Fleur d'oranger, Masala & Co..

Pistachio paste/powder

2012-02-09T22:57:00.000Z

Pistachio paste/powder is one of these basic recipes you canmake ahead and use as per inspiration.

It can be used to stuff pastry. It can be added toshortbread or shortcrust dough. It can be used in pistachio ice cream, It can used to make a pistachio cream just like you would make a frangipane (which is why I am making it). And what about making pistachio chocolate filling for truffles and chocolate squares?

I made my pistachio paste that would have become one if Ihad a proper food processor. But I’m just using one of those small 5 in 1 braun type of grinders, so I didn’t dare blending the pistachios for more than 7 min from start to finish, pausing in between.

That said, I’m content with thesemi-paste texture because it wouldn’t disturb the final project I have inmind.

I have used a recipe that I found pretty much everywhere inthe blogosphere and which people claim it belongs to Pierre Hermé. Altought Ihave 4 cookbooks of him, I just can’t find it anywhere in them….

So this recipe to make a pistachio paste/powder, dependingwhen you are going to stop grinding and kneading.

Ingredients

For about 2 cups

Prep : 30 min

120 g of skinless pistachios (I boiled them, removed theskin with a towel and torrefied them)
60 g of sugar powder
30 g of almond powder (optional but helps in the texture)
About 2 tbsp of water or 1 tbsp of neutral oil

Preparation

Grind the pistachios in a food processor for about 4minutes, until you get a fine powder. Add the sugar and grind again for fewmore minutes.

To make pistachio paste, add water to mixture while stillgrinding, one tablespoon at a time, until the paste has the consistency of analmond paste or a marzipan. Knead withthe palm of your hands, shape it into a ball or a sort of sausage.

Store in a plastic bag and freeze until you need it.

Almond Baklava

2012-02-09T21:55:00.001Z

I have no idea why I made Baklava today! It just happened! I'm trying to draw plans to cut on highly caloric food and I don't even know who will eat it but I just felt like making it? Does it ever happen to you? Is this normal?

I have previously posted baklava with walnut and spices (posted here in french), then baklava rolls with walnut and pine nuts. There is not much difference here except that I used 100 % almonds to fill it.

Generously soaked almond baklava

Unlike the rolls or cigars, shaping baklava in lozenges takes more time in layering it and a bit of precision in pre-cutting the lozenges before baking. Plus, you do not get to eat it the same day, it has to rest for at overnight.

This recipe is adjustable according to how much you plan to make.

Ingredients

For a small pan (about 12 lozenges)
Prep: 20 min - baking: 30 min

The baklava base

Phyllo sheets intended for baklava (enough for 20 layers)
1 cup of skinless coarse almond (blanched, dried and slightly torrefied)
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp of orange blossom water (or rose water)
1 tbsp of sugar
80 g of clarified butter, melted

The syrup

1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 slice of lemon
2 tbsp of orange blossom water

Preparation

Make the syrup ahead of time

Mix all ingredients except the orange blossom water. Let simmer for about 12 to 15 min. Add the orange blossom at the end. If you want a persian version, you may add a pinch of saffron threads in the syrup while it's simmering, or cardamom.

Allow it to cool and thicken.

Make the baklava base

In a bowl, combine the almonds, sugar, salt, cinnamon and orange blossom. Mix well and set aside.

Remove from heat, add the rose water and allow to cool.

Grease the baking pan. Place the first phyllo sheet and lightly brush teh whole surface with clarified butter.

Repeat this for about 6 more sheets, brushing each with melted butter.

Spread a generous layer of ground almonds.

Add five to six more phyllo sheets, again, brushed with clarified butter.

Spread another layer of ground almonds.

Cover with about 7 layers of phyllo sheets, brushed with butter. Brush the surface with butter.

Tuck in the borders neatly. Press the baklava with your hands to remove any air from inside.

Making baklava step by step

With a sharp knife, cut in length and then across diagonally to make diamond/lozenge shapes.Make sure you cut through.

Baking and soaking baklava

Preaheat the oven at 180 degrees C. bake at 160 to 170 degrees C for about 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour about 1/4 cup of the syrup and place the baklava back in the oven for about 6 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour the remaining syrup over the baklava. Garnish with ground or silver almonds.

Let cool overnight. Keep it in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.. I usually keep it in the fridge if I have leftover but some people do not like this solution.. It's totally up to you...

Now I know why I made baklava today..

Black olive tapenade

2012-02-08T17:15:00.001Z

Olive tapenade is a great spread and a smart addition tosome sauces. You can make a green or black olive tapenade. You can mix both. It's totally up to you. The only condition is to make the tapenade with good olives.

I suggest you get proper olives, not the canned ones. If youare lucky to be from Mediterranean countries, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Homemade bread rolled with olive tapenade

Back home, my mother and my aunties buy olives from thefields and do the whole process of salting and pounding them until the olive isready to be served and eaten. That way, they control the process and adjust thebitterness to their liking..It’s actually a story when it’s the season to makeolive oil. No wonder I still can’t get used to the idea of buying anindustrialized olive oil! But that’s not the subject of the day.

No I'm not sure if you already know that an olive with its stone (seed) inside tastes better than the one that's been deseeded and soaked in that salty liquid used in canned products.

Another information: Canned black olives may contain chemicals that turn them black artificially. Therefore, you need to make sure where your olives come from and how they've been handled.

Back to the olive tapenade, you might also add sundried tomatoes to the mix, thyme orany of your favourite herbs.

Ingredients

For about 1 cup of tapenade

Prep: 5 min – No cooking

1 cup black olives, preferably slithly bitter, deseed them yourself
5 capers
1-2 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
3-5 filets of anchovies

Preparation

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4times until you get a coarse texture. Mine is more like a paste because I’mplanning to make some savoury nibbles calling for an olive paste.

Tapenade isusually not very smooth, you can usually see olive bits..

Spread olive tapenade over canapés. Serve cold or at roomtemperature with bread.

I add a spoon of tapenade to my tomato sauce especially ifit’s intended for pizza or pasta.

Keep in a jar in the fridge, covered with olive oil. Stir from time to time.

Do not be scared by anchovies, overcome your fear! You wouldn't notice they're there! But without them, it's just like there is something missing!

I made these spicy shortbread nibbles using the tapenade. We make them a lot back home...I'm homesick these days if you haven't noticed...

I will post the recipe shortly...

Pains aux raisins, Raisin buns or Shneicks. It's just good for breakfast

2012-02-07T17:58:00.002Z

I will have to confess that I prefer raisin buns tocroissants! Well, aren’t they made with the same dough? You even get to have acustard with it.

In Morocco, I grew up eating raisins buns under the name ofshneiks, where they come with dry raisins or with candied fruits. I’ve neverseen buns with cinnamon until I moved to Dubai where there was cinnabon. Since then,I’ve seen it in different countries and of course In Canada.

That concept of drowning the buns in sugar and butter isstill not my thing, but I picked the idea of adding cinnamon to the bun andused it with the pastry cream. It was just wonderful. I also like Kanelbullar (cinnamon roll posted here or here, or there), from time to time. They have the amont of cinnamon I can enjoy without the heavy soaking I see in cinnabon!

Besides the sweet versions of the buns, we make (back home) somesavoury rolls which have mushroom and cheese, tomato sauce and black olivesinstead of the sweet cream. A nice treat during the afternoon!

Back to raisin rolls. They’re really easy to make. Again,once the croissant dough is mastered, everything else is just as easy as 1,2,3.

I have also posted this recipe in yeastspotting.

Ingredients

More than 20 small buns
Prep: 10 min - Proofing: 2 hrs- Baking: 20 min

500 g of croissant dough (here or here)
250 g of homemade vanilla crème pâtissière (pastry cream used here)
1 cup of dry sultanas (pre-soaked)
Or 1 cup of candied fruits, diced

Egg wash

1 egg
1 to 2 tbsp of milk

Glazing

Apricot jam or any other clear glazing

Preparation

Roll the croissant dough into a rectangle. Cover with creamexcept about 1.5 cm at the very end.

Sprinkle sultanas and/or candied fruits(this option is widely available in Morocco).

Roll gently until you get to the other edge. You should geta sort of log. Cover it with a cling-film and freeze for about 30 min (I do it to make sure I cut the buns evenly).

Shaping Pains aux raisins / raisin buns/raisin rolls/schneiks.

Slice the roll every 1 cm with a sharp knife.

Place the buns in a baking sheet covered with parchmentpaper. Leave some space between the pieces because they’ll puff while baking.

Also, make sure you pick that last bit of the dough and place it under the bun to have a perfect cirle when it's baked, or you will have something looking like the one I'm glazing in the picture down here (not really perfect). But that's just a detail.

Flatten them slightly by gently pressing with your fingers.

Egg wash nicely but without excess. Let proof for about 2hours.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C and bake at 170 degrees Cfor about 20 min.

Glazing

Glaze while still hot.

Serve at room temperature within the next couple of hours.

You can also freeze the buns before baking/proofing them. Youjust need to thaw them in the fridge and let them proof at room temperature aspreviously mentioned. This way, you will always have freshly baked raisin buns.

Try this version of brioched raisin buns if you don't feel like making a croissant dough.

Note: I have to tell you that this dough has received 5 to 6 "tours" during the lamination process, which is why you see all these layers. I usually give extra tours when I plan to make raisin buns.

How to shape some danish pastry

2012-02-06T14:48:00.003Z

These days I’m using my batch of croissant dough made lastweek. I have also made a long roll that I cut based on our needs to have freshlybaked small raisin rolls (which will be posted separately).

Since I have promised Danish pastry for this week, here iswhat you need to make them.

This recipe will be featured in yeastspotting.

Ingredients

For about 8 pieces

Prep: 10 min – proofing: 2 hrs – baking: 15 min

Croissant dough (1/2 quantity of this recipe)
1 cup of thick homemade crème pâtissière (pastry cream)
Apricots or peaches in syrup, as needed
Berry jam (raspberry or strawberry), as needed

Eggwash

1 egg
1 tbsp of milk

Glazing

3 to 4 tbsp of apricot marmalade or any other shiny glazing (corn syrup…)

Preparation

Thaw the dough in the fridge, let’s say overnight in case youhave a frozen one or make it from scratch if you are following this recipe orthat one.

Follow the steps in the picture below to make the “papillon”.

You basically need to cut a square, then cut an inner square with a sharp knife. Then lift the top left corner of the border and bring it to the opposite side (right bottom corner). Repeat the same for the other side: bring the bottom left corner to the top left side. In a way, the 2 corners should swap places.

Fill in the centre with about a generous teaspoon of pastry cream. Place another teaspoon of jam on the top once the danish pastry is baked (I added it before baking and it was all gone at the end, I had to add another spoon after baking them).

Steps to make the "papillon"

Follow the steps in the picture below to make the fan.

Cut even squares, then make 4 sharp and neat cuts in diagonals but without cutting through the centrer.

Place about a tablespoon of cream, Place halved apricot or 1/4 of a peach (pat-dried).

Bring the corners to the top following the pictures. Pinch to seal.

The other way is the pinch the corners and place them in the centre underneath the cream and the fruit, which will give it a professional look.

Steps of making the fan or pinwheels

Egg wash and let proof for about 1h30 to 2 h.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C and bake at 170 degrees Cfor about 20 min. Glaze the danish pastries while still hot.

You can make swiss rolls or twisters as well. I suggest you watch this video for more ideas...He's inspiring!

Next up: Danish, olive tapenade, pistachio powder and more

2012-02-04T12:31:00.001Z

It's been a hard week at all levels. And with all the sandstorms around here, asthma, flu and coughs kicked in big time..I have no idea how long this is going to take to go back to a normal condition. I really feel shattered.

This does not stop me from baking danish because I have saved some croissant dough in the freezer, which makes it easy. So I made these to be served this afternoon.

After 4 years living in Qatar, I have finally found good black olives probably coming from Turkey or Syria (the seller is not sure), exactly the ones we get back home; a bit bitter and wrinkly, just what I need for a good black tapenade. So I made just about a little jar. I love tapenade in my tomato sauce for pizzas and pastas. I also like to spread it on my bread, on the top of a Kiri.

And finally, Since I still have some croissant dough, I will be making croissants with pistachio cream (made like almond cream). Since buying peeled pistachios costs 3 times than peeling them myself, I made the whole thing from scratch. That is also coming up..

And maybe if I get to post the recipe of these oven-baked chicken and vegetable rolls within the week as well. These were made weeks ago.

I hope I'll get better soon to post all these recipes...Wish me luck with that!

Pain au Levain-levure- Bread with pre-ferment dough

2012-02-02T20:31:00.001Z

Today, I give you “pain au levain-levure” or breadusing a pre-ferment starter dough. It’s bread that has some of yesterday’sbread dough, which would have fermented after 24 hrs to 48h, and which bymagic, gives an incredible maturity and texture to the daily bread. Let’s beclear; fermented dough is not a wild sourdough starter since it has a hint ofchemical yeast, but trust me, using cold overnight fermentation process takesyou there: the flavour, the smell, the caramelized colour….

I hope pre-ferment starter dough is the right translation, I suppose it is! If there is any technical word you may know, please enlighten me. I just worked it out using the logic used to make the starter dough.

