Puffed up with pride

A bad pun, I know! But that’s exactly how I felt when I pulled my first ever soufflé out of the oven, all golden, puffy and altogether irresistible.

Let me explain. I have long wanted to try my hand at soufflés, but have always been daunted by their notoriously difficult reputation. I mean, what if it sank to the bottom of the dish? Surely my heart would sink with it too. And what if it were totally inedible to boot? That would be a colossal waste of good ingredients. No cookbook I have seen to date has a recipe for a single serving of soufflé, which is a shame, because a) that would be the perfect size for a culinary experiment, since the quantities involved are small and b) if it’s just you, you don’t have to worry about having people ready and waiting at the table, holding their breath for the soufflé to come out of the oven, only to have it fall flat! And what’s more, none of the recipes I’ve seen so far have been amenable to scaling down either, since wrestling with fractions of eggs is not my forte.

I picked up Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food at the library the other day. This is a wonderful book for cooks of all skill levels, whether you are a beginner learning the basics or a more seasoned cook looking to expand your repertoire. The first part of the book has “lessons” covering everything from shopping and preparation to techniques and concepts. The second part is a selection of additional recipes for everything from salads and vegetables to desserts. The recipes are written in an organic narrative style instead of the usual format of ingredients followed by method. The ingredients are highlighted in bold, so you don’t miss anything important, and the step-by-step instructions ensure you’re doing things in the most sensible order. Overall, there’s a ton of stuff in there, simple recipes written simply, with enough variations to keep you busy for a long time. But I digress. While leafing through it, I came across a recipe for a Goat Cheese Soufflé, and surprisingly enough this one called for 4 eggs for 4 servings. Immediately, I knew I had to try it, scaled down to a single serving. As luck would have it, I even had a bit of goat cheese the exact size, so I took that as a sign and set to work.

The actual steps involved in making a soufflé are not too complicated. Making a béchamel is pretty basic, and whipping the egg whites is a snap when you have an electric whisk (otherwise it’s a lot of elbow grease!) The tricky part is whipping them to the correct stage, and then folding them in without deflating all that precious air that’s trapped inside. The air bubbles will begin to expand in the heat of the oven, lifting the soufflé to lofty heights. At the same time, the heat also coagulates the protein of the egg white, so that the soufflé has a structure to hold the air in. Even though I have a decent idea of the chemistry of the process, I don’t have a lot of experience working with egg whites, so I said a silent prayer before the final step of folding the egg whites into the cheese sauce. I vaguely remembered having seen a chef on TV use a paper collar around his ramekin to support the delicate mixture as it rises, so I tied a piece of parchment around mine for good measure and watched as the oven did its bit.

The soufflé began rising almost as soon as I put it into the oven. 15 minutes later, it was still proudly puffed up and beginning to develop a golden top, so I ventured to remove the paper collar to let the sides brown a little. In true fashion, its top deflated ever so slightly when I took it out of the oven, but it stayed mostly intact. I dipped a spoon in and took a taste. Success tastes like...a savory, cheesy cloud!

Recipe:
Goat cheese soufflé (Serves 1)
Adapted from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food

1 tbsp olive oil (Butter is the traditional fat of choice)

¾ tbsp white whole wheat flour
¼ cup milk (I used 2%)

1 egg, separated

1 oz soft goat cheese (a quarter of the small log usually seen in stores)

Salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste (such as herbs and spices of choice)

A drizzle of truffle oil (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Oil the inside of a 1-cup ramekin. You can also sprinkle the insides with grated parmesan or breadcrumbs. Place the ramekin on a baking sheet.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute and then pour in the milk, whisking continuously. Cook till the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. Season with salt generously as the egg whites will have none, then add other seasonings to taste. I used freshly cracked black pepper and some red pepper flakes. Stir in the cheese and the egg yolk.
In a clean bowl, whip the egg white to moist firm peaks. Fold in a third of the whites into the cheese sauce, and then gently fold in the rest of the egg white, taking care not to deflate the batter. Pour into the prepared ramekin. Run a thumb around the inside edge of the ramekin, and then tie a paper collar around it to help the soufflé rise.

Bake in the oven until puffed and golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, remove the paper collar to let the sides brown a bit. Eat immediately, with some truffle oil drizzled over the top if you like. A salad of mixed greens with a lemony vinaigrette is wonderful on the side.

Thanksgiving dinner (Better late than never!)

We had our first snowstorm even before I got around to posting about my Thanksgiving dinner! Not fair, I say :(

Since Thanksgiving and fall flavors are a thing of the past, and it's on to winter and Christmas now, I'm just going to post the pictures of my meal.

