What do you do when you want to invite a new friend over for dinner, but they live thousands of miles away? You start a monthly series with them about local, seasonal foods in each prospective person’s country—at least, that is what happened with Sandee and me. Sandee Mangas is a fantastic cook, recipe developer, photographer, mother, and professor who lives in Spain. Her blog, La Receta de la Felicidad (The Recipe For Happiness) is fresh, inspiring, and downright different—which is hard to find these days. I was immediately transfixed with her distinct style of cooking and presenting food. So we started tweeting, then emailing, and finally, we decided it would be fun to do a cross continental project together.
Each month, we choose a seasonal ingredient and create a dish to share share with each other and you. This month, it’s red cabbage—a beautiful, versatile, spring-time vegetable. The idea behind this project is to not only share recipes, but to share a little bit of our culture, our countries, and ourselves via our food; to create another conversation that allows us to experience the flavor—the essence—of a place. The language of food is universal because everybody eats. It’s a beautiful and accessible way to connect with those who are near or far, similar or different, or just want to share a good meal with the people they love.
The recipes we made this month were a surprise for us both. As it turns out, Sandee and I are not that far after all…
Make sure to travel over to La Receta de la Felicidad for Sandee’s Cabbage Filled Puff Pastry recipe, it’s amazing. Below you’ll find my Red Cabbage and Radicchio salad recipe in both English and Spanish. Cheers!
Red Cabbage and Radicchio Salad
Rough chop the cabbage and radicchio. Finely chop the parsley and mince the garlic. Toss everything together with the olive oil and lemon juice, then salt and pepper to taste. Optional: grate a little salty, pecorino romano cheese on top for an added layer of nuttiness and depth. Enjoy!
En Español
Ensalada de lombarda y achicoria
Trocea groseramente la lombarda y la achicoria. Pica el perejil, y lamina el ajo. Mezcla todo con el aceite de oliva y el zumo de limón, y salpimenta al gusto. Opcionalmente, puedes rallar por encima un poco de pecorino rallado… y a disfrutar!
For the past few weeks, I’ve had a few encounters with the french pastry known as the Kouign Amann (pronounced: queen ah-mahn). I first heard about the pastry while visiting Salt Lake City, where there is a bakery called Les Madelines that specializes in making them. Of course when we got to the bakery, they had just sold the last one 20 minutes prior. My first taste of this flaky, buttery goodness was not to be! But I was intrigued. What was this pastry people were so excited about? I made a mental note to research it when I got home.
The day after we got home, I opened up the FoodDay section of the Oregonian and the Kouign Amann in all it’s glory was the main story. It was complete serendipity when a friend called a few hours later and invited me over for brunch on Sunday, asking if I could please bring something sweet. I had to make these and am so glad I did.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found my sweet weakness. It’s true! Even though I bake quite a bit–I enjoy bringing sweets to life and playing alchemist in my kitchen. However, I am usually pretty good with eating a little and giving a lot away. Or, in some sad cases, throwing a lot away (when I simply can not eat any more, Andrew forgets about it and hasn’t eaten much, and I didn’t get a chance to give it to anyone). But these, these pastries are different! And once I start eating one, I have to finish it and possibly a second. Thank god I took these to a brunch, otherwise I’d have languidly laid about today nibbling away on the whole batch while I finished a book. Heavenly and decadent….
Imagine taking the best of all worlds when it comes to baked goods–the lightness of a yeasted bread, the buttery flakiness of a croissant, and the chewy caramelization of butter and sugar baked together, making the bottoms a satisfying stickiness. These little pastries in all their glory tasted of light and celebration–a special delight enjoyed a few times a year.
The brunch today was a lot of fun–there were butter-lambs (yes, butter that was molded into the shape of a lamb! amazing), fruits of all kinds, orzo pasta salad, goat cheese with olive oil, crushed garlic and rosemary poured over it, fresh squeezed juices, and the Kouign Amanns. We even died Easter eggs! It was a wonderful spring feast.
And now it’s April…can you believe it? Here’s to spring, cheers!
Kouign Amann, recipe adapted from FoodDay and David Lebovitz–for step by step photos, see D.L.’s site…)
1 packet active dry yeast 1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees) 5 cups all purpose flour (1 2/3 pounds), plus more for dusting 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 cups cold, salted butter, (preferably European-style; 4 sticks), plus 2 tablespoons melted (divided) About 2 cups granulated sugar, for dusting and sprinkling
In a medium bowl, stir the yeast into the warm water until disolved. let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, salt and melted butter on low speed. Add the water-yeast mixture and continue to mix until well combined, about 2 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Slice the remaining 4 sticks butter into squares about 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate until ready to use.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough to an 18-inch square. On top of the square, arrange the chilled butter pieces so that they form an 8-by-8 inch diamond. Fold the sides of the dough over the butter to enclose, and pinch the edges to seal. Roll out the dough into a 24-by-8 inch rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds as you would a business letter, aligning the edges carefully and brushing off any excess flour. Wrap the dough in plastic; chill for 20 minutes. This completes the first of three turns.
