Piece Montée (Croquembuoche) - Daring Bakers May 2010

Sometime back, I realised that I had not yet baked a few French classics and made a mental note to do so very soon-ly. And, then guess what happens?! Daring Bakers! It's like the host(ess) read my mind! Again! Just like the Macaron challenge..

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a Piece Montée, or Croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.



I was super excited when I saw the theme 'coz it killed two birds with one stone; one Classic down and it was just in time for Mr. FSK's birthday! So, I didn't have to rack my brains and stress out about making a cake for him.. :)

Since I had planned my attempt so late in the game, I lived vicariously for most of the month through tweets of other Daring Bakers. Some had made the components before but had not put them all together. I hadn't made any of the components before. So, this was indeed the perfect challenge in many ways...



The trickiest part for me was the Pate a Choux. It was also the part that wasn't a complete success. I think I stumbled at the point where the eggs are whisked in. I didn't do it long enough. So my profiteroles weren't as airy as they are reputed to be. Tastewise, it came out perfect, if a little bland in my opinion. But, apparently, that is how they are meant to be.

As for the filling, I used coffee pastry cream. The idea was from Mr.FSK's cousin who is visiting us from London for a few days. Her face lit up when I mentioned what I was making and she highly recommended the coffee flavor. She was spot on with it! Since the pastry itself is quite flavorless and just a container for the cream, the coffee adds a touch of individuality in essence.



And, finally to the games. I got more practice with the spun sugar that i started experimenting with two months back during the Orange Tian challenge. I surprised myself by actually getting it right in my first try. My practice the last time must have been half decent, after all! I was pretty happy with the toffee I spun. The next step is to try to make the cotton candy stole like effect that I saw on Desperate Housewives, ironically draped on a Croquembouche!

Verdict: Definitely enjoyed the challenge and going to make it again till the pastry comes out perfect. Also, next time, I want to flavor the pastry as well. I don't see the point of having a cover that doesn't add to the pastry's flavor. Of course, once I have the technique pat down, sky's the only limit! :)



Also a reminder, there are only four more days to enter my Anniversary Saffron Giveaway.

Pate a Choux
(Yield: About 28)

3/4 cup (175 ml.) water
6 T (85 g.) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top. Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool. Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze. Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.


Hard Caramel Glaze

1 cup (225 g.) sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up. (You may want to use toothpicks to hold them in place – see video #4 below).

When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate.




Coffee Pastry Cream
(from Joy of Baking)

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee powder
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour
Scant 3 T (20 grams) cornstarch (corn flour)
2 T brandy

In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a saucepan combine the milk, coffee and vanilla on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the brandy. Immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Let cool before piping into shells. If not using immediately, refrigerate for up to three days.

Pancit Bihon for Kulinarya Club - May 2010

I joined Kulinarya three months back. I had seen Trissa post a few club posts before I mustered courage and cleaned up my schedule to join the club. My first creation in the club was Leche Flan and then it was Empanadas. By the empanada month, I was suddenly struck by an epiphany; there seemed to be a lot of overlap with Spanish cuisine. I had a conversation with Trissa on this. It went something like this..

Me: Hey Trissa, not to sound ignorant... but, I just noticed that there is a lot of overlap between Filipino and Spanish cuisines..

Trissa: Yes, that's because Philippines was a long time colony of Spain {DUH!!}

Me: Ahem!! OOPS!! DUH! {note to self: GOOGLE before parading inner doofus!!!}




So, well, that's the story. In my defense, I had somehow thought Filipino would be closer to Chinese and other Asian than European and hence the forgettable discourse above. Thankfully, I wasn't completely off, as proven by this month's theme! :)This month, we chose to showcase the Chinese side of the Filipino heritage with the soulfully satisfying dish, Pancit.

I have to tell you, I have an intense carnal love for noodles. Out of the blue, an image, of me twirling noodles with chopsticks, pops into my mind and refuses to budge. There are times when I crave these thready, slurpy satisfaction so much I tend to display withdrawal symptoms if I don't get my fix!