Our first course was acorn squash "boats" filled with lentils and topped with goat cheese, served with a fennel and baby spinach salad with parmesan shavings. The main course was a mixed mushroom lasagne with a side of lemon-pine nut broccoli saute. For dessert, we had David Lebovitz's pear frangipane tart (warm!) with vanilla ice-cream. All of the above were enjoyed with a 2007 Nederburg (Edelrood), a fruity Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend. Delicious!

Romantic celebration brunch (just add champagne)

Giridhar and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary last week. We dined at Oyamel, a trendy restaurant that serves what might possibly be the most sophisticated Mexican food I've ever had. Delectable small plates such as black-bean-stuffed plaintain fritters, wild mushroom quesadillas, brussels sprouts in a pumpkin-seed sauce and melt-in-the-mouth corn tamal, just to name a few. We had a wonderful time, but, as always, we felt we could do with another celebration! I was keen to make it a champagne brunch over the weekend, but Giridhar seemed to prefer the idea of a Saturday morning lie-in and (rather cunningly, I thought) pointed out that the food at all of these brunch places was beginning to taste the same to him. Not wanting to be cheated of my brunch-with-bubbly, I went out and bought a bottle of Prosecco and set out to create a fall-themed menu that would be easy to put together without featuring any of the standard brunch items.

For our first course, I decided on a butternut squash soup - simple and comforting. I got the soup base ready while cooking dinner the previous evening; that meant our first course would come together with minimal fuss and I wouldn't have to sacrifice my lie-in! Roasting the vegetables in the oven intensifies their flavor and cuts prep time, since there is no peeling and dicing involved. All I then had to do was heat it up, season it and fry up the purple potato croutons - a last-minute inspiration for a garnish.

Our main course was a mixed mushroom risotto with a side of crusty pan-fried brussels sprouts. I used dried porcini mushrooms in addition to fresh shiitake and cremini mushrooms for an extra flavor boost. It's true that making risotto requires the cook to not stray too far from the stove top; that said, though, I find I can do plenty of other stuff, such as trimming sprouts and grating cheese, while giving it an occasional stir. I kept it warm on the lowest setting while we ate our soup; returning to finish it off with the grated cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil in between courses.

Before embarking on the main course, I had already got dessert going in the oven. I chose a tarte tatin for two, made using Clotilde's time-saving method. She recommends cutting the apples into eighths instead of quarters so that they cook completely under the pastry crust, eliminating the need to simmer them in the caramel on the stove top first. I cheated on the crust, though, using some of the puff pastry I'd saved up in the freezer from my first Daring Bakers' Challenge instead of making one from scratch just for this. It would be even easier with store-bought puff pastry, though it would have to be all-butter (In the US, Dufour is the only such brand I know of)

This was a really fun and easy meal to cook (and eat!), yet one stylish enough for a celebration. The warm tones of the spices complemented the roasted butternut squash in the soup beautifully, and the purple potato croutons added a pleasant visual and textural contrast. The crunchy, fresh-tasting brussels sprouts were a good foil for the earthy creaminess of the risotto. The tarte was the perfect fall dessert, all buttery and caramelly goodness that looks like it took far more effort than it actually did! Washed down with several glasses of bubbly, this made for a relaxed and leisurely midday meal. I'm already looking forward to my next project - creating a festive, seasonal and vegetarian meal for Thanksgiving!
Recipes:
Curried butternut squash soup (Serves 2, with some leftovers)
1/2 of a medium-size butternut squash
1 large onion
1 fat clove garlic
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp each ground ginger, cumin and coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve (optional): Sour cream, purple potato croutons
Cut the butternut squash at the neck, and then cut each piece lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Peel and cut the onion into quarters, leaving the root intact. Place the squash, onion and garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast in a 400F(200C) oven for 40 minutes. When cool, squeeze out the garlic from the skin, scoop out the flesh of half of the squash (reserve the rest for another use), and cut out the root of the onion. Place all of these in a blender with the stock and blend to a smooth puree. To serve, heat until very warm but not boiling. Dilute with more stock till desired consistency is reached. Stir in the spice powders and season to taste. Serve in bowls garnished with a swirl of sour cream and purple potato croutons.
To make the purple potato croutons (this works with other potatoes too), cut the potatoes into a fine dice and blot off any moisture with a paper towel. Heat a small quantity of olive oil in a skillet, toss in the potatoes and fry them, shaking the skillet occasionally, till the potatoes are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Mushroom risotto (serves 2-3)
3/4 cup arborio rice
5-6 pieces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiling water to rehydrate
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups hot vegetable stock (plus more if needed)
1/4 cup dry white wine (I used sherry instead)
Two small knobs of butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
In a skillet on medium heat, place one knob of butter and drizzle in a little olive oil. Add half of the onion and the garlic and saute till softened but not colored. Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving their liquid, and chop them fine. Add the fresh and dried mushrooms to the skillet, turn up the heat to medium-high and saute them until cooked. Remove fto a bowl and drizzle in the truffle oil if using.
In the same skillet, add the other knob of butter, a little more olive oil, and the rest of the onion. Saute till softened but not colored, then add the rice and stir around till the grains are evenly coated. Deglaze the pan with the wine or sherry and cook till it evaporates. Next, add the mushroom soaking liquid, strained to remove any dirt. This is full of concentrated mushroom flavor. Now add the vegetable stock, ladle by ladle, and stir till absorbed before adding some more. The rice is done when it is cooked through, but is still firm to the bite - it should not fall apart or be mushy. Stir in the mushroom mixture and the grated cheese, season to taste and serve immediately with an extra dusting of cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil over the top.
Brussels sprouts with almonds (Serves 2 as a side)
18 small brussels sprouts
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Sea salt to taste
Wash and trim the brussels sprouts and discard any tough outer leaves. Cut in half lengthwise. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and place the sprouts in, cut side down. Sprinkle with a little salt, cover and cook for about three minutes, then turn the heat up and let the sprouts get browned and crusty, another 2-3 minutes. Toss in the lemon zest, slivered almonds and grated cheese and shake the skillet around so that everything mixes well. Serve immediately.
Tarte Tatin (from Chocolate and Zucchini)
I reduced the ingredients to fit a small cast-iron skillet, base diameter 4 1/2". I used 2 Gala apples, eyeballed the caramel quantity, and used a round of all-butter puff pastry large enough to cover the apples on top. I pricked the pastry round all over with a fork and baked the tarte at 350F(180C) for around 35 minutes. Next time I might try it with Golden Delicious apples instead.

