“You are the creative type. We all are – even if we don’t know it yet.”
Oprah
I’m late and I’m racing. It’s World Nutella Day today, the 5th of February. Though I had 2 jars of Nutella in the larder, I kind of got the dates all wrong. A tweet fromthe wonderful Michelle @Bleeding Espresso, one of the WND co-hosts, caught my eye … and she said ‘You still have time. It isn’t until tomorrow’. Sara @ Ms Adventures in Italyis the other host of this delicious event.Tomorrow is already here, and I have battled to get this post rolling after an afternoon of baking with yummy Nutella.
Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut flavored sweet spread registered by the Italian company Ferrero at the end of 1963. It is a tasty hazelnut spread that contains quality ingredients such as skim milk and a hint of cocoa. Nutella contains no artificial colors or preservatives.
Nutella® spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.
I thought I’d just do a rectangular puff pastry tart with Nutella and strawberries, but then the inner passion took over. My sweet & spicy friend Meeta’sMonthly Mingle was on my mind. The theme – Small Bites – Soul Food for your Loved Ones, hosted this month by the lovely food blogger, Astrid @Paulchen’s Food Blog. February is Astrid’s birthday month, and she says “I’d be more than happy if you surprise me for my Birthday with lots of suggestions for a luscious and seductive Valentine’s Day Dinner”! Nutella and strawberries offer quintessential seductive pairing; serve them in crisp puff pastry hearts, and I think you’d hit bulls eye!The morning was a race to the finish as Saturday is an early morning soccer league match for junior. We made it to the game in time, and thankfully the lads team won. I drove back, dirty soccer kleats and boy. It was laundry time again! Oh the mundanities of life. Got back to find the teen had finished all the granola and asked if I could make more. {That post is coming soon… it’s a granola that changed my life!}. ‘LATER‘, I boomed!! Nutella was the only thing on my mind.Kebabs for lunch √. Happily polished off by the troops. Finally time for me and my Nutella. A creative streak kicked in while rolling the puff pastry, and out came heart cookie cutters. I have PLENTY of those in every size and avatar possible! Don’t even ask me why! I’m not a mushy person, and would never think of baking hearts for Mr PAB. Practical, level headed, creative and pretty stubborn am I, baking is my guilty pleasure. I baked hearts to feed the blog in honour of World Nutella Day! I managed to make sweet little bites and tick it off my list-to-do for the day. Are you like me? Before I sleep every night, I have a list of things to do in my mind for the next day. Often it’s a fight to the finish as I try to get them ticked off before the ‘dwarves’ come home from school. And often, they find me running breathless and tired to the bone, but I almost always achieve my targets.I ran a small heart past the mister to check if it was fine to post. He ♥’d it… crisp buttery pastry, slightly tart strawberries and luxuriant chocolate cream! “Indulgent“, he declared … and so they are! I think these are fabulous served for tea, or would make for great V Day dessert served with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream for dessert! Happy Nutella Day!
Nutella Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts
250gm rough puff pastry
1/2 cup Nutella
100gms strawberries, slice
2 tbsp apricot glaze
Pistachios Method:
Roll out the puff pastry to 1/4″ height. Neatly stamp out 6 3″ heart shapes. {Reroll the pastry gently if required for the 6th shape}.
Take a slightly smaller heart shaped cookie cutter and mark a border about 1/2″ inside, not cutting the pastry right through.
With a offset spatula, or butter knife, spread about 1 tbsp of Nutella over the inner heart. Top with 5-6 slices of strawberries, overlapping slightly. Brush the sides with low fat cream {or egg glaze if you like}
Heat the apricot glaze till runny. Bake at 220C for 30-40 minutes till risen and puffed up.
Remove to a cooling tray. Paint over the strawberries as soon as the tarts come out. Garnish with chopped or slivered pistachios.