You'd swear it's an authentic pain de campagne

If you don’t have a dough from yesterday, this recipe willshow you how to make an ad-hoc pre-ferment starter dough.

Now you might be tempted to tell me: hold on! That’s how ourgrandparents used to make the bread, especially if you are from the Mediterraneanarea. Well, since I didn’t take the recipe from my grandmother (because atalmost 90, she does not do much anymore. Besides, they used to work by feelingand not weight), I have to tell you that I was largely inspired by GontranCherrier’s book “Gontran fait son pain” (Gontran makes his bread), with adaptation here and there..

Today's star: pre-ferment starter dough.

I have adapted this bread to the types of flour I have dependingon the days. I also make it using a bread machine for the kneading phase.

I also keep the final dough to proof for up to 6 hours inthe fridge, which adds more maturity to my bread. You may skip this long timeand just proof the bread for about 1h30 min before shaping it.

This dough is perfect for pizzas as well.

I'm submitting this recipe in yeastspotting.

Ingredients

For 8 to 10 small breads

Prep: 20 min – Resting: 2h- Proofing: 1h 30 (room temp)

Baking: up to 30 min for a dark crust, less for a clearcrust

Levain-levure- Pre-ferment starterdough (minimum 24h ahead)

170 g of white bread flour (I used here ½ whole-wheat and ½ whitebread flour)
100 g of lukewarm water
½ tsp of dry yeast

For the final bread

350g of white bread flour (I used here 1/3 multi-cerealflour)
22 cl of lukewarm water
1 tsp of salt
½ to 1 tsp of dry yeast
Levain-levure (or about 200g of yesterday's bread dough)

Preparation

Levain-levure, 24 to 48 hours ahead

Make a well with the flour, pour in water, add the yeast andgive it time to be diluted. Mix the ingredients until you get a homogenousconsistency. Cover with a cling film and keep in the fridge for 24h to 48hours.

You can alternatively use yesterday’s dough leftover thatwould have been kept in the fridge, covered with cling film.

The day you plan to bake the bread

Dilute the yeast in a couple of tablespoons of lukewarm water.Mix the bread ingredients without the preferment dough.

If you are using a bread machine, on program 8 “dough”, addthe preferment dough after the 1^st stop.

If you are using a KitchenAid-like machine, add thepre-ferment dough just before finishing the kneading process.

As mentioned before, I keep my dough in the fridge for 6hours or so (that would be overnight for me), which enriches the fermenting process.

But you can just shape the dough in a ball. Cover it with acling-film and let it proof for about 1h30 min or until it doubles in volume.

I shape the dough in the easiest possible way: I degas it byrolling it gently and cutting it into a sort of pavement, with a sharp knife. Iplace it on a floured tea-cloth and cover it for about 1h before baking it. Youmight shape it into baguette if you like..

20 to 15 min before baking time:

1 - Preheat the oven at 300 degrees C.

2 - Slightly grease and dust the baking tray with flour.Place the bread and score it with a sharp tool.

3 - Create some steam in the oven before you place the bread:place a large pan underneath the baking grill. When you are ready to bake, pourin a cup to 2 cups of water and mind your face: the steam that will happenstraight there might harm you. Close the oven door as fast as you can to trapthis steam.

4 - Bake for 30 min at 220 degrees C.

My breakfast: white omelet with khlii

This bread is still soft and tastes good even after 48h at room temperature, justmake sure to cover it with a kitchen towel and seal in a plastic bag.

The mighty croissant dough, plus ideas for filling

2012-01-28T04:04:00.002Z

Making a croissant dough is very similar to the process used for puff pastry. It's about alternating layers of dough and trapping the butter in between. The yeast enriches the dough by giving that taste everybody loves in a croissant or a danish for that matter.

You can use this dough to make savoury pastries. It's a must have in the freezer. I'm posting here an illustrated post on how to make a croissant dough and also many ideas to use at any occcasion: breakfast, snacks time, receiving guests..

Do not give up if it does not work the first time. It needs a couple of times to practise and you will become an Ace of making puff pastry, or a pâte levée feuilletée (a leavened puff pastry): flaky to perfection!

This time, I started the 1st step of making my croissants by using a bread machine, the rest is of course done manually. Here is my first post about croissants and raisin rolls using almond cream (in French).

I aslo make almond croissants and apple turnovers, chaussons and "jalousie aux pommes" using the same dough.

My recipe is a blend between Christophe Felder (without that much butter in the detrempe), Gontran Cherrier (but with more proofing time), Jacques Torres (almost the same proofing time).

A danish-inspired versiom, with jam

Hot dogs sausage appetizers

Apple turnovers

I'm submitting this recipe in wildyeast.com

Ingredients
Yiels about 10 croissants

Prep: 1h- Proofing:1h30-Resting: 1h30 – Baking: 15 min

Détrempe

130 ml of cold milk
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of melted butter (optional)
30 g of caster sugar
250g bread flour(white)
10g of fresh yeast or1 tsp of dry yeast + 2tbsp water, lukewarm

For the « tourage » or "laminating"

125g butter, cold butnot too hard for “tourage”

Egg wash

1egg yolk
1 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Preparation

Dissolve the yeast inthe lukewarm water.

In the bread machine:place the ingredients in the order mentioned above, except for the butter.

Start program 8“bread”. Collect the dough before the proofing phase starts.

Manually or with anelectric mixer with dough hook: Put flour, salt and sugar in the bowl (or awork surface) and mix on low. Pour in the milk and the yeast. Knead just likeyou are planning to make bread.

Bread machine, orelectric mixer, or manually: after the kneading process has ended and until thedough is well combined and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If thedough is too soft, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it is firmerplace dough in the fridge for about 20 min.

Spread butter in a square shaped (20*20 cm) form and chill it until use.

Wrap the rectanglewith a Clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Remove the dough from therefrigerator, unwrap the rectangle, and place it with a long side facing you ona lightly floured work surface.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 20*40 cmrectangle (or about) and about 6 mm thick. Place the square of butter.

Photos illustrating 2 tours

First Turn: fold the flaps over (inthirds) to completely enclose the butter. Seal the edges. Refrigerate for about30 minutes to 1 h.

Second Turn: Give the chilled dough a quarter turn, roll out into therectangle. Give it length by gently pressing and pushing with a rolling pin(this is how the dough absorbs the butter). Do not give it width. Wrap again inthirds and refrigerate 30 min to 1h.

Third Turn: Roll the dough in the opposite direction as before, into therectangle, same process as 2nd turn.

I usually give 4 turns. The dough is now readyfor use after that.

Shaping croissants

If you want to make croissants that look similar and with a standard size, cut a cardboard template, 9cm base, 16 cm height.

Lightly flour worksurface and roll dough to a rectangle, make sure it’s not thick (for betterresults), I would say about 3 to 4 mm maximum.

After rolling thedough, aerate underneath by lifting it to make sure it’s not sticking to thework surface or shrinking.

Using the template,cut the triangles with a sharp knife.

Lay 1 triangle on thework surface. Make about 1cm cut in the middle of the base and slightly pullthe 2 corners. Also, you need to pull the top corner slightly.

Roll the croissant fromthe bottom all the way to the top. Seal by placing that last corner at thebottom (I also dip my finger in egg yolk and seal it by gluing the last cornerto the croissant).

Place on a bakingsheet and turn the base points rowards you to form a crescent. Repeat with the rest of thetriangles. Lightly brush with egg wash.

Shaping basic croissants

Place the croissantson a baking tray, in a warm place to let proof and rise for about 2 hours, oruntil puffed and almost doubled. Brush againwith egg wash and bake in a preheated oven 180 C for about 15 minutes untilgolden brown.

Twisters and rings using leftover dough and trimmings (with cheese, mustard, chili and herbs)

Za'atar mini-croissants made out of leftover dough (check here for recipe)

Notes and must-read

Some good bakingbooks advice to let the dough proof for a long time it the fridge. MichelRoux’s “Pastry” says that the dough shouldn’t be elastic but will spend a longtime in the fridge to develop flavour: the cold retards the rising process,allowing a slow fermentation to help develop the flavour of the dough.

The other way ofmaking it is to let dough proof before placing it in the fridge. Then the “tourage”steps will take less time to proof.

Sometimes, I followMichel Roux’s directions if I really have time. But if you want your croissantsor any “viennoiserie” to be ready in a shorter time, you may follow thisrecipe. It’s the shortest way to a very good croissant dough.

Never over-flour thework surface; you just need a slight cloud every time you need to roll thedough.

The dough and thebutter should have almost the same temperature or the same texture, so no damageshappen during the process.. The Butter should be cold but not hard, too soft itwill come off the edges, too cold, it will make holes in the dough. The butterhas to be trapped at all times so the puffing process in the oven issuccessful.

Keep the dough frozen:shape croissants, Danish, raisin rolls (coming soon in English, but alreadyhere in French) and them freeze them. Thaw before baking.

Velouté de légumes – Easy cream of vegetables

2012-01-27T09:40:00.002Z

Thiscream of vegetables is a family recipe. There is nothing difficult about it andyou can adjust it according to your taste, or according to the vegetables youhave. It’s a healthy and filling soup-cream. Some family members like it rathersoupy, well I like it creamy, which is why it’s called “velouté” by referenceto “creamy”.

If you are on diet, it’s the thingfor you!

Thiscream of vegetables is versatile in taste and in colour depending on the typeof vegetables. It might turn green or orangey or light orange, depending on howmuch zucchinis or carrots or potatoes you put it. I’ll just give you an idea ofwhat I do, this way, none of the vegetables overpowers the other…

This post has a link in Priya's Healthy soup event.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Prep: 7min – cooking : 30 min

2 small potatoes
1 big carrot
2 small zucchinis (courgettes)
1 small leek (or ½ a big one)
1 turnip
1 celery branch
1 small onion
1 medium-size tomat (or 1 tbsp of concentrated)
1 l chicken stock
Salt
Pepper

Finishing touch

1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
Coriander
Soy sauce

Preparation

Peel andcut all the vegetables into cubes. Cover with chicken stock or vegetable stock.

Over medium heat, let simmer for about 25 min.

When the vegetables are cooked through. Blend the soup with freshcoriander. Do not overblend it either because otherwise, the potato starch will make it look very gooey, not nice!

Bringback to a boil. The velouté has to have a creamy consistency, not runny. Sosometimes you may want to reduce the liquid in by letting it simmer for awhile.

Sprinklesome ground pepper, add a bit of butter, or a drizzle of olive oil, or a spoonof cream. I usually add a tablespoon of butter and about a tablespoon of oliveoil. It’s still healthy because this is for 4 persons.

Beforeserving, I also add a few drops of soy sauce; it just goes well with it. Tryit! I also sneak in 1 square of Kiri cheese...I'm a Kiri lover actually..

Note: if you are not into creamy-texture type of soups. Just cut the vegetables thin and let them cook. you don't have to blend them.

Turkish Poğaça with cheese

2012-01-24T00:09:00.000Z

Poğaça is a type of pastry prepared in the Balkans, Greece and Turkey with variations here and there. Considering thepresence of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, it makes sense, though I have noidea where it originates from.

Practically every country has the equivalent or Pogaca(Empanadas, samossas, briouats, pasties, chaussons ..), but this one is very easy toprepare: it doesn’t need too much kneading (you may stop when it comes togetherand feels soft). You may let it rise, you may not. I must admit that when the dough takes time to rise, it's of course better.

It’s a make-ahead snack that you can put in the fridge and warm a coupleof days later.

During my trips to Turkey, Pogaca(along with Simmit rings) seemed like Istanbul commuters’ grab and go snack.

Pogaca with feta, but the one at the back is my version with spinash, minced beef and cheese

You can think of other fillings but fortoday, we’ll just try the easy one: feta and parsley.

I'm also posting this recipe in yeastspotting.

Ingredients

Makes 22 Poğaças

Prep: 30 min – cooking: 30 min

1 egg (yolk separated)
½ cup butter softened
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup yogurt
2 tbsps of milk, lukewarm
7 g dry yeast
1 tsp salt to taste
3 cups flour (approx)
1 tbsp nigella seeds (optional)

Filling

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp fresh parsley/dill, chopped finely
Black pepper (for me)

Finishing

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp of milk
Nigella seeds, sesame seeds

Preparation

Place the lukewarm milk into a bowl. Stir well to dissolvethe yeast.

In a deep bowl, put the flour, make a well and add all the other ingredients. kneadfor 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic but not sticky. Place aplastic wrap over the dough.

Cover and let rest for about 15 min. or let it rest for 1 hour or till it risesup to double its shape. Both ways are ok.

In a small plate, mix the filling ingredients.

Divide the dough into egg size balls. At this stage, youmay flatten them with a rolling pin or with your hands. Place one tablespoon offilling in the middle and close it up. Press the edges with your fingers toseal. That will give you a sort of “chaussons”.

The other way is to seal it from the bottom and have around-shape.

My pogacas look big, they're meant to be for dinner with a salad, the round-shaped one has the right size for a snack

Place the pogacas in a greased baking tray or covered withparchment paper. Glaze with egg yolk and sprinkle with nigella seeds or sesameseeds. Let it rest for about 20 min, at room temperature.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C until nicely coloured(about 30 min). let cool on a wire rack or covered with a kitchen cloth for asoft pogaca.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

I have some leftover dough, I'll try it with other fillings...like sujuk (a bit like chorizo), seafood...this dough is just what I needed..

