Monday 9 July 2018

Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi - ricotta gnocchi By Emiko Davies.

- Meet In Your Kitchen | Emiko Davies & Marco Lami's Dolce Vita in Florence - eat in my kitchen eat in my kitchen

Gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese instead of potato, with semolina.
Serves 4

175g firm ricotta, well-drained
150g cooked, chopped, well-drained spinach (if making from scratch, you need about 1 kg / 2 1/4 pounds fresh leaves)
1 eggs, beaten
A pinch of salt, plus more for the water
A pinch of ground nutmeg
About 25g plus 1 tablespoon plain flour
25g unsalted butter
10 sage leaves
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Handful finely grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Mix the ricotta, finely chopped spinach, eggs, pinch of salt and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl.
You should have a thick, compact mixture.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl.

With hands, roll walnut-sized spoonfuls of the gnudi mixture in your hands, and then in the flour until well-coated.
Place on a lightly-floured board until they are all ready.

Prepare a large pot of water (salted with a spoonful of salt) and bring to a simmer.
Carefully drop the gnudi into the water and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they begin to float to the surface.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce by melting the butter in a wide pan over medium heat with the sage leaves.
When butter is melted and before it begins to brown, add about 2-3 spoonfuls of the gnudi water and swirl the pan to create a thick sauce.
Season with salt and pepper.

When gnudi are ready, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and place in the sauce.
Turn heat to low and swirl to coat the gnudi gently with the sauce. Serve immediately with the cheese.

Monday 25 June 2018

Homemade yogurt.

MAKES
1 litre

INGREDIENTS
1 litre whole milk
1 heaped tbsp powdered milk
60g natural full-fat yogurt

METHOD
Wash and sterilise a 1 litre jar or a few smaller ones.
Place the milk in a saucepan and heat until a thermometer reads 175F/80C – do not let it boil.
Take it off the heat and stir in the milk powder.

When the temperature drops to 115F/45C, stir in the yogurt.
Pour into the jar and seal with the lid.
Place somewhere slightly warm such as an airing cupboard or near an oven (you can also wrap it in a towel to keep the heat in) for 4-6 hours – the longer the fermentation, the more tart the yogurt will taste.
Place in the fridge for at least three hours to chill and firm up, then it’s ready to use.

OR
- Homemade yoghurt / Borough Market:
1 pint of milk (preferably unpasteurised and unhomogenised)
2 tbsp live yoghurt or yoghurt starter (saved from an old batch of yoghurt)

METHOD
Boil the milk gently for 10 mins.
Allow to cool until it is about 45-50C—the temperature of a hot bath.
Whisk in the live yoghurt or starter.
Pour into a container.
Keep warm and leave to ferment for 7 hours. Refrigerate and eat within three to four weeks.
Recipe: Tom Hunt

Egg Drop Soup.

- Egg Drop Soup Recipe | Serious Eats

- How To Make Egg Drop Soup | Kitchn

Sunday 17 June 2018

Boozy Trinity cream with langues de chat biscuits

- Boozy Trinity cream with langues de chat biscuits recipe - BBC Food
This traditionally English recipe of set creamy custard has a splash of Irish cream liqueur to stir things up a bit. Great with a couple of French ‘cat’s tongue’ biscuits on the side.
Ingredients
soft butter, for greasing
500ml/18fl oz double cream
150g/5½oz white chocolate, broken into squares
6 large free-range egg yolks
150ml/5fl oz Irish cream liqueur
75g/2½oz caster sugar
For the caramel
150g/5½oz caster sugar
oil, for greasing
For the langue de chat biscuits
100g/3½oz softened butter
100g/3½oz icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ orange, grated zest
2 large free-range egg whites
120g/5oz plain flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Butter the inside of a two-litre pudding basin.

Put the cream and chocolate in a medium non-stick saucepan and heat very gently, stirring regularly until the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat.

Place the egg yolks, Irish cream liqueur and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale.

Slowly pour the warm cream and chocolate mixture onto the eggs, stirring vigorously until thoroughly combined. Carefully pour the mixture into the buttered pudding dish and place in a large roasting tin.

Boil a kettle of water and carefully pour the just-boiled water into the roasting tin so it rises roughly 3cm/1¼in up the side of the dish. Take care that you don’t drip any water on the cream mixture.