“Biryani is often called India’s signature dish”
Pratibha Karan
This was an opportunity I wasn’t going to miss. It took a little organising. MrPAB had to come in early from work to get the kids off the school bus. I had to bake like a mad hatter all morning for the next day was an early soccer match {read 7.30am reporting time…brrrr}, yet I HAD to be attend the event. It was a demo workshop for Pratibha Karans delicious Indian cookbook, simply called – BIRYANI!I remember twisting my younger sisters arm almost a decade ago to buy me Pratibha Karans earlier book Hyderabadi cuisine – A Princely Legacy, which at the time cost a princely sum. It is entirely worth owning. Every picture in that cookbookis royal, the commentary steeped in history and culture. Pretty as can be crockery and tableware, with ancient bric-a-brac, used in the photographs, A Princely Legacy is worth every page. I have cooked from it often, had many questions for the ‘biryani expert’ … which is why I HAD to get to this biryani workshop.With such delicious thoughts in my muddled head, I hopped into a cab and was driven 25 miles in horrid traffic to get to the demo. The event was organised by Perfect Relations & Random House, hosted at Godrej Nature’s Basket in Defence Colony, South Delhi.
The biryani is India’s most beloved dish — one that has spread to all the four corners of the country and assumed many forms. It originated in the Mughal courts, flowering in the jagirs of Awadh, and it is in Lucknow, Delhi and the small Muslim principalities of north India that one finds the classic versions, subtle, refined, and delicately flavoured. Pratibha Karan gives us not just the definitive recipes from these regions but unearths rare and old dishes such as a biryani made with oranges, Rose Biryani and Kebab Biryani. In the south, the biryani has an equally distinguished lineage, if not more so. There are the blueblooded biryanis of Hyderabad which include gems such as the Doodh ki Biryani, Keeme ki biryani and Bater ki biryani. Away from the royal courts, the biryani has adapted itself into a spicy local delicacy in Tamil Nadu, with many towns like Salem, Aambur, Dindigul boasting of their own signature version of the dish.
Pratibha Karan shared lesser known tips of biryani making with patrons of Godrej Nature’s Basket, and took them through the evolution of this mouth watering delight. She offered a blend of culinary, cultural and historical insights of this much loved dish, and shared her ‘Qabooli’ recipe {a vegetarian biryani} with special tips thrown in. The only disappointment was that there was no live cooking demo, which most patrons who attended the workshop expected. Else, it was a pleasure to hear her talk, to feel her passion for biryani and food culture, her eyes glistening with joy. She took questions from curious and enthusiastic foodies, guided them towards making the perfect biryani, sharing her expertise large heartedly. Armed with a copy of her book that Random House generously gave me, I left the workshop feeling uber-confident, ready to win the battle of biryani. {For those who are vegetarians, the book offers a number of delectable vegetarian biryani recipestoo}.
It was just a matter of time and I got myself geared for the challenge. A challenge because I have had some miserable biryani failures of late, and have been cooling my heels on this particular front! I read the book cover to cover, wanted to try so many, and then finally settled for the Katchi Biryani, katchi meaning raw. In the authors words, “This is perhaps Hyderabad’s most renowned biryani. Both the rice and the meat are layered in an almost raw form in the pan. Therein lies it’s unbelievable magic. Many claim Katchi Biryani is th ultimate biryani dish”.I was sold, and just had to try my hand at the magic. I reduced the papaya marginally as I marinated the lamb overnight. I planned to ‘throw‘ together my biryani with minimal fuss the next afternoon, after returning from soccer, which is exactly how it went. Good planning {pat myself on the back}, it was a fuss free experience, and we waited with baited breath to see the outcome. It didn’t disappoint at all. My word, the aroma was great, each grain of rice was separate … I was walking on clouds. Mr PAB exclaimed it was the best ever; he had waited for this for 20 years! Wait no longer. Give this a go. After I made it and got it right, I did read a review on the web to say this was a fiddly biryani to get right. Maybe I’m plain lucky, or maybe I’ve ‘arrived’ on the biryani scene. Whichever way, this was a meal in itself, full of flavour, each grain of rice separate {test of a good biryani}, and tasted even better the next day!
