“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate. That’s my philosophy.”
Thornton Wilder
They don’t call the MANGO the king of fruits for nothing! We are well & truly into mango season here in North India, and this luscious, juicy fruit is keeping us happy! To keep in tune with the dieting divas low fat diet, this turned out to be a perfect fit … a Mango Frozen Yogurt which tasted every bit like an ice-cream, rich, smooth & divine, but was sans the cream!Maybe it was the magic of the Thermomix, or maybe this contraption I bought from Sydney recently. Whatever it was, maybe just good proportions, but this was a winner, a perfect fit for July, the National Ice Cream Month.While in Sydney last month, I couldn’t help a quick dash to Victoria’s Basement, a store I love to spend time at. Every nook & cranny is packed with tasteful and exciting things, be it kitchenware, cookware, ceramics, bakeware, small handy gadgets. I got just an hour in the store, and it was like a mad dash. I raced through the store at top speed, grabbing whatever I thought was on my list {and loads that wasn’t}.
One such buy was this Cuisipro – Greek Yoghurt/Yoghurt Cheese Maker. The cheese lover in me looked at it longingly for a precious 10 minutes, then put it back because it was for $20 and I thought it might not be worth it. Mr PAB literally forced me to take it, and that was my best buy this visit. {Disclaimer: I have not been paid to write about the product or the shop. I just love both and thought this worth sharing}.It’s just an innovative little box with a uniquely designed stainless steel strainer that fits within. You ladle your yogurt into it, shut it and leave it in the fridge overnight {or 3 days as in my case} … and voilà! Like magic I got this beautiful very think hung yogurt that I could cut into cubes too.One look at it and I knew there was mango fro yo in the very near future! I had planned on making mango ice cream {with the MacTweets Ice Cream Dreams theme in mind}, but eventually fatless my ice cream was going to be! {I made my hung yogurt with homemade fat free yogurt}.Turned out GREAT! I blitzed frozen diced mango & chilled hung yogurt in the Thermomix which is pure magic for stuff like this. The blades are S T R O N G and result in a mean puree! In the freezer for 3 hours and I was serving pretty yellow scoops! NICE!! I attempted making some pistachio macarons as well, but the high heat and humidity here had other plans … and my feet failed. Not sure if I’ll have time to try baking macarons again this month as our little pooch {Coco} is turning out to be quite a full time job. Look at her. She is the cutest but naughtiest little thing, and currently races around the house like a little rabbit!
Do you want to join us making MACARONS?
If you do, you are most welcome to join us. You can find all the information at our dedicated macaron blog MacTweets. We generally post the round-up by the end of every month, following which a new challenge is posted!
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Recipe: Mango Frozen Yogurt
Summary: A low fat, cream free mango frozen yogurt that celebrates the king of fruits in India. Smooth, refreshing and sweet, this is a great way to indulge guilt free.
650gms mango, diced, {frozen as I made mine in the Thermomix}
250gms hung yogurt {homemade with 2% fat, hung in fridge for 3 days},
100gms powdered sugar
2 tbsps honey
Method:
I made mine in my Thermomix.
Place all ingredients in TM bowl, and run at Speed 10 for about 3 minutes, scraping the sides if required, until smooth and crystal free.
Transfer to freezer safe bowl. Serve immediately or store in freezer.
If making in ice cream maker, chill both mangoes and hung yogurt well, and process all ingredients till smooth and well blended. Adjust sugar if need be. Turn into ice cream maker and make as per manufacturers instructions.
Makes approximately 1 litre.
