“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.”
Laurie Colwin
Sometimes simple basic ingredients can combine to surprise your taste buds, and how!Remember when I said in my recent Strawberry Orange Rough Puff Pastry Tart post that having puff pastry, rough or not, in the fridge/freezer is dangerous. It’s true and I have these Cherry Tomato & Caramelised Onion Tartlettes to prove it! They were as delicious as they look, maybe better!One bite later, the ‘threatening to be quite terrible‘ pre-teen announced “Flavour crystals exploding in your mouth“, and continued to demolish the petite bites with gusto. He summed it up neatly. There was something about them, the flavours and the pairing!What is it about caramelised onions that is so endearing, so addictive and makes for beautiful pairing? I love that it lends exciting depth, flavour and colour to a lot of Indian cooking. The strength of a good Mughlai chicken or lamb curry often has roots in patiently caramelised onions, as do a lot of vegetarian curries.Sauté, sauté, sauté … then suddenly the edges begin to colour, from light brown to golden, your patience rewarded with crispy fried onions. Even though I use fried onions extensively in Indian cooking, as garnishes forbiryani, as a base for stir fried broad beans, as my burst of flavour for lamb curries, and added glory to chicken kebabs, I had yet to use it in canapes etc.I had an extra batch on hand. I fried double the amount needed as I was making chicken kebabs, so I stashed some away! Calling my name was that very dangerousrough puff pastry; this stuff is mood changing, especially if it is home made. Once I have a batch chilling in the fridge, happiness fills me up.You tend to glide into the kitchen and begin rolling it it, knowing that in a short while you have the luxury of deliciousness rising in the oven. It might not deliver the authentic layers of puff pastry, but rough puff works for me beautifully!The flavours were outstanding. Sweet caramelised onions, tart sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt, the kick of vinegar…and of course garlic! Delicious crisp out of the oven, and pretty darned good cold too. { I made canapes with regular roma tomatoes yesterday, and cut the pastry into bite sized 2″ circles. Very good again!}
Roll out the pastry into a 10.5″ X 10.5″ square. With a pizza cutter/pastry wheel, trim the edges and cut into 2.5″ squares {8 small}
Score a tiny border about 1/4 cm along the inside edge, taking care not to cut right through. Place on parchment lined baking tray and chill for about 30 minutes, until the topping is ready.
Gently sauté the finely sliced onions in 1tsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil until golden brown and caramelised. Reserve in a bowl.
Toss the halved cherry tomatoes with the basil, garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper. Taste and adjust flavours. Set aside for a little while for the flavours to mature, about 10-15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Take pastry out of fridge. Divide the caramelised onions between the bases, ensuring they stay within the scored edges.
Give the tomatoes a good stir, and top the onions with about 5-6 halves each, cut side up. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
“Fruit right of the tree is the most precious treasure for a food stylist.”
