle. Rub the yeast in with your fingers. In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt. Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough. On a clean counter top, knead the dough for approximately 8 minutes. Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a napkin and keep it in a warm, draught-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.
2. For the filling, heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onion till soft. Add garlic, followed by minced meat and stir-fry for 5 – 7 minutes. Add the bell pepper, tomatoes and spices. Cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, add the chopped olives and parsley. Check the seasoning and allow the filling to cool for at least half an hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease you baking tray. Turn the dough into a floured counter and cut it in half. Cover one half with the napkin to prevent drying. Spread the other half of the dough using a rolling pin and making it a rectangle or a round depending on the shape of your oven pan. Cover the base and sides of the prepared pan with the dough. Using the rolling pin or a knife, cut the extra dough. Place the filling.
4. Take the other half of the dough and spread it out to the same or less thinness of the base. Using your fingers, join bottom and top dough, and then make a hole in the middle of the top layer. Use left-over dough to decorate the empanada with rounds, bows or lines. Prick the top layer, brush it with a lightly beaten egg and place it in the oven for about 45 minutes or until golden in colour.

Notes:

Empanadas are better eaten the day of baking, but will stay fresh for a day more if stored in a cool place or in the fridge (though the dough will become gummy). You can always re-heat it in a hot oven for about 5 minutes.

Choux Puffs with Orange Chantilly Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!

To say true, I really wanted to make swans…or at least some sort of Paris-Breast gateau with an unusual filling. But – oh, yes! There’s always “a but” – I was so-o-o-o-o-o busy in August (with some baking, by the way!) that I had to leave the idea of making something massive. I just had to go for an easier option (which does not always mean “worse”!) – and I simply made some prifitroles filled with orange-flavoured Chantilly.

Oh yes, I had such a hectic time that I couldn’t even complete the challenge on time! Feeling a bit guilty, however, I managed to find another half an hour to make sugar decorations for assembling my dessert!

The result was elegant and seductive, with a comforting sweetness of sugar strands and a refreshing zing of orange zest.

It was not a Swan lake but it was a “Choux ballet” of mine – much simpler, yet pleasant and charming as well.

Ingredients:

Pate a choux

115 gm butter

240 ml water

¼ teaspoon salt

140 gm all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Orange Chantilly

1 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp orange zest

1 tsp Cointreau

Caramel

60 gm water

200 gm caster sugar

80 gm liquid glucose

Method:

1. For pate a choux, in a small saucepot, combine butter, water, and salt. Heat over until butter melts, then remove from stove. Add flour all at once and beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot. Add one egg, and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition. Resulting mixture should be glossy, smooth and thick.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 cm tip on a pastry bag, pipe out small profitroles (leaving a good distance between them). Put them in the oven for 20 minutes or until they are golden and puffy. Reduce the temperature to 120C and leave them in the oven for 5 minutes more. Remove the profitroles from the oven and allow them to cool completely. Cut small holes in each profitrole.

3. For orange Chantilly whisk the cream in a chilled bowl till it starts to form soft peaks, add icing sugar and orange zest, continue to whisk till it forms firm peaks. Add Cointreau. Transfer the cream to a piping bag with 3 mm nostril and fille the profitroles with it.

4. For caramel place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook till the mixture is amber in colour and then remove from heat. Dip the bottom of each profitrole into the caramel and stick it to the serving plate and to other profitroles, forming a ring. Return the caramel to heat and cook it to 140C. Using a whisk, create an "angel hair" around the profitroles.

Seedy Crisps and Cheese Hazelnut Tarragon Crackers

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

      This month I was so busy with my work that I had almost forgotten about DB challenge. At the beginning of this week, however, one of my colleagues mentioned it in a conversation that recently she had stopped buying crackers since their quality nowadays leaves much to be desired. It suddenly occurred to me that I am actually provided with some good recipes for making crackers at home!

       Since Dana asked us to make two different types of crackers, I’ve decided to make seedy crisps (a more healthy variation) and cheesy hazelnut and tarragon icebox crackers (more of a comfort food type). Which one did I like more? Well, shame on me, but whole-wheat crisps didn’t seem so appealing to me as herby Gouda crackers were. My colleagues (who were lucky to taste both types today) shared this opinion with me.

      Ironically, my co-worker whose remark on the crackers stimulated me for completing this month’s challenge was on a leave today. She always is when I bring some homemade pastry items to the office. That’s her bad “confectionary” luck! I’m sure she will be upset on Monday when she finds out that once again she has missed the opportunity to try some of my dishes which – let me tell you – were definitely “cracker ones”!

Cheesy Hazelnut and Tarragon Icebox Crackers

Ingredients:

115 gm butter, well softened
225 gm grated Gouda cheese
190 gm plain flour
6 gm salt
60 gm finely chopped hazelnuts
2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon

Method:

1. Combine butter, tarragon and cheese in a stand mixer and beat well (can also be done by hand). Add the flour, salt and hazelnuts and stir to combine
2. Form the dough into two tight logs and wrap with cling film. Chill for at least an hour and up to several days. The log can be frozen at this point for several months.
3. Heat the oven to 160°C. Slice a log into 5mm coins and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake about 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown

Notes:

1. Store these crackers in an airtight container and eat within three days.
2. You can try this recipe with different cheeses, nuts and spices.

Seedy Crisps

Ingredients:

140 gm whole wheat flour
140 gm plain flour
50 gm poppy seeds
40 gm sesame seeds
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp olive oil
195 ml water

Method:

1. Mix the flours, seeds, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the oil and stir until combined. Add the water until the dough comes together. Knead the dough 5 or 6 times and allow to rest, covered, on the counter for 15 minutes. You can also chill the dough at this point and come back later.
2. Preheat the oven to 230°C. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, either use a rolling pin to reach a desired thickness (thick or thin) or roll out in your pasta rollers. If you use pasta rollers, ensure the dough is well-floured so as not to stick.
3. Place the rolled out dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Use a knife to cut it into desired shapes. Bake the crackers for 7 – 10 minutes (depending on the thickness), flip them over and bake for 7 - 10 minutes more. If not crispy enough when cooled, crackers can be returned to the oven for further 5 – 10 minutes.

Notes:

Store these crackers in an airtight container and eat within 2 weeks

Strawberry and Orange Battenberg Cake – Daring Bakers June 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

This cake – especially its traditional yellow and pink checkered pattern – looks very girlish and (as Mandy has noted) makes one think of Alice in Wonderland. Despite its “cartoonish” appearance the cake was actually created in 1884 as a wedding cake for Princess Victoria and Prince Louis of Battenberg; the yellow and pink squares representing the four princes of Battenberg.