Katchi Biryani From ‘Biryani’ by Pratibha Karan,pg 76 “This is perhaps Hyderabad’s most renowned biryani. Both the rice and the meat are layered in an almost raw form in the pan. Therein lies it’s unbelievable magic. Many claim Katchi Biryani is th ultimate biryani dish.“ Preparation: 25-30 minutes Marination Time: 5-6 hours Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Serves 8-10
1kg mutton, mix of medium pieces from shoulder, and chops
1tbsp ginger paste
1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp raw papaya paste {skin & pulp ground fine together} ‘A‘
4 onions, finely sliced {about 300gms}
15 green chillies, ground {I used 3 chopped, and 2 whole}
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
500gm yogurt, whisked
Juice of 3 limes
650gm long grain rice {I used basmati}
A liberal pinch of saffron soaked in 1/2 cup warm milk
2 tbsp ghee
150ml refined oil
Salt to taste Method:
Wash the mutton, and drain well. Add ginger, garlic and papaya paste to the mutton, and rub in well. Set aside.
Heat 150ml oil, and fry the sliced onions in this until golden brown. remove from oil, cool a little, and then crush by hand.
Add the crushed fried onions, remaining oil that the onions were fried in, and the remaining ingredients of ‘A’ to the meat. Add salt to taste, mix well and leave to marinate for 5-6 hours. {I reduced the papaya paste by a 1/4 tbsp, and left my meat to marinate in the fridge overnight} Rice
Wash the rice well. Soak for 20minutes. bring 3 1/2 ltrs of water with salt and 1 tsp oil to a boil. Once the water bbegins boiling, add the rice and cook for about 3 minutes, until 20% done. Drain immediately, and transfer rice to a flat pan. Assemble & serve:
Transfer the marinated meat to a heavy bottomed large pan, and place over high heat. Stir until it comes to a boil, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add a cup of water, and when it comes to a boil again, lower the heat and spread the partially cooked rice over the meat in a uniform layer. Cover with a tight fitting lid, and place a heavy weight/ stone over it to prevent the steam from escaping. Cook on ‘dum‘ for about half an hour. {I cooked mine for 25 minutes}.
Open lid, sprinkle the saffron milk over the rice, dot with the ghee, and cover once again with a tight fitting lid. Cook on very low heat for about 15 minutes, until the rice and meat are done and steaming hot. {I did the second 15 minutes of ‘dum’ cooking with a griddle under the pan. } To serve, take out the biryani in large chunks from the sides without mixing to retain it’s multi-hued glory. Serve steaming hot. Note:I grind a small green papaya, skin included, and freeze it in an ice tray. I keep the frozen cubes in a zipbag, and use 1 cube for 1 tbsp when required.
“Maybe now I`ll be able to have a couple of extra cookies or ice cream after dinner without feeling so guilty. Or, without my wife yelling at me.”
David Larsen
Every new year begins with indulgence as the daughters birthday is on the 2nd of Jan! We enjoy this guilty pleasure {’twas Chocolate Orange Almond Gateau this year}. Predictably, the next day I’m hit by New Year guilt pangs. It’s time to think everything on a healthier note, especially to give the year a good beginning blah blah blah… High on my list is plain flour substitutes, as in my mind ‘plain flour = empty calories’. Extended vacations with growing kids means 24 X 7 Cookie Monsters, A L W A Y S H U N G R Y! For me healthy doesn’t necessarily mean knocking the butter out of the cookies during winter … butter has important work to do in this incessant cold weather we are braving.