Aran Goyoaga @ Cannelle et Vanille
I starved PAB of baking goodies for a while. With the blog back to some semblance of normalcy, the blog {and the dessert starved family} heaved a sigh of relief. With PAB hacked, I didn’t bake for 4 days, no pictures taken, no dessert served. Things are looking up now, and I baked a Strawberry Orange Rough Puff Pastry Tart early yesterday morning!You could tell that all was well, life was normal again. I was up early on Sunday morning, rolling out pastry I had made the night before, chopping strawberries, taking pictures of the dog, the fruit, the flowers … yes there was a song in my heart and a spring in my step! It was thanks this good man here, who helped get my blog back on its feet! Patiently he listened to my daft queries, alarming questions, ifs, buts, whatifs … and then calmly secured PAB! The Ethical Hacker is just a shout away if you ever run into network/security issues as I did!The ‘not so terrible any more’ teen was back in the kitchen early that morning, maybe relieved that her mother was back to baking and not ‘living on the edge‘! She loves strawberries, and we are flooded with beautiful ones these days. I had 3 boxes in the fridge and finally found the inclination to use them.Also had freshly made bitter tangerine marmalade sitting on the counter, a batch made in exasperation to keep the mind busy when I was mentally fighting the hacker. My time in the kitchen, my own space is where I find peace when times are troubling. Tangerines from a neighbour soon became marmalade, bitter sweet like my life was turning out to me!That morning was inspiring in itself so I reached out for stuff on my kitchen shelf to make the filling. Aged balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, bitter tangerine marmalade, orange zest … combined with my basic 2 ingredients shortlisted in my head, rough puff pastry and strawberries, to make this delicious tart. So much colour, flavour, texture and good taste! The crisp, buttery pastry and the soft cooked fruit made life sweeter by the second. One bite later, in a heart beat, life seemed worthwhile. All was good again!!Thank you Gera for your concern, suggestions and email, and Sanjeeta too. And thank you Mr Ethical Hacker for making my online world secure again. Lesson learnt : Never despair! There is a world full of good folk out there!The kids too learnt with me {and probably lived it through too with sweet cravings!}. They questioned why anyone would hack, they struggled to understand why! Then they rejoiced when the good man brought PAB back on it’s feet, living the good, bad and ugly with me {in reverse order}.Tart time! Make it with rough puff pastry, home made is what I like {and have no other choice LOL}, or with store bought puff pastry. Whatever you choose, this gets made in a jiffy. Each time I make a batch of puff pastry, I am amazed at how versatile it can be. Yes buttery as it might be, this is one of lifes indulgences that I enjoy!Next thought in mind is savoury tart maybe. Just shows that my life is back on track and I am thinking of ways to feed the ever hungry blog again! Thank you all for hanging in here.
[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry Orange Rough Puff Pastry Tart
Summary: A quick, light, fruity tart to make. Use any seasonal berries and have it ready in next to no time.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Roll out the pastry to a 10.5 X 8.5″ rectangle. Brush a half inch border right around with low fat cream, and fold over the edges and crimp with a fork. Brush again with low fat cream and sprinkle edges with brown sugar. Paint the base with melted bitter orange marmalade. Chill for 15-20 minutes while you preheat the oven, and prepare the fruit filling.
Toss the strawberries in a big bowl with the brown sugar, orange zest, balsamic vinegar and cornflour and mix well.
Take the pastry out of the fridge and fill the base with fruit mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes until the pastry is light golden and puffy, and the fruit soft.
Take out of oven, and pain the fruit with the melted apricot glaze.
“A good meal soothes the soul as it regenerates the body. From the abundance of it flows a benign benevolence.”
Frederick W. Hackwood
It was the cover of the book the minute I unpacked the couriered parcel that took my breath away! Southern Flavours – The Best of South Indian Cuisine sent to me for review from Blogadda, the largest community of bloggers in India. Rich, vibrant, full of culture & authentic recipes,a book that would definitely catch my eye in the book shop! I have a special connect with South India where I spent 5 years of my childhood. While in school in Bangalore, most kids would carry neat round steel boxes with curd, lime or tamarind rice with that sinfully delicious looking bright red pickle floating in oil on top, the contrast between white rice and red pickle completely fascinating. Others would carry steel ‘tiffin‘ boxes {no tupperware etc} filled with pillowy soft freshly made idlis {steamed rice cakes} with the magical ‘gun powder’ crowning it!Those years gave me a strong connect with South Indian cuisine, which for North Indians seemed out of reach 25 years ago. When we got back to New Delhi, I remember piling into the car every fortnight {with the dals and rice soaked and drained}, with my mother driving several miles to get the mixture ground. Specialised grinders were hard to find. Then the overnight wait for fermentation to take place; then the next morning the precious coconut was dehusked and ground into chutney. The reward – light as air idlis and crisp buttery dosas!My taste buds still tingle at the very thought of that vibrant food, so this wonderful book was really