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Chinese Xiaolongbao (Soup-filled Dumplings)

Friday, September 27, 2019

Xiaolongbao, literally "Little Basket Buns",are traditionally filled with broth and pork, but beef, seafood, and vegetables are very often used as fillings. The broth inside is made by using some meat jelly inside the dumpling before steaming. Gelatin melts when steamed. Xiaolongbao always have soup, otherwise they are just Jiaozi / dumplings.

Filling	Wrapper
300 g Ground pork 2 g Salt 8 g Sugar 6 g Maggi sauce 1/4 tsp White pepper powder 1 stalk Spring onion, cut into sections 20 g Ginger root 150 ml Water 2 tsp Sesame oil 300 g Broth jelly	350 g German #1050 flour / unbleached bread flour 5 g Salt 165 ml Cold water

Use a heavy knife to smashed the ginger root. Place them in a bowl. Add in spring onion and water. Squeeze the mixture to release the juice from the ginger and onion. Strain. Season the ground pork with salt, sugar, Maggi sauce and pepper. Mix well. Gradually add in the prepared ginger-onion liquid and mix until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture forms a firm and cohesive mass. Drizzle in the sesame oil and combine well. Dice the jelly and blend together with meat mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and store in the fridge while prepare the wrappers.
Whisk the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add in water and start mixing by hand. Once the dough has come together, turn onto a floured work surface and knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least half an hour.
Half the dough lengthwise. On a floured surface roll each dough with palms back and forth to form a long rope of dough of even thickness. Portion the roll into 10-gram pieces and flatten each piece with the bottom of your palm. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out forming a disk of 7cm with the edges thinner than the center. Hold a wrapper in your left hand and raise fingers up to form a recess. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Carefully fold the edges of the wrapper together in a pleated fashion with the right hand. Pinch edges together to close the wrapper.
Soak cheese cloth in hot water, wring out water and lay in a steamer. Besides cheesecloth, cabbages, carrot slices, and parchment paper are a good source of lining the steamers too. Put in the dumplings and set the steamer over a pan filled with boiling water. Close the lid and steam for 8 minutes over strong heat. Serve with a sauce dish of thinly shredded ginger and black rice vinegar.

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Vegetable Ribbon Tart with Pesto and Ricotta

Sunday, September 22, 2019

This delicious vegetable tart is filled with a layer of homemade pesto and ricotta and top with a spiral of thinly sliced ribbons of zucchini and carrots. Spelt flour gives the pastry a nutty flavour which works so well with the pesto filling. This vegetable tart is lovely for either lunch or as an appetizer.

Crust	Filling
100 g White spelt flour 100 g Whole spelt flour 1/4 tsp Black salt 100 g Cold butter, cubed 20 g Gruyere, finely grated 30 ml Buttermilk	350 g Carrots 400 g Zucchini 150 g Homemade pesto 100 g Ricotta 1-2 tbsp Avocado oil Black salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tip the flours into a bowl with black salt. Add the butter and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the cheese with a knife. Drizzle over buttermilk, then use the knife to stir it in until clumps of dough start to form. Turn out onto a work surface and bring the dough together with your hands into a smooth ball. Alternatively, you can make the pastry in a food processor. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Use a vegetable peeler or mandolin to thinly slice carrots and zucchini lengthways into long thin ribbons. Stir together the pesto and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Lightly grease the base and sides of an 22cm tart pan with removable base. Roll pastry between 2 sheets baking paper until 3mm thick and large enough to line prepared pan. Press pastry into the pan. Trim edges. Line pastry with baking paper. Fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights or rice. Bake for a further 5 minutes or until light golden and just crisp.
Remove the tart shell from the oven and reduce oven to 180C/350F. Spoon the prepared filling into pastry case, pressing down gently with back of spoon to level.
Starting from the outside, arrange the vegetable ribbons to form concentric circles to fill the shell. Brush all over with the avocado oil, and sprinkle with freshly milled salt and pepper to taste. Return it to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through. Sprinkle some extra pine nuts over if desired. Slice into wedges to serve.