Chicken and vermicelli - Dwida be djaj

2012-01-23T18:15:00.002Z

Dwida (cha’ariya) is a one-pot North-African dish with somedifferences from one country to another. Some make it almost the way I made medfouna.

In our family, when it gets cold and nobody wants to spendhours to feed a crowd, dwida comes to mind. Besides, kids love it (of course, it’spasta). It may not look well plated, but trust me, it’s tasty andbelly-warming. That’s in my list of comfort food ideas.

Cha’ariya be djaj (vermicelli with chicken) is initiallymade of vermicelli and chicken parts that people may discard. In Morocco, there are 2 types of brokenvermicelli: thin and thick. The one used here is the thinner version. I’m notfan of the thicker vermicelli. The thiner one needs attention or it will bestarchy. You just want it al-dente because it will soak more liquid and puffs.

If, for some reason, you are not into giblets, you can justcut the chicken into 8 pieces and cook them in the sauce instead, but then youhave to adjust the cooking time.

If you want dwida soupy and saucy, you can leave some liquidin there. It’s good to know that it’s usually served thick (just like in thepicture).

Ingredients

Serves 2 persons

Prep: 5 min – Cooking: 25 min

Giblets, drums, wings of 1 chicken
200g of broken vermicelli (cheveux d’ange)
1 medium-size onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 l Chicken stock
A pinch of saffron threads,
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tbsp of fresh ginger or (1 tsp of ground ginger)
A handful of coriander, chopped
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 potato in cubes, optional

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients together except olive oil and thepasta. Let simmer for about 25 min and until all is cooked through.

Fish the potatoes and the chicken parts, keep on theside.

The sauce

When you are ready to serve, massage the pasta with theolive oil. You might need more liquid so you are free to add water, simmer andthen drop the vermicelli in the sauce. Stir. Let simmer for about 4 min, on lowheat. Add the potato and the chicken parts.

Serve immediately.

Middle-Eastern lentil soup

2012-01-22T15:47:00.006Z

Shorber A'das or Lentil soup is usually available in Lebanese and Syrianrestaurants (In UAE and Qatar at least). It’s seriously one of the best thingsI’ve tasted as far as Levant cuisine is concerned. It’s simple, it’s healthyand it’s quick to make, one of these 30 minutes recipes you want to keep.

Here is another post for Priya's healthy soup event.

Ingredients

Serves 6

Prep: 5 min – Cooking: 25 min

1 cup split red lentil (no soaking needed)
1 medium-size peeled potato, in cubes
1 medium-size peeled tomato, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 medium-size onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 l of chicken stock
2 tbsp of olive oil

Serve with

Bread croutons (ideally fried pita in little pieces)
Lemon juice
Ground cumin

Preparation

In a heavy saucepan, add lentils, all the vegetables andgarlic. Sprinkle cumin and cover with the chicken stock. Cover and letsimmer for about 20 min. the lentils will cook quickly without pre-soaking.

Purée the soup until smooth. Do not over blend it or the starchfrom the potato will make it look muddy.

Put the soup back over medium heat. Add the olive oil andbring to a boil while stirring.

Serve hot with bread croutons, a sprinkle of cumin and lemon.

Lentils are a great source of fibres and potassium. I needboth! I already had 2 bowls today, which brings me to that: when you want toreheat the soup for any reason, you may want to add some water to liquefy itagain. Just in case..

Decorated sugar dough cookies

2012-01-22T12:14:00.003Z

It's been a while since I have decorated my last cake. So my hands became a bit shaky and not very precise.

I have decided to practise, which is why I made these cookies.. I think I should do that more often..

Let me know what you think...

And...

Closer..

Ingredients

For 24 cookies
Prep: 4 hrs- cooking : 8-10 min /batch

The cookie dough

400g of flour
200g of butter, in cubes, slightly soft
100g of sugar
2 egg yolks, lighly beaten
2 or 3 tbsp of cold milk (if needed)
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 vanilla pod
1 lemon , zested

Royal icing

250g of fine icing sugar (you might use less)
1 pasteurized egg white at room temperature (or meringue powder, follow direction in the packaging)
1 tsp of lemon juice
Colouring, candies...
Flavouring

Preparation

The cookie dough

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth (not too much either). Add the egg yolks and the zest. Mix.

Gradually blend the sifted flour, mix with salf and vanilla seeds.Do not overworl the dough. Bring it together and flatten it. Cover it with cling film and place in the fridge for about 30 min.

Cover your working area with parchment paper, do the same for the baking sheets.
Roll the dough into 3 to 4 mm thick and use your favourite cookie cutters.

Put the cookies back in the fridge or the freezer for about 10 min, while you heat the over at 170 degrees C.

Keeping the cookies in the fridge will allow them to keep their shape once baked.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden from the edges. Let cool on cookie sheet a couple of minutes, then place on wire rack to cool before decorating.

Royal icing

The first thing you need to know is that the icing sugar should be handled with tools that should be prewashed in hot soapy water, because the icing sugar hates anything greasy. It wouldn't set (dry) properly.

Lightly beat the white egg, add the juice.

Add the sifted icing sugar gradually, stir first and then continue beating for about 7 to 9 min until it comes together and loses its shine. For soft consistency, add a few teaspoons of water, until you reach the consistency you are looking for.

You may keep your royal icing in the fridge up to a week but you have to re-beat it again so the sugar and humidity blend again.

The royal icing dries and crumbles, so make sure you have a damp cloth not far from you, to be able to clean your fingers, the tips and your working area quite frequently...

Make sure these crumbs do not fall on your decorated cookies while they're drying.

The drying process can take anything from 5 min to a couple of hours..Use a fan if you need to finish your cookies quickly for any reason.

Here are some ideas on what you can do with royal icing (here, here and there)...

Gratinée à l’oignon - French onion soup

2012-01-20T14:13:00.003Z

My quick soup of the day is a "gratinée à l’oignon" (Frenchonion soup). Easy to make, it needs only a few ingredients but a lot of care.

Your soup will be good (or not) if you manage to brown the onions the way theyshould be: not burnt, but not under-coloured. The rest is just easy. So payattention to the first 15 min if you want to enjoy a good old french onion soup.

Here is another soup for Priya's soup event

Ingredients

Serves 2

Prep: 5 min – cooking : 35 min

30 g of butter
300 g of yellow onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 l chicken stock
Slices of baguette (or not if your bowl is made of bread)
1 cup of grated cheese (gruyère, emmental, comté..)
1 fresh thyme sprig (optional)
Hint of nutmeg (I just like it)

Preparation

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat,with oil. Add the onions, cover them and let them cook over medium heat. Theyhave to caramelize (they have to become brown, not only golden, but notburnt). This should take about 10 min. It is even good that they stick a bit. Stirfrom time to time.

Add the flour and stir for a few seconds. Add the stock andseason to taste.You may add nutmeg just like I do although it's not really mentioned in any of the french cooking books I have. I just find it makes a perfect match with the onion-butter.

Onion cooking, a NON-TEFLON pan will give you better results in the browning process, unlike here (I only have a teflon-coated pan).

Let simmer for about 20 min. It needs to reduce and thicken a bit.

When you're ready to serve, preheat the grill. Toast theslices of baguette with cheese generously spinkled over.

Place the grilled slice of baguette in a bowl, pour the soupon the top.

Or if you are servingin a bowl made of bread (I have made mine with leftover dough from my dailybread, just like they do at Paul’s). just sprinkle cheese, place in under agrill until golden brown.

For a step by step..please visit this website (in French butthe photos are self-explanatory).

Out of subject but here is my bread of the day: multi-cereal flour.

The bread-bowl, proofing

Multi-cereal bread

I have left 2/3 of the dough in the fridge for 3 days, I added a fresh 1/3 the same day. I must say this version gives amazing bread that stays chewy from the inside for 2 days minimum.

Chicken with potatoes and green olive - Djaj bel btata we zitoun

2012-01-19T08:37:00.000Z

Somehow, this week is about Moroccan cooking, because I miss it. Besides, so many dishes can be reproduced with limited ingredients and tools. This week, i'm not into complicated stuff, so that's the prefect option for me.

In Morocco, The chicken (or meat) tagine with potatoes and green (or red) olives is a crowd pleaser. It's a famous family meal. You will find everyone raving about it, because it reminds them of their childhood.

Tagine, or Tajine, is an earthware dish made of clay which is usually cooked over low temperature, ideally using a BBQ method: wooden fire or charcoal.

I've seen some cast-iron Tagines, I suppose they reproduce the cooking concept of circular steaming inside the pot but I'm not sure you will get the earthy flavour inside.

The dish used is what gives the name to what's cooked in it. which is why I'm not going to tell you this is a Tagine of chicken with potatoes and olives. If you have a tagine, go ahead and use it to cook this recipe, because it's meant to be cooked in one of these. I have just cooked it in a casserole.

It's still tasty, It's still authentic due to the ingredients. My only advice is that you need good green olives (not bitter, not overly salty), and a good olive oil.

You may add chili if you are fan of spicy food. Usually, there is a chili on the top of the potatoes, for those who want to have it hot and spicy. Since it's a family dish, it's better that way, so the kids do not feel its heat.

What you shouldn't add: salt. Indeed, the chicken or vegetable stock might have it already, the olives will have it and the preserved lemon is basically preserved in salt only. So adding more salt wouldn't make the dish pleasant.

Ingredients

Serves 6
Prepa: 15 min - Cooking time: 45 - 60 min

1 good chicken (about 1.5 to 2 kg)
1 kg of potatoes cut in big pieces
2 medium-size onions
About 250g of good green olives
1 small bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 small bunch of parsley
1 preserved lemon (skin cut in length, discard the inner part),optional
1 cube of chicken bouillon (or chicken stock)
1 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of white pepper
1 tbsp of paprika
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger (1 tsp if it's ground)
A pinch of saffron threads
1 or 2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil

Preparation

Cut chicken into 8 pieces. Discard skin and fat.

Chop the onions. Sear the chicken in oil. Add the spices and the onions. cover for 10 min.

Chop 1 tbsp of cilantro and form a bouquet with the rest.

Add the chicken stock (or crumbled chicken cube in hot water) to generously cover the chicken. Add the herbs bouquet and let simmer, covered, until chicken in cooked throught.

Add potatoes halfway through the cooking. Add olives and preserved lemon in the last minutes of simmering.

Serve with bread because traditionally, we never serve food with couscous as a side dish. Couscous is a dish on its own.

You can add carrots, green peas, courgette. But since it's about potatoes here, the other vegetables should be in small quatities.

Serve hot or warm.

Note: Chicken with potatoes and green olives can be a make-ahead dish. What my auntie does, she cooks the chicken at night. The next day, while the chicken is roasting in the oven for a crunchy layer (about 20 min), she cooks the potatoes in the chicken sauce. She serves it by putting the 2 together in a family dish.

Why not try these ideas to make Tagine and Moroccan one pot meals (some of the recipe are in French, please use google translate on the left of the page):

Vegetables and meat

On a sweet note

Moroccan sweet soup of broken vermicelli with milk - Cha'ariya bel hlib

2012-01-18T05:50:00.002Z

This is a recipethat can be enjoyed hot as a soup or cold and thickened as a pudding. How aboutthat.

Now I alreadysee some people thinking: what’s with these Moroccans eating sweet soups? It’snot common I understand. But try it first, it’s indulging. It’s also easy andquick to make. It does not require many ingredients.

This soup is away for me to consume milk because I hate milk! Theorange blossom water is helping in this, it hides what I hate in milk: itssmell and its after-taste.

Iwait until most of the liquid has reduced (absorbed) and that the pasta iscreamy tender. That’s the perfect time for me to enjoy it. But my mother and mygrandmother love their soup rather runny (well, isn’t it a soup after all?).

If you are notfan of broken vermicelli, you can use broken barley pearls, rolled oat, semolina (fine tomedium) or long rice for that matter. But as you know, these ingredients willtake more or less time to cook.

I'm linking this post to the Priya's soup event.

Broken vermicelli

Ingredients
Serves 4

Prep: 15 min - Cooking: 15 min

1 ½ l milk - water(2/3 milk and 1/3 water)
200 g brokenvermicelli (angel hair)
1 tbsp of butter
½ tsp of salt
2 tbsp of sugar (replaced by 1 tbsp of Stevia)
3 tbsp of orangeblossom water (not extract)

To serve

Good honey, cinnamon

Preparation

Bring water and milkto a boil. Addbutter, salt and sugar.

Waituntil the boiling point and fold in the vermicelli. Stir gently to separate thepasta and cook for 10 minutes over low heat (the pasta should be very tenderand the liquid slightly reduced at the end).

Atthe end of cooking, remove from heat and add the orange flower water. Cover andlet rest for about 5 minutes to absorb liquid and become softer, stirringoccasionally so the milk does not form that ugly crust.

Serve when it isstill a little warm with honey and cinnamon.

Note

Thereare two ways to prepare this soup which can also be easily converted to dessert (addraisins and chopped toasted almonds for garnish, along with sugar powder andcinnamon).

