POLENTA-CRUST TOMATO LOAF

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Another recipe designed by Dan Lepard, courtesy of the Guardian website. In terms of time and overall process, it is very similar to the semolina barbecue buns I blogged about last week, but it results in a bread with a much more assertive flavor – thanks to the tomato and rosemary – and gorgeous crumb color. Even if you are new to bread baking, this recipe will not cause you any grievance – I promise… 😉

POLENTA-CRUST TOMATO LOAF
(Dan Lepard)
receita em portugues na pagina seguinte

100 g yogurt (3.5 ounces)
25 g tomato paste (1 ounce)
25 ml olive oil (1 + 1/2 Tbs)
125 ml warm water (3.7 oz)
150 g sundried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped (5 oz)
1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked
400 g bread flour (14 oz)
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp instant dry yeast
Polenta or coarse cornmeal, for shaping

Mix together the yogurt, tomato paste and oil, add the warm water and stir in the tomatoes and rosemary. Put the flour, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl, pour in the tomato mixture and work to a soft dough. Leave resting for 10 minutes, lightly knead on an oiled surface for 10 seconds, and return to the bowl. Repeat this minimal, quick kneading cycle twice more at 10-minute intervals, then leave the dough covered at room temperature for one hour.

Pat the dough into an oval, roll it tightly like a scroll, then roll it back and forth on the worktop, pressing down the ends so they taper slightly. Brush with water and roll in polenta or coarse cornmeal. Place seam-side down on a tray lined with nonstick paper, cover with a cloth and leave for an hour. Slash down the center and bake at 425 F (220 C) for 45 minutes. Allow it to completely cool before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My favorite type of bread is a sourdough, made with a mixture of white and rye flours, sometimes a little whole wheat flour added in the formula. Open crumb, hearty crust, a great match for any type of meal. Having said that, I agree with Dan Lepard: this loaf has its place in the world, bread snobs should not be twisting their noses at it. It smells terrific while it’s baking, almost as if you are making pizza. Enjoy it with smoked ham or prosciutto, and for a more mellow alternative try a ricotta-based spread (ricotta, lemon zest, salt and pepper: simple, understated, but delicious).

I am submitting this red-tinted loaf to Susan’s Yeastspotting…

ONE YEAR AGO: Light Whole Wheat Bread

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18Sep2010

PROTOCOL FOR A FIFTEEN-MINUTE DINNER

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Pork by sallybr

Materials
1 pork tenderloin
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsp ground chili pepper
fettucini (I used whole wheat)
big bunch of baby spinach
lemon zest
red pepper flakes
1 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
1. Put a large pot of salted water to boil and turn your grill on.

2. In a small bowl, make a little paste with maple syrup, soy sauce, and chili pepper.

3. In a large bowl where you’ll serve the pasta, mix the olive oil with red pepper flakes and lemon zest.

4. Cut the pork tenderloin in 1/4 inch slices, pound each very lightly with a mallet, and brush each side with the maple/chili glaze. Season with a little salt.

5. Place the pasta in the boiling water and start the timer.

6. Grill each slice of pork tenderloin for a couple of minutes, turn, and grill for 2 minutes more on the second side. Remove to a platter and keep warm.

7. Two minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the baby spinach, and finish them cooking together.

8.Reserve a little of the cooking water, drain the pasta/spinach, add them to the serving bowl, mix well to combine, add some of the cooking water if necessary. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

9. Serve some pasta with the pork tenderloin.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The basic inspiration from this recipe came from Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times. Adding the spinach to the same pan the pasta is cooking works quite well, but you need to be careful about the timing – overcooking the spinach could ruin the dish.

The pork tenderloin is a recipe I jotted down by hand from some online source years ago, I wish I could give proper credit, but I was unable to find it now. If you’ve never mixed maple syrup with pepper, keep this combo in mind, it’s a winner. Another great example is a recipe by the Surreal Gourmet that marinates salmon steaks with maple syrup and coarsely ground pepper for a few days before grilling. I need to make it soon in the Nano-Bewitching Kitchen because it’s an old favorite of mine.