My love began during my childhood in Bangalore, when we would eat out at an Indian Chinese restaurant, Rice Bowl, once a year for my birthday. I never ordered the fried rice, always the chopsuey which I would douse with the chili vinegar and spicy sauce. I loved it and I pigged out. I was happy at the end of a huge bowl of those flat thready stuff! :)



To this day, a bowl of it makes me happy. When cravings hit, the easiest and quickest solution is, of course, instant noodles, of which, there is always a supply at home. However, it isn't healthy or well.. nourishing. And, that's where the Pancit trumps everything. Easy to put together and just scrumptious, I may have just found a healthy way to feed my addiction! ;-))



Btw, don't forget to enter my anniversary giveaway by May 31. I will ship to any location in the world.






Pancit Bihon

2 rolls of rice vermicelli
1 small onion, julienned
2 spring onions, sliced thin
1/2 lb shrimps, cleaned and de-veined
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup julienned carrot
1 inch ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
1 T oyster sauce
2 T sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
salt and pepper to taste

Soak the noodles in a cup of hot chicken stock until soft and the liquid has been completely absorbed. Meanwhile, in a wok, saute the onions, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients except the shrimp and saute until cooked and stock almost absorbed.

Add the shrimps and cook until they turn opaque. Toss in the noodles, sprinkle sesame oil and toss to incorporate everything. Adjust seasoning if needed. Garnish with scallion rounds and toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

______________________________________________________________________________

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

If you’re interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment – we would love to hear from you!

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/

Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/

Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/

Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/

Caroline - http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/

Ninette – http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/

Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/

Cusinera- http://www.busogsarap.com/

Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/

Cherrie – http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/

Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/

Valerie – http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/

Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/

Divina – http://www.sense-serendipity.com/

Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/

Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/

Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/

Celebrating Two Blog-years with Velveteers and an Aromatic Giveaway

Oof! I can't believe it! It's been two years already! That is... since I started this blog as a means to express my interests in food and writing.. add to that, now, photography! :)

So, what do I have to say about the last year?! Soooo much! Milestones reached and crossed, experiments tried, failed and understood, creations that stretch my imagination and skill, devoured and appreciated. Being part of the Daring Kitchen has pushed me beyond my comfort zone, stimulating me to create and innovate and it has all been such a fantastic learning platform.



But, most of all, this blog has brought me in touch with some amazing people and inspiring food bloggers. I finally surrendered to the pressures of social media, but, that has only opened more doors and brought me ever so closer to these incredible people. I am now on Twitter and have a Facebook Page.

Everyday, as I trawl through my favorite websites and drool over their award worthy photos, I am inspired to make new things, experiment more, discover my latent talents and become better.

So, in this post, I want to thank all those people who have been such an influence in the making and growing of this blog. Most of all I want to thank YOU readers for your kind patronage, warm compliments and helpful feedback and comments....Oh! and Keep them coming for many more years!! :))



And, now onto the Velveteers. This month, we chose a Summer dessert theme showcasing the fruits of the season combined with nuts. I salute the upcoming warm months with cool Pistachio and Strawberry Tartelettes.

It's still Spring here and the season for fresh berries of all kinds. I was particularly attracted to the lovely, enticing red of the strawberries in their prime. So, I picked up a couple of pounds of the fresh fruit and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days while I let my mind stew over ideas. It took all my faculties just to save some from Mr. FSK, who insisted that the fruit was best eaten as is! :O



When inspiration struck, it was for a simple tart with a pistachio crust with a filling made of layers of homemade strawberry and ginger jam and yogurt and topped over with candied pistachios. Simple, Sweet and Summer-y! :)

I added the ginger to the jam to cut into all the sweetness from the fruit and the sugar. It turned out to be very strawberry with a mild hint of spice that just about balances the fruitiness.


And, finally, the giveaway - the part, for which, you all put up with all that verbosity above! :). To celebrate the 2 year mark and a wonderful start to the third, I am gifting a pack of Saffron Threads and Saffron hinted Red Sea Salt to one lucky winner anywhere in the world.