1 – The simpleway is the one I’m proposing today: you heat the liquids, you pour in the pastaand wait for the absorption takes place.

2- Steaming: cooking pasta in a 2-levels steamer such as “couscoussier” afterhaving massaged the pasta with oil (so it does not stick) and then cook them usingthe steam in 3 to 4 shots at a rate of 15 min / shot. Eachtime they are soaked in water, fluffed up and put back into the top of couscousier.

When the vermicelli iscooked, it is served in bowls and then we pour the milk on top (hot or cold).

Weadd coarsly ground almonds, sultanas, powdered sugar, cinnamon and we dig in.Nice pudding.

Za'atar blend, a touch of the Middle-East

2012-01-18T00:43:00.000Z

Za’atar (or zaatar) refers to thyme in Arabic. However, it’sa kind of blend that could include other dried herbs such as marjoram, oregano.Then sesame, sumac (zingy) and salt are added to it.

Mixed with olive oil, it’s spread over pizza dough, or pitabread, sometimes along with labneh for breakfast.

Twister rings with Za'atar, chili flakes and freshly ground pepper

You can find it in Middle-Eastern sections of some supermarketsor Lebanese-Syrian shops.

I got hooked to zaatar blend since my years in Dubai. It’snow part of my pantry, along with herbes de Provence, Masala, Ras-El-Hanout…

I sprinkle it over pasta, bread, cheese (try grilledhalloumi with za’atar, along with a green salad and pomegranate molasses).

It’s common to find za’atar croissant pretty much everywherecroissant can be sold over here, across the middle-east.

In this post, I’ll be giving sharing a version of za’atarand what I baked for breakfast, out of leftover croissant dough cuts.

I have previously posted a croissant-dough recipe, although thepictures look awful, trust me on the recipe, it’s inspired from ChristopheFelder, an Ace of pastry. It gives a flaky and yet somehow brioch-y dough. Ialso use Michel Roux’s recipe. It’s also good, and I’ll tell you about bothmethod soon.

The good news is that I’m planning to post an English recipeof my 2 trusted croissant-dough recipes and the many ideas (and easy) to use it insweet but also savoury recipes.

But for now, back to za’atar. I’m just giving you a guidancebut you can adjust it to your liking (more or less sumac, more or less sesame….).

Ingredients

About 2/3 cup

Prep: 5 min- roasting: 2 min

1 tbsp of sumac (or slightly more)
2 to 3 tbsp of thyme
1 ½ tbsp of roastedsesame seeds
1 tbsp of marjoram
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tsp of coarse salt

Preparation

Za'atar blend

Roast the sesame seeds for about 2 min and let cool.

Use a mortar and pestle for this, the result is much better.Use a food processor as a second option.

Mix all the ingredients and give them2 pulses, it needs to stay coarse. See! It’s easy!

Store za'atar the way you will store spices: in a cool darkplace inside an airtight container. Keep it for 3 months or more.

Za'atar rolls and mini- thin croissants

Note: you may mix zaatar with olive oil and leave it in a sealed jar, use it as a spread.

You can also mix it with Labneh or any cream cheese and keep it in the fridge. It's a good fresh spread, drizzled with olive oil.

Crackers Suédois pleins de graines

2012-01-16T04:53:00.000Z

Aujourd’hui, nousirons en Suède, par ricochet sur la France puisque la recette dans ce post est Suédoisemais proposée par un bloggeur Anglais qui vit en France. Je l’ai préparé auQatar avec des graines Allemandes (allez chercher leur origine), de l’huile Américaine,du poivre Chinois. Globalisation ou Mondialisation ?

Ces crackers Suédoisaux graines sont idéaux si vous être au régime ou si pour une raison ou uneautre vous aimez ce qui est croquant sans pour autant engloutir des tas decochonneries. les graines utilisés dans cette recette n’ont que du bon!

J’ai repris larecette des Knäckebröd de chez Charles( voici le lien). Son blog est une source de recettes Suédoises que j’ai bien l’attentiond’essayer.

Son blog, fiveeurofood.com,comme son nom l’indique, propose des recettes pas chères (si vous vivez en Francej’imagine). Comme je suis au Qatar, le concept ne s’applique pas sur moiparce que tout ce qui est à manger ici est importé. Alors les prix, on necompte plus. Par exemple, le paquet (250g) de mélange de grains que j’ai achetéet qui vient d’Allemagne et de 5 euros à lui tout seul. Je ne vous donnerai pas le prix des tomates etautres produits agricoles necessaires au quotidien, vous aurez une syncope!

Retour à larecette, voici donc la version française traduite pour vous, avec une touchepersonnelle.

Ingrédients

Pour une 40aine de crackers

Prépa : 2 min – Repos : une nuit – cuisson :1h05

160g de flocons d’avoine
120g de graines de lin
120g de graines de pavot
80g de graines de citrouille
2 c.à.s d'huile de tournesol ou autre huile neutre
1 c.à.c de sel (j’en ai mis 1 ½)
600 ml d'eau froide
1 c.à.c de poivre fraichement moulu (mon ajout personnel)

Note: vous pouvez utiliser des graines de votre choix à condition qu’elles ne soient pas du genre à absorber beaucoup de liquide. Il faudraajuster les quantités en fonction de votre ajout. Par exemple, j'ai omis les graines de pavots mais j'ai compensé avec les graines de sésame et d'orge écrasé..).

Préparation

La veille, mélangez tous les ingrédients et couvrez. Placez lemélange au réfrigérateur pendant toute une nuit (ou autant d’heure dans unenuit).

Le lendemain, le mélangé aura absorbé le liquide et serafacile à étaler.

Préchauffez le four à 200 degrés Celsius. Entre temps, étalezuniformément la pâte dans une plaque à biscuit chemisé de papier cuisson. Aplatissezet lissez le mélange jusqu’à avoir une fine couche de 2 à 3 mm d’épaisseur (rappelez-vous,ce sont des crackers).

Enfournez pendant 20 min à 200 degrés, sortez la plaque ettracez les crackers (découpez-les dans la plaque). Ensuite réduisez la températureà 150 g degrés et continuez la cuisson pendant environ 45 min. Soulevez lepapier cuisson et renversez-le afin que l’autre face des crackers puisse finirla cuisson.

La recette originale préconise moins que 45 min, mais mescrackers ont pris plus de temps pour sécher. Je les ai même laissés dans lefour chaud éteint pour qu’ils durcissent.

A la sortie du four, assurez-vous que les crackers soient durs et croquants ous’ils ont besoin de retourner au four. Donnez un autre coup de couteau pourfinir le découpage en carrés.

Transférez sur une grille pour qu'ils refroidissent. Conservezles crackers pour quelques jours dans une boite hermétique pour qu’ils conservent leur aspectcroquant.

My ultimate Burger buns

2012-01-15T10:18:00.001Z

These homemade buns are soft and spongy with a light thin crust. Youknow they’re good for you, because at least you know what they’re made of.

I tried three recipes for buns, I finally learned something from each one ofthem and I’ve come up with this ultimate version giving me the desired result: abun that tastes good and that looks good.

These buns are best eaten the same day of course, like anybread. However, you can also refrigerate for a couple of days.

I'm participating with this recipe in wildyeastblog.com.

Ingredients
For 16 small buns (8 or standard size)

Prep: 40 min- Proofing: 2 to 3 h- Baking: 15 min

130 ml of lukewarm water
170 ml of lukewarm milk
1egg at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 heaped tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
40g of soft butter in cubes
500g of flour (I used 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole-wheat flour)
1 ½ tsp of dry yeast

To finish and decorate the buns

Sesame seeds, sea salt, herbes de Provence ...
Milk, olive oil

A bun lightly glazed with milk, the one on the left was glazed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper

Preparation

With a bread machine

Pour water, milk, sugar, egg, salt and butter. Add half of the flour quantity and the dryyeast. Launch the programme"dough". When the dough start coming together, add the other half of the flour and the butter. Finish the program until the end (which includes 1 h of proofing).

Remove the dough from the machine. Shape the buns.

With a dough mixer or by hand

Pour into a bowl the flour mixed with yeast diluted in 3 tbsp of milk. Addbutter, salt, sugar, remaining milk and water. Start mixing and when a ball isformed, knead on low speed for 5-6 min.

Shape the dough like a ball and cover with a clean cloth. Let rise for 1 to 2hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The dough should double involume.

Shaping

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts of about 50 g or 100 g of 8 shares if youwant a larger version.

Shape into balls. Let stand for 5 min and flatten the buns for about 8 cm indiameter and 1 cm thickness.

Delicately brush the top of each bun with milk using a soft brush, also try aversion with olive oil.

Shaping the buns

Sprinkle your choice of grains or herbs.

Let proof for about 1h 30 at room temperature.

Preheat oven at 200 ° C. cover your baking tray with parchment paper.

Delicately Glaze the buns again (yes, on the top of grains or the herbs,that way they didn’t burn).

Bake for 15 minutes. If you are using an old oven or ventilated, create somehumidity by having a small baking tray full of steaming water at the bottom ofthe oven.

Let the buns cool completely on a wire rack before usingthem for burgers.

To make the burgers, ideally, open the buns and slightly toast them in a pan before stuffing them.

Two different glazings lead to two different colours.

I have kept a bit of the dough for the next day, I'm thinking to roll it with sauteed onions and herbs..

And here is my portion..Most of the potatoes usually land in my husband's plate because there is never enough for him.

Cream of tomato soup with basil and cumin-scented oil

2012-01-14T19:30:00.002Z

Today, I’m posting a amazing, yet simplerecipe of tomato soup, largely inspired by one of the most acclaimed chefs inthe last 10 years: Jean-Georges Vongerichten (his webpage)

I had the chance to work in a W Hotel andwe had a few signature restaurants, 2 of them where respectively Market andSpice Market (topping the chart in Doha). Both of the restaurant are part ofJGV’s large worldwide list.

JGV is a French chef but not like thetraditional ones. He’s based in USA. He comes up with fusion recipes you wouldeasily get addicted to. I was offered one of his cookbooks while at W, and yetI would still go to the restaurant and order, not because I didn’t want otcook, but because of the concept he created around the food. The food wasitself the world in your plate, literally! In Spice Market, you get to try Pan-Asianfood. In Market, it’s basically international pulling to the continental side,still with the best sushis in town.

One of “Entrée” I used to order frequently:Cream of tomato soup! I tried to reproduce it here! I think I’m fairly close towhat I used to enjoy there. My taste buds are happy to find it again!

I'm posting this in Priya's blog, under the Healthy diet event's list of soups (see here for more information about the event)

Ingredients

For 2 medium-size bowls

Prep: 5 min – Cooking: 40 min

For the soup

4 to 5 big plum tomatoes (red, ripe) orjust 1 can medium size of whole tomatoes, puree them manually.
2 tbsp of single cream
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil
A hint of garlic, mashed (optional)
Salt
½ tsp of sugar

Garnishing

A slice of toasted bread
1 tsp of cumin seeds, toasted and ground
3 to 4 tbsps of good olive oil
A pinch of salt
Handful of basil leaves
2 tbsps of shredded matured cheddar or parmigiano

Preparation

The tomato soup

In a heavy pan, sweat the onions in olive oiluntil tender. Add the manually pureed tomatoes and let simmer slowly for about30 to 40 minutes. Add water in the beginning (if needed) and let reduce all theway through the cooking process.

Add cream and immediately remove turn offthe heat. Puree the tomatoes and strain to finally get a thick and silky consistency.Use a good sieve or a Chinois if you have one.

Correct the seasoning.

Cumin-scented oil

Combine these ingredients and simmer gentlyover low heat. Turn off before burning them and let cool.

Bread and final presentation

Drizzle the bread with ½ the amount of cuminscented olive oil. Grill/toast the bread slice until crisp.

Add the rest of that cumin oil to the hotsoup and stir.

Serve with a chiffonade of basil, thetoasted bread and a good sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese or parmigiano reggiano. Drizzle some cream.

I have served mine with plain bread, so if you feel lazy toasting the bread, you still have to make the cumin oil and mix it with the soup or drizzle it over it while serving the plain bread on the side..

My dad’s recipe for Stuffed squids in tomato sauce.

2012-01-14T17:48:00.002Z

When I was a child, I hated this dish. My father used tomake it from time to time. He used to buy bigger versions of squid than theones I’m using here.

Fast forward, now I like this recipe and I can even eat the stuffed squids either hot or cold.

In fact, you can serve these stuffed squids as appetizers,or tapas style, sliced. Or you just serve them the way they come out of theoven as a main dish.

You can adjust the stuffing to your liking.

So here is my dad’s recipe.

Ingredients
Serves 2 people
Prep: 20 min - Cooking time: 30 min

6 squids or calamari, medium-size, withtentacles, peeled and rinsed
6 sliced button mushrooms (optional)
3 tbsps peeled shrimp (optional)
1 tbsp of olive oil
½ cup long grain rice, cooked al-dente (or semi-cooked)
1 tbsp chopped parsley and cilantro
Salt and pepper
1 ½ cup milk or buttermilk

Sauce

2 tbsps of olive oil
1 ½ cups tomato pulp, grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
2 tbsp of chopped coriander .
Salt and pepper
1 cup of water
½ small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp of tomato paste
½ tsp of turmeric
A good pinch of saffron threads
A pinch of sugar (if the tomatoes are acidic) ½ tsp of cayenne, orsmoked paprika, or sweet paprika (optional)

Preparation

Macerate the cleaned and peeled squids inbuttermilk or milk, preferably overnight. This will give you tender (oroctopus) when you bite in them, not rubbery.

