Red Currant Banana Tart
Sunday, August 12, 2012When I first saw the ‘blueberry banana tart recipe’ on Roxana’s Home Baking, I knew for sure I had to make it. However, I have gently tweaked the recipe to my convenience and to suit my husbands taste.
The bright colour and tart flavour of these delicate red currants are harmoniously balanced by honey, bananas, almonds, and nutty spelt.
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- Place the flour, ground almonds, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well and add in butter, egg yolk and cold water. Using your fingertips, mix until it forms a smooth pastry dough. Roll it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
- Grease a 11-inch tart pan with a little butter and sprinkle with a little flour. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to a circle, 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick, and use to line the prepared tart pan. Cover with a plastic film and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Fill the crust with red currants, then top with banana slices, and drizzle with honey. Bake for about 30 minutes. Garnish, if desired, with blueberries and mint leaves. Cool slightly before slicing.
Rolled Spelt Flakes Cheddar Crackers
Thursday, August 09, 2012These crackers are unique rolled spelt crackers with cheesy and nutty flavours. They go well with a yogurt dip and delicious with soups too. Rolled spelt can be replaced with old-fashioned rolled oats.
Rolled Spelt Flakes Cheddar Crackers
adapted from Food and WineCracker | Egg Wash |
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- Combine rolled spelt flakes and milk in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes until rolled spelt flakes soften slightly.
- Whisk together refined spelt flour, baking powder and salt until blended. With your fingers, rub in cheese and cold butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
- Add the egg into the softened spelt flakes, then add into the cheese mixture. Mix until a dough forms. Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic film and gently knead a few times until thoroughly blended. Pat into a round and wrap it up. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Work with half of dough at a time. On a lightly floured work surface, cover the dough with a plastic film. Roll out to 1/8-inch / 3 mm thick. Quickly cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares or stamp out different shapes. Place them on the prepared baking sheets. Chill until the rounds are firm, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Whisk the egg yolk and milk together. Lightly brush the crackers with the egg wash. Bake for about 15 minutes until the crackers are golden brown.
Quark Dip with Chive and Shallot
Sunday, August 05, 2012The light, tangy flavour of German fresh cheese is complemented by chives, shallot fritters and minced garlic for this healthy and tasty dip. It is perfect with crunchy vegetable sticks, crisp baked potatoes, and grilled meat. It is even nice as a spread on a hearty rye bread.
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- Stir Quark, milk, minced garlic and white wine vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in shallot fritters and chopped chives. Stir until combined. Garnish with more fritters and chives if desired.
Plum Spelt Crumble Cake
Wednesday, August 01, 2012In this delicious summer coffee cake, juicy, sweet and tangy plum halves are embedded in a buttery spelt crust and covered with a crunchy crumble topping. If you can’t get spelt, use wheat flour instead.
Plum Spelt Crumble Cake
adapted from essen und trinken
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- Place spelt flours, baking powder, cinnamon powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in diced butter and egg yolk. With a hand-held mixer, stir until well combined.
- Press 2/3 of the dough onto a 8 to 10-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper. Wrap the pan and the rest of dough separately with plastic film. Chill for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, wash and dry the plums. Cut them into halves and remove the stones. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Prick dough thoroughly with a fork. Sprinkle the ground almonds over, then place the plum halves, cut side up, onto the pan. Crumble the rest of dough on the top of the plums. Bake in the center of the hot oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown. Serve, dust with powdered sugar or with ice cream.
Bulgur Whole Wheat Bread
Sunday, July 29, 2012This is an easy everyday bread made with a mix of coarse bulgur, wholewheat and all purpose flours. The bread has a softer, springy texture and a mellow, slightly sweet taste from nutty bulgur and honey. It is excellent for sandwiches, or toast.
Bulgur, a Middle Eastern staple made from precooked wheat berries, has a wonderful nutty flavour and a lighter texture than cracked wheat made from raw wheat berries.
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- Place bulgur in a large bowl. Add in the boiling water. Set aside to soak for an hour until tender. Line two loaf pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the flours, wheat germ, and table salt. Crumble the fresh yeast over.