Leave me a comment, by May 31, telling me what you would like to see more of in the blog. I will choose one winner (using the random number algorithm) and announce the same in the first week of June! Thanks for all your feedback!:))


Pistachio and Strawberry Tartelettes
(makes 3-4 three inch tartelettes)

For the Pate Sucree crust:

3/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 stick butter
2 T pistachios
1 T granulated sugar
3 T powdered sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten
pinch of salt
milk, as needed

For the filling:

Homemade strawberry & ginger jam (recipe below)
3/4 cup strained yogurt
5 T whole milk
4 T powdered sugar

Grind the pistachios with the granulated sugar to make a fine powder. Sift together the pistachios, powdered sugar, salt and flour. Cut butter into the mixture until you get a crumbly mixture. Add the yolk and add as much milk as needed to just about gather into a ball.

Pat in a round about an inch high and refrigerate for atleast 2 hours. When ready, roll the dough out to 1/8 th inch thickness. Cut out circles large enough to fit your mold. Press the dough into the mold being careful not to pull or stretch. Do NOT cut off the excess overhangs. Freeze for 30 minutes (ensures no shrinkage while baking.)

While the tart firms up, preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut off the excess overhangs before popping the tarts into the oven. Cover with foil and place weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for a few minutes, until golden. Remove and cool on rack.

For the filling, whisk together the milk, yogurt and sugar. Set aside. When the tarts are cool enough, spread a generous teaspoon of the jam at the bottom of each tart. Fill to rim with the yogurt mixture. Top with slices of strawberry and chunks of candied pistachio.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours and serve.


Strawberry & Ginger Jam

1 lb (1/2 kg) strawberries
1/4 sugar (or less, depending on how sweet the berries are)
3 inch chuck of ginger, in chunks
1 tsp salt
3 T pectin
juice of 1 lemon

In a sauce pan, heat the lemon juice, sugar and salt until it starts to liquefy. Add in the strawberries and chunks of ginger. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that comes to the top. Continue cooking for another five minutes. You can now fish out the ginger pieces if you want. I left mine in 'coz I don't mind them...

Add the pectin when the mixture is at a rolling boil and bring to a boil again. Continue cooking till the mixture thickens to a jam consistency. Pour into jars immediately and seal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Velveteers was started by Aparna, Asha, Alessio and Pam, who are passionate about different cuisines and food in general. Each month, we will attempt a new dish and share our experiences and the recipes we used. If you’re interested in joining the Velveteers, please feel free to drop by our food blogs and leave a comment and drop me a line at asha@forkspoonnknife.com.

Do, check out what the other Velveteers have created:

Alessio - http://recipetaster.blogspot.com/

Aparna - http://www.mydiversekitchen.com/

Pam - http://www.cookingninja.com/

FoodBuzz TasteMakers - Roasted Red Pepper Mousseline and Jelly

I have been planning to make this mousse for a very long time now, like 2 months! Yes, that long... ever since I received Bertolli sauces via the FoodBuzz TasteMakers program... After much procrastination due to travel, challenge deadlines and life's other little things, I can finally talk to you about it! Phew! It's such a load off my chest!

So, from the top - Sometime in March, FoodBuzz sent a very nicely packaged parcel of two Bertolli sauces, Arrabbiata and Four Cheese Rosa, for us TasteMakers to taste, sample and write about. The Arrabbiata is a mildly spicy tomato and red pepper sauce while the Four Cheese Rosa is creamy sauce made with, well.. four cheese and crushed tomatoes.



I must say, the Arrabbiata is a pretty standard tomato sauce with a bit of heat and definitely found the Rosa the more intriguing of the two. I tasted the sauce as is and found it pretty rich. Perhaps, the cream in the sauce contributes to that. Anyway, after the first taste, my mind started churning. I wanted to use the sauce in a non-traditional way..

Given the creaminess of the sauce, mousse was rather an instant choice. I paired it with roasted pepper for flavor and smokiness. So, the final creation was a roasted pepper mousse on a bread base with a jelly of roasted pepper topping it off and driving home the pepper flavor.