I was impressed by the look of the cake and decided not to change it. I only played a little bit with the flavours – added some orange zest to the batter and “glued” the stripes of sponge with the strawberry ganache. The outer part of the cake is covered with orange jam and wrapped in home-made edible “cover”. A few pieces of decoration – and here’s a cake from the Wonderland. Welcome to tea at Madhatters’!

Recipe adapted from the original one by Mandy

Ingredients:

Cake batter

175 gm butter, softened

175 gm castor sugar

175 gm self-raising flour

3 eggs, room temperature

65 gm ground rice

3 gm baking powder

¼ tsp almond extract

½ tbsp Amaretto

1 tbsp orange zest

A few drops of red food colour

Strawberry ganache

100 gm white chocolate

80 gm strawberries

30 gm butter, cubed

Edible cover

100 gm condensed milk

100 gm milk powder

100 icing sugar

To finish

4 tbsp orange jam

Pink and white decorations

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a 20cm square tin, make a divide in the middle using a foil and a baking paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the dry ingredients, add them to the egg and butter mixture, together with the almond extract and Amaretto.

Divide the batter into two parts. Mix in the orange zest into one part and spoon it into the one side of the prepared tin, add the red food colour into the other part of the batter and spoon it into the other side of the prepared tin. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the cake is well risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Once completely cool, trim the edges and cut each coloured sponge in half lengthwise so that you are left with four long strips of sponge. Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible.

4. For strawberry ganache, melt the chocolate in double boiler. Mix in the strawberry puree and the cubes of butter. Refrigerate until ready to use.

5. For edible colour, combine condensed milk, milk powder and icing sugar, knead into dough. Refrigerate until ready to use.

6. To assemble the cake, brush the strips of the cake with strawberry ganache to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern.

7. Dust a large surface with icing sugar and roll the edible cover in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake.

8. Heat orange jam and brush it onto the outer sides of the cake. Put the sponge to the one side of the edible cover and roll the sponge over and over until it is wrapped completely. Carefully flip the cake so that the seam is under the cake. Score the top of the cake with a knife and place the decorations.

9. Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess edible cover by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.

Notes:

1. After trimming the edges of both sponges I had a few pieces of them left which were enough to make the second, smaller one Battenberg!

2. Rice flour can be substituted with almond flour; apricot jam can be used as a glue; the cake can be covered in marzipan or in chocolate fondant.

Armenian Nazook and Nutmeg Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:49:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

When I studied at the university in Moscow, my parents who lived in the south of Russia used to send me parcels every month. I always looked forward to getting them: I knew that among other goodies I would definitely find a sweet treat from my mom: home-made gata. She spent her childhood in a house in the centre of the city where they had Armenians as their neighbours. No wonder, she learnt a lot about their national cuisine and gata was one of the things that she cooked quite often for my brother and me.

When I saw a foto of this month challenge, I was astonished: it seemed we are gonna be making gata! On reading the instructions, however, I realized that it was another Armenian dessert which looked exactly the same: nazook. There is a small difference between them: nazook has yeast in yet, while gata is made simply with buttermilk; the filling for nazook is just mixed, in case of gata sugar, butter and flour are cooked over low heat before being spread over the rolled-out dough. Anyway, both types of Armenian “cookies” are very flavourful and serve as a great tea-time snack.

Armenian nutmeg cake was also a good accomplishment for our tea (and coffee) break! Actually I’ve never heard of this dessert before (neither did my mom despite the fact that she had a profound Armenian culinary background!) and was eager to try it. The walnuts that I sprinkled on top sank during the baking time and I had to add a handful of some more before serving the cake. Nevertheless, the cake was very moist, with a good hint of nutmeg and although I found the crust too sweet for me, it had a good texture and caramel flavor provided by the brown sugar.

All in all, it was a great challenge since it brought back my childhood memories and gave me an impetus to broaden my (as well as my mum’s) gastronomic outlook on Armenian cuisine!

Nazook

The original recipe by Jason (dailycandor.com)

Ingredients:

Pastry dough

3 cups plain flour, sifted

2½ tsp active dry yeast

1 cup sour cream

1 cup softened butter (room temperature)

Filling

1 ½ cups plain flour, sifted

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup softened butter (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Wash

1-2 egg yolks

Method:

1. For pastry dough, place the sifted flour into a large bowl. Add the dry yeast, and mix it in. Add the sour cream, and the softened butter. Use your hands, or a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, to work it into a dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 3-5 hours, or overnight.
2. For filling, mix the flour, sugar, and the softened butter in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Mix the filling until it looks like clumpy, damp sand. It should not take long. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Cut the refrigerated dough into quarters. Form one of the quarters into a ball. Dust your working surface with a little flour. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle or oval. The dough should be thin, but not transparent. Spread ¼ of the filling mixture across the rolled-out dough in an even layer. Try to spread the filling as close as possible to the edges on the short sides, but keep some of pastry dough uncovered along the long edges. From one of the long sides, start slowly rolling the dough across. Be careful to make sure the filling stays evenly distributed. Roll all the way across until you have a long, thin loaf. Pat down the loaf with your palm and fingers so that it flattens out a bit. Apply your egg yolk wash with a pastry brush. Use your crinkle cutter (or knife) to cut the loaf into 10 equally-sized pieces. Put onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place in a preheated moderate oven for about 30 minutes, until the tops are a rich, golden brown.

Nutmeg Cake

The original recipe by Jason (dailycandor.com)

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups plain) flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

3/4 cup butter, preferably unsalted, cubed

1/2 cup walnut pieces, may need a little more

1 to 1-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 egg

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C. Mix the baking soda into the milk. Set it aside. Sift together the flour and the baking powder into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar. Toss in the cubed butter. Mash the butter with a fork into the dry ingredients (you can also use your fingers if you want). You'll want to achieve a more-or-less uniform, tan-colored crumbly mixture. Take half of this resulting crumbly mixture into your springform (23cm) pan. Press a crust out of it using your fingers and knuckles.

2. Crack an egg into a mixer or bowl. Toss the nutmeg in with the egg. Start mixing slowly with a whisk attachment and then increase to medium speed. Once it's mixed well and frothy (about 1 minute), pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until uniform. Pour in the rest of the crumbly mixture. Mix that well, with either a paddle attachment, or a spatula.
3. Pour the batter over the base in the springform pan. Gently sprinkle the walnut pieces over the batter. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 30-40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the top is a golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan, and then release.