Ottolenghi's lentil soup

The next time I am in London (though I have no idea when that will be!) there is one visit I am determined to make: at least one of the Ottolenghi locations. I've heard great things about this super-stylish chain of delis; in their own words, they are the haute couture of food-to-go! Maybe one of these days they will consider making a foray across the pond to cities in the US.

Till then, though, I shall content myself with cooking up recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi's series in The Guardian, The New Vegetarian. When I first came across it I was struck by how aptly it is named - his recipes are very innovative, yet familiar. Mostly Mediterranean in character but with all kinds of other influences thrown in every now and then. I've tried a few, some with my own modifications, and all with excellent results. Just reading his recipes, with their bold flavor combinations, is hugely exciting. The only reason I haven't made all of them is that they tend to have long ingredient lists and appear somewhat time-intensive, too. I would love to eat like that every day but it's just not practical on a regular basis.

The fall weather on the East Coast has been so gloomy so far that I have been craving soup, so when I caught sight of Ottolenghi's Thai Lentil Soup, I knew I had to make it. This one uses mostly inexpensive pantry ingredients and, like most blended soups, is a snap to make too. My taste buds were tingling in anticipation as I chopped up the onion, stirred in some of my home-made red curry paste and waited while the lentils simmered away.

Well, suffice it to say that I was not disappointed! This is a perfect soup for cooler days. The velvety smooth lentils are a wonderful background for the bright flavors of the curry paste, lime and cilantro; the coconut milk adds a subtle silky nuttiness; and the sweet crunch of the snow peas and the fried shallots round everything out marvelously. I polished off two bowls double quick, barely stopping to take a picture! I love the flavors in Asian soups but don't find them hearty enough for cold weather; this one has the best of both worlds. I am already planning to try variations with butternut squash or carrots.

Recipe:
Yotam Ottolenghi's Thai Red Lentil Soup (Serves 4)

I did not have any lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves, so I added a bit of ginger and hot green pepper in their place. If you have the inclination, it is well worth the little bit of effort to make your own curry pastes, it's very economical, and once you're done you can freeze them in 2-tbsp portions to use as needed. For me, the added attraction is that I know they won't contain things like fish sauce and shrimp paste! And if you can't find deep-fried shallots, it is easy to make your own - just fry sliced shallots till crisp and browned in a little bit of oil over medium-high heat, and drain on a paper towel until cool. They can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for a few days, though to be honest I don't know how long since I get through them pretty quick whenever I've made any!

Daring Bakers' Challenge #2: Not-quite-macarons

I got back a couple of weeks ago from an amazing trip to Tanzania and Rwanda (more on that later). Once the jet lag wore off, one of the first thing I did was to excitedly log on to the Daring Bakers' website to find out what this month's challenge was.The 2009 October Daring Bakers' challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.


I was delighted to find that the challenge was macarons. It is almost as though the challenge hosts read my mind, choosing exactly those things that I have always wanted to do but was too afraid to try! I had a bag of almond flour that I'd bought expressly for this purpose, which had been slowly getting used up in other recipes. And since I had made molten chocolate cakes with creme anglaise for a dinner party last week, I even had the aged egg whites ready to go.