The next day, wash and drain. Pat-dry the squids pockets. Chop the tentaclesinto small pieces.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Prepare the sauce

Sauté the onion, mushrooms and tentacles in hot oil. Add the remainingingredients for the sauce and cover. Let reduce over medium heat for 10-20minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Season and stir in the shrimps. Turn off theheat.

Mix the semi-cooked or at least al-dente cooked rice with 3 to 4 tbsp of thissauce and set aside.

Fill to ¾ of each squid with the stuffing; use a spoon. Seal them with atoothpick.
Pour some of the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Align the stuffed squid. Pourthe remaining sauce over.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Do not let the squids dry in the oven, spread the sauceover from time to time.

Garnish with chopped parsley, a dash of olive oilbefore serving.

A note on stuffing: if you over-stuff the squids, they'll burst. It'll be still tasty, but not good-looking, just like this one down here:

There are other reasons why I miss my dad, but one of them will be his cooking.

Girly doughnuts and a brioche for breakfast

2012-01-13T22:36:00.000Z

I have made these doughnuts for my husband's pupils a few days ago. I shall be making some this week because my neighbour is asking me for a doughnut session. Her daughter is after her for this..

I have used the same dough posted here. It's a winner. I've tried another version and it was tasteless, however the texture was fine and the icing made up for the sweetness needed.

So I'm going back to my favourite recipe which never fails me.

The doughnut recipe I'm using is basically a type of brioche, with less butter, that gives an amazing soft and spongy dough.

Doughnuts decorated with icing, coconut, glitter, hard candy balls

Now that I have a bread machine, I make bread, doughnuts, croissants and other doughs calling for kneading at a certain stage of the making. For this recipe, I used programme 8 "dough", I added the butter when the 2nd kneading session started.

I'll be posting this recipe in yeastspotting. Check our that website if you are into baking any dough with yeast.

Ingredients

For 25 small doughnuts

Prep Time: 30-45 min- Proofing: 2 h 30 - Cooking Time: 10min

For the starter dough (make 30 min ahead)

100g flour T55
3 tsp instant dry yeast
100 g of lukewarm water

For the final dough

150g bread flour
250g all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
50g of caster sugar
The entire starter
150 g of milk or "creme liquide"
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
1 orange or lemon, zested
½ vanilla bean (makes it incredibly tasty)
60g soft butter

Frying, finishing and garnishing the doughnuts

1 ½ L of vegetableoil for frying (eg sunflower) depending on the depth of your frying pan.
Caster or powder sugar
Royal icing soft consistancy, hard candy balls, coconut, melted chocolate, icing sugar..

Finishing and garnishing the brioche

1 heaped tbsp of honey
60 g of butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp of icing sugar
candied fruits (optional)
1/2 lemon, zested (optional)

Preparation

Add the ingredients into the bread machine in the order mentioned in the ingredients' list, except the butter. Use programme 8 " dough".

Add the butter in cubes in 2nd phase of kneading.

Follow the same steps of handling the dough, proofing and cooking the bombolonis.

Closer

With the leftover dough, I made a brioche for breakfast. I added some currants and let it sit for 2 hours to proof.

Because this dough has less butter to make a buttery brioche, I made it up after I baked it: I handled it the way we do for Stollen: melt the butter, spread it generously on the brioche at least twice:

1- the first one when it's still hot,
2 -the second one when it's slightly cooled.

I also sprinkled some lemon zest and icing sugar when the brioche was completely cool

Isn't it good enough to be called a brioche?

I glazed it with warm honey to give it a shine and also to help those candied fruits to stick. You can use apricot jam as well.

Some candied clementines and cherries on the top of the brioche

This improvised brioche turned out moist the next day. The 3rd day, I toasted some slices the way we do with any Pain brioche. You can also turn the leftovers into a bread pudding! How about that. Look how many alternatives offered by one dough. This is the kind of multipurpose recipes I like keeping posted with a magnet on my fridge! I hope you'll try it.

For more brioche recipes (in french), please visit this wonderful silky brioche here or this melt-in-the-mouth pain au raisin with a brioche dough, or these apple and raisin rolls that my brother is now found of.

Welsh-inspired leek soup with colours

2012-01-13T16:56:00.000Z

I have decided to join Priya from Priya easy N tasty recipe in this healthy diet event. So you will be seeing a few soups in this blog!

The event is open to all, so if feel like participating, just go ahead and hit the event's link. If not, I invite you to visit her blog because it's a massive database of good indian recipes, sometimes not so complicated.

I noticed a have a couple of soups posted here, Moroccan Harira (this recipe is according to Fez method) has been posted a while ago. Harira is the Moroccan version of a tomato soup, fulfilling, satisfying, bellywarming, you hardly need anything else for dinner or supper once you eat Harira. The word Harira also refers to "mess" in our slang language.

Back to my recipe of the day! I have made a potato and leek soup, pulling to the Welsh side. My mother-in-law made the same minus the croutons and the saussage. The quality of leeks she has in Wales is just out of this world. The ones we get here in Qatar are coming from Holland but taking time to get here, then the storage, then the distribution...makes a difference. Nevertheless, the soup was tasty.

Did you know that leeks are the emblem of Wales? well, one of them, along with daffodil.

Again, Welsh food is far from being complicated, a few ingredients, chop and cook. No big deal. So let get started.

Ingredients

For 2 persons
Prep: 7 min - Cooking: about 40 min

300 of leeks, discard the green part
1 medium size potato, in small cubes
1 medium size carrot, in smal cubes
1 or 2 rashers of bacon (I used 1/2 turkey sausage)
1 cube of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 tbsp of rolled oat
1 tbsp of olive oil (or butter)
Salt and pepper to taste
a hint of garlic paste (not in the recipe)

Garnishing (optional)

Croutons
A hint of stilton cheese or equivalent
Parsley

Preparation

Heat the oil, sautee the chopped leeks and the chopped bacon.

Add the potato and the carrot, the vegetable stock (if you are using the cube or the powder, add enough water to cover the vegetables).

Let simmer for 20 min. Add the rolled oat, salt and pepper and cover again. Continue simmer for another 10 to 15 min. Watch this part because the oat will make the soup a bit thick and it might stick if you are not aruond to stir it.

Garnish with croutons (soft bread cubed massaged with herbs, garlic, pepper, paprika and olive oil, baked at 220 degrees C for 7 min or so), crumbled cheese and parsley.

How easy is that?

Tomates confites - Roast tomatoes

2012-01-12T00:43:00.003Z

“Tomates confites” are one of the must-have in your fridge. Youcan add them into your sandwiches, in pizzas, in sauces, in savoury pies. Thereare many ways to eat them. They’re dead easy to make.

I’m almost sure tomates confites means “Roast tomatoes” inEnglish, but please do let me know if this isn’t the case.

Sometimes, I add halved onions, whole garlic cloves to the tomatoes and I use them in other recipes.. There is one picture with onions so this is why it's there.

These where baby-plum kind of tomatoes, with a sweet taste

Ingredients

for a medium size jar

Prep: 10 min - Cooking: about 2h

500g of ripe tomatoes, preferably plum variety
3 to 6 cloves of garlic
3 to 4 tbsp of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tsp of sugar (optional)
Fresh thyme sprigs

Preparation

Halve the tomatoes and place them onto 1 large baking tray,preferably covered with aluminium foil. If you are using big plum tomatoes, discardthe seeds. If you are using smaller tomatoes (cherry tomatoes), you may skipthis part.

Crush 3 to 4 garlic cloves and spread around, add the herbs(I use fresh thyme when I can), season and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Ifyou think your tomatoes are not sweet, sprinkle about 1 tsp of sugar. Massage thetomatoes to spread the oil and seasoning evenly.

Roast at medium high temperature (160 degrees C) for 20 minthen continue on 120 degrees C for about 2 hrs or until the tomatoes look all wrinkled,flattened and almost dried. This will depend on the size of the tomatoes youare using. Sometimes, I just extend the cooking time by keeping them in a warm oven but turned off.

Cherry tomatoes receiving the same treatment

In a sterilized jar, place the tomatoes, discard the herb sprigs;add fresh ones if you like. Cover the tomatoes with olive oil (that you willuse for salads and other things). Chill for up to 10 days.

Tomates semi-confites (Semi-Roast tomatoes), half-way, cooking them more gives you tomates confites (Roast tomatoes)

Give it a try! If you are a tomato lover, you will like it. This recipe is very handy if you have a batch of tomatoes that will be spoilt if not consumed. It's a nice way to grant them a longer life.

Jam tarts

2012-01-11T22:59:00.002Z

If you follow my posts and read the French ones, you know bynow that I always keep a batch of shortcrust dough in the freezer ready to beused. It’s not a big deal to make it either, or to buy it, there are some goodready-made options out there, it’s just that I know it’s so easy to make thatthere is no need to buy it, which is why I still make it. Besides it comes alot cheaper and I can customize it the way I want.

Since my husband is always after the pudding (classic question after each dinner: "what's for pudding?"), a concept that Ihave also adopted since I married a Brit. In Morocco, you just need afruit for a dessert, a fruit salad or a flan in the best case scenario. We alreadyeat too much bread in our meals; do you see us adding puddings? Not to mentionthe pastries for afternoon breaks…

Anyway, I got him to eat bread like a Moroccan and he got meto adopt the pudding, at least once a day!

These jam tarts are a version of the easy sweets you canmake ahead. It works with any kind of thick jam, we happen to like the redberries and I happen to have a home-made blueberry jam with ½ vanilla pod. So Ikind of cleaned both jars.

Ingredients

For 6 tarts, medium size

Prep: 10 min – baking: 20 min

Shortcrust dough

250g of flour
125g of butter in cubes, slightly soften
½ tsp of salt
1 to 2 tbsp of sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten with
3 tbsp of cold milk, approx
1 tbsp of almond powder (if used, reduce it from the flourweight)

Filling (suggestions)

Blueberry jam (2 tbsp/ tart)
Raspberry jam (2 tbsp/ tart)
¼ cup desiccated coconut
¼ cup of almond flakes

Preparation

In a lightly floured parchment paper, roll the shortcrust doughto 3 mm thickness.

Making the shortcrust dough

Mix the flour with sugar and salt. Rub with cold butteruntil you reach a crumbly consistency. Bring the dough together by adding theegg yolk liquefied with milk. DO NOT OVERWORK the dough so it does not becomeelastic. Flatten the dough, cling film it and put it in the fridge for 30 minapproximately.

Making the tarts

Using any round-shaped cutter (a bowl is the best for me),cut circles that should be bigger than the bottom of the moulds to be used forthe tarts, so you can cover the boards as well.

Gently press one disc into each mould, prick the dough and placea heaped teaspoon or enough jam to cover the base. Do not over-fill it, Isuggest half-way is the best.

Blueberry jam tart, before baking

Bluebbery jam tart before baking, with almond flakes

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 min or until goldenbrown. Let cool completely before tasting or you may burn your mouth.Besides, it’s no good to eat hot buttery crust, you don’t get to enjoy it.

I have sprinkled coconuts on the blueberry jam tarts oncethey were cool, some of them had almond flakes on top as well.

Blueberry jam tart with coconut, after baking

I have also sprinkled almond flakes on the raspberry jam tartsfor a bit of crunch, and decorated it with a fresh raspberry and some icingsugar.

You can eat these yummy tarts at room temperature or cold.

Blueberry jam tart, after baking

More....


Blueberry jam tarts and one raspberry tart.

A spinach quiche that sounds healthy!

2012-01-11T21:23:00.001Z

I have no idea why this quiche never made it to the blog. I made it somewhere during september. I was invited and thought I should bring food with me. One of the things I made was this quiche/savoury tart/fritatta inspired. You are free to call it what you want because I really have no name for it. I call it quiche because I have used the "quiche-appareil" as a base for the filling.

Anyway, what's odd about it? Instead of using highly buttery crust, I flattened sandwich bread with a rolling pin, drizzled olive oil and I filled it with whatever was there, spinach, blue cheese, figs because of the blue cheese, which brought walnuts to the picture, pine nuts because I was nibbling on them while I was making this, the rest was eggs, light cream and seasoning.

Ingredients

For 6 persons
Prep: 10 min- Cooking: 20 min

6 to 7 slices of sandwich bread (whole wheat bread here)
3 eggs
25 ml of light cream (crème liquide here)
10 ml of milk
1 tbsp of flour (or corn flour)
2cups of spinach leaves (1 cup of frozen works too)
30 g of blue cheese
30 g of gruyere cheese, shredded
3 tbsp of olive oil
A handful of fig, toasted pine nuts and walnuts
Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Preparation

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C, Grease a round-shaped mold with oil.

Flatten the bread with a rolling pin, you may discard the brown edges. Spread some olive oil or butter to soften the bread.

In a hot pan, sautée spinach with a spoon of olive oil. season to taste and let cool. make sure to drain them before adding them to the "appareil à quiche".