Open the oven door, and using an oven-cloth to hold as the tin will be hot, place the pudding in the centre of the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes. The custard is ready when it is almost set. If you move the dish, you should see the custard wobble like a jelly with a slight ripple under the surface. It will continue to firm up as it cools.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven, lift the pudding dish carefully from the water and set aside to cool for about an hour. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.

Up to five hours before serving, make the caramel. Put the sugar and four tablespoons of cold water into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat for about a minute, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.

Increase the heat a little and cook the sugar, without stirring, for 5-7 minutes, or until it turns golden-brown – the same colour as maple syrup. Uncover the custard and have close to hand ready for the caramel topping.

As soon as the caramel is ready, remove the pan from the heat. Do not touch or taste the caramel as it will be extremely hot. The caramel will continue to cook once it has been removed from the heat, so don’t allow it to become any darker before you take it off.

Brush a large metal serving spoon with oil and slowly pour the caramel over the spoon onto the cooled custard, ensuring it is covered as evenly as possible. Don’t pour into one area only or the hot caramel will begin to melt the cream. Tilt the dish to help it run to the edges if necessary. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before serving or keep covered in the fridge. (The caramel will begin to soften after a couple of hours.)

For the langues de chat biscuits, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.

Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, cinnamon and orange zest. Whisk in the egg whites one at a time and then fold in the flour.

Using a piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm/½in nozzle, pipe 6cm/2½in strips of the mixture onto the lined baking trays.

Bake for 6-8 minutes until the edges are slightly golden-brown. Leave to cool on the tray.

Serve the caramel-topped Trinity cream with the langue de chat biscuits alongside.

Saturday 5 May 2018

Traditional method of cooking rice.

Basic principle for this recipe: 1 volume of rice for 2 volumes of water
{Ingredients for 4 persons}
- 2 glasses of good basmati rice, carefully rinsed and drained
- 4 glasses of mineral or filtered water
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt
- 50 grams of sweet butter or olive oil for a vegan version
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
{method}
- Put the rice, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat a little and observe your rice. When you see small holes / bubbles forming on the surface, sprinkle with small pieces of butter and lower the heat to a minimum.
- Cover the pan with a cloth (be careful not to ignite it when cooking with gas!) And a suitable cover. If the laundry protrudes from the sides, fold it down and tie it to the top of the lid.
- Cook for 40 minutes over low heat without ever lifting the lid so as not to disturb the work of steam.
- Serve this delicious rice, quite glued but deliciously scented ... happiness!

Sunday 29 April 2018

Beef stroganoff by Hairy Bikers.

- Beef stroganoff - Recipes - Hairy Bikers:
You may need to cook this in batches up to step 4, then mix everything together in a large pot before transferring to ovenproof dishes.
Serves 4
600g beef fillet
25g butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
250g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
400ml beef stock
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 heaped tbsp soured cream or crème fraiche
1 tbsp (or more) brandy (optional)
squeeze of lemon (optional)
finely chopped parsley, to serve
flaked sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

First prepare the beef fillet.
Cut it into slices 0.5 - 1 cm thick, then slice these into strips about 1cm wide.
Season the meat with salt and pepper and set it aside for a few minutes.

Heat the butter in a large frying pan.
Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and continue to cook until both are soft.
Stir the mustard into the pan, coating the onion and mushrooms thoroughly – we find it easier to add the mustard at this stage than to mix it into the stock.
Pour the stock into the pan, then leave it to simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.
Stir in the crème fraiche and set the pan aside for a few minutes.

In another large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil.
When it’s smoking hot, add the strips of beef.
Fry, stirring continuously, until the meat is browned on all sides.
This should take about a minute at the most.
If you want to flambé the beef, put the brandy in a ladle and carefully heat it over a flame.
When the alcohol starts to burn off (you will see the fumes), tip it very gently towards the flame and it will ignite.
Immediately pour this over the beef and give it a quick stir. Stand well back when doing this and be very careful.

Reheat the onion and mushroom sauce, then add the beef.
Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste.
If you find the sauce too rich, add a squeeze of lemon.
Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
'via Blog this'

Monday 16 April 2018

Sourdough Ricotta Garlic Knots with wild garlic.