welcome. I was tearing through it and hit the kitchen pretty soon. Mine being a well stocked North Indian kitchen, I was pretty short on fresh ingredients like coconut and tamarind {my last batch from a sweet reader of PAB has been used up}. To make up, I had a leafy curry leaves tree in my backyard, and loads of ginger, green coriander and fresh chilies on hand!My first stop had to be curd rice as I do make some once in a while. I was really embarrassed on reading the recipe in Southern Flavours as my earlier curd rice attempts fell short on every level. Was soon stirring a big bowl of this delicious authentic tempered ‘tiffin’ favourite from Down South. The bowl was scraped clean … mmmm! It was full of flavour, healthy and comforting!The next stop was going to be snacky, something for the kids who love lentil patties or medhu vadas {recipe follows}. These are like an Indian version of savoury doughnuts, but made with a lentil batter as opposed to plain flour. Healthier {though deep fried}, crisp and fabulous in winter! I didn’t get to the chutneys {dipping sauce} and the family enjoyed them crisp out of the oil!I had trouble getting them into dough-nut shapes the first time around {tough is the word}, and on my second batch 2 days later, I had marginal success. I think it’s an art I yet have to master, but they are taste great in any shape! I now have tamarind soaking for a chutney, ingredients on hand for tamarind rice, lime rice, rasam {like a clear hot spicy soup} … and so much more!This is a sneak into a book packed with authentic and old recipes from Chandra Padmanathan, who adds a little trivia to most recipes, which is what makes the book all the more interesting. You get transported to another era, sometimes a wedding, sometimes childhood, sometimes sweet potato season … a culinary connect on every page!
Summary: A popular snack, normally served with idli for breakfast, and at all auspicious occasions. It can also be served as a teatime or cocktail snack
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
1 cup husked, split gram dal {urad dal dhuli}
1/2 cup cooked rice
4 green chilles {I used 2}
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder {hing}
1/2″ piece ginger, peeld and grated
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 sprig curry leaves
1tsp salt or to taste
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Wash dal. Drain and soak in 2 cups water for 2 hours.
Drain completely. Add rice, green chillies, asafoetida powder and ginger. Grind to make a smooth batter, gradually adding 1-2 tbsp water.
Add coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt. Mix well.
Heat oil in a deep frying pa to smoking point. Lower heat to moderate. Wet your hands and flatted a ladle of batter into a 2″ round patty. Make a hole in the centre and gently slip into hot oil . {Beware of trying this if you are not used to deep frying. Please exercise great caution when working with hot oil. I make small balls of vadas by dropping the batter gently into the oil with a teaspoon.}
Fry vadai in batches, turning frequently, till golden brown and crisp.
Drain and place on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
Bless this man Audax. Was I thrilled to see a simple yet classic challenge to begin the year with. The holiday season being such a busy one, I was relieved to see scones, something that is quintessentially a tea table beloved, and a great snack anytime, dessert too. I managed 2 batches – Sweet & Savoury: Pistachio & Cranberry Scones; Cheddar & Garlic Greens Scones.
Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!
What I didn’t envisage was the time and effort this good Daring Baker put into researching and experimenting with scones. Hats off to Audax from Audax Artifex!He offered so many versions, milk, buttermilk, cream , so much insight into making the perfect scone, getting into the crumb of things, things that make a scone what it is…and things that could lead to its failure!You got to love a challenge which challenges you to think of the chemistry behind the baking. MUST make sure the baking powder is ‘active, alive up-to-date’ else you can kiss ‘light as feather‘ scones goodbye! Use a dash of baking soda if you choose to go the buttermilk route … handy tips!I was so happy to use buttermilk though I failed to read the number of scones to be stamped out, and went with a dozen so mine didn’t rise sky high. There were a dozen but they were great. M U S T have them warm {or reheated} to know how sublime goof food can be!My word, the cheese and garlic scapes scones were to die for. I added some sea salt both within and sprinkled on top … and the son was soon begging for more. Split with a spoonful of a garlic chives dip …nirvana! It was time to go a step further … sweet scones this time!The Thermomix makes these babies so FAST, so I was whipping up batch number two soon. Would make 8 this time I thought! I planned on orange vanilla scones that I would split and serve with strawberries and clotted cream, but a power cut 5 minutes into batch number 2 laid my plans to rest. Sigh … an hour later, power was back but the scones had been sent back to Stone Age!!I was back to making another batch before I knew it; this recipe is so good and simple if you follow the basics! This time I did Pistachio and Dried Cranberry Scones, a good use for some ground pistachios and dried cranberries I had left over from a previous baking misadventure.These came out beautifully too, the tops ‘dressed up‘ with flowers and leaves from dough trimmings. I had fun making these as well. Some were devoured with butter, and some with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, both divine! I didn’t get pictures of the latter, but they were GOOD!