Repeat the rolling and folding process two more times, starting the rolling with the dough positioned with the flap opening on the right, as if it were a book. Refrigerate at least 1 hour between the second and third rollings. After the third rolling, wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. on a well-sugared work surface, roll out dough to a 24-by-12 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza wheel or knife, cut dough into eight-teen 4 inch squares. Working with one square at a time, fold each corner toward the center, pressing down firmly to seal, thus creating a smaller square–flower like. Repeat on all the squares. Sprinkle generously with sugar, place on a baking sheet as you work. Let rise in a warm place until slightly puffed about 30-40 mins.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the pastries are golden brown and edges are caramelized, 30-35 minutes. immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. These are best eaten the same day they are made (and you may not be able to help yourself otherwise!)
My pastries came undone in the oven so instead of looking like the nice little flowers in the dough image, they were more flat–but still delicious. You can also make this as a whole cake, explained by D. Lebovitz.
Happy Kouign Amann making! And eating!
Lots of things have been happening lately, I am excited to say! Pietopia has really begun to take new shape. A few things are different this year including two different panels of judges. There will be one panel of food-writers and another panel of bakers. I’m looking for a nice balance between the professional and amateur, both with the writers and the bakers. Check out the Pietopia page here in the blog to read a bit more about what’s happening! There have been some other interesting leads, but I’ll save those tasty tidbits for a later post.
There was a lot of puff pastry dough left over from making those Apricot Danishes, so I used them for little pizzettes. I re-rolled out that dough, made some fresh goat cheese, preheated the oven to 350 degrees F, topped them, and then baked them for 35 minutes. They were delicious! However, I think I have probably eaten more butter this week than I’d care to think about—but it was good while it lasted…
I also made a loaf of french bread the other day I thought I’d share with you. This is my go-to bread, when I need something fresh and baked in my life (or for a meal). In a pinch (or when I’m feeling a bit impatient) I’ll use rapid rise yeast which cuts down the rising time in half–this is super helpful if you have guests coming over or need to take your bread somewhere with you, done and not a messy dough blob. This recipe is just good–spread it with some butter, jam, dip it in olive oil, have as a sandwich, or however you like to eat your bread! Cheers!
Everyday French Bread 1 1/2 packets yeast (regular or rapid rise) 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups warm water 5 cups all purpose unbleached flour 1 cup whole wheat (preferably pastry) flour
Mix the yeast, sugar, and water. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until foamy. Add the salt and flour, mixing until you can’t mix it any more (or if you are using your stand mixer, attach the bread hook and knead using the hook for about 4 minutes) and knead the dough with your hands for about 10 minutes. Put into a well-oiled bowl, flipping the dough once to get the top coated, cover with a towel and let rise for one hour (30 minutes with rapid rise yeast) or until it has doubled in size. Punch down the dough and let rise again for another hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, shape your dough into two long loaves, slash it, sprinkle it with whole wheat flour, and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
A few months ago, some friends gave us two huge jars of canned apricots. “My mother cans them every year,” he said. “They have a HUGE tree in their yard and literally nothing goes to waste.” “And,” his wife chimes in, “she sends us a crate of them every year, we are up to our ears in backlogged apricots!” Amazing! I thought. It sounds like a dream I sometimes have (seriously)–going into my pantry or kitchen or shelving area and finding row upon row of colorful, tantalizing, and amazing canned goodness! Apricots, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, succotash, tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, carrots, bok choy, jicama, cabbage, and I am sure I’m forgetting a few, are all there lining the shelves in their glossy (glassy) glory. These two huge mason jars of apricots have been sitting in our dining room for some time now. That’s good, because they have been in plain sight and prompting me to subconsciously stew over what to make with them. Deep down, I’ve known for some time now that little puff pastry danishes with the apricots would be in order–so when I re-discovered the recipe in the Baking with Julia (Child, that is) cookbook, I immediately got busy and started in on them.
The puff pastry took two days to make. It sounds intimidating, but it’s really a matter of patience more than anything (which, is challenging in and of itself!). First, you make a very basic dough–water, flour, salt. Then, you roll it into a circle with “flaps” coming off of the four sides. You do this by first rolling out a circle, then putting your rolling pin in the center to start, you roll out first towards the top to make a flap that protrudes out. Make sure you do this for each side. Why? Because when you fold in the pound of butter shaped as a square–yes, you heard right, one pound–you wrap it in the dough like a present.