Beat the egg yolks, add spinach, the seasoning, cream and milk, corn flour, crumble the blue cheese and add it, mix gently.

Beat the egg whites until firm and add them, delicately to the egg yolk mixture. You may also just skip this step and beat the eggs as a whole in the previous mixture. See, can't get easier than that. It just that beating the egg whites gives you an airy texture.

Add the gruyere or any other hard cheese you fancy (or you have). Pour this mix into the bread crust.

Bake for about 20 min or until set and slightly coloured.

This quiche should be eaten within the next 2 hours because the bread wouldn't keep it's moist like a buttery base such as shortcrust or puff pastry.

Seriously, it's just like making an egg/spinach/ cheese sandwich but differently. What's not to like?

Turkish Kisir, very close

2012-01-09T22:23:00.001Z

I'm trying to reproduce the Turkish kisir recipe, so far, this recipe is very close to what I have tried in Istanbul.

I have discovered Kisir in some fast-food restaurantsin Istanbul. It's is a vegetarian dish that would be considered as mezze or asa side dish to some other food.

Turkish folks use an interesting paste made of red pepper, which Idon’t have and which I haven’t made (it’s easy by the way). For this recipe, Ijust took 1 of a big red pepper and I literally shredded it, then I sautéedit with onions. You may do the same if you can’t find the sweet red pepperpaste.

Fine bulgur, which looks big in the picture

While making Kisir recently, I stopped before the garnishing part because I wanted a warm version to serve with fish and broccolis, which is why you do not see parsley and some freshly chopped veggies here in these pictures. But if it's meant to be a proper cold Kisir, I suggest you follow the recipe mentioned down here.

Oh, and if you wonder how I get green broccoli after boiling it, my dad (who used to cook amazingly) told me to add a hint of bi-carb everytime I boil green veggies. I still follow his advice, never failed me!

Ingredients
Serve 4 to 6 persons

Prep: 10 min- Cooking: 20 min

1 cup of bulgur or bulghur (fine or medium fine)
1 onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp of coriander, chopped (just because I like it)
1 ½ tbsp of red pepper paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp of cumin
Salt, black pepper to taste
1 ½ cup of boiling water
2 tbsp of olive oil

Garnishing

1 tomato, diced
2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
1 small cucumber, diced,
A handful of parsley, chopped

Preparation

Method 1

Wash the bulgur and drain. Cover it with hot water. Setaside for about 10 min. In the meantime, chop the onion and fry them in 1 tbspof oil until golden colour.

Out of the heat, add the pastes, the bulgur, cumin, salt andpepper and mix thoroughly. Cover and let soak; Bulgur is ready when it’stender.

Method 2

Fry the chopped onion until golden colour, add water, thepastes, coriander (not in the original recipe), cumin, salt and pepper. Let simmerfor 5 min then add the washed bulgur. Remove from the heat and let soak,covered for about 10 min or until the liquid is soaked and the bulgur istender.

Garnishing

Once the bulgur is cold, add the chopped vegetables, lemonjuice, 1 tbsp of good olive oil and parsley.

Serve kisir cold along with fish, kebabs….

A note about the red pepper paste: you can use it in manyother dishes such as pasta, pizza or just to add something special to a tomatosauce). If you plan to buy it, beware, there could be hot/spicy version, so make sure you get theright one to your liking

Ingredients for more than 1 cup

500 g good red peppers (discard seeds), cut in half in length
Extra virgin olive oil
1 hot chilli pepper (optional)
Salt

Preparation

Boil or steam (my mother steams the red pepper to make harissa, which givesless water to deal with later) to soften them. Peel them and puree them. Seasonto taste and place the paste into a pot.

Simmer until it becomes thick and wellreduced. Mix in the olive oil, let cooland freeze in cubes until you want to use it.

Stuffed flat bread - Batbout maa'mar

2012-01-09T01:24:00.001Z

I have posted Batbout recipe which is a type of Moroccan flat bread belonging to pita family. I had some dough left in the fridge since yesterday (yes you can keep uncooked dough in the fridge for a couple of days, it gets even better). So I made these stuffed batbout.

Moroccans have not invented stuffed flat bread as such, I've tried hawawshi in Egypt, Arayes in the Middle East, mostly stuffed with ground meat, mint and some spices. I like Italian piadinas, and I love Indian parathas (we have the same concept as well).

In Morocco, I first got to try the stuffed batbout when I was still a child. One of our neighbours were from the South, From the Sahara actually. They had an old oven in their backyard, built the same way they used to make them centuries ago. They used to cook and bake using wood. So that flat bread, stuffed with fat, onions, spices, coriander and parsley would just come out of this world.

I'm now trying to reproduce this recipe, in a apartment-friendly kitchen, a less fatty version..I think It worked. I don't see myself getting hold of an old-style built oven anytime soon, so I should stick to this.

There is a key ingredient to this: Khlii, which I have posted earlier. I suspect you can use a smoky- garlicky meat which you can shred or chop (smoked bacon).

Ingredients

For 6 stuffed batbouts
Prep: 10 min - Proofing: 30 min - Cooking : 6 min

1/3 of batbout dough recipe

Stuffing

2 tbsp of agriche (spices from Khlii)
2 tbsp of Khlii meat
2 tbsp of red pepper, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of chili powder, or fresh chili
1 tbsp of sweet paprika
1 handful of coriander and parsley, chopped
1/2 clove of garlic, mashed

Preparation

In medium heat, cook the the vegetables in olive oil, until transparent. I add a couple of spoons of water and cover them so they become tender.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir. Cook it for a few minutes. It should be dried and cooled before you use it for stuffing.

Follow the same procedure to make flat bread mentioned here, except that this time, you need to couple 2 circles. So you will be making a sort of closed sandwich, just like it the picture.

Make sure you push with your fingers or with a floured fork to seal the borders. Prick with a fork and let rest for 30 min or so.

Slightly grease the heavy pan and cook the stuffed batbout, a couple of minutes from each side, do not forget the borders as well.

In case you do not have Khlii, you can just use bacon or any smoked meat with a fat content. You can reproduce the agriche taste by using cumin, garlic, ground coriander powder.

Serve hot or at room temperature. Make ahead and freeze, then warm in micro-wave and finish in a hot pan.

I like that crust, slighty burnt, it just gives it an authentic taste.

I hope you try it!

Moroccan Preserved Meat a.k.a Khlea' (or Khlii')

2012-01-09T00:01:00.001Z

Khlii ( pronounce Khlea’) is a kind of preserved meat that is dried for daysunder hot sun (which will become “quaddid”), then sort of “confit” in fat forhours until we make sure it’s ready to last for a couple of years, in its ownfat. This is an old recipe, we’re talking centuries, where there was noexistence of fridge and that would be one of the ways to keep the meat ediblefor a long period.

Due to its high fat content, the meat or the layer of spices are fished from the solid fat layer and are often mixed with other ingredients tomake a full meal. We make fried eggs with it. We add it to cooked pulses such aswhite beans in tomato sauce, or green lentils. But my ultimate recipe usingKhlii is here. One one is here, and there. It works well in quiches, with potatoes...These are recipes for cold days and followed by good hot mint tea, to help digesting.

If you happen to be in Casablanca or some other main cities, youmay want to try fried eggs with khlii.Most ofthe good coffee shops selling breakfast have it.

Traditionally, meat is cut into long strips, marinated for hours in generousamounts of crushed garlic, ground coriander powder, cumin and salt. All massagedwith olive oil. Then we just hang it outside for many consecutive days, bringit inside just before sunset, then repeat until it’s totally dried.

It is then cooked in a lots of cow or lamb’s fat. After that, it is fishedfrom that pool and put in containers. A bit of fat is still necessary to coverit and helps its preservation which is could last for 1 year or more. If the meat didn’t dry properly, it may notlast for even 2 months. So you have to be sure of drying the meat properly andcooking it thoroughly.

I still remember the days here my mother used to keep it in long clay jarcalled “khabia”. Now except the shop keepers in Fes and some other city, not somany people do it nowadays.

Bottom right, taken during my last trip to Fez in a shop selling Khlii. The other photos are about agriche, made by my mother

The new version of conservation emerged during the last 10 years or so whereinstead of keeping the cooked khlii in a white/creamy layer of fat, it ispreserved in olive oil. Since Morocco is a big producer of olive oil, I guessthe option is smart and adds value to the final taste.

There is a cheat version of khlii, which need to be consumed faster thanthe traditional version.

Do not expect the exquisite taste of the “confit” meatbut that will give you something closer. It can also keep for a couple of weeks if refrigerated.

Ingredients
For 1 kg of meat
Prep: 15 min - Marination: overnight - Cooking: 1h

1 kg of boneless lamb or beef shoulder in one long piece
3 tbsp. salt
1 whole medium size head of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp of freshly ground coriander powder
1 tbsp of freshly ground cumin
¼ cup of vinegar
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

For cooking

½ liter water
2 cups of white edible animal fat (cow, beef)

For preservation

1 cup of olive oil or the fat from the cooking

Preparation

Wash the meat, cut it into long strips, each about 10 cm length minimumand 2 cm width maximum.

Combine the ingredients for the marinade, rub the meat, wrap it and keep itfor a few hours in the fridge, preferably overnight.

In a deep pot/casserole/pan, bring water and fat to a boil. Add the meatcarefully (do not splash).
Cook the meat for 1 hour. Remove the meat and simmeruntil complete evaporation of water. Let cool and then distribute in sterilizedglass jars. Seal and keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks (or freeze).

You will see that, along with the meat and the fat, the spices will form a layer, DO NOT DISCARD them, we keep them to cook impressive dishes at a later stage. That amazing layer of spices will form what we call "agriche", (see picture above).

You might also make a “healthier” version of this by cooking the meat in theoven at medium temperature for about 5 hours or little more, then fry it until a bitcrisp all around, for a couple of minutes. Place in a jar, covered with goodolive oil. Seal and store in the refrigerator.

Maybe you want to try to use the food dehydrator for the drying phase, Do you think this could work? let me know!

Walnut baklava cigars (rolls)

2012-01-07T23:46:00.000Z

I just came to know that my baklava always looked messed upbecause of the quality of phyllo dough I was using. To show you how awkward itlooked, please see here.

Since I have no plans to make a baklava dough at home, Ihave no space for that either, I still have to rely on the phyllo dough sold insupermarket, strictly made for such sweets.

Where I live now (Middle-East), baklava is pretty mucheverywhere, there are the Lebanese/Syrian versions, Palestinians, Gulf-spicedversions.. But I just can’t get hold of the Turkish Baklava, the one withwalnuts, which is why I’m making it.

While in Turkey, I used to go to Mado, they make sweetsand ice-cream. They’re walnut baklava tasted good but was heavily soaked insyrup, which makes you feel instantly guilty once you eat it. If you arelooking for a Diabetic coma, it would be the right way to start.

Talkingabout Turkey, did you know thay they make an amazing walnut ice-cream? You needto jump into one of these ships offering the Bosphorus tour, which will takeyou to the very last village at the end of the river where they have anoutstanding range of ice-creams, but what makes me go back there is the walnutversion.

Back to my recipe, I have used a made-ahead filling that’sbeen frozen few weeks now, hence the color. But you should make yours fresh. Thatsaid, the frozen one wasn’t bad in taste.

I’m mixing walnut and pine nut so they balance each other. Youcan choose any ratio you want. You can use the same recipe to make almondbaklava, pistachio, or totally pine nut version. I wonder if there is anyonewho tried the hazelnut (does it exist?).

The baklava cigars/rolls are easier to make then the otherversion where you have to make layers and pre-cut lozenges. So there is noreason you shouldn’t try (except if you are on diet).

Ingredients

For 8 or 10 rolls

Prep: 30 min – baking: 30 min

The baklava rolls

80 g of clarified butter
1 cup of toasted walnuts
1 cup of toasted pine nut
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
A pinch of clove, or nutmeg, or cardamom (optional)
1 heaped tbsp sugar
4 to 6 sheets of phyllo dough

The syrup

1 cup of caster sugar
2/3 cup of water
1 lemon zest
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of rose water or orange blossom water
1 crushed green cardamom pod or 1 clove (optional)

Preparation

Syrup (make ahead)

Bring water, sugar and lemon to a boil, cook for 10 min orso. Add rose water or orange blossom water at the end. Set aside to cool.

Making the rolls

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a baking sheet withclarified. Reserve.

Toast walnuts and pine nuts for few minutes in the over. Tryto get rid of the walnut skin as much as you can. Let them cool for 10 min.

In a food processor, Pulse the walnut coarsely. Pulse thepine nuts coarsely. Mix them.

Fold in the sugar, cinnamon and any other spice you chooseto add (cloves, nutmeg..). pulse onemore time to combine. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Cut the phyllo sheets in 3. Cover them until you need themor they’ll dry.

Place 1 sheet ofphyllo on a flat work surface, short side facing you. Grease with clarified butter.

Place a second layer and grease it again. Spread a sausage-shape of mixtureover phyllo dough.

Leave about 0.5 to 1 cm from both sides without filling.

Make sure the filling is compact, you need to squeeze itfirmly. Push your fingers through the 2 holes to make sure it's compact.

The first turn you will give to the roll is the moment whereyou make sure that your filling and the dough are firmly and evenly squeezed. Afterthis, you just roll until you use all the dough and form a proper cylinder/cigar,starting from the bottom all the way to the top.

