Pavlova, Oh My

I’m sure that every person who tastes that first mouthful of Pavlova always sighs the same sigh, Oh My.  Legend has it that this confection was first created as a tribute to Anna Pavlova, the famous Russian ballerina.  As my friend Pat said, “She musta been one good ballet dancer.”

Imagine a ballerina’s frilly and frothy tutu, charmed by a wizard, suddenly turned into a sweet, light, airy confection on your plate.  I’ve made it even more ethereal with the addition of a couple of magic ingredients.  Read on.

This dessert always causes a huge sensation, yet it’s fairly easy to pull off, provided you’re organized.

The Meringue

6 room temperature large egg whites

Pinch of salt

1 ½ cups vanilla sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons plain vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon high quality vanilla

¼ teaspoon orange blossom water

(this part is tweaked from a Simply Recipes site)

The Lemon Custard

4 tablespoons vanilla sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch or custard powder

1 ½ lemons

zest from 1 lemon

2 cups water (approximately)

¼ teaspoon orange blossom water

1 tablespoon Limoncello

The Topping

½ cup heavy cream (35%)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Fresh blackberries to garnish

For the meringues, start by moving your oven rack to the middle point, and preheat oven to 250 F.  Spread parchment paper over a cookie sheet.

Then, oh, so carefully separate the eggs.  One at a time,  crack the egg around with a knife, pry it apart, and use your spotlessly clean fingers to catch the yolk while the white slips through your fingers into the first small bowl.  Plop the yolk into a second small bowl.

Immediately pour that egg white into a clean large mixing bowl.  So much as a molecule of oil or yolk will wreck the meringue, so be cautious.  Be sure to immediately pour each white into the large mixing bowl, because if you let them collect in the first small bowl, and so much as a drop of yolk lands in multiple egg whites, you’ll regret the waste.  If you spoil a white with yolk, put it aside for now, and restart with a clean bowl and clean hands.  (Use the yolky egg white later in another dish.)

Once your eggs are separated, put some plastic wrap over the yolks and refrigerate.

Leave lots of room for custard.

 

At this point, mix the sugar and cornstarch in a medium size bowl, and then mix the vinegar, vanilla and orange blossom essence into a small bowl.  Set these near your mixing station.

Drop a pinch of salt into the whites, and turn on your scrupulously clean mixer to low speed.  Over the course of three minutes, gradually increase the speed to medium high.   With the mixer at medium high, drop a spoonful of the sugar mix into the whipping whites.  Continue till all the sugar is incorporated into the whites.  Turn the mixer up to top speed, and slowly pour in the vinegar solution.  Whip for another five minutes.

I created six meringue nests, but you can create more, as these were rather large.  You may also make one big meringue.  I plopped a goodly heaping of meringue at six even spots on the parchment lined cookie sheet, not worrying too much about size or shape.  Next time I'll make 8, as they grew in the oven and made massive desserts!

As I got down to the last of the whites, I started shaping each meringue, into a rustic round shape.  

The yellow lemon skin is fragrant and not bitter.

Finally I used the back of a large spoon to smooth out each centre, creating a depression for the custard sauce that is a much later step in this recipe.

Pop the meringues into the oven, and keep an eye on these babies.  Ideally, they shouldn’t tan or crack.  If they do, lower your oven temperature and turn the wrack around to distribute the oven heat differently.  I used a recipe that had me starting at 275 F, and cranking the heat down 25 degrees if tanning occurred.  It occurred.  Eventually I had to crank it down by 40 degrees, so I’m advising the lower temperature.  Cook for an hour, so the meringues feel crunchy.  A delicious Pavlova should be marshmellowy inside, but not crunchy through and through. 

After an hour, remove from the oven, and lift parchment paper and all onto cooling rack.  I made mine the night before, and once the oven was cooled again, I plunked the cooling rack and the meringues back into the oven to spend the night.

