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jueves, abril 29

Popovers II


Popovers
Ingredients
• 3 cups plus 3 T flour• ½ cup sugar• 2 tsp. salt• 1 vanilla bean• Finely grated zest of 3 lemons• 10 eggs• 2¾ cups milk
Special equipment: Popover pans or muffin tins; candy thermometer
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F and place the rack in the middle (allow at least 3 inches of space at the top for the popovers to rise).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, vanilla seeds scraped from the bean, and lemon zest. Form a well in the middle and add the eggs and half of the milk. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk until smooth.
Place popover pans or muffin tins in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and carefully coat the cups with nonstick spray. Ladle in the batter, filling to just below the rim. Return the pan to the oven and bake, turning the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until popovers are browned and crusty. Using a pair of tongs, flip each popover upside down and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve popovers warm or at room temperature with jam and butter, crème fraîche, or sweet or clotted cream.

Berry Jam
Ingredients
• 1 lb. berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or a combination)• ½ cup sugar• 1½ T apple pectin• 1 vanilla bean• 2 T lemon juice
Directions
In a medium pot, use a whisk to mash the berries with two thirds of the sugar. In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar with the apple pectin.
Place the pot over medium-high heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture reaches 120–140°F on a candy thermometer. Add the combined sugar and pectin, and continue to cook, whisking, until the temperature reaches 220°F.
Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla seeds scraped from the bean and the lemon juice. Allow to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate, covered. Serve with popovers.
Makes 16 to 18 popovers and about 1 cup of jam

lunes, abril 5

Sun-dried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffin



You can use the flour of your choice in this recipe. The original recipe calls for soy flour (great for people looking for a gluten-free option), I use white whole wheat flour - unbleached all-purpose flour will work as well. To grind the almonds I gave them a whirl in my food processor. You are looking for a flour-like consistency - be sure to stop short of turning them into an almond paste.
1 cup plain cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup flour (see headnotes)
1 cup almonds, very finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup water4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a muffin pan with medium-sized paper baking cups, you'll need nine of them.
Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.
Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve as hot or at room temperature
Variations w/ the same base:
- chopped olives, lemon zest and chopped herbs
- sauteed, chopped mushrooms and fresh thyme
- chopped chipotles and adobo sauce
- roasted garlic, pesto and toasted pine nuts
- sauteed chopped potatoes and rosemary

Olive Oil Cracker Recipe



If you have trouble tracking down semolina flour, just substitute white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour), it will be make a slightly different cracker but should still work. To get creative with your crackers you can top them with lots of things before baking: freshly grated cheese, artisan salts, cornmeal, a dusting of your favorite spice blend, seeds, or a wash of your favorite flavored or infused oil. You can simply cut the unbaked cracker dough into various shapes using one of those pizza cutting wheels.
1 1/2 cups semolina flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
special equipment: pasta machine (optional)

Whisk together the flours and salt. Add the water and olive oil. Using a mixer with a dough hook attachment mix the dough at medium speed for about 5 - 7 minutes. Alternately, feel free to mix and then knead by hand on a floured counter-top. The dough should be just a bit tacky - not too dry, not too sticky to work with. If you need to add a bit more water (or flour) do so.
When you are done mixing, shape the dough into a large ball. Now cut into twelve equal-sized pieces. Gently rub each piece with a bit of olive oil, shape into a small ball and place on a plate. Cover with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 - 60 minutes.
While the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 450F - 230C degrees. Insert a pizza stone if you have one.
When the dough is done resting, flatten one dough ball. Using a rolling pin or a pasta machine, shape into a flat strip of dough - I can usually get down to the 4 setting on my pasta machine w/o trouble. Pull the dough out a bit thinner by hand (the way you might pull pizza dough). You can also cut the dough into whatever shape you like at this point. Set dough on a floured (or cornmeal dusted) baking sheet, poke each cracker with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing, add any extra toppings, and slide into the oven (onto the pizza stone). Repeat the process for the remaining dough balls, baking in small batches. If you don't have a pizza stone, bake crackers a few at a time on baking sheets. Bake until deeply golden, and let cool before eating - you will get more crackery snap

Buckwheat Cheese Straws



The buckwheat flour here gives these cheese straws a depth that others made from all-purpose flour don't have. That being said, you could certainly give these a shot using all whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour. Or experiment with other flours in place of the buckwheat flour.
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) white cheddar, shredded on a box grater
1/2 cup ice cold water
Combine the flours, salt and thyme in a bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). Alternately, you can cut the butter in using a knife and fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss in the cheese. Sprinkle with ice water and use your hands or a spoon to stir it through and bring everything together into a ball of dough. Flatten the ball into a 1-inch thick square patty, wrap well in plastic, and place in the freezer for thirty minutes.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
I find it easiest to work with one half of the dough at a time. Remove the dough from the freezer, cut in half, re-wrap the half you won't be using immediately, and place it back in the freezer. If the dough gets too warm it is difficult to work with. On a well-floured surface roll out the remaining dough into a rectangle roughly 6x12-inches and 1/4-inch thick. Use a knife to cut 1/2-inch wide strips (see photo), each about 6-inches long. Now take a strip of dough and gently pinch it all along its length so that it is easier to roll out into a straw shape roughly 12-inches long. If the dough is giving you trouble, consider chilling it a bit longer. Place each straw on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining strips, leaving at least 1/2 inch between each straw.
Bake the straws one pan at a time for about 8-10 minutes, or until the straws look set, and the cheese is golden where it is touching the pan. Flip each straw and bake for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Keep in mind if your straws are on the thin side, they'll bake in a flash, if they are slightly thicker they will need to go longer. Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp more as they cool.
Sometimes I bake off half the dough, and keep the other half in the freezer for another day, but feel free to bake all of it - repeating the process with the second half of reserved dough.

Yogurt Tartlets Recipe



If you have a hard time finding whole wheat pastry flour, feel free to substitute unbleached all-purpose flour. I made six little tarts, but I don't see why you couldn't make one large tart using a 9-inch tart pan. If any of you do this (the larger size), let me know, I just haven't had a chance to test it.
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup rolled oatsscant
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon butter, coconut oil, or olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons natural cane sugar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use low-fat here)
1/4 cup maple syrupzest of one lemon
3 teaspoons fresh ginger juice*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
crystalized ginger, dried fruit, or fresh fruit/berries for topping
special equipment: 6 small tart (4-inch) pans or I suspect one 9-inch tart pan would be just about right for a single tart.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees, rack in the middle. In a medium bowl combine the flour, oats, and salt. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the maple syrup and sugar. Now add the flour and oat mixture to the butter and stir well. Cook a couple minutes - just until you get a bit of a toasted smell. Stir in the sesame oil and remove from heat. Divide mixture into six equal portions, and as soon as it is cool enough, quickly press the mixture into (and up the sides) of each of the tart pans using your fingers and/or the base of a glass. Freeze until completely cooled - 5 or 10 minutes.
In the meantime, to make the filling, combine the yogurt, maple syrup, lemon zest and ginger juice in a medium mixing bowl. Taste. Add more ginger juice if you like. Now stir in the eggs until well incorporated.
Fill each tart shell with about 1/4 cup of filling (see photo), don't worry if you have a bit leftover. Bake for about 20 - 23 minutes. The filling should be set, and no longer jiggly. Remove the tarts and let cool for ten minutes. Now refrigerate for a couple hours, and serve topped with chopped crystallized ginger, fresh fruit, or dried fruit.
Makes six 4-inch tartlets.
*Fresh ginger juice: Grate peeled ginger with a micro-plane grater. Press and squeeze the grated ginger against