Simple For Recipe: February 2019

Saturday 23 February 2019

Middle Eastern-style Brussels Sprout Salad

Baharat, Arabic for 'spice', is an aromatic spice blend used in Middle Eastern cuisine. What spices are included in the blend vary geographically, but you can generally expect black pepper, coriander, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. It is used as the seasoning for beef, lamb, chicken, seafood, and vegetables as well a dry rub or marinade.

300 g Brussels sprouts, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle
125 g Full-fat Greek yogurt
Zest and juice ½ lemon
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp Pine nuts, toasted lightly in a frying pan with a little oil
Baharat to sprinkle

Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, then add the sprouts and cook for 4-5 minutes – they should still be vibrant green and have some crunch. Drain, rinse under cold running water, then dry briefly with sheets of kitchen paper and transfer to a serving dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss with a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, lemon zest and juice, garlic, mustard and chopped. Season to taste, then toss through the sprouts. Sprinkle over the pine nuts, the baharat and extra parsley to serve.

Labels: Nuts and Seeds, Salads, Vegetables

Friday 22 February 2019

Skinny Peanut Wafers

Skinny Peanut Wafers
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 89.

This is one of Maida Heatter's most popular recipes. It has appeared in Food & Wine magazine and a restaurant in Miami Beach put them on their menu. It is very simple with a minimum of ingredients. That said, the first time I made them, I realized I had made a mistake when they did not spread out like she said they would. I made them in too much of a hurry and used baking powder instead of baking soda. The cookies actually tasted fine but I was determined to do them correctly. Once you've made them, you can whip these out in no time!

Imagine a very soft peanut brittle - the flavor is wonderful. If you are having company, make an extra batch!

1 cup salted peanuts plus additional peanuts to use as topping (honey roasted are recommended)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sifted unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg
2 TBS. milk

The full recipe is available on the Washington Post website.

Labels: cookies

Wednesday 20 February 2019

Easy Lo Mein

These noodles are WAY WAY good and SO DANG EASY!

The flavor is perfect. The soy sauce is not overpowering at all like it sometimes is. The amount of sesame oil called for is just right. I can taste it, but it isn't overpowering either. I recently looked up a recipe that called for 3 Tablespoons of sesame oil. Holy cow. I have used that stuff enough to know that is way too much and would have ruined the dish.

Three cups of slaw seems like a lot, but it somehow disappears when you add it and you could even even add more.

I use angel hair pasta noodles, because I always have it on hand. This has become a go-to recipe and I make it all the time.

I swear, this one is a keeper, you gotta try it!

You might also like:
Easy Ground Beef Lo Mein
Copycat Panda Express Chow Mein
Sesame Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken and Noodle Bowl

Easy Lo Mein

(Printable Recipe)

4 Tbl. soy sauce

2 Tbl. rice wine vinegar

4 Tbl. brown sugar

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. canola oil
3 heaping cups coleslaw mix
1/4 c. green onions, chopped, opt.
8 oz. angel hair spaghetti noodles
or chinese egg noodles

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sriracha and cornstarch; whisk to combine; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the coleslaw mix and saute a few minutes or until crisp tender. Add the sauce, the cooked and drained noodles and green onions. Toss together to combine. Cook for a few minutes and serve. Serves: 4-5.

slightly adapted from: Mandy's Recipe Box

Labels: My Favorite Sides and Appetizers, Sides

Sunday 17 February 2019

Poppy Date Loaf

A soft yeast spelt bread wrapped around a poppy seed filling sweetened with dates and coconut syrup. This is the type of bread we enjoy for breakfast, especially on holidays and weekends. If you can't find ground poppy at your local stores, just grind the poppy seeds in a coffee or spice grinder until powdery.

Dough	Poppy Date Filling
380 g Spelt flour 15 g Fresh yeast 125 ml Buttermilk, room-temperature 40 g Coconut sugar 75 g Butter, softened in pieces 1 Egg, medium Salt	80 g Dates, chopped 3 tbsp Rum / or apple juice 200 g Coconut cream 75 g Coconut syrup or honey 200 g Poppy seeds, ground 1 tsp Organic lemon zest 1 Egg, medium

For the dough, place spelt flour in the bowl of your mixer. Make a well in the center and crumble in fresh yeast. Add in 3 tbsps of buttermilk, 1 tsp of coconut sugar and stir in some flour from the sides. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
Now add in the rest of buttermilk, coconut sugar, softened butter, egg and a large pinch of salt. Stir first on slow speed for a couple of minutes until the dough roughly comes together. Increase the speed and knead until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears sides of bowl.
Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes until doubled in volume.
While the dough proofs, prepare the filling. Soften the chopped dates in rum or apple juice. In a small saucepan, add in coconut cream and coconut syrup. Bring to a simmer. Add in ground poppy seeds. Cook and stir over the medium heat until thickened. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add in lemon zest, egg and soaked dates.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Grease and line the base and sides of a 32cm loaf pan with baking paper.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll the dough into a 35cm x 45cm rectangle. Spread the poppy date filling over. Roll up each loosely from the long end to form a log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log lengthwise in half and weave the two pieces together to form a twist.
Gently transfer to the prepared pan
©angiesrecipes. Cover with a clean tea towel and stand in a warm place for a further 10 minutes until slightly risen. Brush the top with the egg glaze, then bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Cool slightly in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack.