If you can find a lemon zester, use it!

To make the custard, begin by rolling your lemons over the countertop to loosen the juice.  If you have a zester, go after one lemon, removing just the yellow part of the skin.  Otherwise, use a potato peeler, and then dice the peel into thin strips.  Be sure to use only the yellow part of the skin!  Add the sugar and cornstarch (or custard powder) to a medium size sauce pan, then the lemon zest.

Squeeze the juice out of the whole and half lemon, measuring, and adding water to equal 2 ½ cups of liquid.  Pour into the saucepan, stir and bring to a boil.  Keep stirring to keep the starch from cooking at the bottom. 

Once the mix is starting to thicken, take it off the heat.  Grab that bowl of egg yolks, and whisk.  

Orange blossom water and Limoncello = :)

Drop a spoonful of the hot mix, whisking.  Drop in more hot mix, and whisk, and carry on till no more will fit in that small bowl.  The yolks will lighten, but they will also temper, meaning that the yolk mix can now be whisked into the remaining liquid in the saucepan.  Put it back on the heat, and continue whisking for five minutes or so, on a gentle boil.  It will thicken to a sauce.  Take it off the heat, stir in the orange blossom water and Limoncello.  Pour into a pretty pitcher. Cool and refrigerate.

For the topping, whip the cream, and when it’s almost done, add the vanilla and sugar.

Assemble the Pavlovas at the table, as they are a last minute confection.  If you pour the sauce into the meringue too early in the day, the meringue will get soggy and limp.  You don’t want that to happen to your pretty tutu!  Garnish with whipped cream and blackberries. 

Be prepared to moan and sigh.  Oh my, Pavlova, oh my.  I served these for Allison’s birthday party.  More recipes to follow!  

These grew in the oven, so next time I'll make 8 smaller ones!

A Tasty Multi-Grain Thepla

I seem to have fallen madly in love with all kinds of Indian breads lately, and the original pics of this one were too tempting to resist.  This super healthy multi-grain thepla is largely borrowed from Apu, at the AnnarasaEssenceof Food site, but with a few of my little tweaks here and there.

The dough has a few more steps than a regular chapatti recipe, but about as many steps as a stuffed paratha recipe, so if you enjoy cooking, try this!

2 tablespoons mustard oil

1 teaspoon cumin seed

¼ teaspoon hing (asafetida)

1 small red onion, very finely diced

Sweet Red Pepper adds taste and color!

½ sweet red pepper, very finely diced

½ teaspoon red chilli powder  (or to taste)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon amchur powder (dried green mango)

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

¼ cup kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

3 tablespoons white sesame seeds

1 teaspoon jaggery powder, or sugar

½ cup plain yogurt

2 cups whole wheat flour

½ cup besan flour (chickpea flour)

½ cup millet flour

¼ cup barley flour

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

½ cup water (approximately)

2 to 3 tablespoons ghee for roasting  (clarified butter)

Put a frying pan on medium high heat, add the mustard oil, and when it’s hot, add the cumin seed and hing.  As the cumin first starts to sizzle, add the onion and sweet pepper, and lower the heat to medium, and cook till the onion is caramelized and the pepper is soft.  Add the spice powders and kasoori methi and fry for another minute, stirring.  Kasoori methi are dried fenugreek leaves, and not to be mistaken with fenugreek seed or powder.  They smell super strong, but this much adds an excellent taste and texture.  (If you can’t find this product, use about a half teaspoon of the finer fenugreek seed.)  

Add the sesame seeds, and watch over it, stirring, till they start to brown a little.  It may take two or three minutes. 

Watch carefully so the sesame doesn't burn.

Add the sugar, stir a few times, and remove from heat.  Scrape into a large bowl.  When it’s somewhat cooled, stir in the yogurt.