The primary difference between different types of flour are the quantity of the wheat germ and bran that are milled with the flour, and the type of wheat used for the flour, and the relative protein content of that wheat. Whole wheat flour is simply wheat that has been milled into flour with some, or all, of the germ and bran still attached. Additionally, different varieties of wheat contain different amounts of protein, and the more protein is contained in the flour, the higher gluten it has. {Source:Hubpages.com}
India is traditionally a country where whole wheat flour {aata} is found in virtually every home, and freshly made whole wheat flat breads {rotis, chapatis, parathas etc} often accompany main meals. Until a few years ago, the use of plain flour was limited to cakes, biscuits etc. Unfortunately that is changing as people fall for the disguised charm that plain flour offers, deceptively increasing the luxury in our daily bread, yet sacrificing important proteins in the process.Thankfully though, there are an equal number of adventurous foodies who try to experiment with whole grains. I am one of the latter though I do tend to keep on middle ground; a little bit of plain and a little of whole grain. Other than whole wheat, I often try including buckwheat and oat in my bakes. Quinoa is one whole grain I would love to try, but the price is exorbitantly high as it is an import from South America. So my oft used alternate is oats which are extremely nutritious, containing more protein and unsaturated fat than any other cereal grain.
Whole Grains are Much More than Fibre
Whole grains contain all three parts of the grain kernel – the germ, endosperm and bran. Most often during the milling process the bran and germ are removed leaving only the endosperm. This results in refined grains. However, whole grains contain all three parts of the grain – this makes them a richer source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Oats : The Super Whole Grain
Oats have more protein, calcium and Vitamin E than other common unfortified whole grains (wheat, brown rice or whole corn grain) on a gram per gram basis. Only oats have a high amount of soluble fibre (beta glucan) compared to whole wheat or rice. {Source: Quaker Oats}.
Whole Grains are Much More than Fibre
Whole grains contain all three parts of the grain kernel – the germ, endosperm and bran. Most often during the milling process the bran and germ are removed leaving only the endosperm. This results in refined grains. However, whole grains contain all three parts of the grain – this makes them a richer source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
With all these inspired thoughts in my head, I set off to make cookies, or rather chocolate chip cookies for a healthier 2011! I made a small batch as I consciously stayed away from plain flour and knew not where I was headed. The resultant cookies were a shock to my system, and I now wonder why I even bothered to look at plain flour in my chocolate chip cookies for so many years. I have always included some whole wheat by default, but was taken aback to see that using whole grains alone still gave them a fabulous texture, and handsome bite.Try these, they’re worth every bite even though they don’t look very pretty. The cookie mightn’t be as indulgent as a plain flour smooth cookie if thats what you make. For me, the transition from part whole wheat to whole whole wheat was like I had won the first prize; including oats and demerera sugar giving me the runners up too.I must admit I used my precious stash of Ghirardeli dark chocolate chips in hope that the Ghirardeli would make up for loss of flavour and quintessential chocolate-chip cookie indulgence. I was soon to eat humble pie because they just added to an already delicious cookie.With this new cookie under my belt, 2011 began to feel better already almost! To prove me otherwise, the pre-teen & the teen hit the kitchen this afternoon, shrugging off the cold, and indulged in piling the calories onto my so called healthy cookies. The daughter made delicious ‘Cookies & Cream Strawberry Sundaes‘ for themselves {low fat cream being small consolation}; the son playing the loyal slave. He knew he wouldn’t get a crumb if he displeased his elder sibling; even then wasn’t ‘allowed’ as much as a lick of cream off the spatula!!So much so for my inspired beginning … thankfully this was just 4 cookies. The rest retained their ‘healthy’ status!!
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Whole Wheat & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes 2 – 2 1/2 dozen cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup demerarera sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped Method:
In a bowl, stir together the dry ingredients – flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, chocolate chips, walnuts.
In another big bowl, cream the butter and sugar till fluffy. Next beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Drop a tbsp of cookie dough onto greased cookie trays, leaving an inch and a half in between for spreading during baking. {I use a cookie scoop}. Flatten gently with the tines of a fork.
Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from oven, leave to cool on trays for 1 minute, then remove to cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight box.
“Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread—there may be.”