Blue Mondays

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:46:00 +0000

When I first looked through "Zumbo" book with an amazing collection of his creations, I especially loved a chapter dedicated to bar-shaped cakes, and one of it – a chocolate cake with raisins, walnuts and blue cheese (!) stroke a core in my heart. I wanted it to be the first recipe that I would try from the book; it turned out, however, that I cooked almost a dozen other Zumbo-ish things before I finally made this “gateau de voyage”. There were a few reasons for the delay; one of it was that my husband is not a big fan of cheese and he especially hates those pungent varieties with the blue veins. No wonder, when I finally made this extraordinary cake, I suggested we should take it to the office and share with our colleagues who are more tolerant to this dairy product.

So, the box with the cake got into the office (should I say that it was Monday or is it pretty obvious anyway?) and my husband took the first piece during the coffee break. The cake smelled delicious and the blue cheese insert together with the chocolate custard made it look mouth-watering. “Honey, – can we take it back home? It’s way too good and should be eaten by me alone!”

Of course, we couldn’t take it back home – other people were quick to help themselves to the cake as well. Which was too good – my husband was absolutely right about it. Probably, he’s gonna change his attitude towards blue cheese now…at least when it is served in a form of a dessert!

The recipe can be found in the book "Zumbo" by Adriano Zumbo

Fish Ballotine

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:57:00 +0000

Wow! It is the hundredth post in the blog. Quite a big number, isn’t it? Initially I was thinking of cooking something special for this occasion but then decided to dedicate the “anniversary post” to the dish from which everything basically started.

It was a late August weekend and we were waiting for our friends to come for dinner. I literally cooked my heart out that day: prepared a range of salads and hors d'oeuvres, and took all the pains to make an amazing main course – fish ballotine (quite a challenge for any home cook, isn’t it?) I was very happy with the results of my work in the kitchen and was looking forward to entertaining in the evening when – suddenly – our friends called to cancel their visit. On top of that, my husband rearranged his plans for the rest of the day and decided to meet an old friend of his for a drink. So, I was left all alone, with my overwhelming disappointment and a range of prepared dishes. It was Saturday (which meant there was no Masterchef show on TV) and it was raining heavily outside (which perfectly corresponded to my gloomy mood) and I started to think of the ways of spending the evening. A sudden idea crossed my mind – taking the pictures of the food that I’d cooked…

It was a great surprise for me to discover that I actually enjoy styling food! Then there was an album on the Facebook with the pictures of my dishes and I was pleased to get a very warm and emotional feedback from my friends. When a number of people who kept asking me to hold culinary master classes became too high, I found a solution – I started this blog. It was – and still is! – a great way to put not only the photos but the recipes of the dishes, together with some stories that hide behind them.

So, today I told you one of these stories. And the photo of the fish ballotine, mentioned in it, always reminds me of that great day when I expanded the borders of my “hobby sphere”: from pure cooking to food photography and blogging. Ironically, now I’m grateful to the friends who didn’t manage to come that day: if it were not for that fact, I wouldn’t be writing this post now!

Recipe adapted from “Recipe collection” magazine

Ingredients:

500 gm white fish fillets

250 gm salmon

250 gm barramudi

2 tbsp ketchup

1 egg, separated

150 ml milk

2 tbsp flour

45 gm butter, melted

200 ml cream

1 celery stick

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Poach barramudi in salted water or court-boullion. Let it cool completely, and then puree in a blender with ketchup and egg white.

Bring milk to a boil over medium heat. In a bowl, make a paste with the flour and the egg yolk, gradually add the hot milk and the melted butter. Return the mixture to the pan, season and cook, stirring, over low heat till it thickens. Let it cool, then mix with the barramudi puree. Put the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours, then add the cream and return to the fridge till ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the salmon into thick strips. Arrange the white fish fillets, overlapping on a large piece of lightly greased foil. Season the fillets. Take the barramudi mixture from the fridge and spread it over the white fish fillets. Arrange the strips of salmon in a single row, together with the celery stick. Use both hands to roll the white fish tightly around the filling. Wrap the ballotine in a few layers of foil, place on a baking tray and put in the oven for 45 minutes.

Transfer the ballotine to a wire rack. Place a big plate underneath and make a few holes in the foil in order to release the excess moisture. Let the ballotine cool slightly, then unwrap it and cut into pieces. Serve with some grilled or steamed vegetables.

Ricotta and Jam Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:16:00 +0000

I love cooking with ricotta and all other sorts of cottage cheese – especially making desserts! Once I was lucky to find an amazing recipe of ricotta and jam tart which, as the cooking magazine claimed, was authentically Italian – it was even called “Crostata di ricotta e marmellata”. I tried the recipe and instantly realized that I should find a place for it in my cookbook: it was so good that it became obvious that I’m gonna be making it again and again!

When I told my Italian friend about this tart (should I use the right word here – ‘boasted” about cooking this fantastic dessert?) she was confused. She explained to me that in Italy they put either ricotta or jam in the filling of a pie and never mix them together. I tried to make a point by saying that the tart with both of them is absolutely delicious (which can be confirmed not only by me but by a dozen of readers of that magazine who highly praised the recipe). “I can assume that it might be delicious; but it cannot be called an Italian dish, anyway!” – she concluded.

Well, what’s in a name? And who cares about authenticity when there’s a piece of a warm pie on a plate, with soft vanilla-scented ricotta, gooey jam and fragrant crumble? Especially when it is served with orange curd that complements the flavour of the jam!

Recipe adapted from the original one from "Good taste" magazine (taste.com.au)

Ingredients:

Shortcrust pastry

415 gm flour

75 gm castor sugar
1 tbsp orange rind
1 ½ tsp baing powder
180 gm chilled butter, chopped
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla essence

Filling

320 gm ricotta

45 gm castor sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
240 gm jam

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Method:

For shortcrust pastry, combine the flour, sugar, orange rind, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Whisk together the egg, egg yolk and vanilla in a bowl. Add to the flour mixture and use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until combined. Bring the dough together in the bowl. Place one-third of it, covered, in the freezer, and the rest of it, shaped into a disc and covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For filling, place the ricotta in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to beat in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Use a balloon whisk to whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until combined.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a 5mm-thick disc. Line a 26 cm tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim excess.

Heat the jam in a small saucepan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until melted. Set aside for 3 minutes to cool slightly. Pour the filling into the pastry case. Spoon the jam evenly over the surface.

Take the rest of the dough out of the freezer and grate it over the jam. Sprinkle with nuts (if using). Cover the tart loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 20 – 25 minutes more or until golden in colour.

Notes:

Alternatively, do not place 1/3 of the dough in the freezer; chill it in the fridge, roll out and cut into strips. Arrange the strips in a criss-cross manner on top of the pie.

You may use any jam for this recipe. If you choose an orange one, I would recommend serving the tart with orange curd – the same one as used for the filling in Alaska crepe stack.