Give the rolls a final brush of butter, place them in thebaking sheet and bake for about 30 min until golden and crisp.

Pour the cold syrup (or soak) on the rolls straight afteryou take them out of the oven. Let them sit and absorb the liquid for a coupleof minutes.

Sprinkle some crushed pine nuts and serve at roomtemperature.

The baklava keeps for few days, sealed in a good container.

Moroccan flat bread cooked in a skillet, a.k.a Batbout

2012-01-06T20:45:00.001Z

Batbout is a variety of Moroccan bread, baked on cast iron pan/ heavy bottomed skillet.

Stuffed mini-batbout with smoked salmon, labneh, roquette and shredded Edam. Isn't that a good bite?

This traditional bread can be eaten with savory dishes, can be stuffed and presented in several versions as appetizer, since it looks as a pocket. Or, you can simply enjoy it with butter and honey ( melted together, we open the bread literally and we seak the 2 sides, quiet common in Ramadan).

Spongy-looking inside

I personally love this bread because of its slighty burnt crust and incredibly soft inside. It's a good bread for BBQ time. If you are a pita lover, this bread will do.

Ingredient
For 18 little ones and 6 medium size
Prep: 20 min - Proofing : 2h - Cooking 4 min/ batch

340g flour
60g fine semolina flour (also used for making pasta)
1 c.à.c salt
1 ½ c.à.c of instant dry yeast
Approximately 250ml (+/-)

Preparation

Mix flour with semolina, salt, yeast, then gradually add luckwarm water and knead for 10 min or more until you get a soft dough, not sticky. I have a bread machine, so I used programme "dough".

Knead the dough until you have an elastic consistency, soft and smooth. Form a ball and cover. Let double in volume (about 1:30).

Flour the work plan, flatten the dough to degas it gently. Roll out with rolling pin. Cut out circles according to the desired size (5 cm at 20 cm, even more). As to the thickness, I recommend 3 to5 mm, not more.

Lay the circles on a clean cloth sprinkled with fine semolina flour to prevent the dough sticks, which keep out of the goufler later). Cover and let stand for 30 min, in a warm placeHeat a heavy skillet and cook the bread on both sides on low heat!

The Batbout is a success when you see that it's forming a pocket inside during the cooking process.It will act like a balloon taking shape.

Batbout Being cooked

Let the bread cool before storing or stuffing it. My mother opens them about 3 or 4 cm from 1 side so it looks like a pocket. That way she checks if they're all good to be stuffed and make sure the top and the bottom are "splitable". She works ahead of time. Like she says: this allows the bread to kick out the steam and doesn't glue from inside.

At home, we prepare a large amount of Batbout in several dimensions, which will be frozen in plastic bags and used as needed. You just have to heat it in the microwave for a few seconds and finish it in a hot skillet to reconstitute the cispy crust and trap the moist inside.

You can make Batbout thin or slighty thicker than what you will see here, especially if you are planning to dig into a nice tagine. But do not over-thicken it, I suggest a maximum of 1 cm after baking, which would be 5 mm before.

Please give it a go! It's addictive and I would like you to become part of our batbout-circle people. it's just fun to be too many!

I'm participating at Yeast Spotting and this is my first post there.

Batbout, a.k.a Moroccan flat bread cooked in a skillet

2012-01-06T20:45:00.000Z

Batbout is a variety of Moroccan bread, baked on cast iron pan/ heavy bottomed skillet.

Stuffed mini-batbout with smoked salmon, labneh, roquette and shredded Edam. Isn't that a good bite?

Spongy-looking inside

340g flour
60g fine semolina flour (also used for making pasta)
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp of instant dry yeast
Approximately 250ml (+/-)

Preparation

Batbout Being cooked

My ultimate hot chocolate fix

2012-01-06T00:29:00.001Z

This Aztec-inspired hot chocolate is a serious fix whetheryou are having a girl/woman moment (there are many, can’t describe, they justhappen), or stressed, or low in magnesium….There are many reasons, one of them could be that you are just a chocolate-lover. That’s enough as valid point.

I have no idea if its powerworks on men! Let me know if you have some insider information on the matter.

The pinch of cayenne gives it a subtile kick, hardly noticeable.Only people with a “smart” palate will notice its existence.

I've been doing it for year and this recipe never failed me! I have adopted it from a Food Network show of Jacques Torres, a.k.a Mr chocolate. I hope you adopt it too.

Ingredients

For 2 persons

Prep: 5 min – Cooking: 4 min

2 cups low fat milk (depending how runny you like it)
About 1 tsp of stevia or your choice of sweetener
1 good pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cinnamon stick or 1 good pinch of ground cinnamon
70 g of good dark chocolate (70%, I like lindt) at roomtemperature
Some almond flakes for me (totally optional)

Preparation

In a small saucepan, combine milk, sugar, cinnamon and redpepper.

Heat to a boiling point over medium heat.

Remove from heat. Add the broken chocolate and whisk fast.Use a wire whisker or equivalent and whisk until frothy.

Serve in warm cups. Enjoy it hot. Topped with whipped cream,marshmallows, roasted almond flakes like I did, or just as is.

Some add cocoa powder in the process, some add coffee, some add vanilla beans. I have even added bruised mint leaves once (to discard after use), a hint of orange zest. This is up to you and to your mood. Just have a good cup and feel the magic, especially in cold days!

By the way, did you know that it's cold here in Qatar? We are using the heater at night. Desert nights are usually cold during this time of the year. Well, I like it! I get to drink hot chocolate.

If you are wondering why am I serving it in a Kit-Kat mug, I just thought it's time to use it, not that it's cute or anything, but somehow it's thematically correct, got it last Easter with a chocolate egg made by them..

Chermoula marinated Cawl's liver

2012-01-05T18:00:00.001Z

If you are wondering what is chermoula, it's a Moroccan marinade we use for fish, meat, chicken, veggies, liver...And once you try it, you will adopt it.

Chermoula is made from fresh coriander, sometimes parsley too, a few spices and a drizzle of lemon zest, but in the case of liver, it's white vinegar. What's nor to like? If you want it hot, add chili or cayenne.

The preserved lemon is used again in most of the cases except when we intend to marinate the liver, that is going to be shallow fried (not deep fried so it keeps its moist).

Chermoula marinated liver steak with potato-kirri mash (the liver at the bottom was cut in cubes)

For this simple dish to be successful, you need to have a good cawl's liver, not crumbly but most of all from a well treated animal, or you will end up eating a toxins-packed liver.

Clean the liver bypeeling off the transparent skin, discarding any veins which will make it chewy and unplaisant. Finally, give it time to marinate, preferably overnight.

Why am I cooking this today? Because there are moments where my iron levels go down, and whatever you think of liver, it gives a good kick to the iron index.

Ingredients

For 2 persons
Prep: 10 min (+ few hours of maceration)- Cooking : 3 min or so

Oil for frying
Flour for coating
200 g to 300 g of good cow, mutton or veal liver

Chermoula for liver

1 handful of coriander leaves
1 clove of garlic, crushed1 tsp of sweet paprika
A good pinch of cayenne
1 tsp of cumin
1 tbsp of white vinegar
1 tbsp of good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Prepare chermoula marinade: Mix all ingredients and crush them using a pestle and mortar or something similiar. Honestly the food processor wouldn't give you the same results since it does not extract the oils in the ingredients but if you really have to, use it.

Clean the liver and cut it in steaks or strips of about 1 cm thick or so. Rub them with the marinade for up to a night.

Coating the liver

Heat the oil. Pat dry the liver and coat each piece with a thin layer of flour. Remove any excess by tapping them.
Shallow fry the liver in hot oil, about 2 minutes on each side. They're cooked when there is no blood coming out but they should still be tender from the inside. Dry liver is no good.

One more thing; do not overload the pan, there should be space between the pieces.

Serve with a salad, with boiled veggies, with mash, or just in a sandwich. And for bonus, you can also eat it cold.

Here is another liver recipe that we serve as a cooked "salad" (the recipe is in french).

Welsh Bara Brith – Un charmant cake Gallois qui ne vous laissera pas indifférent

2012-01-05T16:58:00.002Z

Un petit coucou ames lectrices et lecteurs francophones avec cette merveilleuse recette du paysde Galles ou je viens de passer mes vacances.

Initialement, leBara brith, dont il sera question dans ce post est une sorte de cake/pain richepour le tea-time. Il est généralement accompagné de beurre, ou de clottedcream.

Vous verrez queje l’ai même incliné en muffin parce que je n’ai pas de moule à cakeici. C’est d’ailleurs plus pratique en version individuelle.

Le Bara Brith estfait de 2 façons : une méthode préconise l’utilisation de la levureboulangère, et donc il faut travailler la pâte comme on travaillerait le pain.L’autre méthode, plus rapide et verse plus dans le sens du cake, préconisel’utilisation de la levure chimique.

La recette que jevous propose a été testée et approuvée par mon mari Gallois. Je l’ai adapté del’ouvrage « Welsh heritage Food & Culture ».

Ingrédients

Pour 6 muffins ou1 cake

Prépa : 10min + 1 nuit pour macérer les fruits – Cuisson : 40 min

225 g de fruitssecs (j’ai fait 1/3 raisins de Corinthe, 1/3 écorces d’agrumes confites enpetits dés, 1/3 d’autres types de raisins)
225 ml de thé fortinfusé (j’ai utilisé 1 sachet Twining English breakfast et 1 Lipton rouge)
80 g de sucrebrun (Brown sugar), sinon un mélange sucre/molasse
1 c.à.c demélange d’épices à pain d’épice ou speculoos
30 g de beurre encubes
250 g de farine
1 c.à.c de levurechimique
1 pincée de sel
1 œuf

Préparation

Mélangez lesfruits secs, les écorces et le sucre. Laissez macérer pendant quelques heures ou une nuit dans du thé.

Le lendemain,préchauffez le four à 170- 180 degrés C. Beurrez le moule à cakeou des moules à muffins.

Tamisez lesingrédients secs : farine + sel + levure+ épices. Sablez ce mélange avecle beurre. Incorporez les fruits et leurliquide. Ajoutez l’œuf légèrement battu. Mélangez légèrement et versez ensuitedans le moule.

Enfournez pendant35-40 min environ pour les muffins et environ 1h 30 pour le cake.

Comme la majoritédes cakes, ce dernier est mieux apprécié le lendemain.

Baked Asian-inspired rolls

2012-01-05T04:48:00.000Z

It seemsthat I would eat anything wrapped in phyllo dough, brik dough (especially inMorocco) or rice dough.

I enjoy the variety of stuffings and the idea of using a healthier dough than the puff pastry, which will deliver a nice crunch and at the same time is very satisfying.

The phyllo dough and the brik dough are very accommodating, as long as the stuffing is not runny. I invite you to try this alternative in case you haven't done it yet.

InMorocco, we have a good variety that is mostly appreciated during Ramadan, atthe time we break our fast. They come sweet and savoury, so you get to choose.Besides, the brik dough is sold everywhere, fresh and made on request (round-shaped, rectangular...).

The rollscan become triangles or circles such as mini-pastillas (Moroccan pies like here or there).

I havemade these rolls few months back while trying to clean up the fridge, I justnoticed I haven’t published it yet. So here is it. It’s easy, it’s healthysince it’s baked and not fried but most of all, it tastes good.

I’mtrying to give you a measurement of the ingredients I’ve used but as you canalready figure out, just adjust the recipe to your liking, there is no major rule.

Ingredients
For 2 persons (as main dish)

Prep: 15min – baking: 30 min

For theFilling

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp of fish sauce
½ onion,chopped
1 clove garlic,minced
½ thumbof fresh ginger
1 small chilli
1 handfulshredded green cabbage, thinly
1 handful boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
A fewshrimps, chopped
Some seaweed, if you have (totally optional)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
3 shiitake mushrooms, or any dark mushroom
A few leavesof coriander
2 tbsp ofvegetable oil
Salt andwhite pepper to taste
Phyllo dough, or brik dough

For the soysauce mix

2 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp offish sauce
1 tbsp ofrice vinegar
1 tsp ofgarlic paste
1 tbsp ofginger paste
Corianderleaves, chopped
1 tbsp ofsweet and sour chilli sauce

Somecilantro chutney (because I had some)

Preparation

To makethe filling, heat the oil in the wok, on high heat. Sear the chicken in stripsor small cubes. After the chicken is cooked, add the chopped onions; add the restof vegetables, the garlic and the ginger. Stir.

After acouple of minutes, season with salt and pepper, add the fish sauce, shrimps, garnishwith coriander leaves and turn off the heat. Add in the soy sauce and toss itall. Do not overcook the veggies, they should be still crunchy.

Transfer themixture to a colander. Press down firmly to remove any excess liquid. Let cool.

Preheat theoven at 200-220 degrees C. Grease a baking sheet with some oil.

Assemblethe rolls: Lay the roll wrapper (whichever type you choose and whichever cutand size you choose). Follow these steps to make rolls. The pictures are a bit dark but they should be helpful.

Seal theroll by lightly brushing the inside top corner of the wrapper with a flour +water (1 heaped tbsp of flour to 1 tbsp of water). I usually just place the endof the roll at the bottom without having to seal it with the flour mixture.