Thank you Audax for a great daring challenge; it was delicious in every way and very satsifying. Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!! Do stop by here to see the scones our other daring bakers have stamped out!
Summary: Light as feather scones two way … sweet and savoury. Both good and great options for tea. {eggless/vegetarian}. The recipe is infinitely adaptable to individual tastes too.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: Serving: About eight 2-inch scones or five 3-inch scones
1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sea salt for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat oven to very hot 240°C.
Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones. Add the cheddar and garlic and mix through with a fork.
Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.
Note:For the Pistachio & Cranberry Scones, substitute the sea salt with 1 tbsp vanilla sugar, and add 1/4 cup of coarsely ground pistachios and dried cranberries, Don’t add the garlic, cheddar or toppings. The method is the same.
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
German Proverb
Nom Nom Nom … these Anzac Biscuits have to be the best cookies I’ve made in a while, a hurried first nibble when they were yet warm, and it was love at first bite. I didn’t care if the kids rejected them; I knew I could devour the whole jar full! They were SO GOOD!He woke up with a smile, trying to charm my angry face. It was past 10am and I wasn’t a happy mother. “Cookieeeeeeee …. Yum! Nice. Can I have another?” She came home early after her exam. ‘Mother, I’m hungers’ she screamed in teen talk. “Me want cookie! Oooooh nice. More? Are these fatty? Another please? Just one more?” That’s the way this cookie crumbled! Day one and the jar half full {or half empty as I saw it!}. I did bake another batch the next day!It was back to the basics for me, baking from memory {the eggless chocolate orange tart above} and turning pages of cookbooks on the shelf. I suddenly wanted to make ‘ciabatta’ on priority since the net was down {cables been cut in error they say} only to frustratingly remember that the recipe was online; only an offline link remained on my silly desktop!It’s a bit unnerving to see how much one gets attached to the net! I worked in frustration that morning – did laundry, cleaned the kitchen chimney, brushed the pooch, made rough puff pastry {froze it}, made mushroom potato soup, made sweet butter, a base for a tart, then filled it with delicious chocolate filling. … and then these Anzac Biscuits!
An Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda and boiling water. Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.
You can read more about their origin and history here. A point of interest is the lack of eggs to bind the ANZAC biscuit mixture together. Because of the war, many of the poultry farmers had joined the services, thus, eggs were scarce. The binding agent for the biscuits was golden syrup or treacle.
Its been an exasperating beginning to the year to say the least. While power cuts were something we’ve learnt to live with for long, internet connectivity was taken for granted, a right for a privatized service. No such luck however! Shoddy ISP with rotten customer service makes my blood boil, the past few days on simmer!These bites made me feel better instantly; the cookies are the best I’d tasted in a while. I remember biting into crisp, thin, delicious honey oat cookies at the coffee workshop a few months ago, mesmerised by the taste. Came home and googled forever but never found a recipe that promised to please. Then that morning, no net, no links and I made a rough puff pastry & mushroom potato soup in the Thermomix. Leafing through the pages of the TM cookbook I found Anzac Biscuits. Now I’ve been meaning to make Anzacs for ages, and the minute I saw golden syrup I decided to give the recipe a go. I’ve had a bottle of syrup in my larder for over a year. Yes, looked like a cookie I would enjoy; was happy to note ‘no eggs’ . Minor changes … knocked off the coconut as the teen can’t stand coconut it and substituted it for chopped walnuts to make the cookie a little more wholesome.