Meanwhile, get your flours and salt together.  Mix them and add them to the onion and yogurt mixture.  Use your hand to stir the dough, to get a good feeling for how much more liquid is needed.  Taste for saltiness at this point.  Add a bit more if needed.  Add the water in small amounts.  The dough should come together, but not be sloppy wet and sticky.  Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, roll into a big ball, cover with a damp tea towel, and set aside for thirty minutes.

Heat a griddle to medium heat.  My stove burners go up to 12, so I select 5, which works for me.  Every stove is different and you’ll experiment a bit.  

Meanwhile, pinch off a ball slightly smaller than a golf ball, and roll it up.  Place on a floured surface, and then flatten it with the palm of your hand.  

Flip it to get flour on the other side.  Roll it out to about a five to six inch diameter, and pick it up and brush off extra flour.  Place in the griddle and start rolling out the next thepla.  Keep a close eye on the griddle, and when the dough starts to change colour (within a couple of minutes) flip it.  Use a brush or back of spoon to thinly glaze with ghee, which is clarified butter.  You aren't frying these as such, just dry roasting in a griddle, with the help of a thin glaze of clarified butter.  Flip it again, and glaze the next side with ghee.  Each thepla should be fully roasted within three to four minutes.  If you can manage a higher heat to make them go faster, without burning, go for it!

Flatten it with the palm of your hand, and flip to coat in flour.  Then  roll out.

According to Apu’s AnnarasaTheEssenceofFood site, these make a great picnic item.  

You might need a partner to help with rolling, flipping and buttering.

I served some for a light supper with sag paneer, and then we greedily ate all the leftovers the next day, mostly as snacks.  Because I go light on the ghee, I can justify these as being healthy.  The grains and sesame are super healthy, and these thepla are most satisfying. 

You can always substitute mustard oil, or any healthy oil for ghee, to keep these vegan.  If you need help with finding these ingredients, please drop me a line.  

Best of all, there were lots of left-overs!  Yum!

Easy South Indian Milk Coffee

This milky coffee is more of an elixir than most other coffees, and this ridiculously easy recipe belongs in the Ripley’s Believe It or Not category.  While there are complex methods of making this beverage, this one sidesteps what you’d think of as common sense, and yet it produces wonders.

In India we had this gorgeous beverage every morning, and always assumed someone in a back kitchen was squeezing boiling hot coffee through a cloth for twenty minutes, producing the complicated version of South Indian milk coffee.  But one morning, it was delivered to our table as a jug of hot milk, and several packets of Nescafe.  Of course, as North Americans we were appalled, until we stirred the powder into the milk, and realized this was what we’d been drinking all along.

The adults in our family slunk into Indian grocery stores on secret missions, buying jars of what we assumed was an infinitely better version of Nescafe, and stashed them in our suitcases to bring home.  Once home we discovered we’d brought back a great deal of Nescafe, as we had each been so clandestine about our behavior.  But we were met with disaster.  It tasted just as dreadful as ever, and we wondered why it was no longer a delicious elixir.  And then I cracked the code: ignore the directions on the jar.  Do this instead: 

Easy!

For each cup of milk coffee, use a tablespoon (heaping if you like it really strong) of Nescafe, and another teaspoon or more of sweetener.  I used jaggery, and was satisfied with a mildly sweet taste.  

Add about a quarter cup of whole milk and stir.  The granules will be almost but not quite fully dissolved.  Pop in the microwave, or use a small saucepan to heat.  Once heated, the granules will be fully dissolved.  Add the rest of the whole milk at this point, and heat the works.

When it’s piping hot, serve.  Oh gorgeousness.  This made such a wonderful breakfast with my leftover potato and paneer stuffed parathas from last night.  

Just to recap:

Not yet fully dissolved

• 1 tablespoon (maybe heaping) Nescafe instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon (or more) sweetener  (Jaggery, sugar, or honey, or ahem, cough, cough, Nestle’s Quick)
• 1 cup whole milk  (Don’t attempt this with non-fat or skimmed.  Only the full 3% will pull this off.)