ONE YEAR AGO: Cauliflower au Gratin

16Sep2010

SHRIMP IN MOROCCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE

Posted in Seafood by sallybr

When we left for LA I waved goodbye to all my cookbooks except one: Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times. It seemed like the perfect guide for our stay here, when we’d face longer commutes and a busier overall schedule. I’ve already made quite a few recipes from it, and this simple shrimp recipe is a fine example of its utility: the dish was ready in minutes and perfect for a weeknight dinner. Throw on some white rice, whip up a salad, unleash some tropical music (we’ve been listening to this quite a bit lately), and rock the casbah!.

SHRIMP IN MOROCCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE
(Mark Bittman, visit his website by clicking here)

2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced ginger
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 + 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp lime zest
1 can tomatoes, diced (28 ounces)
salt and black pepper
1 + 1/2 pounds peeled shrimp
fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the ginger and saute for 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, and lime zest and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the mixture is almost dry – about 15 minutes (I opted for leaving a little bit more saucy, so I cooked for less than 10 minutes).

Add the shrimp and stir. Cook until done, less than 10 minutes in very gentle heat. Taste, adjust seasoning, sprinkle fresh cilantro leaves and serve over white rice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Two details make this recipe shine. First, the ginger is minced, not grated. I confess that when I read the recipe I rolled my eyes – why mince ginger if you can grate it, Mr Bittman? – but, my Microplane is bigger than our kitchen sink, so I succumbed to the idea of washing a knife instead. 😉 Well, from now on I’ll be mincing ginger with a smile, because I loved its intense flavor in each bite, making a huge improvement over grating.

Secondly, he lightly toasts the spices in oil, a common technique in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking, that also pumps the flavor to another level. Don’t omit these steps, because they make this dish surprisingly tasty. Shrimp (and seafood in general) is indeed the busy cook’s best friend!

ONE YEAR AGO: Golden Zucchini: A taste of yellow

CANTINHO BRASILEIRO

CAMARAO EM MOLHO DE TOMATE AO ESTILO MARROQUINO
(Mark Bittman)

2 colheres de sopa de azeite
1 colher de sopa de gengibre picado
1 colher de sopa de cominho
1 + 1 / 2 colher de chá de semente de coentro moida
1 colher de chá de raspas de limão
1 lata de tomates picados (cerca de 2.5 copos)
sal e pimenta preta
750g – 1 kg de camarão descascado
coentro fresco (opcional)

Aqueça o azeite em uma frigideira, adicione o gengibre e refogue por 1 minuto. Adicione o cominho, semente de coentro moida e raspas de limão e cozinhe por 30 segundos, mexendo sempre. Adicione os tomates, o sal e a pimenta, misture bem e deixe ferver. Abaixe o fogo e cozinhe até que a mistura esteja quase seca – cerca de 15 minutos (optei por deixar um pouco mais liquido, cozinhei menos de 10 minutos).

Acrescente os camarões e mexa. Cozinhe até que mudem de cor, menos de 10 minutos em fogo bem suave. Prove, ajuste o tempero, adicione o coentro fresco imediatamente antes de servir, de preferencia com arroz branco.

13Sep2010

SEMOLINA BARBECUE BUNS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Before we left on our journey to L.A., I had this bread in my “to bake soon” list. Life got impossibly busy, but I didn’t worry too much, because I knew it would be a perfect bread for the nano-kitchen: minimal kneading, and doable in our toaster oven. Several of my virtual friends made this bread and raved about it, but that’s a no-brainer: Dan Lepard is the man behind the formula. 😉

SEMOLINA BARBECUE BANS
(from Dan Lepard – The Guardian website)

75g semolina or cornmeal, plus more to finish (I used fine cornmeal)
150 ml boiling water + 200 ml warm water
25g unsalted butter
1 tsp honey (I used agave nectar)
1 Tbs yogurt
1 + 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
450 g bread flour
(olive oil for kneading)

Spoon the semolina into a mixing bowl, pour 150ml of boiling water over it, stir well and leave for 10 minutes. Use a fork to mash the butter, honey, yogurt and salt into the mixture, then slowly work in 200ml of warm water, breaking up any lumps with your fingers. Stir in the yeast and flour, work to a smooth, soft dough and leave for 10 minutes.