Roll the dough out with the butter inside into a rectangle, about 18-24 inches. If it starts to squish through the dough, wrap it in plastic and set it in the fridge for a half hour to firm back up. Then try again. Once the dough has been rolled once, fold the rectangle length-wise, with the folds on your left (like a book) roll it out and do it again (that is a total of three times so far). Roll it out one more time if it’s cold enough, then fold on top of itself, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour or over night. Make four thumb marks on the side of the dough so you remember how many times you’ve rolled it. The next day (or hour) roll it out two more times. The butter should be nicely incorporated–it might coagulate a little bit on the ends which happens, but otherwise, it should be a part of the dough by now, not seeing chunks anywhere.
I’ll give you the rest of the recipe below, but making the puff pastry itself is pretty involved and deserves it’s own explanation! Sometimes a girl (well, me anyway) just needs to get into her kitchen and make something challenging. Instead of putting on my boxing gloves, I put on my oven mits–needless to say, I don’t actually use oven mits, but you get the idea. If you are new to baking, you may want to research puff pastry a little more. My explanation was quick and step by step images really help. But don’t let intimidation or the little voice in your head saying “ya right! puff pastry?!” stop you! Keep on keepin’ on, my friends, and if it doesn’t turn out the first time, it more than likely will your second or third try. This is a great recipe though and I highly recommend Julia Child’s cookbook, Baking with Julia, for this very purpose. She is a master explain-er! (but of course!). I love how detailed her books are–she’s not only good with explaining with words, but there are nice step by step photos too. If you try puff pastry, or ever have tried it, I’d love to know about your experience!
Puff Pastry
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups cake flour — I used all regular flour and it worked out alright
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/4 cups ice water
4 sticks (1 pound) very cold unsalted butter, shaped into a square
*see above for instructions
The Apricots *if you don’t have any canned apricots laying around, here’s a way to make some quickly yourself 2 cups water 1 cup sugar Juice of 1/2 a lemon 8 apricots, halved and pitted
A few hours (or as long as 2 days) ahead poach the apricots: bring the water and sugar to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the apricots and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until they offer just a little resistance when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Take the pan off the heat and let the apricots cool in the syrup. Drain an pat the apricots dry before using. If keeping the apricots for longer than a few hours, cover and refrigerate them.
The Pastry Cream 1 cup milk 1/4 cup sugar pinch of salt 2 large egg yolks 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Put the milk, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and cornstartch in a 2-quart sauce pan. If your’re using a vanilla bean, split it in half lengthwise, scrape the soft, pulpy seeds into the pan, and toss in the pod. If you’re using vailla extract, keep it in reserve until the cream is cooked. Stir with a wire whisk to ble, bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and let the pastry cream bokl for 30-60 seconds, at which point it iwll have thickened and the whisk will leave tracks as you stir. Take the pan off the heat and scrape the pastry cream into a strainer set over a bowl. Push through the strainer, discard the vanilla bean. If you are using extract, stir it in now. Cover the bowl with plastic, pressing the plastic wrap up against the surface of the cream and top the layer of plastic with ice cubes. Leave the ice cubes there until the cream cools.
The Pastry
Puff pastry recipe
2 cups (approx.) sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam
2 teaspoons water
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Working on a lightly floured surface (cool marble is ideal, although my kitchen table worked fine too), roll the puff pastry to a thickness of between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. Flour the edges of a 4 inch cookie cutter round and cut 8 rounds from the dough. Stack the puff pastry scraps neatly, trying to keep the layers in place and refrigerate to use in another recipe (coming soon!). Clean the work surface and sprinkle it generously with sugar. While you work on one round, keep the others covered with plastic wrap. Rest a puff pastry round on the sugar and dust the top of the round lightly with flour to facilitate the rolling. Roll out the round until it elongates into an oval about 8 inches long. Don’t roll all the way to the ends–you want the ends to be a little thicker so that they’ll puff up higher around the apricots (also, if you roll over the ends you risk pasting the layers together). Brush the flour off the top and put the oval on the large unbuttered baking sheet, sugar side up. Repeat with the remaining pastries, leaving little room between each pastry on the sheet–these are going to puff up, not out.
Spoon a walnut-sized dollop of pastry cream onto the center of each oval and set 2 apricot halves side by side on the cream so that they resemble eggs sunny-side up. Bake the pastries for about 35 minutes, The pastries should be golden and beautifully puffed, and the sugar should have caramelized.