Deconstructed Caesar

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:36:00 +0000

One of the modern gastronomic trends that I like is food deconstruction: decomposing a dish, rearranging its elements and coming up with something new which may look simpler that the original dish but in fact be much more sophisticated in terms of cooking methods and techniques. I strongly believe that in such a way any dish can get a second life; sometimes I get carried away by my culinary fantasy as I start thinking of how I can deconstruct this or that classic dish. (By the way, if you feel like organizing a blogger’s community that will have fun in the kitchen by deconstructing traditional dishes, please, let me know – I’m totally in!)

Classic Caesar salad became one of the objects of my experiments. It was rather simple to work with it. Just think of it: you normally mix all the ingredients to make a salad; thus, for a deconstructed version of it you need to put all the elements on the plate separately. So, what do you see on the plate? A toast with grilled chicken and parmesan crisp, an egg with anchovy filling, tomato fondue and fresh lettuce sprinkled with olive oil. What will you feel once you start eating the dish and all the flavours will come together? I guess you will realize that it is something more that just a chicken sandwich with the salad leaves and, probably, the concoction of the elements will remind you of the original dish. That is basically the whole idea of a funny trend of deconstructing food!

Ingredients:

4 heads of lettuce cos, about 50 gm each

4 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced

4 slices of bread

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 tsp anchovy paste

4 capers

200 gm tomatoes, deseeded and skinned

50 gm parmesan, grated

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. For tomato fondues, puree the tomatoes with some salt. Push the mixture through a sieve and cook over low heat till it thickens. Check the seasoning and transfer to a piping bag.

2. For parmesan crisp, preheat the oven to 180C. Make 4 circles with grated cheese on a non-stick baking mat and put it into the oven for 7 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then remove the crisps from the baking mat.

3. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into two halves and remove the egg yolks. Mix them with anchovy paste and fill the egg whites with the resulting mixture. Place a caper on top of each half.

4. To serve, toast the bread and place it onto a serving plate. Top it with the grilled chicken and a parmesan crisp. Arrange an egg half on the side. Pipe some tomato fondue around. Place a head of lettuce on the plate, sprinkle it with salt, pepper and olive oil. Repeat to make 3 more servings.

Pan Seared Salmon with Beetroot and Ricotta Canelloni

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:02:00 +0000

           “Fresh doesn’t always mean better; a self-respected Italian housewife doesn’t bother to make pasta at home since she can get good one in the shop” – an article “Things you’d know if your nanny was Italian” stated. Well, there is a point here, no doubt. But what about ravioli?! I do not mind buying ready-made ravioli with meat, mushroom or cottage cheese filling but what would you do if you crave for a more sophisticated flavour inside the pasta shell? There’s no other way but to put an apron, dust the table with some flour and get into making your own dough!

            I had an absolutely amazing recipe of beetroot and ricotta ravioli from one cooking magazine; I’d made the dish a couple of times – each time it was a great success. Recently, however, as I had already prepared the filling and rolled the dough to the necessary thickness – I stopped for a moment thinking how I can change the dish a little bit (just for fun, you know!). At that moment I remembered Chef George Calombaris who once showed how to make fish mousse cannelloni to the contestants of Masterchef Australia. He put the mousse into a culinary bag and piped it onto strips of fresh pasta dough which were then rolled around the filling and cut into tubes to form cannelloni. I decided to use the same technique to make cannelloni with my beetroot filling.

           Wow! The result was beyond any expectations: it was basically the dish that I was familiar with – but in a new form. A piece of a seared salmon with creamy dill sauce served as a great accompaniment to the cannelloni which had a distinct sweetness of beetroot and a pungent scent of parmesan. All in all, it was a beautiful dish and I will definitely bother to make it again. In the long run, I do not have an Italian nanny who would try to talk me out of making fresh pasta at home!

Ingredients:

Beetroot and ricotta cannelloni
Pasta dough
300 gm plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
3 eggs
a pinch of salt
Filling (recipe adapted from the original one from “Recipe collection” magazine)
1 beetroot, boiled
100 gm ricotta
100 gm parmesan, grated
1 egg

Pan-seared salmon
6 pieces of salmon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dill, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Beetroot and radish carpaccio
1 beetroot
2 radishes
1 cup rocket leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Dill sauce
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup cream
2 tbsp dill, shopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. For pasta dough, sift flour with salt, make a well in the centre and add a slightly beaten egg and olive oil. Knead into a dough, cover and leave for half and hour at room temperature.
2. For filling, grate the beetroot and squeeze out the moisture. Combine the beetroot with ricotta, parmesan and a slightly beaten egg. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag.
3. Roll the dough thinly into strips. Pipe the filling along the long side of each strip, roll the strip to enclose the filling. Cut the rest of the dough if the strips are too wide. Cut each long “tube” into smaller tubes, around 7cm each, then roll each of the small tubes in a cling film and tie up the ends. Bring water to a boil in a large pan and simmer the strips for 5 – 7 minutes.
4. For pan-seared salmon, marinate the pieces of fish in olive oil, salt, black pepper and dill. Heat a pan over high heat and sear the pieces for a few minutes, flip and cook for a minute more.
5. For dill sauce, bring vegetable stock together with cream to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the dill, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, till the sauce thickens. Check the seasoning.
6. For carpaccio, cut 1 beetroot and 1 radish into thin rounds and julienne the remaining vegetables; mix the latter ones with rocket leaves, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
7. To serve, spread some sauce at the bottom of the plate. Remove the cling film from cannelloni and arrange a few pieces in a row; top with the seared salmon. Put the rounds of beetroot and radish along the two sides of cannelloni and place the julienned vegetables on top of the fish. Repeat to make 5 more servings.

Asian Burger with Brown Rice Tiger Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:36:00 +0000

          Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

         As soon as I learnt about the challenge for this month, I made up my mind to cook an Asian burger – I guess, the rice flour that is used for the crunch topping, gave me an impetus to go in this direction. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that Dutch Crunch bread (also called Tiger bread after the tiger-like shell) was initially made with sesame oil?! It seemed that my idea of using Asian flavours was more than appropriate!

       I loved the recipe of the brown rice bread the girls provided us with: I figured out that it would be a perfect base for my dish. However, I decided to make bread rolls instead of a loaf and they turned to be much better than plain burger buns, with a sweetness of honey, earthiness of a brown rice and a scent of sesame oil.

       Instead of beef I used prawns, chicken and fish to make meat cakes for the burger: I simply adapted the recipe of Chao Tom that I had in my cooking book. Chao Tom is basically a Vietnamese dish – an entrée made with prawns grinded to a paste, wrapped around the sugar cane sticks and grilled. Of course, I didn’t use any sticks and changed the shape of the dish in general but it was still packed with flavours: the use of different types if meat and Asian condiments made it a lip smacking treat!

