Tortino di Zucca

This recipe is from Marcella Hazan. I have been experimenting with some new recipes for the upcoming holidays.

This tortino is made from butternut squash with the simplest ingredients. You can assemble it a day ahead or even bake it a day ahead and reheat before serving.

I used panko in this recipe instead of breadcrumbs but that is totally up to you, feel free to use breadcrumb of your choice.

Tortino di Zucca adapted from Marcella Hazan
1 medium butternut squash
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tb unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 - 5 oz ramekins
3 tb panko

Preheat oven at 400 degrees .
Half butternut squash and bake it cut side down on a cookie sheet for one hour.

Cool squash and scrape of the seeds and strings. Scoop put the flesh and set aside.
In a food processor mix baked squash, egg, grated cheese, salt, nutmeg, pepper and two tablespoons of softened butter. Run blade till mixture is well combined.

Grease ramekins with butter and coat it with panko or breadcrumbs. Divide batter equally between four ramekins, top with 1/4 tsp of butter and a sprinkling of panko/breadcrumbs and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees celsius for 30 minutes.

To assemble:
Run a butter knife around the edges of the ramekin and place a plate on top of a ramekin and turn it upside down. The tortino should slide off easily onto the plate. Serves 4

Eggplant Pasta

All you need to make this is wonderfully comforting meal are ingredients that you probably have in your pantry..except for the eggplant. This does not take long to make and if you don't feel like having eggplant, you could always substitute it with zucchini or mushrooms.


Wash and slice the eggplants half an inch thick and quarter them. Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil and saute till golden.

Drain fried eggplant on a plate lined with some kitchen paper. Saute 3 cloves of minced garlic,in the same pan as you fried the eggplant in. Add a bit more oil if there is not enough oil to saute the garlic.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup of crushed tomatoes and 2/3 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add in fried eggplant pieces and 3 tablespoons of hot chili flakes. Add salt to taste and boil sauce till it thickens.


Meanwhile boil pasta of your choice in a pot of salted water. I used organic whole wheat vegetable pasta. I boiled 8 oz of pasta ( 2 oz dried pasta = 3/4 cup of dried pasta=1 portion). Cook pasta al dente or according to instructions at the back of the package. Mix drained pasta with sauce, top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and torn basil leaves. This served 5 at our place. Enjoy!

Peach Tart

I had just bought a nine inch tart part with removable bottom and was eager to put it to good use. I carefully gathered all my ingredients and got to work. I preheated the oven, scooped and measured the correct amount of all purpose flour that was needed for this recipe...And then the phone rang. I got busy chatting with a friend and making the tart. Then totally messed up when it come to the topping. Instead of sprinkling the flour over the peaches I mixed it with the peaches. I realized this when I slipped the assembled tart in the hot oven.


But it turned out fine as you can see from these pictures. I brushed some honey over the tart when it come out from the oven to give it some shine. I have not made olive oil crust before and was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. The crust was crumbly, rich and had a wonderful flavour.

The variation to this tart is endless - you could use apricots or canned peaches( drained of its syrup), berries, apples, pears etc. You could also experiment with different oils - vegetable oil will be more neutral in taste. I am planning to use walnut oil the next time I try this tart (I love the nuttines of walnut oil) . I have some of this delicious tart leftover from last night's dinner, I think I am going to enjoy a piece with a soothing cup of hot tea when I complete this post! A wonderful snack on a rainy day like today.


Peach Tart With Olive Oil Crust

1/2 cup plus 1 Tb all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt ( I used sea salt)
1/3 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tb milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tb unsalted butter
4-5 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup blanched, almonds

Preheat oven to 420 degrees celsius.

Mix olive oil, milk, and pure vanilla extract in a bowl and set aside.
Stir 1 1/2 flour, salt, 1 tsp sugar in a separate bowl. Pour in the olive oil mixture and work the dough gently.
Pat dough in a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, push some of the dough up the sides of the pan.

Prepare filing:

Combine 1/3 cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon flour and a pinch of salt. The filling will start to get juicy at this stage.
Pour/arrange prepared peaches in the crust and top with blanched almonds and 1 tablespoon cold butter cut into pieces. Place tart on a cookie sheet to catch spills from bubbling fruit when tart bakes in the oven.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or till top starts to turn golden.
Cool on a rack (or bottom of tart will turn soggy). I brushed some honey over the tart while it was still hot. You could serve this tart with whipped cream. I served mine plain.

Apple Spice Cake

I am trying out few recipes for the upcoming holidays and made this apple spice cake past weekend. This cake has the perfect balance of spice and sweetness without being overbearing on the palate - too much cloves and cinnamon can do that to you. This recipe is adapted from the October issue of Martha Stewart magazine.

The wonderful aroma of vanilla and cinnamon filled the whole house when this cake was baking.


This cake is wonderfully moist and keeps well. In fact it tastes better the next day.

Apple Spice Cake

All ingredients should be at room temperature.
I did not use the recommended 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger to the cake! Or mace - I felt it would make this cake too spicy.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt - I use kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup molasses ( not blackstrap molasses)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 organic Gala apple, cored, skinned and diced small

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Celsius.