David Grayson
When you have friends who charm you into posting for World Bread Day in the most enticing manner, then how can you possibly escape? Got onto twitter after ages this evening to find Nics tweet about Pumpkin Bread for ‘World Bread Day’. Yikes, was it the 16th already? Dang, missed the date completely even though I had so many breads sitting waiting to get posted.
Life has been a tizzy of late, and I am lagging behind! The transfer to WP has complicated time-lines even more, but a shove in the right direction was all I needed from these exuberant ladies, so here I am.
Cherrapeno: @vindee Post, post, post!!!!!
lifesafeast: @vindee come on, girl, you have time! I wrote mine this morning 🙂
World Bread Day is hosted every year on the 16th of October by the wonderful and talented bread baking gal Zorra at Kochtopf. It’s the 5th edition of World Bread Day this year. The original World Bread Day was an event created by UIB International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners, who want to provide an opportunity to talk about bread and bakers, to find out about their history, their importance as well as their future.In Zorra’s words … Let’s bake and talk about bread on this day again! Anybody is cordially invited to participate. Lots of people stopping by this blog that weren’t around last year, I encourage both old and new friends to join in. And please spread the word!The theme is open, just bake a bread with or without yeast, use sourdough, experiment with different flours, add some seeds… It’s up to you!
There is so much I love about this post that I’ve done on fast track, typing, pictures and all. I love blue and white, I love baking bread, I love garlic and I love rustic loaves. I made these Roasted Bell Pepper, Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones adapted minimally from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food. They were an instant hit, and I’ve made them several times since, with different fillings ranging from spinach and ricotta, to chipotle chicken, and they’ve been loved each time. I had the dough ready to make them yet again, when it was suddenly announced that we had company for lunch.
A quick change of plans and the calzones were turned to garlic bread to go with the rest of the menu. I took a chance but I just knew it would work out fine, and it thankfully did! Once baked, the loaves were sliced and slathered with garlic butter – wonderful! Disappeared in no time, and looked rustic beautiful too. I loved the crust it got, and think this is a nice plan ahead dough to make ,especially since it offers the option of a long rise in the fridge overnight! Always a pleasure to wake up to well risen, no need for ‘dough rise anxiety’! Of course you can give it the regular 2-3 hours rise too, but an overnight sleepover in the fridge offers guaranteed security! Just make sure your yeast is alive!
Rustic Garlic Loaves from Mark Bittman’s Pizza Dough Makes 2 rustic loaves Minimally adapted from Mark Bittman’s Pizza
3 cups all-purpose plus more as needed
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 to 1¼ cups water
2 heads of garlic, roasted
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil Method:
Squeeze out the roasted garlic into a bowl, and mash with the tines of a fork.
Combine the yeast, flour, roasted garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 4 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube. {I did this in a large bowl, using the hand mixer with dough hooks}
Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. {In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.}
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough, in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in warm; draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can, cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours. {I made the dough at night and let it rise in the fridge overnight… and how it rose!!}
About an hour before you plan to bake the bread, take out the dough and divide it into two. Dust your work place with flour and shape the loaves to fit your baking tray. Line a baking sheet with parchment, gently transfer the loaves onto it, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 250C.
Just before popping into the oven, give the loaves 4-5 slashes at an angle with a very sharp edged knife and pop into the oven. Place a small bowl of hot water at the bottom.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaves are nice and brown, and make a hollow sound when tapped on the underneath. Note: I sliced them, gave them a generous brushing of garlic butter, and baked them at 180C for 15 minutes till golden and crisp.
{Garlic Butter: I mix butter with olive oil in a 4: 1 ratio, and add minced garlic, red chili flakes, dried oregano and salt to it. Skip the salt if you use salted butter}
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Previous World Bread Day Posts: French Fougasse with Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Walnut & Gouda, WBD 2009 Roasted Chili Garlic Bread, WBD 2008
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“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
Louisa May Alcott
It’s the time of the year again that makes me walk towards the oven in a hypnotic trance and want to bake all day long. Its warming and comforting to have the oven on, to fill the house with warm flavours that give you joy. The nip in the air, the apples flooding the market, the big yellow {& green} pumpkins all beckon you. Even though the pumpkin sits there all the year round, it’s once the weather begins to get nippy that I like to roast it.