Stir the coffee and sweetener with a small amount of milk.  Heat to dissolve.  Add rest of milk, heat and serve.

I haven't had coffee this good since I was in Portugal, drinking their 'galaos', a beverage I became literally addicted to.  Oh my.  Of course it's been thirty years, but I think this recipe has a similar taste.

Who would have thought a foodie would actually promote jarred instant coffee?  What taboos have you broken today?

Fully dissolved after heating

I couldn't bear the glum thought of regular coffee with my parathas this morning...

Potato and Paneer Stuffed Paratha

Something deep inside me feels very guilty about eating what is basically a potato sandwich.  Way too many carbs, my conscience shouts.  The only way to lessen the guilt is to up the protein levels, which I’ve done here with the addition of paneer, a simple Indian cheese, and sesame seeds.  

A thousand times better than what a potato sandwich sounds like, this stuffed flatbread is a meal in itself.  Read on.

Did you know that when cooked potatoes are cooled, the starches in them change, thus lowering the Glycemic Index?  So the paratha is healthier still!  

Using whole wheat flour and lots of fresh ingredients also improves the overall nutrition of this light meal, which is often eaten for lunch.  But I served these for a simple Saturday night supper, along with a steaming bowl of tomato and kale masoor dal (vegetarian orange lentil stew).  

This recipe made five big and sturdy stuffed parathas.  One is a reasonable serving with a small bowl of dal. 

2 potatoes

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon cumin seed

(A silicone brush is great for moving spices and applying ghee.) 

1 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

¼ cup finely diced red onion1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

1 finely diced Thai chili (or to taste)

½ teaspoon finely diced garlic

2 teaspoons (plus) tamarind water (explained below)

½ cup paneer, diced

salt to taste

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup white sesame seeds

1 cup (plus) warm water

ghee (clarified butter)  (less than a tablespoon, if you’re behaving yourself)

Begin by poking the potatoes with a fork, and putting whole into the microwave.  Cook till soft.  (I set my machine onto ‘bake potatoes’, and it took about five minutes.  Set potatoes on countertop to cool.

Set a pan on medium heat.  Toss in the cumin, garam masala and turmeric.  Because the spices are already ground, they will roast in less than thirty seconds.  Brush them into a medium size bowl and set aside.  

Notice that this potato filling uses raw onion and garlic. Don’t worry.  As long as these are chopped finely enough, the taste will be flavourful but not raw or overwhelming.

Add the onion, garlic and chillies to the roasted spices..  Chop the baked potatoes roughly.  I leave the skins on, as nutritionists advise.  Add to the onion and spice mix.  Smoosh the potatoes into a mash and stir into the mix.  At this point the mix will be a little dry.  Taste it now, to be sure it’s powerful.  Add salt if needed.  You want it a bit over-spiced and salty, as the paneer and paratha dough will soften the flavours later.

Smoosh and stir.

Tonight's paneer came frozen, so I thawed about a third of a cup in the microwave for about thirty seconds, and chopped that roughly, and added to the onion and potato mix. 

Now for the tamarind water.  Tamarind is best bought in a block.  Use a big knife to saw off a piece,  about a marble’s worth.  Put it into a heat proof cup.  Pour boiling water over it, and set aside about twenty minutes.  

I was busy making the masoor dal during this waiting period, and I also got started on my paratha dough, which took up my twenty minutes, easily. 

Unstrained tamarind water

To make the paratha dough, put the flour and sesame seeds into a large bowl.  Don’t worry about adding salt, as the potato mix will be supplying the flavour.  Add ¾ of the water, stirring with your hand.  Gently add the rest of the water, a little more or less, to get a soft dough that picks up all the flour in the bowl, and isn’t horribly sticky on your hand.  Use your hand to mix in a circular and pushing style, to knead the dough a bit. 

