Tomato Couscous Salmon Bowl
Wednesday, August 03, 2022This tomato couscous bowl is perfect for meal prepping and packing up for lunches. All of the components are so fresh and great on their own, but somehow taste even better when combined together in a bowl. Instead of couscous, you can use brown rice, quinoa, kamut, or buckwheat for this deliciously healthy and wholesome summer bowl.
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- Place tomato juice and ras el hanout in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Stir in couscous, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes, then stir with a fork to break up any clumps.
- Remove the end stems and the strings of each pod. Rinse and dry them. Add a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in sugar snap peas and sautee for 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender. Season with salt and pepper.
- Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add in seasoned salmon fillets, with the skin down, and cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes until crispy and browned.
- Flip the salmon over and lower the heat to medium. Cook the remaining 3 sides until the fish is cooked through, 3 more minutes.
- Whisk together the pan juice, olive oil, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, divide the tomato couscous into two bowls. To each bowl, add the leafy greens, cilantro, onion rings and snap peas and top with a pan fried salmon fillet. Garnish with blackberries and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle the prepared dressing over.
Spelt Emmer Sourdough Wholemeal Bread using a Scalding Method
Monday, August 01, 2022baked with seam side down | baked with seam side up |
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Scalding, a very common process in grain preparation and cooking, is a technique involving cooking a portion of the flour (5%-20%) for a bread dough with relatively high hydration at a specific temperature which creates a gelatinized starch which can hold a lot more water than a normal bread dough mix. It also induces chemical reactions that create a sweeter flavor and make the bread more easily digestible. Usually 5% to 20% of flour are scalded one way or another. Higher percentages usually result in poor rise. Scald hydration is usually between 200% to 400%.
Scalding has been a part of bread baking for a long time, particularly in Northern Europe and Russia for many rye breads and for some wheat breads. There are different types of scalds (Scalds by gelatinisation degree, by saccharinification degree, by flavouring additives, by preservation and fermented scalds) and multiple ways to create a scald (cool down method - flour is measured, then boiling water is added and mixed in thoroughly; heat up method, like tangzhong where the flour is mixed with cold water, then slowly heated up to 65C/150F).
This bread uses a mixture of wholemeal spelt and emmer flour, which is not only very healthy, but also aromatic and very delicious. If you don't have emmer, then replace it with regular wheat or spelt flour.
Low Sugar Blackberry Jam without Pectin
Friday, July 29, 2022Blackberries are naturally high in pectin, so it’s easy to make a simple blackberry jam with no added pectin. All you need is blackberries and a little bit of sugar or honey for blackberry jam, but a little splash of lemon juice, which is also very high in natural pectin, will help naturally set the jam and bring out the best berry flavour.
Carrot Mango Salad with Date Dressing
Tuesday, July 26, 2022Serve this light, vibrant carrot, mango and fresh herb salad with a date dressing for a simple lunch or side dish. For the date dressing, I used Persian-style Feta, which is made from cow's milk, but you can replace with Greek variety, which is made from sheep's and goat's milk. Make a huge batch of this healthy salad to keep in the fridge as it makes the perfect accompaniment to your grill feast, but sprinkle the nuts over the salad right before serving, so they will stay crispy. Kaloute / kalute / kali dates are a type of fresh dates or wet dates with a soft meaty texture in Iran, similar to fresh mazafati dates. They're not strictly "fresh" as they have dried a little and darkened on the skin. The dried dates are great for the dressing too, but soak them first in hot water before mixing with other ingredients.
Sourdough Discard Bread
Saturday, July 23, 2022Baked with old spelt bread
Baked with old rye bread
Field of Rye
In the spirit of "ZERO Food Waste", this bread uses old bread and no longer needed sourdough starter, which results in a sensational, aromatic and crispy bread. A fantastic sourdough bread that is also known as "Discard Bread". It is very tasty and versatile. This discard bread has very pleasant sour note because of sourdough starter. Make sure that the proportion of sourdough discard does not exceed 40% of total soaker, otherwise the bread might be too sour. You can easily add 10% of this sourdough / old bread powder mixture to any other soakers without adjusting the recipe. This will add a little more flavour to your bread and you won't have to dispose of the leftover starter.