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Before I go, I’d like to tell you that Chef Jeff is raffling off some free copies of his new e-bookDinner Revolution, and has offered a few copies for readers of PAB. Do head across to Dinner Revolution and enter his raffle to win a book he says will revolutionize how you cook dinner!The e-book has over 200 healthy and mouthwatering dinner recipes, which have less than 10 ingredients and take less than 30 minutes to prepare. An amazing variety of recipes including vegetarian and simple side dishes …
Caribbean Chicken Quesadilla
Lasagna Roll-Ups
Vegetarian Pad Thai
Shrimp Coconut Curry
Firecracker Shrimp Salad
Southwest Turkey Burgers
Moroccan Carrots
Thai Cucumber Salad
Hamburger Stroganoff
Blackened Red Snapper Soft Tacos
Junes Daring Baker challenge of Baklava reignited the pastry baker in me. The success of home made phyllo won me over, and soon enough I made another batch of dough. This time it ended up rather deliciously in a Cherry Phyllo Pie.Summers in North India are treacherous for home bakers like me. By the time the heat and dust kind of kill you, the monsoon comes along to completely take the remaining ‘pastry happiness’ away. Making pastry at home slowly shifts to the back burner waiting for cooler days to return before I attempt to make puff pastry and shortcrust etc. I am still amazed at why I didn’t get to making phyllo at home earlier. This is a summer pastry for a country like ours. Light, crisp, versatile, delightful … amazing stuff! Thanks to the good Greek food blogger Peter @ Kalofagas, I’m now a phyllo convert. I forgot to take a picture of a rolled out phyllo sheet the last time, & was a bit embarrassed when Peter asked for one, so I set off again. Not sure if this is thin enough on the roll, but this was about how thin I could get it. A box of cherries in my fridge, I just knew what I wanted to make with the phyllo, a cherry pie. It was going to be set in a dessert ring, and would also use my last stash of brandied burgundy preserved cherries from last year, and leftover nut mix from last months baklava. I must admit I’m getting a teeny bit better at clearing the fridge and putting leftovers to productive {read delicious} use. This pie was one such experiment … YUM!! The combination of fresh cherries with the brandied burgundy cherries offered a divine twist to the pie, highlighted by the nut mix which offered wonderful texture and contrast to flavours. Once it cooled down to room temperature for 4-5 hours, it sliced well. The top layer was buttery crisp {though my lattice kind of stepped off in all its crispness… lol}, and the lower layers were soft and addictive. Thank you Peter for the push in the right direction, and happy birthday too! It’s a coincidence that I’m posting a phyllo pie on your big day!Oh and before I go, you must meet someone. We’ve welcomed the sweetest little pooch into our home today, a ‘cute as a button‘ cocker spaniel pup. Meet Coco. All of 42 days old, naughty, intelligent, playful … C U T E!!
[print_this]Recipe: Cherry Phyllo Pie
Summary:I This is a summer pastry for a country like ours. Light, crisp, versatile, delightful, and ended up in a equally delightful cherry pie.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients for Phyllo Cherry Pie:
1 portion phyllo pastry, recipe below
500gms fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
Juice of 1 lime
3/4 cup mixed nut meal {I used walnuts, pistachios, almonds chopped fine with 3 tbsp sugar from here}
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled
Method:
Toss the pitted cherries with the brown sugar, cornflour and lime juice in a pan and gently simmer for 7-10 minutes until soft. Remove the cherries from the liquid, and reduce the liquid till thick and syrupy. Pour over the cherries and cool completely.
Line a baking sheet with foil, place an 8″ dessert ring {or springform ring} on it, and bring the foil up the outside to seal the sides.
Brush the base with melted butter, and place a sheet of phyllo on it. Brush the sheet with melted butter and repeat 3 times, using 5 sheets.
Sprinkle over 1/4 of the nut mix. Turn half the cherry mixture {I tossed mine with preserved cherries} over this, and sprinkle over another 1/4 of the nut mix.
Repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo pastry, remembering to brush with butter each time, then 1/4 cup nut mix, remaining cherry mix, remaining nu mix… and then 5 more layers of phyllo. Brush the top most layer generously with melted butter.
Bake for 1 hour. Allow to stand at room temperature and cut when completely cool.
Phyllo Dough:
Dough can be made a head of time and froze. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw and continue making your pie. I made it 2 days in advance I stored it in cling wrap in the fridge.
Ingredients for Phyllo Pastry:
185gm all purpose {plain} flour
1/8tsp salt
1/2 cup less 1 tbsp water, plus more if needed
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 tsp cider vinegar, {could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste}
Method:
In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt. Mix with paddle attachment.
Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.
Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.
Thermomix: Place all ingredients in the bowl of the TM. Process on Speed 6 for 7 seconds. Then knead on bread setting for 3.5 minutes. Turn onto counter, roll into a neat ball.
Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best {Mine rested for 2 days and it was still perfect}
Rolling your Phyllo**
Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can.
Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly smaller than a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.
Roll out the dough until it is as thin a circle as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.