      An Asian cole slow was served as a side to the dish: Chinese cabbage, apple, capsicum and carrot with soy and honey dressing and toasted sesame seeds – can you think of a better accompany to the chaw tom cakes and brown rice tiger bread?

     Thanks to Sara and Erica for an opportunity to have fun in the kitchen and to come up with a new, fusion, delicious dish!

Ingredients:

Brown rice bread rolls (recipe adapted from the original one of Sara and Erica)1/3 cup warm water (41 – 46C)
5 gm active dry yeast
2 gm sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
40 ml honey
20 ml sesame oil
1 tsp salt
75 gm cooked and cooled brown rice
2 cups plain flour

Dutch crunch topping (the original recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible”)5 gm active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (41 – 46C)
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
a pinch of salt
80 gm rice flour

Chao tom cakes (recipe adapted from the original one by Sanjeev Kapoor)
300 gm prawns, shelled
¼ cup minced chicken
¼ cup white fish fillet
3 garlic cloves
3 shallots
1 tsp sugar
1 egg white
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice flour
¼ tsp crushed black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Sesame sauce2 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp sesame oil

Asian burgers5 brown rice bread rolls
5 chao tom
½ cup sesame sauce
2 tomatoes, sliced
a few lettuce leaves

Asian slaw¼ red cabbage, thinly shredded
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, julienned
1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1 cup mint leaves, shredded
1 cup coriander, shredded
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Method:

1. For brown rice bread rolls, pour the warm water in a small bowl; sprinkle yeast and sugar over surface. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, around 10 minutes. In a large bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer combine the buttermilk, honey, sesame oil and salt; add brown rice and beat until smooth. Add the yeast mixture and beat for a few minutes more. Add flour, ½ cup at a time, until a soft bulky dough that just clears the side of the bowl is formed. Turned it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and springy. Place the dough in a greased bowl; turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
2. Gently deflate the dough. Turn it onto a slightly floured surface. Divide it into 5 portions. Shape each into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
3. For Dutch crunch topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat hard. The consistency should be spreadable but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour if necessary. Let stand for 15 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C. Coat the top of each roll with a thick layer of topping. Let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes; and then bake for 30 – 35 minutes until golden brown in colour. Transfer to a cooling rack.
5. For chao tom cakes, grind prawns, chicken, fish, garlic, shallots and sugar to a paste in a blender. Add egg white, fish sauce, rice flour and crushed black pepper. Use wet hands to divide the mixture into 5 equal portions and to shape them into rounds. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the cakes for a few minutes on each side. Drain on the absorbent paper.
6. For sesame sauce, combine Greek yoghurt and mayonnaise in a bowl. While whisking, add sesame oil in a thin but steady stream; whisk till smooth.
7. For Asian slaw, put all the vegetables, with the apple and the herbs in a large bowl. Combine soy sauce and honey to make the dressing, pour it over the salad ingredients and toss to combine.
8. To serve, cut each bread roll horizontally into two. Spead 1 tbsp of sesame sauce on the base of each roll. Put a chao tom cake, followed by a few slices of tomato and a lettuce leaf. Spread the remaining sauce on the cut sides of the remaining halves of the bread rolls and cover the burgers. Place on the serving plate, with some Asian slaw, sprinkled with the toasted sesame seeds, on the side.

Summer in March: Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau with Strawberry Jelly and Creme Brulee

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:15:00 +0000

         They say, dessert, being the last course of the meal, can be of a crucial significance: a bad one ruins the whole dining experience while a good one transforms even an average meal into a memorable one. No wonder, when I was preparing the menu for the farewell party that we organized for our collegues, I paid a special attention to the dessert.

         I didn’t want to use a recipe from a cookbook; instead, I felt like creating something new that would reflect both my attitude towards Kolkata and the experience (mainly – the culinary one) that I’d gained there. An idea of a multi-layered gateau came by. Indeed, I started to make such sophisticated desserts only about a year ago (thanks to the influence of Adriano Zumbo and other pastry chefs – professional and amateur ones) and it was a time to demonstrate what I’d learnt. When I thought of the flavours, I decided upon chocolate as the main one, with a hint of vanilla (can you do without it in a good dessert?). Then I choose strawberries – simply because they were still in season and I wanted to include a fresh, juicy, a bit sour element in the cake. Hazelnuts was not a very obvious choice since they are way too difficult to find in Kolkata; ironically, that was the reason why I bothered to take them as well: I wanted to create a flavour profile that would be a bit surprising and not so conventional for the people who had been living in the place for a long time.

         I was very happy with the result (and so, it seems, were our colleagues). There was only one question left: how I should call this chocolate and hazelnut gateau with strawberry jelly and crème brulee? At this point I remembered the conversation I had with one of my Indian friends about a year ago:

– Are you going away from the city this summer? – I asked her.
– No, – she replied. I have exams till the end of May. But in June I’m planning to travel abroad.

        The thing is, I have forgotten that in India the seasons are different; you have summer from March to May, and monsoon from June to August. It is very unusual for a European!

        My gateau was very unusual as well (you have fresh, not imported, strawberries there and hazelnuts which, as I mentioned, are not so readily available in Kolkata) that’s why I decided to name it Summer in March. I guess, each time I will be looking at the photo of it, I will feel the warmth of that days and the amazing time I had during my stay in that country!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Angel Food Cake
6 egg whites
¼ cup + 2 tbsp flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
40 gm chocolate, melted
30 gm Noisette syrup
30 gm Vanilla syrup

Wafer Crisp Insert
100 gm dark chocolate
60 gm wafers with hazelnut cream, crushed
30 gm butter, melted
15 gm hazelnuts, chopped
15 gm Kellog Special K cereals, crushed

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cremaux
260 gm milk chocolate, chopped
40 gm hazelnuts, chopped
4 egg yolks
120 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp sugar
15 gm gelatine
75 gm cold water
300 gm cream, whipped

Creme Brulee Insert
6 egg yolks
110 gm castor sugar
480 ml cream
1 vanilla bean

Strawberry Jelly
280 gm strawberry puree, sieved
50 gm castor sugar
5 gelatine leaves

Milk Chocolate Ganache
180 gm milk chocolate, chopped
150 gm heavy cream
50 gm butter, cut into cubes

Chocolate Glaze
50 gm water
90 gm caster sugar
25 gm liquid glucose
75 ml heavy cream
50 gm cocoa powder
10 gm gelatine
60 gm cold water
90 gm neutral glaze

Garnish
a few pieces ofhocolate decorations

Method:

