Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The best pumpkin pie

This is a wonderfully tangy alternative to the standard pumpkin pie - the creme fraiche adds a light and creamy texture.  Adapted from The Traveler's Lunch and Martha Stewart.


Ingredients

For the crust

12 graham crackers/digestive biscuits ground finely
70 g (5 T) butter
40 g sugar

For the filling

1 can/1.5 c pumpkin puree
1.5 c creme fraiche
3 large eggs
1.5 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
pinch cloves
1/2 salt
1/2 c (100g) dark brown sugar
1/2 c (100g) white sugar
1 T cornstarch

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 175 C.  Combine graham crackers/digestives with sugar and butter, and combine until the mixtures is the texture of wet sand.
2) Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate, and bake crust until it is dry and set, about 12 minutes.
3) While the crust is cooking, in a large bowl combine all of the pie filling ingredients except for the sugars and cornstarch.
4) In a small bowl, combine the sugars and corn starch until no lumps remain.
5) Combine pumpkin and sugar mixtures, and pour into parbaked crust.  Lower oven temperature to 160C and bake until the filling is puffed and set, about an hour.

Quinoa with miso, sweet potato, and broccoli

This is a delicious recipe with incredibly more-ish sauce: the miso is sweet, savory, and tangy.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.


Ingredients

1 c cooked quinoa
2 medium sweet potatoes (1.5 pounds)
1 large broccoli head
1-2 T olive oil
2 T toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions, chopped coarsely
a handful of your favorite herb, chopped

For the sauce

1.5 T ginger
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
3 T miso
3 T tahini
1.5 T honey
3/8 c rice vinegar
3 T sesame oil
3 T olive oil

Instructions

1) Heat oven to 205C.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes, then remove stalk from broccoli and cut into small florets.
2) Spray a tin foil lined tray with olive oil, layer sweet potatoes onto tray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3)  Cook sweet potatoes for 20 minutes or until browning slightly, then add broccoli chunks and toss to combine, and roast for another 10-15 minutes, until broccoli is lightly browned and sweet potato is fully cooked.
4) While vegetables are cooking, prepare miso dressing by combining ingredients and blending (in a blender or with a hand blender).
5) To serve, put a dollop of quinoa on a plate, add a few spoonfulls of sweet potatoes and broccoli, sprinkle with dressing, then finish with sesame seeds, herbs, and green onions.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Pizza with gorgonzola, caramelized onions, pear, beets, and rocket

Making homemade pizza dough requires a bit of advance prep and effort, but it's absolutely worth the effort.  The dough here was kneaded using a bread maker, but it is just as easy to use a food processor or knead by hand.  Adapted from Cooks Illustrated.


Ingredients

For the dough

1 3/4 c water, divided into 1/2 cup warm, 1 1/4 c tap temperature
1 t dry active yeast
2 T olive oil
4 c strong white bread flour
1.5 t salt 

For the pizza

a jar of your favorite tomato sauce
a hunk of gorgonzola, crumbled
250g fresh mozzarella, cut into small chunks
200 g baby beets (sweetfire is best), cut into small chunks
1 pear, sliced thinly
2 red onions, caramelized (see here for a recipe)
1/2 c parmesian, grated
6 cups fresh rocket

Instructions

For the dough

1) Combine 1/4 c warm water with yeast in a medium bowl, and let stand 5 minutes, until yeast dissolves and swells to produce bubbles.  
2) Add remaining 1/4 c water, 1 1/4 c tap water, and 2 T olive oil.
3) Combine flour with salt.
4a) If using a bread maker, combine all ingredients together and let the machine do the work.
4b) If using a food processor, place flour/salt into the food processor, pulse to combine well, then add the liquid ingredients, pulsing all the while until a ball of dough forms.
5) Process dough in food processor with short pulses for 30 seconds to a minute, until the dough is smooth and satiny.
6) Lightly flour a work surface, turn dough out, and knead by hand for about a minute to form a small ball.  
7) Place dough into a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a cool place for about 4 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

For the pizza

I like to improvise with quantities for ingredients.  Here, you should have enough toppings for about 3 pizzas - feel free to decrease/increase the quantities of any of the toppings to suit your taste.  You will have some leftover dough, which can be wrapped tightly in cling film and frozen.

1) Preheat the oven to 250C.  Cover a large work surface with flour, take a piece of dough the size of a fist, and roll dough out from the middle outwards, with a rolling pin, until it is to the thickness of your liking.  (See here for tips)
2) Place the dough onto a baking stone or tray, and layer with ingredients: spray with a bit of olive oil, slather base with 2-3 T tomato sauce, and sprinkle with gorgonzola, mozzarella, red onions, pear, and beets.  
3) Sprinkle the top with parmesian, and bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is gold brown and the toppings are browning slightly.
4) Serve sprinkled with fresh rocket.