When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine
Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up, about 15 sheets. Between each sheet again flour well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.
Trim each circle to size using the dessert ring and a pastry wheel.
“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” Aristotle Onassis
BAKLAVA, importantly homemade phyllo pastry has been on my list of things to do forever. I am SO GLAD I made this exquisite dessert. It’s the best ‘from scratch fine pastry dessert‘ I’ve made of late, one I meant to do for ages. A Daring Baker challenge I had no intention of missing, yet I very nearly did! The process seemed intimidating, but was eventually a beautiful experience; the end result bowled me over!
Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.
It was many years ago. Tweeting in 2009 with Peter @ Kalofagas got me inspired and I headed over to check out the first of his inspirational Baklava series. He’s also done one on making phyllo from scratch {his version uses yeast in the dough} ending in a delicious looking Spanakopita made under the watchful eye of his Mum. { This man is the Greek god of good food!} This was one thing I had to master but life got the better of me, and time whizzed by, somewhat out of control.
I haven’t been on the net for ages… no twitter, no face-book, no blogs and it’s all down to the kids summer vacations! Out of town for 2 weeks {a trip to HKG and Down Under} and many to-do’s have been lost – my ‘have to do macarons for Mactweets. I struggle to feed the blog, get a pup for the kids, reply to an infinite number of mails … I’m clearly beginning to feel the pressure!
But this I HAD to make and the process was absolutely joyful. I love the rolling pin, and the dough was silky beautiful. As we are a country that makes fresh thin flat bread for practically every meal, rolling was fun and the only thing that took a little while. The trusted Thermomix kneaded the dough in a flash …thank heavens for it! It also chopped the nuts as fine as could be in nano seconds … a blessing in disguise.
Baklava, a sweet rich pastry made with layers of phyllo dough and nuts sweetened with simple syrup. It is widely knows as a Greek dessert, but it’s origin has really never been pinpointed as many Middle Eastern countries also name it as their own. There are local versions from Iran, Turkey, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia and Cyprus.
The end product was as exquisite. The phyllo was easy to handle and layered to perfection. I made the whole portion of the dough {didn’t read the fine print} so fell slightly short of layers, but that wasn’t a problem. Layered deserts are always easy to fiddle around with! I halved the filling and the syrup. This has been one of the best Daring Baker challenges I’ve enjoyed so far.
The phyllo from scratch recipe was similar to the pastry we made for the earlier ‘Strudel‘ for Daring Bakers 2 years ago. The filling was an endearing blend of nuts, sugar and cinnamon all balanced beautifully… an Alton Brown recipe {I forgot the cloves… sigh}. The soaking honey syrup with orange and cinnamon completed the Middle Eastern charm …. left us longing for more!
It looked ever so pretty as well though I didn’t stray from the challenge recipe and typical appearance. I loved pouring the cool syrup over the hot, freshly baked baklava, the crackling sound music to the ears! I have to make this again one day, and try the many charming different versions at Kalofogas including Baklava cigars or Baklava Daisies.
Thank you Erica for an outstanding daring challenge; it was a beautiful one, very fulfilling. 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 beautiful baklava our other daring bakers have rolled from scratch!
[print_this]Recipe: Baklava
Summary: Baklava, a sweet rich pastry made with layers of phyllo dough and nuts sweetened with simple syrup. Exquisite and outstanding make ahead dessert.{Minimally adapted from following recipes}
Phyllo Dough Recipe – Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers Baklava – Adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network
Phyllo Dough: *Note 1: To have enough to fill a 9” x 9” baking dish with 18 layers of phyllo I doubled this recipe. *Note 2: Single recipe will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish. *Note 3: Dough can be made a head of time and froze. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw and continue making your baklava
185gm all purpose {plain} flour
1/8tsp salt
1/2 cup less 1 tbsp water, plus more if needed
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 tsp cider vinegar, {could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste}
Method:
In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt. Mix with paddle attachment.
Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.
Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.
Thermomix: Place all ingredients in the bowl of the TM. Process on Speed 6 for 7 seconds. Then knead on bread setting for 3.5 minutes. Turn onto counter, roll into a neat ball.
Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best {Mine rested for 2 days and it was still perfect}
Rolling your Phyllo ** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough** Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can.
Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly smaller than a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.