1. For chocolate angel food cake, preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease a 20cm square tin. Beat the egg whites with salt till soft peaks are formed, gradually add the sugar, increase the speed and beat till firm peaks. Sift the flour and the cocoa powder over the egg whites; and then fold them in, together with vanilla essence. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
2. Use a sharp knife or a special pastry equipment to cut the cooled angel food cake horizontally into two. Cover one of the parts with melted chocolate and allow it to set completely. Line a 20cm tin with acetate sheet or a foil and place that half of the cake (with the chocolate covered side down) at the bottom of the tin. Moisten it with Noisette syrup.
3. For wafer crisp insert, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add the crushed wafers and cereals, together with the melted butter. While the mixture is warm, spread it in a thin layer over the chocolate cake that you’ve placed in the tin.
4. For milk chocolate cremeaux, soak the gelatine in cold water. Prepare a rich cream anglaise: heat the milk with vanilla essence until it almost starts to boil; whisk the egg yolks with sugar till light and creamy; and then gradually add the hot milk. Return the mixture to a pan and cook, stirring, over low heat, until it is thick enough to cover the back of the wooden spoon. Strain through a sieve and, while it is still hot, pour it over the milk chocolate. Set aside for a few minutes, then stir till the chocolate melts. Heat the gelatine over low heat till it dissolves; and then add it to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then fold in the whipped cream. Transfer it to the tin where you have started to assemble the cake. Cover it with the remaining half of the chocolate cake, moistened with vanilla syrup.
5. For crème brulee insert, preheat the oven to 160C. Line a 20cm square tin. Put the cream in a saucepan with the vanilla bean and the scraped seeds and bring to a boil over medium heat. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Discard the vanilla bean; pour in the hot cream gradually, while constantly whisking. Strain the mixture, pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool, and then freeze. When frozen through, place it in the tin where you assemble the cake, on top of the second half of the chocolate cake.
6. For strawberry jelly, line a 20 cm square tin with foil. Soak the gelatine in small amount of cold water. Put 1/3 of the strawberry puree in a saucepan with sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and stir in the gelatine and any soaking liquid. Mix in the remaining puree. Pour in the prepared container and put in the freezer until set. When frozen through, place it on top of crème brulee.
7. For milk chocolate ganache, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat, pour it over the chocolate and set aside for a minute. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then whisk in the butter. Allow to cool, and then spread it over the strawberry jelly. Place the cake in the freezer till ganache sets.
8. For chocolate glaze, soak the gelatine in cold water. Put the remaining water, sugar, glucose, cream and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, them mix in the gelatine and any soaking liquid. Add the neutral glaze and blitz with a mixer until combined. Allow to cool completely. Take the cake out of the freezer and remove it from the tin. Pour the glaze over it, and then return it to the freezer till the glaze sets.
9. Remove the cake from the freezer. Use a sharp knife dipped into hot water to trim about 1cm from each side of the cake; and then to cut it into 16 pieces. Refrigerate for a few hours to defrost. Place some chocolate decorations on top of each piece before serving.

Notes:

1. Start with making the elements that need to be frozen through – the strawberry jelly and the crème brulee.
2. You can store this cake in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Post Scriptum: the Farewell Party

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:59:00 +0000

– We can order a takeaway from a restaurant. – My husband said when we were discussing the farewell party that we were to arrange for our collegues.
– No way! – I replied. – I’ll take care of everything myself!

– Are you gonna set a new record? – one of the colleges asked when she learnt that I’m gonna cook for a few dozen people. – Maybe you need some help?
– No, thanks, I’m ok.

– How much or should I say – how little – did you sleep for the past few days? – the wife of a collegue wondered when she saw the whole spread at the serving table.
– Well... I actually managed to get a few hours sleep.

It was hard, no doubt, but I don’t regret that we hadn’t ordered a takeaway. I actually managed to pull this off – with the help of that girl, my husband and some other people; and it was definitely worth all the pains and the sleepless nights spent in the kitchen.

I felt very excited on the day of the party – both because I had an opportunity to put my chef’s jacket on (that was hiding in the wardrobe after the Halloween party) and because all our collegues were about to taste my food. As they were aware of the fact that I had basically learnt to cook in Kolkata, they came to a conclusion that it was some sort of a “final exam” for me. And despite the fact that they all seemed to like the dishes and were impressed by the presentation and the flavour profile, I couldn’t give myself an A mark: I knew that I could do better (for example, I didn’t have time to put the glaze on the fruit cake and all the chocolate decorations on the hazelnut gateau). In general, however, I was happy to present the results of a few days work to our friends.

The dining table had an international spread of dishes:

• Russian multi-layered salad with herring and beetroot; buckwheat pancakes with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
• Italian antipasti platter; polenta rounds with proscutto, bocconcini and pesto; veal with tuna and anchovy sauce; risotto stuffed bell peppers.
• French chicken liver pate; fish mousse with almonds and thyme; chocolate and hazelnut gateau with strawberry jelly and crème brulee; orange cake with Chantilly cream and fresh fruits.
• Asian chicken meatballs with tomato and coconut sauce; papad with prawns and mango salsa.
• Mediterranean hummus; bulgur and cashew stuffed zucchini.
• Georgian aubergine rounds with walnuts and garlic mayonnaise.
• American cheesecake with Bailey’s and white chocolate.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who helped to organize the event!

P.P.S. A special thanks to the girl who found an opportunity to take the pictures of the dishes!

Farewell to Kolkata

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 17:27:00 +0000

– Do you have almond flour?

– Wheat flour?

– No, almond. It’s like ground almonds.

– Take whole almonds.

– No, I need almond flour! It is also called almond meal.

– Take oatmeal.

– Ok, forget it.

That’s a typical conversation when you are trying to find just a little-bit-beyond-ordinary ingredient in Kolkata.

Another example. I decide to make Japanese rolls so I need to get avocado. There’s none at the supermarket and I head to the local market where they have imported produce – there’s a tiny chance that I will find the fruit. The only problem is, the vendors there do not speak good English.

– Do you have avocado?

– Apple?

– No, a-vo-ca-do.

– Akhrot? (“walnut” in Hindi)

– NO! AVOCADO!

– Aloo? (“potato” in Hindi)

Yes, it was hard: for me – for a person who easily gets obsessed with cooking a new dish, and for my husband who had to tolerate all my whims: when I needed a not so readily available ingredient for my new kitchen experiment (“Yes! I desperately need a jar of a good pesto!”;”No, I can’t do without fresh dill – the dish will look incomplete!”), he drove me around while I was looking for it at local markets, big commercial supermarkets, posh stores with organic food and in small shops where they were selling smuggled goods. My dear hubby never refused to go through this painful “searching” experience with me and once he even agreed to take me to another part of the city to get xanthan gum (“Tell me, at least, what’s that?” – he asked. “Some sort of a gelling agent. I don’t know how it looks like but I know how to use it in the kitchen”). Yes, I was crazy; and he had to deal with this craziness, with a patience of an angel.

