Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Mustard Curry Encrusted Brotóla

For this recipe I just eyeball the amount of ingredients, to top the fish with. Brotóla is a white fish that we enjoy eating, but any fish will do.

Ingredients:

400 to 500 g Brotóla
75 g Reggiatano cheese, grated
75 g Bread crumbs
Olive oil
20 ml Powdered Curry
Salt
Whole Mustard Seeds

Directions:

Rinse the fish under cold water and place on a baking tray. Rub the mustard seeds on the fish, be generous!

In a small bowl mix the curry, salt, bread crumbs and cheese, then add the olive oil. Spoon this mixture on top of the fish encrusted with mustard.

Bake in a medium temperature oven. 10 to 15 minutes.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Wheat Tortillas - Tortillas de harina

I have never made any sort of flat bread before. I have been researching the internet for tortilla recipes for over a year, but became a little overwhelmed thinking I needed a special tortilla maker to shape the darn things.

Over at Orangette, my prayers were answered. The recipe is simple, although I find it is a little easier to shape the tortillas into closer to perfect circles using a little more dough, dividing it into 12 or 10 rather than the recommended 18.

Wheat Tortillas


Ingredients:

4 cups of flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons Vegetable Shortening (Vegetalina in Argentina)
2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the Vegetalina, using your hands rub into the flour mixture until it becomes like cornmeal. Make a well in the center add about 1 1/2 cups of the water, stir in with a wooden spoon. Ojo! It is quite hot, when it starts to form, you can start to use your hands. Knead for 2 to 5 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut ball into 2, and further divide each of these balls into 6 or 9, whatever. Roll out each of these into a thin circle, using a little flour to prevent sticking.

In a pan, cook for about a minute on each side until lightly golden on a medium heat.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Pomodoro Sauce

Sunday is the traditional day for Pasta in Argentina. Today Mr. T took over the cooking duties, and he certainly out did himself with this deceivingly simple and insanely delicious Pomodoro Sauce, for our Ravioli.

Ingredients:
1 fresh and very ripe tomato
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
salt
pepper
pimentón
1 cup tomato puree
1 olive
2 cloves of garlic
2 laurel leaves
basil leaves chopped
splash of red wine

Directions:
- Put to boil some water. Score a cross with a knife at the end of the tomato (not the stem side). Blanche the tomato for 30 seconds. Now the skin can be removed easily.

- Finely chop the tomato to a puree consistency. Put into a sauce pan.

- Add olive oil, sugar and splash of red wine. Let is simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

- Add tomato puree and the laurel leaves to the mix. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

- Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped olive and garlic, pepper, pimentón and basil.

Enjoy with two plates of pasta cooked al dente.

* Recommended to have some fresh bread on hand to clean the plate of the sauce after eating all the pasta.

Finally! I lost my virginity!


The virginity of using yeast in baking. I have been very intimidated forever, but after reading Orangette´s blog and following her recipe to a T, the Cinnamon Buns turned out perfectly, well except the first batch burned slightly, as we only have two temperatures on an Argentine Stove, Hot and Hotter!

Also, I do not have any fancy kitchen equipment, and a simple tablespoon sufficed in place of the stand mixer. We even had Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the refrigerator, so having the Cream Cheese Glaze ending made losing my baking with yeast virginity complete.

Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ex-Presidental Empanadas

The following recipe for Empanadas Carne is from the city of Salta which is famous for their Empanadas. It is also the recipe for the Empanadas the Ex-President M_ _ _ _ ate for his daily Empanada quota.

*Just for the record, the man hands in the following pictures are actual man hands and not mine, my hands are very delicate and lily white.

One Kilo of Bola de Lomo (just find a hunk of meat that has very little fat through it)
750 grams white onions
One large potato
4 eggs
250 grams green onions
a little sugar
salt
pepper
pimentan

vegetable oil (Tenderflake or Crisco)
Empanada wraps (Or if you really want to be Martha or as I prefer Nigella, make your own)

1.Mince the carne

2.Cook the white onions and carne together on stove. Add a little salt, a little sugar and some pepper.
While this mixture is cooking, boil your eggs, and you can conserve pots by cooking the diced potatoes with the eggs. When ready, add pimentan and potatoes to the carne mixture.


3. Dice your green onions. Alway add the green onions to the carne mixture, when it has finished cooking. NEVER COOK THE GREEN ONIONS!

4. Dice up the eggs into fine pieces and add to mixture. Let the mixture cool.

5. Very lightly dampen the edges of the Empanada wrap with water. Add about a heaping tablespoon and a bit in the middle.