Roll out the dough until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.
When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine
Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.
Ingredients for Syrup:
150ml honey
150ml water
140gms sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 pieces candied orange peel {or fresh}
A few cloves or a pinch or ground clove {I forgot this}
Method:
When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled.
Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.
Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and orange, allow to cool as baklava cooks.
Ingredients for Filling:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
85gm blanched almonds
80gm raw walnuts
75gm raw pistachios
75gm sugar
Phyllo dough {see recipe above}
100gm {1/2 cup} melted butter
Method:
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside.
Thermomix: PLace all ingredients in TM bowl. Process on Speed 6 for 5 seconds. Repeat 3-4 times till you get the consistency you desire.
Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan.
Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet.Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. {Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it’s not needed}
Sprinkle 1/2 of the nut mixture on top.
Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the nut mixture on top.
Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 .
On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.
Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.
With a sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can’t cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9×9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. {Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven}.
When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled {will still be warmish} syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava! Next morning all syrup is absorbed.
Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup. Serve at room temperature.
” There’s nothing more exciting to cook than discovering a new ingredient or finding an interesting new way to use an old favourite.”
Fine Cooking In Season
My love affair with fruit in baking and fruit based desserts continues unabated, often bordering obsession. Got back rejuvenated from the vacation, exhausted too, to find an absolutely delicious looking book waiting for me in the mailbox. This finger licking good Peach, Plum & Apricot Streusel Crumble was just waiting to be baked!!Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season’s Best from the Fine Cooking Magazine. The cover had the most beautiful picture of juicy plums, blueberries etc. A quick peek within and outstanding photographs by Mathew Benson had me sold!The cover drew me to the book and at 2am I was leafing through it oblivious to the tired aching muscles etc. An almost 24hour flight from Sydney via Hong Kong forgotten, the tired kids suddenly unimportant as they fell into bed in a dazed stupor, suitcases all over the place … the book had me mesmerised!
“Fine Cooking in Season is like having an expert and friend guide you from the farmer’s market to your kitchen, helping you make the most of the delicious bounty available throughout the year. Focusing on produce at its peak is not only flavorful and inspiring, but also a natural way to get a variety of healthy food into your life.”–Ellie Krieger, host of Healthy Appetite on the Food Network and author of The Food You Crave.
Included in the package is a DVD with the Fine Cooking Magazine archive from 1994-2010; for me a virtual treasure. Thank you Taunton Press{I think they sent it as I have no clue who mailed the book to me; it’s been signed by 3 good folk too…gracias} for a book I will always treasure, one thats found pride of place on my shelf. I love it! This was going to be a nice distraction indeed from the monotony of post vacation chores. Unpacking suitcases, putting stuff away, not wanting to touch jackets in this hot weather, cooking to keep the troops happy, dusting the cobwebs off {2 weeks away in the summer and the spiders seem to have a party!}. A quick trip to the local bazaar and yay … all senses awakened, stone fruit were practically tumbling off shelves.I made this stone fruit crumble using 2 recipes. For the filling I used the Peach or Nectarine Cobbler recipe, and since the diva was on a diet and I couldn’t ‘pie’ the fruit, I decided to use the topping from a Ginger Streusel Pie recipe {with a few healthy changes like using 1/2 oats 1/2 flour instead of only flour, slightly reduced butter etc} … this was a celebration of stone fruit!I do love this season. The colours, the flavours, the charm of stone fruit … always like a dream. The crumble was addictive and difficult to keep away from, “sweetly tart and full of soul” … if you know what I mean. Add to it a nutty walnut streusel topping, crisp and delicious and you know this was meant to be. The trusted Thermomix delivered the streusel in one quick whiz.Mr PAB was served his portion with a handsome drizzle of low fat unsweetened cream … and it was nirvana I hear. The lad got a small drizzle too. The teen & me looked at the cream longingly but voluntarily stayed away … there is a post vacation diet which holds ominous significance. 2 thin slivers were demolished by the teen and pre teen last night, with the lad hurriedly polishing off the last crumbs and asking if I could make some again, soon maybe? This is a book I certainly enjoyed for its pictures, its fresh ideas, and for its recipes contributed by some fine culinary gurus which include some of my favourites – Alice Medrich, Abby Dodge, Suvir Saran, Raghavan Iyer, Amanda Hesser among a host of other celebrated contributors.The next book for review on my list is this one by award winning journalist Stephen Fried. The book is interestingly titled “Appetite For America“; Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West – One Meal at a Time. It’s a first ever biography of this visionary entrepreneur considered to be the founding father of the American hospitality industry and gastronomic culture. {I’m halfway through this fascinating journey … which ends in some delicious recipes. More on that in a later post}
Summary:I do love this season. The colours, the flavours, the charm of stone fruit … always like a dream. The crumble was addictive and difficult to keep away from. Sweetly tart and full of soul, add to it a nutty walnut streusel topping, and its crisp and delicious!