- Ricotta Garlic Knots | The Fresh Loaf:







'via Blog this'

Goan Baked Eggs.

- Goan Baked Eggs Recipe:

'via Blog this'

Turmeric latte.

- Turmeric latte: the ‘golden milk’ with a cult following | Life and style | The Guardian:
- Turmeric latte: Modern Baker's golden mylk recipe - Modern Baker:
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground black pepper (which tastes great, but also makes the turmeric more bioavailable i.e. more easily absorbed into the bloodstream)
1 cup of almond drink.

We like Rude Health’s ‘Almond Milk’, because it’s naturally sweetened with a little rice, which takes away need for any other sweetness.
*Our recommended 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder will vary according to the brand you are using.
Qualities and potencies of spices vary enormously, and if you’re using a very good turmeric like Organic Traditions’ Full Spectrum then you will only need ½ tsp at most.

Directions
Boil the kettle and combine the spices thoroughly in a spoonful of hot water, removing lumps.
Heat in a pan with almond drink and mix until bright gold and nearly boiling.
Serving suggestions
Delicious with a shot of coffee!
'via Blog this'

Sauerkraut + Kraut Juice.

Ingredients:
1 head white cabbage
Pink Himalayan Salt

Method:
Pull off any unusable outer leaves of the cabbage.
Slice into quarters or eighthsif a large cabbage.
Finely slice or mandolin the cabbage and put in a bowl.
Sprinkle with two teaspoons of natural salt and massage it into the cabbage for a couple of minutes.
Leave for 10 minutes and repeat massage.
Tightly pack the cabbage and any liquid into a sterilised (instructions on how to do this below in tips) Kilner Jar (cliptop or fliptop).
Really push it down with your fists and the natural juices will be squeezed out.
All the cabbage must be covered in this juice to stop spoilage.
Put a cabbage leaf or a cut out piece of plastic on top of the cabbage to keep it below the juice, if requires weight this down with a small glass or jar.
Lower the lid but don’t fasten it, and leave on your kitchen surface.
Keep an eye on it and push down any cabbage that escapes!
You may see it bubbling after a day or so – don’t worry this is natural.
After five days taste it and if fermented enough for your taste transfer to the fridge to stop fermentation.
If not, leave it and check each day.
Keep it sealed in your fridge for up to three months and drink a shot of any remaining kraut juice – it’s teeming with beneficial bacteria.

Tips:
To sterilise your jars:
Heat your oven to 140°C.
Wash in very hot soapy water, place in the oven to dry for 20 minutes.

This is the very basic recipe; garlic, spices and other vegetables can be added for variety.
Browse a few online recipes and tips to broaden your knowledge and confidence.
Delicious in sandwiches and salads, in coleslaw or on its own on sourdough toast!
A Modern Baker favourite is combining Sauerkraut with grated apple, carrot, herbs and mayonnaise to create a tangy slaw to go in sandwiches or as a side dish.
Take a tablespoon of kraut juice and add two teaspoons of salt to start fermenting other vegetables like beetroot, asparagus, carrots or celeriac.

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Maritozzi with whipped cream.

- Maritozzi • Ricetta • BiancoLievito:
Sweet Yeasted Roman Buns with Whipped Cream (Maritozzi)
1 kg Flour 00 strong W360
200 g Lievito Madre
10 g Lievito di Birra - brewer's yeast
300 gr Whole eggs
200 gr Sugar
50 gr Powdered milk/Lattepolvere
200 gr Water
300 gr Butter
250 g Raisins
10 gr Salt
50 gr leavened mix ("leavening mix" to be added for the development of the final dough.)
50 gr Honey

Mix the flour, lievito madre, or the beer, the whole eggs, the sugar, the honey and the powdered milk dissolved in half of the recipe in the mixer or the kneader.
Start kneading, moisturizing the dough with the remaining water adding it little by little.
Continue kneading until gluten is developed.
Taking a piece of dough and enlarging it with your hands, you have to form a veil of elastic dough.
Add the butter, salt and aromas so that everything is incorporated well.
As a last ingredient, add the raisins washed, softened and well squeezed (the processing is more rational if the preparation of the raisin takes place the night before the dough, so as to have a moist and dry fruit).
Cover and leave in the fridge for about 10-12 hours.
After this time break for portions of 40-50gr and preshape.
Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Pick up each piece and round it well giving the final shape.
Put in baking pan to rise for 90min 28C and bake at 180C for about 20min.
Once out of the oven, glaze with a mixture of icing sugar (Stem the icing sugar with water and a drop of alcohol to obtain a smooth consistency) - frosting - Buttercream frosting.
PS
The powdered milk brings sugars, improving the coloring in cooking and helps to have a "thinner" crust.
If you can not find it, you can replace it with about 80g of whole milk, and reduce the amount of water by about 30gr.