Labels: bread, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Sunday 10 February 2019

Scotch Shortbread Cookies

Scotch Shortbread Cookies

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 235.

I must confess that I am not a big fan of shortbread but Michael loves it. I made these for his birthday and he loved them. The Swedish Jelly Cookies are one of his favorites and although technically they are not shortbread, they do remind me of these cookies. He thought so too and put apricot preserves with them.

The dough did not hold together that well for me and I almost added more butter but decided against that. This could have been an issue with the butter temperature. I let it sit for a while on the counter to come to room temperature and perhaps it needs to be very cold. Even though the dough did come together in the mixer, it did when I kneaded it but was still very crumbly. This recipe creates a bit of a mess and when the cookies are finished, you can expect lots of crumbs when transferring them to the rack.

So, this was definitely a "trial and error" recipe but overall, an easy one with a minimum of ingredients.

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 cup strained confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups strained cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for a few minutes. Lower the speed of the mixer and gradually add the flour and cornstarch, beating until it holds together. (I had a problem with this and the mixture refused to hold together. I beat it for several minutes and went ahead and transferred it to the board and kneaded it and it did come together).

Turn out onto a board and knead lightly. Use one half of the dough at a time. Keep the dough that you are not currently using in an airtight container.

Roll the dough to 1/4 to 1/3 thickness. Cut out rounded pieces with a cookie cutter. Re-roll the remaining scraps of dough. Place the cookies on an unbuttered cookie sheet.

The recipe instructs you to pierce each cookie three times with a fork. I forgot to do this but they turned out fine.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through. The cookies are done when they are barely colored (not brown). Do not overbake. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Taking a hint from another great recipe - Swedish Jelly Cookies - you might serve these with a collop of apricot preserves.

Yum

Labels: cookies

Saturday 9 February 2019

Vegan, Gluten Free Spinach Chickpea Crepes

Spinach Chickpea crepes are a great vegan and gluten-free alternative to classic crepes and they’re so GOOD filled with heaps of shredded veggies and mushroom-pâté inspired by Tin and Thyme. You can serve this as an appetizer or with extra portion of salad or soup as a light lunch.

Crepes	To Serve
120 g Chickpea flour 60 g Potato starch 60 g Spinach leaves 1/2 tsp Garlic salt 270 ml Water	Mushroom pâté (recipe here by Tin and Thyme) Shredded black radish Shredded Carrot Shredded bell pepper

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use an immersion blender to process everything until you have a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside at room temperature for 30 mins to rest.
Heat a 22-cm non-stick skillet over medium flame. Brush the skillet with a bit of coconut oil. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into the hot skillet while quickly tilting the skillet in a circular motion to swirl batter to evenly cover the base.
Cook for 1- 2 minutes on medium heat, or until the crepe is dry on the surface and crisp around the edges. Flip the crepe and cook on the other side for a further 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with foil to prevent the crepe drying out. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 crepes.
To serve, spread some mushroom pâté over the crepe, and top with shredded vegetables. Roll up firmly to enclose filling and enjoy!

Labels: Gluten Free, Legumes, Pancakes, Vegetables

Saturday 2 February 2019

Crisp Roasted Duck

A whole roasted duck doesn't have to be fussy. With just a few hours' roasting and hardly any work at all, you can have a juicy bird with crisp skin. Serve it with pan juice roasted Brussels sprouts or some seasonal salad for a festive occasion or Sunday dinner.

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival officially begins on February 5th, 2019 and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family peace, joy and love this holiday!

	Gravy
1 x 2-2.2 kg Duck Sea salt Freshly milled peppers 1 bunch Thyme 1 Organic lemon, quartered 750 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, washed and dried	2 tbsp Spelt flour 150 ml Chicken broth or water 50 ml Port or Marsala

Preheat oven to 220C/430F. Wash the duck inside and out with cold running water. Pat dry all over with paper towel.
Rub the duck all over with the sea salt and freshly milled pepper. Fill the duck cavity with thyme and quartered lemon. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork and tie legs together -- be sure to not pierce the meat itself, only the skin. This lets the fat render out and will help crisp the skin.
Place a wire rack in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with 1 cup of water. Place the duck on the wire rack, breast-side down. Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 190C/375F. Turn the duck breast-side up and fill the roasting pan with another cup of water. Continue cooking for a further 60-70 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Brush the duck occasionally with dripping from the roasting pan. 20 minutes before the duck is done, add the Brussels sprouts into the roasting pan and toss with the duck dripping and cook until tender.
Remove duck and Brussels sprouts on a large serving plate. Cover with a tin foil to keep warm.
Scrape the duck fat and juice from the roasting pan and pour into a pan. Add in spelt flour and stir with a wooden spoon until slightly thickened. Add in chicken broth and port. Bring the gravy to the boil and simmer gently for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Shred or carve up the duck, and serve with roasted Brussels sprouts and gravy.

Labels: Poultry, Spelt, Vegetables

Simple For Recipe