It was good. The sauce is fantastic for the mousse. In fact, I even thinned it out a bit with milk to dilute the richness, just a tad. It makes for a refreshing appetizer and I really do prefer it this way than over pasta! :)





Roasted Red Pepper Mousseline and Jelly
(makes three 3 inch mousselines)


1 medium red pepper, roasted over fire until blackened
3 bread slices (of your choice, I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa sauce
2 T whole milk
1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp gelatin
salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste

Peel the skin off the roasted pepper and des-eed. Slice about a third of the pepper into very very thin strips. Puree the rest of the pepper and set aside. In a small bowl add 1/2 tsp of the gelatin to the milk and heat until the gelatin dissolves. Whip together the milk, seasoning and cheese sauce into a thick-ish batter consistency. Fold in the strips of pepper.

Using a cookie cutter, cut out the shapes you want out of the bread slices. Layer the bread at the bottom of the mold. Divide the mousse mixture evenly into the molds. Refrigerate for atleast an hour until the mixture is just about starting to set and there is a film on top.

Heat the reserved pepper puree and dissolve the gelatin in it. Cool to room temperature and divide evenly over the mousse mixture. Let set overnight.

Serve with Parmesan chips.

Stacked Enchiladas for Daring Cooks May 2010

Indians tend to like love Mexican and Thai food. I think it's the spices, a lot of likeness there... I am no exception. I love a good, hearty Mexican meal, be it the quick burrito bowl from the somewhat-higher-end fast food chain, Chipotle, or a proper sit down meal at Rosa Mexicano. Mr. FSK, on the other hand, determinedly becomes Mr. Nose-Uppity, when it comes to Mexican food as available in NYC. You see, the man has spent time in Austin, with its endless supply of fantastic Tex-Mex, and never lets me forget it...

Which, is why I have been rather thrilled with my recent forays into the cuisine. For long, I had been intimidated by the Austin memories until March's challenge finally convinced me to believe in myself and go for it and all that. So, armed with a recipe from the Rick Bayless (who is just adorable, btw), I made Red Mole (hehe.. well, if I am going for it, might as well go with a bang.. either way! :)). It was a raging success!! It's not me saying it, the hub loved it!! The path (like that green line of Fidelity) had been laid for more of the cuisine to feature in my kitchen..Wooohoo!



So, of course, I was very thrilled to see this month's Daring Cooks theme! Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on http://www.finecooking.com/ and written by Robb Walsh.

The mandatory part of the challenge was to make a Mexican sauce from scratch. It didn't have to be the one they suggested. But since, aside from Mole, I had made virtually none other sauce from the cuisine, I decided to go with it.



I made the sauce based on the recipe that the lady running the Mexican grocery store, where I get my supplies, uses to make her enchilada sauce at home. She was sweet to share her family recipe. Her version is spicier as she (as did I) uses Serrano chilies rather than Anaheim peppers. The Serranos up the heat quite a bit and our sauce hot, hot, HOT. But we like it hot!

I loved this challenge because it gave me room to play.. On the first day, we had Beef Enchiladas, the regular way. I rolled tortillas around sauteed beef that was marinated with salt, pepper and Serrano chilies, poured the green sauce over them, generously topped with cheese and baked to melt it.



With the leftovers, I decided to make some finger food and the stacked version. The lady at the store said that she doesn't use the oven at all. She just fries her tortillas, layers the meat and sauce, tops with cheese and zaps it up in the microwave just long enough to melt the cheese.

And, that is what I did with my mini enchilada stacks. I cut little scalloped circles of tortilla, fried them crisp, arranged smoked turkey and sauce and then melted cheese over them...



As to the presentation, I was inspired by the gorgeous color of the lilacs that I picked up on the way home and decided to use their vibrant color as the theme. I was amused that red onions and lilacs were of similar shades. So, I decided to use the sliced onions as garnish to tie in the theme with the flowers.



Verdict: This is a really easy sauce that packs quite a punch in flavor. It makes for a quick everyday meal as also a leisurely Sunday lunch. We loved it! The little mini stacks are cute and are perfect finger food, yet make an elegant choice as cocktail appetizers.