Line a 9 by 2 inch round cake pan with buttered parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk flour, powdered ginger, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Mix together sour cream, eggs, pure vanilla extract and molasses in a separate bowl.

Cream brown sugar and butter till pale and fluffy. Add flour mixture and egg mixture alternately in 3 stages till well combined. If using a mixer, reduce speed to low or you will end up with flour all over the place. Add diced apple to the cake batter

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Test cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the centre of the cake. Cake is done if the toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake on a rack.

I iced the cake with some leftover cream cheese frosting and home made caramel topping that I had lurking in the fridge. Yum!

Thyme Buttermilk Biscuits

Here is the buttermilk biscuit recipe that I promised in my previous post. I decided to change a few things around and added some fresh thyme that I had growing in a pot on my patio and some candied ginger instead of the usual currants. It went well with the quince jam.


The secret to light biscuits :

• butter and liquid should be cold
• cut butter or shortening into flour with pastry cutter or two knives ( I have also used a fork, it works just fine)
• knead VERY lightly and gently, overworked dough will not produce light and fluffy biscuits
  
• oven should be HOT
  

Buttermilk Biscuits

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tb granulated sugar
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter ( butter has to be very cold)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp fresh thyme-chopped
3 Tb candied ginger - finely diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees celsuis.

Mix flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, baking powder, thyme and candied ginger in a bowl.
Cut in diced, cold butter in the flour till flour resembles pebbles.
Pour in cold buttermilk and bring the dough together. Mixture will be sticky.
Gather dough and gently knead 5/6 times. Cut into desired shapes, around 1/2 inch thick and place one inch apart on a baking sheet. Brush milk on top and bake for 15-20 minutes or till tops become pale.
golden. Serve piping hot biscuits with sweet butter and jam.

Quince Jam with Thyme Buttermilk Biscuits

My friend Cat and I were going to exchange some canning with each other. She was going to make some of her amazing tomato relish and mail it to me. I have been wanting to make some quince jam. I have been eyeing some fresh quince at my local grocery store.


I used to look forward to the summer bounty of fruits and vegetables. I got into canning by accident. At that time (looong time ago) I was presented with pints and pints of strawberry (from he who is him) and had no idea what to do with it all. I gave away as much as I could to the neighbours and friends. Some one suggested that I get into canning and turn the wonderful fruits into jam. I did not know the first thing about canning. And it sounded complicated and everyone warned me about jams not sealing properly etc. I sent out e-mails to my co-workers asking them for some advice on canning.

Ladies and some gents ( with written instructions from their wives) would stop by at my office during coffee breaks to give valuable advice on canning. The older gals got reminiscent when they shared their tales of canning gone awry, you know, jams not jelling and glass jars shattering in the oven. Armed with plenty of good advice and a will to succeed I trudged through the local Canadian Tire looking for canning supplies.

By end of that summer I had to put up extra shelves in the basement to store all the canning that I did. I was definitely hooked. I have not done it for two years now and had forgotten how fun and rewarding it is.


Quince Preserves
3 quinces
2 cups granulated sugar
3 3/4 cups water
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Quinces are usually sold individually. Choose fruits that is bright yellow and firm.These fruits change its colour to a rosy hue when poached. It has natural pectin and jells beautifully.


Skin, core and dice quinces. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and all the water to the quinces in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. The quinces will hold its shape and will not fall apart like apples.

Take the cooked quince out of the liquid and place it in a pot. At this stage you could either mash the quince or put it in a food processor. I mashed it for about a minute and it was semi smooth. Add the rest of the sugar and fresh lemon juice into the pot and cook till mixture becomes thick. This makes 2 1/2 cups of jam. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. I canned mine.

I made thyme and ginger buttermilk biscuits to go with this jam. The recipe will be on the next post. Stay tuned!

Wonton Garden and City Bakery

The dim sum mafia met in Chinatown for breakfast on Sunday. It was Stan's turn to pick a restaurant and we went to the Wonton Garden. Things are usually hopping around 11 am in Chinatown. It was a beautiful day and we were ready to sample some goodies. The restaurant was almost full.


We were met with the wonderful aroma of boiling broth when we entered the restaurant. It was crowded, the tables were close together and there was no place to wait. The front of the shop is the prep area with aromatic broth bubbling away.


The service is gruff but quick. This is not the place to go to for hushed and attentive service. Big steaming bowls of noodles swimming in delicious broth topped with succulent and meltingly tender meat appeared in no time before us.





I had wonton noodles topped with char siu ( roast pork). B had the rice noodles with roasted duck. The meat toppings were generous. B's duck was amazing, I think I ate most of it! Warren had the congee and he had no complaints.

We walked around for a bit and shopped for some fresh vegetables. It was three o'clock before we knew it and it was time for some hot tea . We went to the City Bakery for some tea and tart (now that is a good name for a foodie blog!). City Bakery has the best fudge-like hot chocolate that chocolate devotees rave about but I didn't think I could finish the hot chocolate AND eat the tart, it was good that I had B to share the treats with. The restaurant is spacious and was packed with people. I got some green tea, gluten free apple miso tart and a baker's muffin. I got the muffin purely for its looks - it was beautiful. See for yourself:

The tops of this bread muffin was the best part, it was sweet and crunchy. The gluten free apple tart was wonderful. It was light and and had the perfect amount of sweetness with a hint of miso.