He also had to tolerate a Nazi part of me (which used to become especially active when we had guest at home and I was cooking a storm in the kitchen). He was the best sous-chef one can imagine: very helpful to do all the mis-en-place and very eager to fulfill all the tasks I entrusted him with.

I should say that our colleges once also had to face “an iron chef” in me: as we were throwing a farewell party, I initially refused to get any help (“Let me have fun in the kitchen alone!”) and half an hour before the beginning of the party I had to admit that I was running out of time, so I called an alert and asked all the woman to come to the kitchen and help me slice the bread and make antipasti platters. Even one guy, who accidentally appeared to the kitchen in search of his wife, was forced to finish the canapés with smoked salmon!

In general, it was a great culinary experience – the one that changed my life. Kolkata helped me to find a passion in life (the word “hobby”, I guess, is not that strong to describe my attitude towards food). I will always remember all the dining spots I visited here, all the markets and shops where I used to buy produce, all the people I met during my two and a half years stay. I will carry these memories on, together with the inspiration I drew from this place!

Sticky Tape the Date

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:04:00 +0000

One of the most popular Australian desserts is date pudding. It’s a delicious treat, especially when served with some butterscotch sauce or plain caramel. What happens, however, when a whimsical pastry chef (as Sidney-based Adriano Zumbo is) takes this combination as a starting point for creating a new delight, can be described only by the most enthusiastic words.

“Sticky tape the date’ – when I saw this cake in “Zumbo” book, I was impressed by the way it looked – a row of date logs, covered in coconut “snowflakes” and a glimmering caramel glaze. And! There is much more inside the gateau: the strips of date gel and caramel chew which compliment the overall flavour of the chocolate cake batter, enriched with dried apricots and dates. The chocolate caramel (!) which goes in the bottom of the baking tin, has a beautiful aroma and that mouth-watering caramel maison that covers the whole cake is sinfully more-ish.

There was actually a lot of mess in the kitchen after making this “sticky tape the date”: a lot of elements require time to make and great patience to measure all the ingredients correctly. But I really enjoyed the process! No doubt, the best part of it was rolling date and coconut paste into logs – after this funny work my hands had an incredibly delicious scent!

After sticking the last log onto the caramel glaze, I had to admit that this cake has a very unusual, yet harmonic, appearance. What about the taste? Definitely, it has a greater dimension than a plain date pudding with caramel sauce: it’s rich, it’s beautiful, with an exotic hint of coconut. A great twist on a traditional Aussie dessert!

The recipe can be found in the book "Zumbo" by Adriano Zumbo

Prawn Cocktail

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:50:00 +0000

          One can speak of fashion not only when it comes to clothes, shoes, accessories and smart gadgets but to food as well. Indeed, there are tendencies in the food industry: some dishes are classic, others are associated with particular epoch, while the third ones – which become popular overnight – either leave a trace in the gastronomic world or vanish forever from the memories of demanding gourmets.

         If you asked me to name a retro dish two years ago I would most probably stumble with the answer. Nowadays, however, one dish instantly comes to my mind: prawn cocktail. The thing is, I learnt about this hors d’oeuvre (that was popular in Great Britain from the 1960s to the 1980s) only when I came to India: here in Kolkata there is a good range of seafood and prawn cocktail is on the menu of most of the “continental” restaurants. My husband appreciated the dish as soon as he came here so I bothered to get a recipe in order to be able to cook it for him at home.

        At that time the source of culinary information that I broadly used was a TV channel featuring the recipes of local chefs. I was lucky to get Sanjeev Kapoor’s version of the prawn cocktail. It was the first recipe of a cocktail sauce that I had ever tried to make in my life and it turned out to be absolutely fantastic! It received the highest praise not only from my husband but from my friends in Moscow as well: I used it for the prawn tartlets when I throw a party during the vocation and they were the winning dish on the table. The secret ingredient? Alcohol! Sanjeev Kapoor suggests using brandy but I prefer to make it with some dark rum: the Indian Old Monk, with a rich caramel flavour, works best.

        Recently, when I served this easy to make appetizer to our local friends who are well familiar with my range of very sophisticated dishes, asserted that I had outdone myself with that prawn cocktail. I was a bit astonished since the dish is way too easy to make and it takes no pains and absolutely no effort to pull it off. I guess, the key to success is rum. I haven’t actually mentioned to them that there was alcohol in the sauce. But you should expect it to be there, shouldn’t you? Otherwise why would it be called “a cocktail”?!

Ingredients:

400 gm medium prawns, cleaned
4 tiger prawns, tail on
1 tbsp olive oil
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced
a few olives, sliced
a bunch of lettuce
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper to taste

Cocktail sauce (recipe adapted from the original one by Sanjeev Kapoor)½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp dark rum
a dash of Tabasco sauce

Method:

1. Poach medium prawns in a simmering water or court-bouillon for a few minutes and let them cool. Mix all the ingredient for the cocktail sauce and pour in over the prawns. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
2. Marinate tiger prawns in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Grill them for a few minutes on high heat.
3. To serve, arrange some lettuce leaves at the bottom of the chilled cocktail glasses. Divide the medium prawns, together with the sauce, between them. Arrange slices of the egg and olives on top and place the tiger prawns on the rims of the glasses.

Caprese Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:45:00 +0000

If you look through my blog you will most probably think that I prefer elaborate, sophisticated dishes to more effortless ones. True. Sometimes, however, I keep the food simple: whenever I deal with exceptionally fresh, high quality produce, I let it speak for itself and do not overload the dish with unnecessary elements. Indeed, it needs a little, if any, assistance of spices and condiments to be transformed into a beautiful meal.

One of the examples of a very easy dish which can become a stunning part of a meal is Caprese Salad. No wonder, this dish that consists only of a few elements – tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil – has become so popular all over the world. When I’m at a supermarket, I check the shelves with dairy produce and if I spot a pack of good mozzarella or bocconcini (which, unfortunately, is difficult to find here) I grab it and head to the grocery department to pick the freshest bunch of basil and a few ripe and juicy tomatoes. I’m salivating as I slice the soft balls of cheese and arrange them on top of the bright tomato rounds at my home kitchen. A few tangy basil leaves and a touch of a home-made basil oil – and I’m ready to indulge into a very simple, yet delicious dish.