Recipe adapted from 2 recipes from Fine Cooking In Season {pgs 134 & 200}
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl immediately after chopping the fruit.
Adjust sugar if fruit is too tart.
Turn into a 9″ pie dish {or 6-8 individual baking dishes} and level out.
Top with streusel, pressing gently to ensure the entire fruit is covered.
Bake for 35-45 minutes until the juices are bubbling over and the topping is light golden brown.
Streusel Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped fine
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, diced {I used frozen}
Method:
Place the flour, oats, walnuts and salt in the bowl of food processor and whiz briefly on low speed to mix.
Add chilled butter and whiz in short pulses until you get a breadcrumb like mix. Reserve {This freezes well too}
Thermomix instructions – Place all ingredients, including walnut halves in TM bowl, and process for 7 seconds, speed 5 until walnuts chopped fine. Add frozen, diced butter and process for 7-10 seconds, speed 6 until you get a breadcrumb like mix.
It’s May with Megan, my secret partner for the month @ The Secret Recipe Club, the brainchild of the very talented & sweet Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’. The idea behind the club – Each month you are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from. It’s a secret, so don’t tell them you are making something from their blog!I was thrilled to find my April Secret Challenge recipe picked by The Pioneer Woman in her postWeb Deliciousness: Strawberries!
Ree was generous with her words. She said “Old Fashioned Eggless Chocolate Cake with Balsamic Strawberry Cream Filling by Passionate About Baking. This is the first time I’ve seen this food blog and the photos are just spectacular, not to mention the treats themselves. Wow.”, and then went on to add another of my posts in the round-up to say”Whipped Strawberry Curd Cream Tartlets with Walnut Shortbread Crust. My, oh my. I don’t know what to say.”
I love Megans blog Megans Cookin’ – Sweet, Savoury, Simple … goes the tagline. Her blog is delicious and we are addicted to her chocolate chip oatmeal snack bars; these are a weekly bake in our home. I have tried them in numerous avatars, with different flour substitutions like whole wheat and buckwheat {in addition to healthy oats in there}, and with different conserves, jams etc {homemade bitter orange marmalade, homemade strawberry vanilla bean conserve, blueberry conserve} …… with chocolate chips, with dark chocolate on top, without dark chocolate on top. They are THAT POPULAR at home and the kids love them! I had made a batch the morning I got a mail from Amanda telling me my secret partner was Megan.Could Amanda have guessed what I had just baked? I couldn’t post the same bars again as I have already done so on PAB. I hadn’t slathered them with dark chocolate this time because the weather is really hot, so I thought I’d use them some other way!Here’s what I did. I ran about 5-6 energy bars in my thermomix and got fine biscuit crumbs. My plan was to use them as a sweet tart base, with a cherry pie filling as cherries are in season here and very very tempting to use! Thought I’d do a bittersweet chocolate filling as in this Bittersweet Chocolate Marquise with Crème Chantilly & Balsamic Cherry Sauce I had recently made.That morning, an ardent local baker,the sweet Nidhi, messaged me literally begging me for a vegetarian something after she had drooled over the Bittersweet Chocolate Marquise. She’s allergic to eggs; I just had to oblige this lovely girl. {BTW, Nidhi, just finished reading the book you got me, and I loved it!}So the filling was rapidly reworked to accommodate Nidhi and her no egg request. You will not believe how delicious this turned out to be!! Finger-licking good, and well set too. Chocolate and cherries, like chocolate and strawberries, are a combination made to please the spirit!For folk with egg allergies or for a vegetarian version, I have an eggless tart recipe in this Whipped Strawberry Curd Cream Tartlets with Walnut Shortbread Crust. You could also use graham crackers or digestive biscuit crumbs.Take a look at the cross section. A filling that was smooth, luscious and sang the dark chocolate cherry song out loud! The diva on diet begged for more, and adamantly had two helpings despite being literally hit on the head and reminded of her diet! The son charmed his way to seconds! The base was full of chocolaty goodness too … a winner of a tart!This time I didn’t cook the cherries into a sauce. I barely simmered them in brown sugar and balsamic vinegar for 1-2 minutes, just to soften them and to help get them a glazed look, then fished them out of the sauce and cooked the syrup to a thick reduction. Oh, I added a dash of lime juice as well to give it a kick. Worked nicely!