Wonton Garden
56 St Mott St
Between Bayard & Canal Street
212 -966 4886
New York, NY
cash only

City Bakery
3 West 18th St
Between 5th & 6th Ave
New York, NY
212-3661414

Aloo Chole

Chickpea is also known as garbanzo or ceci bean. There are two varieties : Desi and Kabuli. Desi variety is a bit smaller, dark seed with a rough coat . Kabuli variety is larger, smoother and lighter in colour. Chickpeas are excellent source of fibre, protein and minerals, namely calcium, zinc and phosporous. And it was used as coffee substitute in Germany during the First World War. Chickpea coffee..interesting.

This is a great midweek dinner and it great with rice or chapati. We love our chickpeas around here. I always have canned beans on hand. You could also use dried chickpeas - soak and boil it for hours. Or use a pressure cooker if you happen to own one. Not all canned chickpeas are the same, I have used Goya brand for this recipe. You could adjust the heat - reduce or increase the amount of chili powder, whatever rocks your taste buds!

Aloo Chole
2 cans chickpeas- drained
1 large potatoes - cubed to bite pieces
1 green chili
1 large onion- finely chopped
1 clove garlic- finely minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 Tb olive oil
1 cup water
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
1 tsp lemon juice

I drained the chickpeas because the juice in the can tends to be a little salty. If you do decide to use the whole can with the liquid and all, adjust the amount of salt and water accordingly.

Heat oil on medium heat and saute onion and minced garlic till it starts to caramelize. Don't use high heat as it will burn the onions and will make it bitter. Add chopped green chili and cubed potatoes. Saute for 3 minutes.

Add cumin, chili and turmeric powder to the potato mixture and saute till fragrant. This will take around 2-3 minutes. Pour water into the spice mixture and cook with the lid closed till the potatoes are cooked. Then add drained chickpeas and salt (if using). Bring to a boil. Add lemon juice, garam masala and stir well. Sprinkle cilantro over the aloo chole if you wish. Makes 4-5 servings.

Stuffed Tomatoes

This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. I had planned an elaborate feast but had scaled back at the very last minute because I had too much going on..in every imaginable way. I was not really in the mood for a feast, but we still had to eat dinner and feed our house guest. B took over the apron and cooked the turkey..no, smoked the turkey ( it was delish) and baked the ham. I made a simple glaze to pour over the ham. Sorry no pics.

I made some stuffed tomatoes and the ubiquitous Gurr family broccoli salad (minus the bacon). Both were easy to make and tasted wonderful.

Stuffed Tomatoes
4 medium tomatoes
1 cup panko
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 freshly grated Parmesan cheese - more if you are a cheese fiend
olive oil

Preheat oven to 380 degrees.
Cut tomatoes 3/4 horizontally. Gently hallow out tomatoes. Reserve pulp and discard the seeds. Finely chop pulp and add panko, flat leaf parsley, black pepper and cheese. Drizzle some olive oil over the stuffed tomatoes before it goes in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or till tops are brown. I did not use any salt here because Parmesan cheese tends to be salty.

* You could use regular bread crumb instead of panko. I prefer panko (Japanese breadcrumb) because it is crispy, airy and light*


Broccoli Salad
1 medium head of broccoli
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
2 Tb mayonnaise
2 Tb pure maple syrup
1 scallion - chopped
2 Tb seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 Tb roasted almonds - I used dry toasted, slivered almonds
salt to taste

Cut broccoli into small florets and set aside.
Make salad dressing with mayonnaise, maple syrup, and rice vinegar (seasoned rice vinegar is readily available at most grocery stores)
Pour over broccoli florets. Stir in cranberries, slivered almonds and chopped scallions. I usually make this salad at least 6 hours ahead. Makes 4-5 servings.

Pesto

Pesto season is upon us. My basil is going wild and I decided to make pesto. I surveyed my abundant basil plant early this morning with a hot, aromatic and soothing cup of coffee in my hand. I gathered all my ingredients - nothing like getting all psyched up about making something only to find that you do not have the right ingredients.

I made pesto alla genovese (originates from northern Italy). The ideal basil to use is young, small genovese basil leaves. I use whatever I having growing in a pot on my patio and it turns out delicious every time.



Take one large bunch of basil, wash and pick the leaves. Add it to the food processor along with three cloves of peeled garlic and pulse. I like my pesto chunky so I only pulse it a few times. The wonderful flavour of basil and little bursts of nut and Parmesan comes through when you dress a pasta with chunky pesto. Once the mixture looks roughly chopped, add 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of raw pine nuts (you could also add roasted pine nuts or walnuts). Pulse till it all comes together. Add a few drops of olive oil with the blades running. I got distracted with my coffee and added a tad too much olive oil.

I freeze mine, as you can see in the picture above, in an ice cube tray. I put the cubes into a Ziploc bag when frozen. Mine usually keeps for two months (maybe two months, if we don't eat it first) Enjoy!!