There’s something so charming about the taste, something quite addictive. The cookies are crisp on the outside yet offer this slightly chewy comforting centre within. Also, they have a butterscotchy flavor that I really like, a honeyish hue possibly due to the syrup and butter being melted together. I love the depth the walnuts add to them, though I think coconut would be wonderful too.I reduced the sugar slightly from the original recipe, and baked them slightly thicker and thus longer. Maybe next time a little whole wheat flour substitution might happen, but all in all these were the perfect bite. Made me forget that silly internet, the lack of connectivity. Just proves that food comforts … and how!
[print_this]
Recipe: Anzac Biscuits
Summary: Sweet, chewy inside, crisp on the outside, delicious and wholesome bisuits. Cookies that are simple to make and very addictive. They have a long shelf life but disappear too fast to prove it!
Prep Time: 7-10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
120gm unsalted butter
100ml golden syrup {I used Solar}
1tsp baking soda
65gm sugar
65gm brown sugar
½ tsp salt
150gm plain flour, sifted
100gm rolled oats
50gm walnuts, chopped fine
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C
Heat butter and golden syrup in a pan over low heat till the butter melts and the two mix together. {Can do it in the microwave too}
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The dough will be a little stiff.
Drop tbsp of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, flatten with the tines of a fork. {I rolled the dough into balls, flattened them slightly with the palm of my hand, and then further flattened them by pressing down with a fork.}.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes {they are quite tender when they come out of the oven} , and then transfer on racks to cool completely.
Thermomix Recipe:
Place butter & golden syrup into TM bowl. Heat for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2 until fully dissolved. Place bicarb into bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 3.
Add remaining ingredients and set dial to closed position and mix for 30-35 seconds on interval speed…. then continue as above from step 4.
“Children ask better questions than adults. “May I have a cookie?” “Why is the sky blue?” and “What does a cow say?” are far more likely to elicit a cheerful response than “Where’s your manuscript?” Why haven’t you called?” and “Who’s your lawyer?“” Fran Lebowitz
“Can I have another squaaaaaaare pleeeeeeease?” You know the cookies are good if that’s what you hear literally reverberating through the house; even better if it’s the call from the dieting diva square after square! These were indeed GOOD …Dark Chocolate Caramel Oat & Almond Shortbread cookies!
There’s something about December, and something about cookies that make me want to bake; bake all the time actually even though power cuts continue to play spoilsport. Baking around silly powerless situations means more cookies since there are fewer chances of them ‘deflating‘ {unlike cakes} when the lights go off!
The wookies were fabulous for fast track ‘faux baking‘. This shortbread is too, non traditional as it may be. You can’t go wrong with shortbread, caramel and dark chocolate, can you? A combination inspired from many shortbread posts, especially this Chocolate Caramel Slice from Nash @ Plateful, and a ‘Month of shortbread baking‘ from Julia @ ‘Mélanger :: to mix’.
This is the season of holiday baking, and only good could come out of such delicious inspiration. GOOD DELICIOUS COOKIES! Winter is the only indulgent time of the year here when shortbread feels ‘guilt-less; you need the butter to keep you warm after all. Warm weather the rest of the year makes the crumb not keep together nice and crisp! For the record, this isn’t true shortbread; the traditional version doesn’t venture away from a 8:4:2 classic combination of flour, butter and sugar… and a dash of salt perhaps.
I had on hand hungry kids, butter and a ‘want to bake’ feeling; also a loose bottomed square tin that I had recently bought and was impatient to use. That resulted in … Oats + Almonds + Flour + Butter + Brown Sugar = Crisp shortbread base.
… to which was added some salted butter caramel {adapted from Jamies sweet blog}, the top smothered in deep, luscious, dark melted chocolate; then briefly left to set! Simple as can be. Next with my Ergo chef knife, the slab was cut into squares {you can do bars/rectangles…whatever grabs your fancy}. YUM! ENJOY!