Chive Blossom Vinegar
Wednesday, July 20, 2022Edible flowers can add a splash of colour and fun to a wide variety of dishes and chive blossoms are one of the few that add flavour too. This pretty, light purple, edible flower smells mildly of garlic with a hint of floral and taste similar to chives. They can be used dried or fresh, tossed in a salad, to garnish a dish, or used to make compound butter. They are also an excellent ingredient to infuse vinegar. Making infused vinegar is a great way to preserve the flavour of chive blossoms, and it makes a thoughtful hostess gift.
If you want a more onion-y flavour to the finished vinegar, add 2-3 tablespoons of chive leaves. White wine vinegar works well with chive blossoms, but champagne vinegar or apple vinegar would work just fine too. Just keep in mind that using stronger flavoured vinegars, the flavour and the colour of final infused vinegar would be different.
You can double the recipe if you have lots of chive blossoms. The finished chive blossom vinegar will keep for up to 6 months at room temperature in your cabinet or a year in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator. Use chive blossom vinegar in marinades, salad dressings, drizzle on roasted vegetables, and for any recipe where you would like to add mild onion flavour to.
Blackberry Rosemary Curd
Monday, July 18, 2022This blackberry curd with rosemary is silky-smooth, fruity and creamy, sets beautifully and is made with blackberries, rosemary, lemon juice, raw sugar, butter and egg yolks. It works with both fresh and frozen blackberries. It's easy to make and tastes absolutely fantastic. Serve this bright and vibrant fruit curd on top of pancakes, ice cream, a dutch baby, meringues, on toast or enjoy it by the spoonful! Store the curd in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Blackberry Streusel Cake - Brombeer Streuselkuchen
Friday, July 15, 2022Blackberry Hedgerows
Blackberry Hedgerows
Streusel cakes come in all sorts of variations and are always very popular. This one baked with spelt flour and blackberries is delicious for the whole family. This coffee cake recipe combines a fluffy, tender butter sponge cake base, while a traditional one usually features a yeasted batter, and a streusel pastry. The sweet, sour taste of the wild blackberries hidden under a thick layer of crispy crumble pastry goes perfectly with the sweetness and richness of butter cake. Although it has a really fancy look, this cake is actually fairly easy to make!
Bottom | Streusel |
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- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Lightly butter a 24-26 cm / 8-10 inch heart-shaped or round spring-form pan. Line the bottom with a piece of baking paper.
- Rinse the blackberries briefly under cold water in a sieve and drain on the paper towels. Beat the softened butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Mix the flour with the baking powder and pinch of salt in a bowl.
- Stir in half of the flour mixture until roughly combined, followed by the milk, and then the remaining half of the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan and place the blackberries over the cake batter.
- Combine the flour, hazelnuts and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the blackberries.
- Bake the streusel cake on the middle shelf for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Peter Reinhart’s Kaiser Rolls with Pâte Fermentée
Tuesday, July 12, 2022The distinguishing characteristics of a Kaiser roll / bun (In German, it's known as a Kaisersemmel, Kaiserbrötchen or Sternsemmel) is the star pattern on the top, a thin, slightly crisp crust and a soft, dense, and chewy crumb. They are invented in Vienna, and thought to have been named to honor Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 18th century, the price and weight of the bread roll were regulated by law. In 1789, the bakers' association therefore sent a delegation to Emperor Joseph II to ask for free pricing for the roll. The emperor was so impressed with the bakers' craftsmanship that he approved the removal of the roll from the statutes and the roll was therefore called the emperor's roll / Kaisersemmel.
They are excellent for all kinds of savory and sweet breakfast toppings but also a great base for any sandwich variations. The traditional method for sharing a kaiser roll requires a series of overlappign folds, like making a paper flower. I am using Peter Reinhart’s simpler knotted roll design showed on The Bread Baker's Apprentice page 82. If you want them to be perfect, use a kaiser roll stamp or use an apple cutter to make the roll more like a rosetta.
Pâte Fermentée is the French word for ‘old dough’, a type of preferment that can either be freshly prepared or a piece of "old" bread dough separated from the last dough after bulk fermentation. It is made up of flour, water, salt and commercial baker’s yeast. It is the only yeasted pre-ferment that contains salt. It gives a complex flavour to the bread, it enhances crust colour and makes the gluten network stronger, making the resulting rolls significantly better than their commerical counterparts.