[print_this]Recipe: Nutella & Cherry Chocolate Tart
Summary: A vegetarian filling /chocolate tart filled with deeply luscious dark couverture chocolate and nutella.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
1 sweet chocolate tart base, 9″ {recipe follows, or premade etc}
500ml low fat cream, room temperature
200gms dark chocolate {I used 55% couverture}
2/3 cup Nutella
2 tbsp cornflour
100gms fresh cherries, pitted, halved
Method:
Mix cornflour in 1/2 cup low fat cream.
Place remaining cream, dark chocolate and Nutella in a heavy bottom pan, and simmer until the chocolate melts, stirring constantly.
Add the remaining cream & cornflour mix and continue to stir until mixture thickens to a batter like texture, thicker than flowing custard.
Cool for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle baked tart shell with the pitted and halved cherries. Pour the chocolate mixture over this, level out and chill for at least 3-4 hours, until set. Pour the balsamic cherry topping over, chill for another 30 minutes, remove from pan and serve.
Recipe: Chocolate Tart Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
5-6 energy bars {recipe here}, powdered in processor
50gms unsalted butter, melted
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Keep a 9″ round tart pan with a removable base ready.
Mix the cookies crumbs and butter.
Turn out into a 9″ tart pan and pat out evenly to cover the base and work into the sides. Mine was uneven on the sides, but the filling merged in later. {Also was not roll-able maybe because of the intense heat}
Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool completely on rack. It will firm up when cool. Loosen the shell, and leave it in the tart pan.
“Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the single most significant trademarks of a culture.”
Mark Kurlansky
Talk street food and it throws up a myriad of colourful pictures in my head. It’s an amazing food group, one that goes deep into culinary cultures and is fast becoming haute cuisine, upmarket and constantly evolving. Yet, hit the streets and you find good old rustic appeal, preserved from the past, especially in the old city areas. You are instantly hit by a culture that time hangs on to. North India is no different; the streets are painted with colour and flavour, heat and dust. Monkeys wander above while cattle languish below, spice sellers plonk themselves under umbrellas sheltered from the sweltering sun, pan walas sit in rows with an engaged clientele. Across the street, chicken tikkas sizzle over red hot coals! The camera works overtime, how much can you possibly capture and, then again, how much can you blog? As you see, Indian streets are ‘happening’, and Old Delhi holds that eternal charm.The camera feeds hungrily at as you get transported to a different age. I feel compelled to share some street culture before I go further! A few more pictures … all taken on a day when Mr PAB and I decide to take a train ride into Old Delhi. Didn’t shop, just wandered around clicking, caught up in mixed emotions … We found a water carrier opposite Jama Masjid selling chilled water in engraved silver handmade bowls, the water stored in a stitched and sealed whole goatskin {top left}. Handcarts piled high with plates and plates of neatly sliced pineapple {painstaking job that}… all open air but plenty of takers, dry fruits sold in small sacks, chocolate too{top right}. AMAZING!In North India street food is a quintessential part of our tradition, not always healthy {read nice and deep fried delicious}, and holds eternal appeal. If you literally eat it off streets, with all the heat and dust thrown in, you are bound to be awarded with a Delhi belly, but there are ways of beating that!When Asha, the Fork Spoon Knife gal wrote to me wondering if I would write her a street food themed guest post for her 3rd blogiversary, she heard a resounding YES! After much dithering, I decided on something I could bake, reflective of PABs central theme, and so made the most delicious Papdi / Whole wheat Crackers {if I may say so myself}. I also made some Bhel Puri from a trail mix of sorts! The crackers would make great bases for canapes too, and the trail mix is easily munched on its own.