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes
50 gm mozzarella or bocconcini
1 spring of basil
1 tbsp basil oil

Method:

1. Cut the tomatoes and the cheese balls into slices. Pick the basil leaves and reserve the top of the spring for garnish.
2. Arrange the slices of tomatoes and cheese alternatively on the plate, with the basil leaves between them. Pour the basil oil over the salad and garnish with the reserved top of the spring.

Barbados

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:44:00 +0000

To say true, I’m not a big fan of exotic flavours in desserts. I prefer simple ones: chocolate, orange, vanilla. Too simple? But you can always spike it with some liquor or rum! Any additions? Why not – I love honey, caramel and nuts. And what about fruits? Well, I choose something more conventional for my palate: apple and pear, strawberry and banana… As far as all those tropical fruits are concerned, I don’t mind eating them on their own, but if you make me choose between a sophisticated gateau garnished with lychees, star fruits and kumquats and a simple apple pudding, I would go for the latter one.

No wonder, when I saw Barbados cake in my “Zumbo” book, I initially decided against cooking it. Mango, pineapple, coconut – it’s not “too” exotic for me but not too appealing at the same time as well. After giving it a thorough consideration, however, I came to the conclusion that I should definitely give this recipe a try before I leave India. In Russia, I figured out, I would most probably face the problem of finding all the necessary ingredients (like kaffir lime, jaggery, coconut milk powder and cream, nothing to say of fresh tropical fruits) and even if I do I would have to pay much more for them! It became obvious that it would have been stupid “to skip” the recipe.

Oh man! I’m so happy that I actually made this dessert! Yes, of course, it is quite quirky: both in terms of appearance (the composition of different elements looks a bit abnormal and funny) and in terms of flavours (coconut and mango jelly, jasmine rice mousse and jaggery mousse, with almond short crust pastry at the bottom) – but it is so beautiful at the same time (again, both in terms of an unforgettable appearance and those bold flavours). I guess when I’m back in Russia and feel like impressing someone with ultimately exotic dessert, I will take the trouble of finding all the ingredients there and cook Barbados once again!

The recipe can be found in the book “Zumbo” by Adriano Zumbo

Reuben Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:16:00 +0000

My husband extremely loves meat: he can eat it for lunch, for dinner and even for breakfast. And if making a soup with slices of chicken and grilling fish late at night is not a problem (you can make it in dozens of ways to produce different types of dishes for mid-afternoon snack and for after-work meal), incorporating it into breakfast can be a bit challenging; that’s why I’m always happy to find new recipes of toasts, crepes, frittatas and wraps with meat – I know that my hubby will be more than happy to have a piece of it for the first meal of the day!

Recently I cooked a new “meaty” version of breakfast for him: Reuben sandwich. To say true, I have learnt about it only a year ago – which is hardly surprising as this sandwich, being a New York specialty, is a popular dish in North America but is hardly known beyond that continent. There are a few versions of the story of its origin. One of it claims that it was invented by Reuben Kulakofsky who was a regular poker player at the Blackstone Hotel where this dish was featured later in the menu. Another story holds that it was created by Arnold Reuben, the owner of Delicatessen in Broadway, first served it to the actress Anna Selos who once came to his restaurant. Yes, ironically, this absolutely “manly” sandwich was created for a woman!

Another funny thing is, this American specialty is full of typical “Russian” flavours: rye bread, beef, sauerkraut and something which in the Western countries is called “Russian” dressing. Of course, my husband couldn’t but love his breakfast. I should admit that I enjoyed the sandwich as well; I guess the truth of origin lies within the second story – the one where a woman is involved!

Ingredients:

160 gm beef, roasted and cut into thin slices
8 slices of rye bread, crust removed
8 slices of cheese
120 gm of sauerkraut

Russian dressing:
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp ketchup
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. For dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Spread each of slices of bread with 1 tsp of the dressing. Mix the remaining one with sauerkraut.
2. Top 4 slices of bread with a slice of cheese and a few slices of roasted beef. Divide the sauerkraut between the 4 sandwiches, top with the remaining slices of beef and cheese and cover with bread.
3. Grill the sandwiches on both sides and serve immediately.

Pea and Mint Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Pea and mint is a marriage made in heaven. I have heard about it an enormous amount of times and I do not have any reasons to disagree with this statement. On the contrary, it is a combination of flavours that I use quite often in my kitchen. I mix peas and mint to make a simple stuffing for tomatoes, I garnish zucchini and pea omelette with fresh mint, I blend the two ingredients together to make a creamy puree (which is a perfect side dish for honey glazed salmon) and, finally, I use them to make a healthy and flavourful soup. It is quick and easy, light and refreshing. In February when peas were in great abundance, I made sure that I always have a bunch of mint in the fridge: it meant that I could rustle up a lunch in a jiffy! A bowl of this delicious soup (which can be served both hot and cold) and some salad or a toast or any other small appetizer (I usually go for seafood as, in my mind, it beautifully compliments the flavours of the dish) – and I’m in heaven; in that gastronomic heaven where the marriage of pea and mint was formed!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
½ onion, diced
200 gm green peas, depoded
500 ml vegetable stock, hot
½ bunch of mint
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan and sauté the onion till translucent. Add peas and cook for one more minute. Add the stock and cook for a further few minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
2. Reserve a few peas and a few mint leaves for garnish. Blend the rest of the peas with the mint leaves till smooth. Season to taste.
3. To serve, divide the soup among the bowls. Garnish with the reserved peas and mint leaves.

Note:

You can add a tablespoon of cream or yoghurt to the soup before serving.

Toasted Lammyjammit

noreply@blogger.com (Little Aspiring Chef) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:53:00 +0000

When I think of typical Australian dishes, only a great range of desserts comes to my mind: sticky date pudding, light Pavlova, anzac biscuits and lamingtons. The latter ones are actually small cakes coated in toasted coconut; I have heard about them for the first time when I was watching Masterchef two years ago.

Two months ago, however, as I finally got my “Zumbo” book from Melbourne, I saw an extraordinary variation of a traditional dessert: a big bar cake coated in what seemed to be chocolate coconut. The cocoa coconut and a sleek strip of chocolate on top were so appealing that I couldn’t but decide to make this cake at home!

Mr Zumbo added one “hidden” element to the interior of his creation: a raspberry jelly! I used fresh strawberries to make this “surprise element” of the dessert and although during the baking the jelly sank on the bottom, it imparted its fruity flavour to the chocolate sponge which was extremely rich and moist (and remained so even after a few days!)

I should also make a confession of a chocoholic here: I especially loved the chocolate dip in which the cake was put before being coated in coconut. I guess I would be happy to eat a whole bowl of this dip mixed with the leftover chocolate coconut…which I probably did – it is so hard to control yourself when you face such a yummy treat!

The recipe can be found in the book "Zumbo" by Adriano Zumbo