As for the leavened mix (https: //www.biancolievito.it/le-ricette/? Category = 184 ...), this is nothing but a paste made of candied citrus fruits, sugars and vanilla, which is used to flavor leavened dough. The practicality of this preparation is that you can keep it in the fridge, once ready!
- Maritozzi | Cooking from Minneapolis to Milan:

- Maritozzi with whipped cream | Emiko Davies:
0.8 ounces (25 grams) fresh yeast (1 teaspoons or 7 grams of dry yeast)

- Italian Maritozzi by BiancoLievito - Food Fanatic:
200 gr Sourdough at 2° refreshment

- Sweet Yeasted Roman Buns with Whipped Cream (Maritozzi) Recipe on Food52
'via Blog this'

Crostata from Alice Kiandra Adams.

- crostata, crostata – rustica RETRO:
A crostata is an Italian baked tart or pie.
A crostata – the generic name for a jam or fruit tart – is a kind of mainstay of Italian family cooking.
Italians don’t actually bake a great deal – most often a birthday cake is a fluffy mass of sponge layered with custard and cream from the local pasticceria – but there is someone in every family who prepares the crostata for the occasions where one is called for; a nice afternoon tea, a family lunch, a picnic or a special breakfast.
Indeed, crostate are as much a breakfast food as anything else in the land of cakes for colazione.
A pastry ‘crust’ is essentially just a vehicle for whatever seasonal fruit is calling out from the market stalls, or begging to be used from the bottom of the fridge.
You can use jam you already have in the larder (good reason to always have extra jars of good jam on the shelves) or cook fresh fruit down ready for the tart.
I am constantly experimenting, and love good ripe fruit like plums sprinkled with sugar and just cooked down as part of the baking process, actually a fine way to get a really well baked crust as the fruit needs time to cook.
We made this at Market to Table a couple of months ago and the group decided that it was very good, and also agreed that a little whipped cream goes well with a plum tart.
If you want to see photos of this version they are part of this lovely account of Market to Table by Paola from Italy on My Mind.

crostata con la marmellata, simple jam tart

For short crust pastry:
250 g plain flour (or 150 g plain flour, 100 g fine ground durum wheat flour)
80 – 100 g caster sugar (light brown caster is nice)
125 g butter
1 large egg (or 1 med egg plus one yolk)
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt

Jar of homemade jam
The pastry can be made so easily by hand there is (almost) no advantage to puling out the stand mixer or food processor.
It can also be made in advance and keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge and can be froozen for up to 3 months.
Mix all of the dry ingredients and lemon zest together, then add the chilled butter cut into small pieces.
Rub the butter into the flour using the tips of your fingers and once mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs add a beaten egg and mix well until the mixture comes together in a ball.
If the pastry is still dry add a teaspoon of water.
Turn out onto a well floured surface, knead until it has a uniform consistency, then form a block, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour before using.

Heat the oven to 180°C.

Roll out two-thirds of the pastry out on a well floured surface.
Marble is good because it is cold and helps stop the butter in the pastry from melting.
Lightly flour a tart tin with a removable base and line with pastry.
If the pastry tears or is not quite the right size you can patch and repair the missing bits.
Trim the excess pastry using the back of a butter knife or metal spatula.

Fill the shell with a roughly 1.5 cm layer of jam, making sure not to fill too high.
Remember that the jam will bubble up during the cooking process.
Roll out the remaining pastry and using a knife or a pastry wheel cut ribbons the length of the crostata and the width you prefer.
One by one place the ribbons of pastry on top of the tart to create a lattice.
I believe in slightly wonky rustic style lattice, but if you want perfectly threaded lattice this is a good video.