By now, if twenty minutes have passed, get back to the tamarind water.  Using a spoon, smash the tamarind bits.  You can also use your fingers to smoosh the tamarind, squeezing it to separate the seeds.  Once you’ve pretty much liquefied the jelled tamarind, thus making 'tamarind water', pour it through a strainer to remove the seeds and bits.  Add to the potato mix, again tasting to be sure the mix is tangy, delicious and strong.

Now it’s time to get back to the paratha dough.  Flour your rolling surface.  Pinch off a large golf ball size of dough, roll it into a ball, and slightly flatten it. Use a rolling pin to roll it to an eighth inch thickness.  Drop a couple of tablespoons of potato mix in the centre.  

Lift up the sides of the paratha, and pinch together.  Use your hand to gently press it, then roll it out again.  This time, settle for a quarter inch thickness.  Place on a heated griddle (I set mine to medium heat, but you’ll need to experiment with your stove.)  Within a couple of minutes, the dough will change colour.  Flip the paratha, and brush with melted ghee.  Flip again, and cook for a few minutes, pressing air pockets gently with a spatula.  

Pinch and seal it up well.

Flip again, and brush with more ghee.  When the paratha is golden on both sides, remove from griddle and begin on the next.  I have a rhythm where I can roll, fill, roll, cook, flip, brush, roll, stuff, roll, flip and so on to the next paratha till they’re all done, but you might need a partner. 

If you’re having these for lunch, serve with a bit of plain yogurt and some Indian pickle. These feel like a light supper to me, when served with a vegetarian dal.  Delicious and filling, it’s a nice healthy meal!  

If you’re wondering where to buy these ingredients, please drop me a line.  If you’re in Calgary, I can supply you with names and addresses, but further away my advice can only become more general. But I'll be glad to help!
 

These will make great leftovers!

Woops, I was focussing on the dal and beer...

Masala Kissed Rainbow Trout

In this neck of the woods, it is considered near criminal to “overpower” rainbow trout with flavours.

A mere hint of lemon and a pat of butter is the purist’s law when it comes to this delicate fish.  Some purists go so far as to brown the butter, which is considered edgy.  But I like my spices, and couldn’t resist.  This recipe involves some chopping, but otherwise it’s very easy to prepare.  This recipe is too much for two people, but I made it for us anyway.  A big eater would enjoy getting an entire fish to herself!

1 cup diced sweet potato

I cheated and used this!

1 long sweet red pepper, diced

½ small red onion, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 Thai chillies, finely diced (or to taste)

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 cleaned rainbow trout

½ teaspoon garam masala 

1 clove garlic, finely sliced 

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

pats of butter, optional

Begin by chopping and slicing the onion, mushrooms, sweet red pepper, chillies, ginger and  sweet potato.  Be sure to dice the sweet potato as finely as possible, so that it can cook well, and even caramelize a bit if you are lucky.  (Mine were cooked but not caramelized; they were a bit too big.)  

Assemble on a huge sheaf of aluminum foil.  

Sprinkle on garam masala and mix around to combine well.  Lay the fish on top of the vegetables, and make a mixture of the next amount of garam masala, along with the garlic slices and salt.  Press into the cavities of each fish.  Lay slices of lemon over each fish.  As I’m still trying to lose those winter pounds, I placed no pats of butter atop the fish, but that doesn’t mean you have to be so glum. 

Pinch together the sides of the aluminum foil, and fold tightly to wrap the fish.  Pinch together the end sides as well, folding as closely to the contents as possible.  This must be a leak proof, closed system, so that the contents will steam properly.  The lemon will provide enough moisture for steaming.  Place on the barbecue at medium high heat, and cook for ten minutes on each side.  When done, open the foil carefully so the steam doesn’t blast you.  

Get a tight seal!

I’d call this an easy, one pot dinner, but look ma, no pot!  The trout were just kissed by the spices and garlic, but the veg were nice and spicy.  A beautiful combo, and so easy!