Give the dough three 10-second kneads on an oiled surface over 30 minutes, then leave, covered, for an hour. Roll the dough to about 25cm x 35cm on a floured surface, lay on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and leave covered for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into eight flat rectangular “rolls” but do not separate them, just make a deep incision all the way down the baking sheet. Leave, covered, until risen by half (I cut into six rectangles, and allowed them to rise for 25 minutes).

Heat the oven to 465F. Brush the tops of the buns with water, sprinkle with semolina and score a deep crisscross on top with a knife. Bake for about 20 minutes, until brown on top. Let it cool for at least one hour on a rack before amazing yourself at how delicious the rolls taste.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This bread is so simple to prepare that I am still a bit shocked by how good it turned out. If you haven’t yet been sold to the idea that minimal kneading makes excellent bread, this recipe will convince you. I didn’t roll the dough, just stretched it lightly to preserve as much as possible the airy texture acquired in the hour long rise.

Dan made this recipe with pulled pork sandwiches in mind, and the combination would deserve to go into the Sandwich Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, we don’t have any pulled pork at the moment, but the rolls still tasted awesome with ham, cheese and a slice of juicy tomato.

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting… the second bread from our Bewitching-Nano-Kitchen.

ONE YEAR AGO: Lavash Crackers

11Sep2010

SPICES? Did someone say… SPICES?

Posted in General by sallybr

We spent the whole of last Saturday meandering around beautiful LA neighborhoods, guided by the coolest couple in town, my stepson and his girlfriend. From their apartment in North Hollywood we hopped on the metro to Silver Lake, marveling at the stores of furniture, clothing, books, shoes and art, …when suddenly our guides mentioned a spice store…

You know what happens when a dog’s laying around in a pleasant state, minding his own business, and someone drops the word “cookie” in a conversation? The ears pop up, the head twists, and the inquisitive eyes tell it all: “Cookie? Did someone say … cookie”?

I didn’t wag my tail, but I was ready to “woof!” It wasn’t easy to control my enthusiasm because, after all, I’d left all my spices – three drawers of spices– 1,345 miles behind. And I needed a whiff of at least the basic aromas. Having visited Penzey’s in the Bay Area, I didn’t expect to be awed, but I underestimated: Spice Station is a fragrant dream of a store!

Inside a hidden courtyard, with doors wide open, enticing smells waft around and invite you to step inside and enjoy what they have to offer. Do you like masala mixes? I thought I knew them all, but a couple of theirs were new to me. Have you heard of Urfa Biber? I hadn’t. Care for special salts? You’re in for a treat of smoked and infused salts that you can sample at will (I brought home smoked Yakima Applewood). Dried peppers, curry mixes, barbecue rubs, endless herbs, seeds, pods, and a huge selection of teas. They sell a rare Chinese white green tea, “pai mu tan, ” that’s hard to find except from special tea importers (it’s my favorite!).

Not only does the Spice Station carry an amazing stock, but they’re all elegantly displayed in beautiful bottles, perfectly spaced on charming wooden shelves. The owners and staff are super friendly, knowledgeable, fun to chat with… and patient! The poor guy in charge of my order didn’t even blink at my long list of spices. He stood by the balance, weighing away, writing and labeling and moving to the next spice… and the next… and the next….

Between tasting, choosing and chatting the time flew by, but, in this lovely environment the gentlemen didn’t seem to mind… 😉

So if you’re a spice lover then stop by Spice Station next time you’re in LA. If you’re far from LaLa-Land, then take a look at their Etsy store for your next order. I’ll be back by again and again… there’s a Vintage Merlot salt that’s calling my name! 😉

SPICE STATION
3819 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 660-2565

ONE YEAR AGO: The Lighter Side of Meatloaf