Note: Many people in the forum mentioned difficulties in finding tomatillos. You can substitute with tamarind. It adds the same sweetish tang to the dish but well, you may end up with a browner sauce. For the measures in the recipe below, I would use 1 tablespoon of bottled tamarind paste or 1/3 cup of fresh tamarind water.



Enchilada Sauce

**
1. As I said, this recipe uses serrano which add significant heat even after being deseeded. Please, do add with caution. Start with one and keep adding them to the puree as per your heat tolerance.

2. Grandma's recipe did not include roasting the tomatillos or chilies. She boiled them to cook. I roasted them for added flavor (as for easily deseeding the chilies)

5-6 tomatillos
3-4 Serrano chilies
1 cup chicken stock (if you want to keep it vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock)
2 tsp cumin powder
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup cilantro leaves

Roast the tomatillos and chilies until blackened. When cool enough to handle, peel skin off and deseed the chilies. Puree the tomatillos, garlic and chilies. Transfer to a sauce pan, stir in the stock and cumin. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until it thickens to the consistency you want.


Stacked Cocktail Enchiladas

Cut desired shapes out of tortillas. Fry them till lightly golden and crisp. Arrange cooked meat (I used chipotle smoked turkey. It was fabulous!), a teaspoon of sauce. Repeat as many layers as you want, finishing off with the cheese layer.

Beef Enchiladas

Enchilada Sauce (above)
Cooked Beef
Melting cheese

Marinade:

1 lb (1/2 kg) beef, cubed into 1/4 inch pieces
2 serrano chillies, finely chopped
salt as needed

Marinate the meat overnight. Saute in a bit of oil until cooked completely. Warm the tortillas, place some meat in the center, roll and place seam side down in a baking dish. Line up as many as the dish can fit. Pour sauce over and top generously with cheese. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes or so, until the cheese melts nicely.

A Taste of South Africa - Tomato Bredie

This Tomato Bredie photo was featured in Brazilian Magazine blog, Verdemar - Copa de Sabores: África do Sul



One of my favorite book series is the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series writted by Alexander McCall Smith, a Zimbabwe born, Scottish writer. The stories are set in Botswana, the country to the North of South Africa, and the lead character is a traditionally built Botswanian woman, Mma Ramotswe, who, assisted by her bright secretary, Mma Makutsi, sets up the first and only detective agency in the country run by women.

They solve the problems that are brought to them using a combination of womanly intuition and insight, backed by advice from the fictional Clovis Andersen's book The Principles of Private Detection and many many cups of African bush tea. The books make a wonderful read not only for the entertaining plot lines but also their emphasis of principles of life, love and happiness. They always make me smile and feel good about life!


Anyway, the reason I brought that book up is that it was the first thing that came to my mind, when I saw Meeta's Monthly Mingle theme. This month, she suggested we dabble in South African cuisine and tell her about it. I remembered this book and some of the mouthwatering meat stews that are mentioned in the book.

Botswana is South Africa's neighbour and I thought that there must be shared cuisine. I wanted a stew reminiscent of Mma Ramotswe's cooking. When I came upon Tomato Bredie, it struck a chord and I decided that would be my choice of dish for a taste of the bush lands of Southern Africa!



"Bredie" in Afrikaans means "stew" and derives from the Portugese word "bredo", used to describe boiled greens. Presumably, the term and the dish were introduced in the region by Portugese sailors. The stew is usually made with mutton spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and chilli and served with rice.

The Dutch East India Company founded a settlement at the tip of Africa, almost halfway along the old sea route to India, in the middle of the 17th century. European farmers were allowed to immigrate and establish themselves there to make this outpost (at what is now Cape Town) viable. They were joined by French Huguenots in the latter part of the 17th century, who brought their knowledge of food and wine. The only equipment these settlers received upon arrival in the Cape was an 'ysterpot' (steel pot), which meant they had to fall back on their native stews. (Courtesy: suite101.com)



Verdict: I cannot sing enough praises about it. It was wonderfully flavorful, rich and so satisfying. I served the bredie with aromatic rice using the same whole spices as were in the bredie, accentuating the flavors beautifully. I had also marinated the meat overnight in a marinade of ginger, five spice powder and salt. This really helped flavor the meat itself and break down the protein resulting in a very tender and juicy stew meat.