Spray therolls with oil or use a brush to grease them. Do not overcrowd the baking sheetin order to have a crispy skin from all sides. Bake for 25 min or until brown,roll to the other side for even baking.

Servewarm with soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

Now that I'm looking at the pictures, I should make these again this week. I might add some green and red pepper to the mixture.

A seriously good apple and raspberry pie, plus other fruity pies

2012-01-04T19:43:00.002Z

While in Wales with my mother-in-law, I've noticed that she uses plain stuff without bothering to add a long lost of ingredients to her cooking or baking goods.

When she made the apple pie, I was thinking " this would be amazing with a dash of cinnamon". but the British apples taste so good that you can just enjoy them as is. Anyway, that pie was just wonderful, especially that instead of using sugar she used a healthy sort of sweetener, which made me food good about eating a lot of it.

Stewed apple, ready for the pie

Again, when she made the blueberry pie, again, my mind went thinking " this would be amazing with a dash of lemon zest!", but again, it was just fine!

Frozen blueberries, a lot of them

Blueberry pie, with blueberries at the bottom and puff pastry at the top, that's it!

Now that I'm back home, I get to play with the food again. Here is why you see down under an apple pie with...raspberry. A sprinkle of lemon zest to bring on the flavor.

I wouldn't say that apples and raspberries work well together (Well, now that I've said it), I would just tell you the truth about me having eaten half of the stewed apples meant to be for the pie, so I had to fill in the gaps, hence the fresh raspberries.

So, this tart can be on the healthy side, or not! I have replaced sugar with Stevia and I have covered the fruits with a tin layer of shortcrust dough. I'm not serving it with cream. It's just as is (I already see my husband making faces because of that).

Apple and raspberry pie

Ingredients

for 1 person (or 2)
Prep 30 min - baking: 25 -30 min

For the filling

3 apples or 2 apples and a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries
1 heaped tbsp of stevia (or any sugar of your choice)
Sprinkle of lemon zest
1 tbsp of corn flour such as Maizena

if you are going to use apples only, you might add 1 cinnamon stick while cooking them

My classic shortcrust dough (make ahead)

250 g of flour
125 g of butter in cubes
1 generous pinch of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
1 egg yolk diluted in 2 tbsp of cold milk

For glazing

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp of milk

Preparation

Making the dough

Mix the flour, salt and sugar. Rub the mixture with butter. Add the egg yolk, slightly beaten and diluted with the milk. Bring the dough together without overworking it. Clingfilm it and place it in the refrigerator for 30 min or so.

Making the filling

Peel and cut the apples, sweeten them. Stew them in about 1/2 cup of water, covered, until they cook through, which should take about 15 min. Use the cinnamon stick at the cooking stage if you intend to use it. Use a sieve and Let cool.

If you are going to use the normal white sugar, let the apples give you their juice ( the word in french would be "dégorger") by covering them with sugar for 1 hour or so. You might also need a tsp of lemon juice so they don't change their color.

Making the pie

Preheat the oven, 180 degrees C.

Mix the corn flour with the apples and place all in the pie mold. Scatter in the raspberries if you choose the apple-raspberry option. Finish by adding the lemon zest. Cover the fruits with a tin layer of cold shortcrust dough.

Glaze the pie with a mixture of the egg yolk and the milk. Bake for 25 to 30 min until the pie looks pretty with a nice golden color.

That spoon is for me, the rest for my other half! because I'm trying to be good this year

Bakestone bread - Bara Llechwan

2012-01-04T16:29:00.002Z

Watch this bread rising while cooking it on a hob, it’s amarvel! Yes indeed, you do not need an oven to bake it, although it looks risenabout at least 5 cm height. Magic!

Bakestone bread is soft from the inside with a slightly burnt crust; Ikept it for 3 days and it was still moist and chewy.

Bara Llechwan is a bread which is baked on hot stones in alarge oven or a bakestone (something like this, here).Alternatively, you can use a good heavy frying pan for the job. I use the griddle shown here, while making the welsh cakes (the recipe comes in french).

Few recommendations before we get to the recipe:

- According to the book Welsh Heritage: food & Culture, you just need ordinary plainflour and a strong bread flour.

- If you have a bread machine (I’m lazy, I have one to do thenasty job of kneading for me), use a short programme “dough”.In this case, start by adding water, salt and milk, then the flour, then the yeast. The butter should be added about 10 min after the starting time.

Ingredients

For 1 bread

Prep: 20 min - cooking: 45 min

500g of flour
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of sugar
1 ½ tsp of dried yeast
150 ml of milk
150 ml of water
1 tbsp of butter into small pieces
1 tsp of oil
Handful of currant (for a version with currant)

Preparation

Like any other bread with yeast, make a well in the flour,add the salt. Heat the liquids (milk and water) to lukewarm. Take 1/3 of theliquid and stir in the sugar and the yeast and let sit for 5 to 10 min.

Add most of the liquid to the flour and start kneading. Youwill add the rest after the previous amount has been absorbed. Add the butterand keep kneading on a floured surface until smooth, firm and elastic.

Massage the dough with oil and place it in a large bowl,greased with oil as well. Cling film it and let rise for 1 1/2h or until itdoubles its size.

Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface, knead gently(or fold it on itself 3 times after flattening it gently).

Form a rough circle measuring 20 cm or so in diameter, 2 cmthick. Use your hands or the rolling pin or both.

Let the dough sit for 20 min to relax it. In the meantime,heat the heavy frying pan over medium heat.

Place the dough into the pan and cook gently for 20 min oneach side. It might sink for a while but it should rise again.

Let cool on a wire rack.

I toasted some slices and they turned out tasty.

Give it a Try!

On a Welsh ground

2012-01-03T23:32:00.003Z

Recently, I’ve spent 9 days in South Wales and I came acrosssome of the most amazing vegetables and meat. I couldn’t believe how lamb meatcan be that moist and tasty. I’m not fan of red meat, I can even forget to buyit for weeks if my husband wasn’t there to remind me since he's a red meat eater. But if I was given the option, I'd eat that perfectWelsh lamb shanks and steaks with just salt and pepper, maybe garlic, no more!It’s just so delicious!

The other thing that got me hooked to Welsh products, it’sthe vegetables and their sweetness. No wonder they are, the water issweet as well, which reminds me the city of Fez where therich soil and sweet water give the tastiest vegetables and fruits ever.

If you don’t know much about Wales, well I might give yousome info since my husband is Welsh, hence, I'm getting so insider information :).

Welsh folks are proud Celtics, down to earth and very welcoming.It’s all green over there! Their food is simple and not spicy. Actually itwould even look bland but I suppose with tasty fruits and veggies, you don’twant to mess it up!

It’s the country of leeks, of sheep, of gold, of hardworkingpeople, but I’ve met more retired people (some of them worked in the coal minesbefore retiring) than youngsters! I understood there were more workopportunities in England so they tend to leave their beloved Wales to otherdestinations.

Some of the Welsh recipes can be found under different namesin Ireland, in Scotland and of course in England. Not that I want to know whodiscovered what in the first place. As a foodie, I just want to appreciate whatpeople across countries have to offer (and cook).

For Christmas, I received a present from my sister-in-law: a cookbook allabout Wales and Welsh food. It got me excited and also had me thinking to sharesome of that with you!

But before that, let me share some pictures I took while Iwas there, from the small villages of Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera to the big city of Abertawe (or Swansea).

River Tawe by Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera

Santa expected on dec 24th, climbing and getting ready to deliver gifts!

Isn't that beautiful?

In Swansea, behind me is the market and a nice shopping area

The colorful man!

The shopping area

No idea who he is

Swansea Market

Got cockles and laverbread from there (will tell you later about these)

Candy shop, left side (massive)

Candy shop, right side

Fresh laverbread (seaweed)

Cockles, ready to be eaten!

The word Razor is scary, I don't think I'll have the courage to eat this anytime soon

My new magnets, aren't they cute? Wait until you see my handmade sheep purse.

Bakestone bread with currants, I'll be posting a recipe soon

The present from my sis in law, a wonderful book about Welsh food

I bought this...

And this..

Well! Stay tuned for some Welsh recipes!

Tarte fine aux pommes – Fine apple tart

2011-12-25T14:12:00.000Z

So as promised 2 posts earlier, here comes the Tarte fine aux pommes.

This recipe is a good start for beginners in the world of baking. It is so simple to make. The hardest part is if you were to cut the apples manually unless you have a mandolin that cuts the apple finely for you.

Ingredients

For 2 persons (my hsuband thinks it's for 1)

Prep: 5 min – baking: 20 min

½ roll of good puff pastry
1 nice apple- medium to big size, peeled
1 tbsp of sugar (preferably golden)
1 tbsp of powdered sugar
2 tbsp of butter, cubes

Preparation

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C

On a baking paper roll the puff pastry in a fine layer. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar, place the fine apple cuts in an artistic way (understand not messy), followed by the cubes of butter.

Bake for 15 min or until cooked through. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and put the tart bake in the oven on “grill” for 5 minutes to caramelize the edges.

Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or just as is.

I glazed mine with apricot jam but it’s totally up to you.

Like any recipe with puff pastry, this tart is best eaten the same day.

My chocolate clementine Yule log (la bûche) from Wales

2011-12-24T21:34:00.003Z

I know it’s late to post such recipes but I am in Wales, at my in-laws and to use the Internet, I should use my father-in-law’s computer. So posting recipes is not the first priority during this short vacation.

I have made this Yule log for the occasion. Of course christmas cake, mincepies and other goodies are around the table but my husband had this idea to make his parent experience my baking…So be it! I always enjoy baking!

My mother-in-law bought amazing clementines, hence the chocolate clementine duo.

You need minimum 6 hours to make this recipe and serve it. The steps are easy, except when it comes to folding the flour into that perfectly whipped egg white, because you have to keep the air in while avoiding to have flour lumps in the mixture. Apart from that, everything else is just easy.

Ingredients and method of preparation

For 6 persons

Prep: 30 min/ Fridge: 2 hrs/ Baking: 10 min

2 tbsp of strawberry jam
Icing sugar

For the Clementine confit

1 clementine
4 tbsp of caster sugar

Cut the Clementine in length, juice it. Cook in the sugar for 15 min until it’s cooked through. Keep the peels and any juice left.

For the crème caramel

6 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of butter
3 to 4 tbsp of cream

Caramelize the sugar. Out of the heat, pour in the Clementine peel strips to cut on their bitterness. Take them off. Add the cream and stir. Add the butter, stir. Set aside.

For the milk chocolate ganache

110g double or single cream
130g chocolate 60% cocoa

Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Out of the heat, stir until silky smooth. Cover with a clingfilm and let sit. I usually stir from time to time until it completely cools down. Stir in the crème caramel.

For the milk chocolate chantilly

100g double cream or whipping cream
1 heaped tbsp of fine sugar
Drops of lemon juice

Whip the ingredients until the cream forms firm peaks. Using a spatula, mix gently in 3 times with the chocolate ganache.

For the biscuit cuiller

4 eggs, room temperature
120 g caster sugar
85 g of flour
25 g of cocoa powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 170°C and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper (rectangular shape).

Whip the egg whites until foamy. Add 2 tbsp of sugar and the salt. Continue the whipping process until they get into soft peak. Fold in the remaining sugar in 2 times and continue beating until you get stiff consistency.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly and add them very gently on the top of the white meringue. Mix delicately with a rubber spatula. You will have a creamy light texture at the end of this process. Fold in the flour/cocoa mix in 3 times after mixing each time delicately. The more air you keep in this mixture the better your biscuit base will be.

Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes. Roll on itself and allow to cool on a wire rack until completely cold.

Montage

Spread the biscuit roll, glaze with the Clementine syrup (if there is any left). Spread a strip of strawberry or raspberry jam and make the 1st roll(roll tightly).

Spread 2/3 of the ganache. Sprinkle 2/3 of the clementine strips cut into fine cubes. roll tightly the rectangle and make sure it’s done with keeping empty holes inside. You need to roll tightly without squeezing out all the ganache..

Freeze or put in the refrigerator for minimum 2 hours to the next day. It will set nicely. Take it out of the fridge 20 min before serving.

Finish the buche de noel (Yule log) by covering it with the remaining of the chocolate ganache. Add some decoration and put back in a cold place.

I have served it on a bed of white chocolate ganache and surrounded by some coconut coated marshmallows, looking like mushrooms.

Enjoy!

Next up: pinwheels and Tarte fine

2011-12-19T01:07:00.000Z

I hope you are enjoying the last days of December just as I am!

Before leaving Doha, I have made these 2 easy recipes and I just never had time to post them. I'm totally in London mood now and I hardly find time to go back to the Hotel.

Tarte fines aux pommes

Pinwheels with mincemeat

The thing you need to know is that it takes less than 30 min to make and bake. It's easy and it hardly costs you money!

Stay tuned for more..

Planning to make the best of my England & Wales trip

2011-12-17T06:34:00.000Z

I'll be off for few days busy taking photos and shopping in the streets of London. I'm planning to squeeze myself among the 11 million people expected to hit the shops this weekend..

I'm so excited that I woke up early to get ready for borough market. I'm sure I'll be having a wonderful day! and I wish you the same..