The ‘make my own pumpkin puree’ madness hit me last year when I made my first pumpkin pie, the Praline Pumpkin Pie from a fabulous cookbook that I reviewed, Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS. It was the best pie ever, and one that I need to revisit soon this year. My enchantment with this rather under-rated vegetable also showed up in Pumpkin Panna Cotta, and in a less guilty pumpkin pie, the Simple Pumpkin Pie.
I’ve had Pumpkin Pots de Creme on my mind ever since I made Chocolate Cherry Pots de Creme in September, and I thought it would be a wonderful way to use pumpkin puree. So I got this HUGE slice of pumpkin and roasted it, with some unpeeled garlic thrown in to the oven alongside, because I wasn’t sure I’d use all the puree the sweet way. Savoury pumpkin soup was tugging the strings of my heart too, after a rather wonderful one my twin sistah Jamie and I shared at the FBC in London. What I made wasn’t exactly that, but it was darned good.
The amount of puree I finally got ensured I went every which way! Here’s the first thing I made from the puree, dessert which was loved, and screamed everything warm, filling and flavourful. One ramekin later, the lad said ‘Err, can I have another pot please? No? Maybe tomorrow? Well it was yummy!‘ He tried pushing his luck, but it didn’t work!! The daughter was a bit iffy about it initially because she inadvertently had a go at the yellow bowlful of pumpkin puree and almost fainted when I enlightened her. A spoonful of dessert later, she forgot all about the pumpkin puree & dug right in!
I made these pots specially for Barbara @ Winos and Foodies for her LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow event, an annual event held each year. This is my fourth year at the event. The food blogger community is a tight knit, supportive community. Most of us have been inspired by Barbara and her fight with cancer. She is an amazing lady, and a source of inspiration to many, including me. Her story is moving, frightening at times, but a lesson in life ; a must read.
October 2nd has been announced as LiveSTRONG Day 2010, and this year the event has a new theme. Throughout 2010 Barbara has been posting a heart each Saturday. She thought it might be fun to incorporate the hearts in this years LiveSTRONG Day event. I ♥ the idea. She called for everyone to create their own heart photo and post it to their blog on October 2nd, 2010. If you want to join in, you still have time since she’s accepting entries through the week.
Here’s a picture of the roasted pumpkin soup; ’twas certainly a comforting and delicious bowlful. Will post that recipe later. I did intend to put that up today too, but the shift to WP means that each post takes a little longer than before, as I learn the ropes. I did oven bake some heart shaped, turmeric yellowed croûtons out of brown bread too! I still have some pumpkin puree in the freezer, and am debating what not to make with it … there are far too many options I’ve found!
Pumpkin Pots de Creme with Candied Walnuts
Inspired by Canelle et Vanille
250ml low fat milk milk
200ml low fat cream {Amul 25% fat}
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1 cup vanilla sugar {as the pumpkin wasn’t sweet}
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup candied walnuts {recipe follows}
Method:
Bring the milk, cream, vanilla bean and half of the sugar to a simmering boil. Put off heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes for the vanilla bean flavours to mature.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160C.
Add the pumpkin puree, pie spice and cinnamon to the vanilla milk / cream mixture, and whisk with a balloon whisk.
In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, yolk and the other half of the sugar. Add the warm pumpkin mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.
Pour the custard into the ramekins and place them on a sheet pan and bring this to a preheated 160C oven.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and pour hot water in the sheet pan. Bake the pots de creme in the water bath until the center is set; mine took about 45 minutes. Refrigerate once cool. Chill completely, preferably overnight.
Serve with unsweetened whipped low fat cream and a sprinkling of candied walnuts.
Candied Walnuts
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp butter
Method:
Place all ingredients in a small heavy bottom pan, and simmer until the sugar begins to melt.