By the way, the stew itself was very close in flavor to the Papeta nu Gosht that Parsis make, which, in itself is not surprising, given Cape Town's prominence as a major port along a major trade route carrying spices from the East to Europe.....



Tomato Bredie

** I used a pressure cooker to cook the meat, so it gets done much faster than stewing stovetop in a dutch oven. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just cook in a covered vessel until meat is cooked and potatoes are tender. **

1 lb lamb shoulder (bone in, it adds so much flavor), diced into 1 inch cubes

2 medium onions, diced fine

3-4 ripe tomatoes, diced fine

2 green chilies, diced fine

2 inch chunk of ginger, minced or diced fine

3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup chicken/beef stock

4-5 whole black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

4-5 whole cloves

2-3 cardamom pods

1 -2 tsp sugar (as per taste)

salt, pepper as needed

1 T butter

1 T flour

Marinade:

2 inch chunk of ginger, minced

2 tsp all spice powder

salt per taste

The previous night, coat the meat pieces with the marinade and massage into the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. You can leave it in for 24-48 hours.

To make the stew, roast the cloves, cinnamon, whole peppercorns in a little bit of oil. Once they start to release their aromas, add the onions and saute until browned. Add the meat along with ginger and cardamom and brown all sides of the meat. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chilli, stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for five more minutes.

At this point if you are using a pressure cooker, add the potatoes as well, transfer to the cooker and let is steam for 3-4 whistles. If not, continue cooking until meat is almost done. Then, add potatoes and simmer until they are tender.

When the stew is cooked through, melt the butter in a small pan and add the flour to it. Cook for a minute and then add the roux to the stew to thicken. Serve over hot aromatic rice (below) and some fresh diced tomato.

Aromatic Rice

2 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves

4 whole peppercorns

2 bayleaves

salt to taste

1-1/2 cups long grain rice, washed and drained

water as needed

In a little bit of oil, roast the spices until they release their aromas. Add the rice and salt and roast for a few minutes until evenly coated. Add water, cover and boil until all the water has evaporated and the rice has been cooked. Gently, fluff with a fork to ensure even seasoning.

Weekday Lunch - Pizzich

I am not much of a solo eater.. I mean, I really don't like it or see the point of it. These days, unfortunately, I am on my own at meal times, a lot more than I'd like. Mr.FSK is travelling most of the week, which, means I fend for just myself, which, not only is boring but downright inspiration-sapping...

I can easily get by the day with cereal, instant noodles or at the most, easy to make Indian snack items, which, really make quite a satisfying meal! But, this week, I really craved something more substantial. And, I didn't even mind putting in all that effort for just me!

So, I made a open face sandwich on a pizza style flat bread base; and hence, the name Pizzich! Over the bread, I slathered spicy aioli (made with spicy sundried tomato paste, mayo and lemon juice), smoked pepper turkey, arugula, more sundried tomato, red onion. Then, in the cooling oven (from the flat bread making), I melted provolone cheese and we were all set for a simple yet sumptuous lunch!





Flat Bread
(makes 2 sandwich bases)

1 cup all purpose flour + more for dusting
1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup warm water + more if needed
1 T olive oil

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into a ball. Knead the dough for a minute or two until you get a nice elastic dough. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat all over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place till it doubles in size (one to two hours).

When the dough has risen, gently punch it down with the palm of your hands. Fold the dough into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Divide the dough into two parts. Stretch each part into an approximate oval shape of the length you would like. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake in an oven pre-heated to 450F for 10-15 minutes until a bit puffed and golden.

Remove and arrange sandwich. If you want to melt cheese, stick the assembled sandwich back into the oven for about 3-4 minutes, long enough for it to melt and you are all set with a scrumptious lunch!

This flat bread is being sent to my favorite Yeastspotting team!