6. Pinch and crimp edges together to form a half circle.


7. Deep fry until golden or bake until golden!


8. Eat, red wine is particularly good with Empanadas and if I remember correctly,the Los Torrontes varietal grown in Salta is the best white wine for Empanadas.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Pancakes

 
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sift:
one cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
one-quarter teaspoon salt (not needed)

beat and add:
one egg (optional)

add:
1 cup milk (scant)
stir gradually to make smooth
add:
1 teaspoon melted butter or oil

cook in a hot frying pan, flip pancakes when they bubble, to brown the other side.

Serve with Canadian maple syrup or even Argentine Dulce de Leche.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Guimauve á la Grenadine

Fifteen years ago my friend Leah gave me a recipe for homemade marshmallows. I never got around to making them, it seemed so intimidating. I have never seen commercial packaged marshmallow here in Buenos Aires, but have been collecting recipes here and there. It was this recipe that finally made me jump into action. They looked so delectable, so French! Not like the pasty, puffy common marshmallow that I know.

Flavourings are a little harder to find, C&Z recommends Rose Syrup, alas Rose Water is very dear here, so I thought I would substitute the Rose for Grenadine Syrup. Also I thought this way the guimauve-marshmallow would have a lovely rosy hue. Well it turned out to be more bisque. I took the recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini but followed the directions from Martha Stewart, and had to improvise a little.

Ingredients:

14 grams gelatin - gelatina sin sabor
3 egg whites - claras
40 grams honey - miel
230 grams sugar - azúcar
4 tsp Grenadine - Granadina

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, papel manteca. Put sugar, honey, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Pour mixture into lined pan. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares.

On day two:

1.Combine the confectioner's sugar and potato or corn starch in a wide, shallow bowl.

2.Have ready a mug of very hot water. Lift the parchment paper to remove the guimauve from the pan, and transfer the whole thing carefully to a cutting board, and cut the guimauve into squares, using a sharp knife that you'll dip in the mug to keep the blade warm.

3.Transfer the cubes of guimauve three at a time, using your fingers to separate them delicately, into the prepared bowl, and coat them well. The cubes will have a maddening tendency to stick to one another, to your fingers, and to the bowl (the top surface is especially sticky), so keep them separate and handle them lightly.

4.Once coated, set the cubes aside on a plate, and leave them out to dry for 2 or 3 hours, flipping them halfway through. Transfer them in a fine-mesh sieve a handful at a time, and shake over the sink to remove the excess confectioner's sugar powder.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Creamy Chilled Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs*
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Butter -- Melted

Cheesecake Filling:
1 each Env. Unflavored Gelatin
1/4 cup Cold Water
8 ounces Cream Cheese -- Softened**
1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Whipping Cream -- Whipped
Strawberry Halves

Instructions:
Combine Crumbs, sugar, and margarine; press onto bottom of 9-inch spring- form pan.
Soften gelatin in water; stir over low heat until dissolved. Mix in with lemon and milk mixture, set aside.
Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Then blend in the lemon milk mixture. Chill until slightly thickened; fold in whipped cream. Pour over crust; chill until firm.
Top with strawberries before serving.

* So far I have not found Graham Crackers here in Argentina, but Mini Miel Galletitas have made a great substitute.

** I have substituted Casancrem and Mendicreme with great success

Once I was lazy and basically just put everything together and whipped it up. I let it set for about 5 hours, before I could not stand it anymore and just had to eat it right then and there. Well, it was not very firm and started falling apart. So I threw it into the freezer. It ended up that this cake is very tasty and refreshing frozen, especially with summer temperatures of 38ºC outside. The next time I make this cheesecake I will freeze it again.

Elodie's Chocolate Cake

You need not be a purist and only use bittersweet chocolate, semi sweet is just as good and regular butter is fine if you don't want to buy unsalted. In Argentina, all butter; manteca is unsalted unless specified.

Ingredients:
10 oz Bittersweet chocolate; chop
1 c Unsalted butter
Cut into small pieces
5 lg Eggs
1 1/4 c Sugar
5 Tbsp All purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
Powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325~F. Butter and flour 10-inch- diameter springform pan with 2-3/4-inch-high sides. Stir in chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Beat eggs and

1-1/4 cups sugar in large bowl until well blended and
beginning to thicken. Sift flour and baking powder over eggs and fold in. Gradually fold in chocolate mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake 20 minutes. Cover pan with foil. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 30 minutes longer. Uncover cake; cool in pan on rack (cake will fall as it cools.) (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.) Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Sift powdered sugar over cake; cut into wedges.