Swirl around so the melted sugar coats the nuts. Simmer until the sugar begins to caramelize and turns a golden brown, Don’t let it get dark, else the nuts will taste bitter.
Immediately turn the nuts onto a lightly greased platter and allow to cool.
Break up into pieces, and store in an airtight container in a cool place. I keep mine in the fridge for 5-7 days.
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“If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony.”
Ferdinand Point
Fruit in baking continue to hold my interest. I knew I had to get some fresh figs back from our visit to Pune as we don’t ever find them here in North India. Bought some from a roadside stall while driving down from Mahabaleshwar, and the old lady gave me MANY instructions to protect this luscious fruit after she asked me where I was from. Figs must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree before they are picked. They will not ripen if picked when immature. A ripe fruit will be slightly soft and starting to bend at the neck. Fresh figs do not keep well and can be stored in the refrigerator for only 2 – 3 days.
These fruit are highly perishable and once back I had to figure out what to do with them soon as they were threatening to perish in front of my very eyes. I had earlier made this very delicious Fresh Fig Frangipane Tart that we all loved, frangipane being a great fave at our place. The kids however are not fans of fresh figs so it was time to think. It was back to my old obsession … buckwheat and experiments with recipes, and this one thankfully worked fine too.
Frangipane is a filling made from or flavored like almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. An alternative French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners’ dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.
The pastry recipe which I use for tart shells, galettes etc is a pretty versatile one, and works well with minor changes.Here I substituted buckwheat for cornmeal. I bravely went a step further and added some buckwheat to the frangipane too, as a substitute for the flour. You can use plain flour if you like though.
Worked pretty well in the frangipane, but that’s maybe because it’s just a small quantity and doesn’t make a major difference. I think I’ve seen some frangipane recipes that don’t use any sort of flour at all. Well, whichever way, the end result was delicious and pretty too. Looking at the vibrant colour the fig slices took on after being baked, I often wish that we got fresh figs here in North India too ! Maybe one day ….
Fresh Fig Buckwheat Tartlets with Vanilla Scented Frangipane
Makes 1 8-9″ tart, or 6 small 3″ tartlets Tart Pastry
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
Pinch salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/8 cup vanilla/granulated sugar
1/8 cup buttermilk (may need 1-2 tbsp extra to bind dough) Vanilla Scented Frangipane
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/3rd cup vanilla sugar
1/3rd cup clarified butter, melted (or unsalted butter)
1 tbsp low fat cream
1 large egg
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1/8 cup buckwheat flour (or cornmeal)
2-3 tbsp strawberry vanilla preserve
About 6-8 figs, sliced
Vanilla sugar for sprinkling
Method for pastry:
Place both flour and salt in processor and pulse 2-3 times.
Add butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the processor running, slowing pour the buttermilk through the chute, processing until the dough forms a ball.
Remove the dough ball and adhere any remaining pieces of dough to it, then wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30-35 minutes. (I did it for almost an hour because the weather was HOT)
Preheat the oven to 180C.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry as thin as you like and line tartlet tins, or tart pan. I like my pastry quite thin (1/8″).
Line the fitted tarlets tins with foil, place pie weights/beans on base, and bake blind for 10 minutes, until light brown and crisp. Remove weights and cool on racks.
Frangipane:
Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
Place the almonds and sugar in the processor and whiz till ground. I like the almonds coarsely ground.
And the clarified butter, egg, scraped vanilla seeds, cream and buckwheat flour and whiz again till mixed uniformly.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Assembling the tartlets:
Brush the base of the pastry with melted strawberry preserves and divide the frangipane equally among the 6 tartlet shells. Level out with an offset spatula. Top with slices of fresh fig and bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned and knife inserted in centre of frangipane comes out clean. If you find the pie crust browning too soon, slide a sheet of foil over loosely.
Serve warm, at room temperature or even chilled. I like them served chilled with a dollop of unsweetened cream, sliced fresh figs and pistachio slivers. Enjoy!!