Spotted Dick with Orange Brandy Sauce - Daring Bakers April 2010

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

When I saw the challenge, I was actually looking forward to it! You see, I have a humongous crush on all things British; from their oh-to-die-for accent to Hugh Laurie to their authors to well.. whatever else.. When I confess that I ordered my Harry Potter collection from Amazon UK because I liked the British book jackets better, you get my obsession, don't you?!

Recently, I read Wolf Hall (2009 Booker Prize winner) which given my infatuation with medieval England was the perfect book for me! The book mentions a couple of recipes that sounded soo good and I immediately went on a search of medieval English cookbooks.



I found a few online and bought one titled "Medieval Home Companion - Housekeeping in the Fourteenth century" - interesting book with eye-catching chapter titles like "Take Your Chickens and Cut Their Throats"; that's how it introduces the recipe for stuffed chicken... And, some really weird advice for household stuff, like "How to make cages birds lay eggs, sit on them and raise their young"!!!!!

Anyway, good fun read on what people of those times did and stuff and a couple of interesting recipes..

So, back to the pudding. The challenge was to a. use suet and b. cook by steaming. I could not find beef suet but then, I realised I had vegetable suet (hydrogenated palm oil) on hand! So, I made batch 1 with that and an authentic old medieval recipe I dug up somewhere. Err.. well, that did not happen at all! Take 2 - I used the suet in the modern recipe only to realise that the suet had gone bad!

Finally, I did the final take with butter and the modern recipe. So, it was raisins and orange steamed pudding served with an orange brandy sauce.

Verdict: I must confess, I was disappointed. The "pudding" was sponge like and perfectly cooked but a bit too crumbly for my liking. Given the long cooking time, I was not too taken by the end result. Perhaps, I should make a steak and kidney pudding and taste test that one!



Spotted Dick Pudding

(adapted from Epicurious)

1/4 cup dried raisins, soaked in 1 T of brandy
1 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 cup flour
1 stick cold butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/5 cup sugar
1/2 T baking powder
3-4 T milk

Sift together the dry ingredients. Cut butter into the flour mixture until you get a crumbly mixture. Add the zest and raisins. Stir in the milk and knead into a dough ball. It will be slightly sticky.

Butter the pudding mould generously and transfer the dough into it. Smooth the top and cover with a round of wax paper. Cover tightly with foil pleated in the center to allow for expansion. Steam for about an hour or until golden and puffed.

Cool for a few minutes. Remove from mould and serve with orange-brandy sauce.


Orange Brandy Sauce

1/3 cup fresh orange juice
3 T sugar
1/2 T corn starch
1 T brandy
1 T butter

In a small sauce pan, heat the orange juice, sugar and corn starch until the mixture starts to thicken. Melt the butter into it. Once it is thick enough, remove from heat and stir in the brandy.

DMBLGIT and Happiness ...

The last few days have been hectic, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding and wholly sleepless as I finally figured out my domain issues after more than half a year dormancy and started the arduous and unending process of tweeking the look and feel.

But, finally, I think I am ready to show it to the world. Lo and behold, Fork Spoon Knife, my baby, now has it's own domain, www.forkspoonnknife.com. The feeds, you have subscribed to, should be automatically updated, so you won't really notice much difference other than the layout aspects....

And.... What better way for a new start than with an award, eh?! I cannot tell you how high up in the air I floated, when I saw the mail from Julia, host of April's edition of Does My Blog Look Good In This (DMBLGIT), starting with "Congratulations...."!! My Orange Tian had won in the Aesthetics category!!!!

I had just woken up and this jolted me instantly into the stratosphere. I came back briefly to earth to read the rest of the mail, check out all the winners, including lovely Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey and inspiring Kris of Bake in Paris. Then, I was up there again... am still up there, touching down briefly now and then for, you know, chores, and other inescapable stuff.. :)

Photography is a new passion for me. I have learnt much from a friend who is a photography buff and also from fellow foodies' gorgeous clicks. I am still learning... there is so much room for improvement. So, it is an awesome feeling to be patted in the back for my work. I am super happy, honored and much grateful to Julia and the judges Dominque, El, Giao and Mowie and Andrew of Spittoon , who started it all, for making this a very, very happy weekend! :))