- Stir water, honey, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the puffed bulgur. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix at first at slow speed for 4 minutes or until the dough comes together then increase the speed and stir until the dough has become smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
- Turn out the dough and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a little bit oil. Return the dough to bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth or plastic wrap, and let dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. Punch down, and divide the dough into three portions. Round up each portion of dough. Cover them with a kitchen towel and rest for 10 minutes.
- Deflate the dough ball. Shape two of them into balls and one into a log. Place two dough balls in the larger pan, and the log into the smaller pan, then brush the tops with olive oil and dust with some whole wheat flour. Cover and let rise 1-2 hours until doubled in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut an 1/2 inch deep slash down the length of the loaves. Bake in the center of the hot oven for about 40-50 minutes until nicely brown. Cool in the pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn out and cool.
Wheat Berry Salad with Watermelon
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A delicious, light yet filling salad recipe of chewy, subtle nutty wheat berries and juicy watermelon tossed with a simple tangy raspberry vinaigrette.
Wheat berries are high in fiber, low in calories and packed with vitamins and minerals. and are as easy as rice to prepare — perfect for a meal any time of year. You can purchase wholewheat berries at your local whole foods market or specialty food store.
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- Combine wheat berries and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 50 minutes. Drain and let cool.
- Cut the flesh from the watermelon and cut into bite size pieces, removing and discarding the seeds, and add into the wheat berries together with parsley leaves and olive herb needles.
- In a small bowl, combine raspberry vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper, and whisk until salt is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil until well blended. Pour the dressing over the wheat berry mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed.
Banana Rolled Spelt Cookies with Fresh Stevia Leaves
Sunday, July 22, 2012These banana cookies are free of sugar and so healthy that you can even enjoy them with a glass of milk as the breakfast. Feel free to replace rolled spelt flakes with old fashioned oats and fresh stevia leaves with other sugar substitutes or honey.
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- Preheat the oven 160C/320F, fan forced. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mash overripe bananas and mix with rolled spelt flakes, skim milk, egg, vanilla and peanut butter. Fold in chopped fresh stevia leaves.
- Place heaping tablespoon-sized batter onto the prepared baking sheets and cook for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Makes about 2 dozen of cookies.
Lemon Thyme Spelt Bars
Thursday, July 19, 2012These lemon bars, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis via foodnetwork, are more of a shortbread with a thin lemon glaze. They don’t have the same texture as a lemon bar.
Bars | Glaze |
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- Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 165C/325F. Line an 8-inch baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl combine flour, lemon-thyme and salt. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together softened butter and powdered sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
- Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Using damp fingers, press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Cool for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the lemon juice and powdered sugar together for the glaze in a medium bowl until smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled crust. Allow the glaze to harden, at room temperature, for at least 1 hour.
- Lift the parchment paper to remove the crust from the pan. Cut into the bars and arrange on a serving platter or store airtight in a plastic container at room temperature.
Fig Parmesan Salad with Balsamic Reduction
Monday, July 16, 2012This simple yet delicious fig salad incorporates with all wonderful flavours of the saltiness of Parmesan, the sour tang of vibrant red currants and the sweetness of figs and balsamic reduction.
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- Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add in balsamic vinegar and reduce for about 5 minutes until thick and syrupy.
- In a salad bowl, combine lollo rosso lettuce, figs, shaved Parmesan, red currants and argan oil. Divide between two serving plates and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Potato Salad with Peas and Mint
Friday, July 13, 2012This delicious potato salad brings together new potatoes, peas, and Prosciutto tossed with a light yogurt mint dressing, an excellent compliment to just about any meat dishes.
It is best served warm or at room temperature or if making ahead, place in the fridge. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and fold in a few extra tablespoons of yogurt dressing.
Potato Salad with Peas and Mint
adapted from Chow
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- Place the potatoes in a large pot filled with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, cook the Prosciutto in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet until well browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Return the pan, with the bacon fat, to the stove over medium heat and add the shallot. Season well with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the peas and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
- Once the potatoes are cool, cut into large dice and add to the pea mixture. Add the yogurt, milk, mint, and the Prosciutto and fold until the potatoes are well coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve at room temperature.