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 180 °C or until the pastry has a deep golden colour.
'via Blog this'

Monday 9 April 2018

Pull-apart Pineapple Bun.

- DIM SUM MONTH: CHARSIU PULL-APART PINEAPPLE BUN – Lady and Pups – an angry food blog:
Dough:
2 cups (242 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) white rice flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (120 grams) whole milk
1/3 cup (100 grams) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup (60 grams) water
2 1/2 tbsp (37 grams) unsalted butter, softened

Make the buns:
In a stand-mixer with hook-attachment, combine all-purpose flour, white rice flour, yeast, salt, whole milk, sweetened condensed milk and water.
Knead on medium speed until a soft dough as formed.
Add the unsalted butter, 1 tbsp at a time, and knead until fully incorporated.
Turn to high speed and knead for another 5 min until the dough is very elastic and smooth.
The dough should be sticky but pulls away cleanly from the bowl when the machine is running.
If the dough is not sticky at all, add 2 tsp more water, or if too wet, add a bit more flour.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until fully doubled, approx 2~4 hours depending.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 12 equal portions.
Shape each into small balls, then stuff each ball with about 1 heaping tbsp of filling and pinch to close.
Repeat with the rest, then arrange them inside a 8 x 11 inch retangle pan (or 9" square pan, or any other container you'd like to serve them in), then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
You can now freeze them until needed (you can do this a few days ahead).
A Few hours before baking (at least 4 hours to be safe), leave the pan in a warm place and let thaw and proof until fully doubled again.
Meanwhile, make the crust.
In a stand-mixer or food-processor, cream unsalted butter and yolk together until creamy and pale.
Add coconut cream and powdered sugar, and cream again until fluffy, approx 5 min.
Add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, and mix until just combined.
Transfer in between 2 pieces of parchment, then shape into a square.
Refrigerate until cold, then roll them out into a sheet slightly larger than your pan.
Brush the proofed buns with egg white, then drape the crust over the top (don't worry about tearing).
Trim off any excess on the edges, then brush the crust with egg white.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 F/200 C for 18~20 min, until the crust is golden browned.
Serve immediately.
'via Blog this'

Friday 23 March 2018

Slovenian nut bread - potica.

12 to 16 servings
This version's baked in a large Bundt pan.
ingredients:
For the dough
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees)
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) dry yeast
3 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
For the filling
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups finely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
3/4 cup whole milk
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

Method:
For the dough:
Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; cook until the butter has melted, then turn off the heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Pour the warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, then stir in the yeast.
Let sit for at least 5 minutes (to make sure the yeast is active; it should bubble or foam on the surface).

Stir in the egg yolks and the milk-butter mixture, then add the flour, salt and sugar.
Beat on medium-low speed to form a sticky, smooth dough.
Transfer to a mixing bowl greased with cooking oil spray; cover with greased plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours (overnight).
The dough also can be mixed by hand.

For the filling:
Combine the cinnamon, walnuts, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the dates and milk in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the mixture thickens.
Let cool.

Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer fitted with a balloon-whisk attachment.
Beat on medium speed until frothy, the increase the speed to medium-high.
Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar, beating to form a meringue that holds firm peaks.
Gently fold the meringue into the cooled walnut mixture.
Divide the rested, refrigerated dough in half.
Lightly flour a work surface.
Working with one portion of the dough at a time, dust on both sides with flour and roll each one out to a round that's 18 to 20 inches in diameter.
Spread half the walnut mixture on each round of dough, leaving a 1-inch margin at the edges.
Starting at the bottom, roll each round into a fairly tight log, like a jellyroll.

Grease a large Bundt pan with cooking oil spray; transfer one rolled filled log there, wrapping it around inside the pan.
Fit the second log the same way, on top of the first one.
Their ends should not meet in the same place.
Cover and let rise in a draft-free spot for 30 minutes.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet; bake (middle rack) for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and a tester inserted into the bread comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then invert onto a platter.
Cool further before slicing.

The dough needs to be refrigerated overnight.
- The Pope joked about Slovenian nut bread with Melania Trump. Here’s how to make potica | The Sacramento Bee:

- The most yummy of all – sourdough chocolate babka |:
...for potica recipe you can check my chocolate babka recipe!
'via Blog this'