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Fresh Ginger, Walnuts and Sesame Seed Logs

Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Full of quality and tasty ingredients, these sesame logs with walnuts, oats and fresh ginger are easy to make and are perfect as a on the go energy snack, a sweet lunchbox filler, or as an afternoon pick-me-up without the refined sugar. Instead of logs, you can shape these into balls or bars if you prefer. Can't find Medjool dates? No problem. Just use regular deglet noor dates, which are equally delicious and sweet with a firmer texture. Medjool dates, by contrast, have a rich, almost caramel-like taste and a soft, chewy texture.

120 g Walnuts, toasted
45 g Rolled oats
200 g Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp Freshly grated ginger
1/3 tsp Black salt
50 g Sesame seeds, toasted

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts to the hot, dry pan in a single layer. Cook, stirring frequently until the walnuts start to brown and they smell toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to a plate or baking tray to cool completely.
Process walnuts and oats in a food processor until finely chopped. Add in dates, ginger and salt. process until mixture forms a paste.
Shape level tablespoons of mixture into 5cm long logs and place them on a baking-paper-lined tray. Chill for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool. Roll logs in sesame seeds and chill for 1- 2 hours or until firm.

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Sourdough Challah with Grape Sourdough Starter

Sunday, October 06, 2019

Challah, usually braided and typically eaten on Jewish holidays. The dough is enriched with eggs and oil, while using sugar or honey for some sweetness. The fun and exciting part comes from the braiding the dough. A simple 3-stranded braid would be gorgeous enough as the centerpiece for your dinner table. But a 4, or 6 stranded challah would really impress your guests. You can also coil the long braided loaf into a circle.

Grape Sourdough Starter	Dough
454 g Organic red grapes Rye flour Water	240 g Wild Grape Sourdough Starter 2 Eggs, lightly beaten 1 Egg yolks, lightly beaten 120 ml Water 55 g Honey 50 g Sunflower oil 2 tsp Salt 440 g All-purpose or bread flour 1 Egg white 1 tbsp Water 1 tbsp Oatmeal bran or seeds/nuts

Start with the starter. Stem grapes into a medium mixing bowl. Crush with hands and cover with a plastic wrap. Use a fork or wooden toothpick to gently poke some holes along the top and set aside for 3-4 days at room temperature. After 3-4 days there should be bubbles in the grape juice/must, indicating fermentation has begun.
Measure 240 grams of strained grape juice and pour in a 1-quart glass jar. Stir in 120 grams of rye flour to make a thick, porridge like mixture. Set aside for 24 hours at room temperature.
Measure 1 cup starter, discard any extra. Add in 110 grams of filtered water and 110 grams of rye flour. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
Repeat the following day. Some activity should be noticeable: the mixture should be starting to bubble. Repeat twice more. You will need to discard some of the mixture each day.
The starter is full of bubbles and ready for use to make bread. If you won't be using the starter for several days, put the jar, with the lid covered loosely, into the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. If you are going to use the starter in the next day or two, just leave it out and feed it every 12 hours or so.
Prepare the dough by mixing the starter, eggs, egg yolk, honey, oil, water, and the salt. Stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour sparingly, until the dough is smooth, satiny, has lost most of it's stickiness, and is fairly firm. Cover and allow it to rise until tripled in volume.
Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into 4 equal pieces. Divide one piece into 3 equal portions. Form each of them into strands of about 30-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. You should now have three thick and three thin strands.
Braid the three thick strands into a loaf and set aside. Braid the three smaller strands into a smaller loaf. Lightly indent the top center of the larger loaf down its length. Wet it slightly with water. Put the smaller loaf on top of the indention. Beat egg white with a tablespoon of water. Brush this egg wash all over the loaf and allow them to rise until doubled.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush the loaf with the egg wash again and sprinkle the top with oatmeal bran. Place it into the oven, bake about 35 minutes.

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Fig and Prosciutto Puff Pastry Tart

Tuesday, October 01, 2019

Bring a standard everyday salad to life with this beautifully balanced tart that combines sweet, juicy figs with salty proscuitto on top of flaky golden puff pastry. With figs in season, there's no better time to try this simple recipe. Drizzle with a fig or raspberry balsamic syrup for an explosion of flavours. Use other greens, like baby arugula or watercress instead of lamb's lettuce if you like. It is perfect for a light lunch or as an appetizer of a dinner party.

275 g Puff pastry sheet
60 g Lamb's lettuce or baby Rocket
1 Belgian endive, leaves separated
3-4 Ripe figs, cut into wedges
6 slice Prosciutto, coarsely torn
1 tbsp Fig or raspberry balsamic glaze
1 tbsp Fresh dill for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Take your sheet of puff pastry and unroll. Using a sharp knife carefully score a border about 2cm thick around the edges of the pastry making sure you don’t cut all the way through. This will act as a frame and help to hold the filling in while baking.
Using a fork carefully prick the centre part of the pastry to encourage it not to rise too much. Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown and puffed.
Place the pastry on a large serving platter. Top with the lamb's lettuce, Belgian endive, fig wedges, and torn prosciutto. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with fresh dill.

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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.