Well, I followed the instructions correctly, or so I thought. I have very little experience with meringue, so maybe the texture of the beaten egg whites wasn't right. Sadly, my macarons didn't have any "feet", the distinctive spread around the bottom. They flattened quite a bit and ended up more like flourless almond cookies than macarons. I went ahead and filled them with a chocolate-creme fraiche filling anyway, and they taste good...but I'm still disappointed! Oh well, there is always the next challenge to look forward to!

An Indian-themed cheesecake for Diwali

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, has always been my favorite of them all. Even as a young child, I loved to hang out in the kitchen, watching my mother as she skilfully kneaded dough, ground nuts and spices, and stirred the boiling vats of syrup that would eventually become mountains of delicious sweets and savories to eat and share. My sister and I would be up at the crack of dawn to have the ritual oil bath and don our new clothes. Then, our guests would arrive to enjoy a huge, traditional South Indian spread for breakfast; and before we fell into a food-induced coma, we'd head out to visit friends and family with trays of goodies for them. In the evenings the neighborhood would come alive with the glow of the rows and rows of oil lamps that we'd set out; and the sky would light up with dazzling fireworks.

Here in the US, Diwali is a far more tame affair, since it is celebrated only by a small minority. Since this year's festival occurred over a weekend, I was keen to continue the festival tradition by inviting some friends over for a vegetarian Indian meal. Since Indian sweets can be a bit too sweet for most non-Indian palates, I knew I'd have to pick a dessert from another part of the globe. I finally settled on cheesecake, whose rich creaminess provides a good foil for spicy food. A good basic cheesecake recipe is very useful to have in your recipe file - you can mix in any number of added flavorings to suit your need! And the good part is that it needs to chill overnight before serving, so you have to make it ahead of time and thereby avoid any last-minute rush. In honor of Diwali I decided to flavor it with some of our favorite ingredients for festive sweets: saffron, cardamom and pistachio.

I mixed in some pistachio paste into one half of the cheesecake batter, poured it over the crust and let it bake until just set. The other half of the batter had saffron and cardamom and went over the first layer. The layers ended up mixing in the center, where it was probably not as fully set as the periphery when I poured the second batter on top; still, the bi-color effect came through and I was quite pleased with the results!

Recipe:
Saffron-pistachio (Kesar-pista) cheesecake (Makes 8-10 servings)
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup skin-on almonds, ground
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
Filling:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Optional flavorings (use different ones if you wish):
1/4 cup pistachio paste
Generous pinch saffron threads, dissolved in 1 tbsp warm milk
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Preheat the oven to 350F(180C). Wrap an 8" springform pan in a double thickness of aluminium foil. Have a large baking dish ready that is big enough to hold the springform pan with room all around to pour hot water - this will be the bain-marie or water bath to bake the cheesecake in.
Mix the ingredients of the crust in a food processor. Press the mixture firmly into the base of the prepared pan. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until browned. Remove to cool and turn the oven temperature down to 300F(150C).
Mix the filling ingredients in a stand mixer, food processor, or by hand with an electric mixer. Scrape down the sides from time to time to ensure everything is well mixed. Divide the mixture into two equal parts. Mix the pistachio paste into one half, pour into the pan, and place the pan into the water bath with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until just set.
Meanwhile, mix the saffron liquid and cardamom into the other portion of the filling. Spoon the second batter gently (gently, unlike what I did!) over the part-baked cheesecake, return the pan to the water bath in the oven, and bake for another 45-50 minutes. The cake should still be jiggly in the center.
Turn off the oven and let the cake stand in the cooling oven for an hour. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath after an hour has passed, and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Cut into portions with a knife that has been dipped in hot water, and rinse the knife in hot water in between cuts.

Maya's Adventures in Pastry-Land

By the time you are reading this, I will be away visiting the land where humankind was born: Africa! I'm happy to say that I managed to complete my first ever Daring Bakers' Challenge in spite of the craziness building up to the 3-week trip.
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.


I was really excited to do this challenge since I have always wanted to try my hand at puff pastry, which is considered the most difficult of pastry doughs to produce. I watched the recommended video - Michel Richard made it look pretty easy, easy enough to forget that he had probably been doing it for some 30 years previously! So out came the rolling pin, and I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.


I'm always intrigued by recipes that showcase both the science and art of cooking. Puff pastry is definitely a great example. It essentially consists of many thin layers of dough sandwiched together with thin layers of fat, made by rolling a block of butter inside a case of dough, and then folding, turning and re-rolling several times. When placed in a hot oven, the water in the butter gets converted to steam, which pushes the layers higher and higher. At the same time, the heat is cooking the flour, setting the gluten around all those air pockets, and eventually creating a puff that holds its shape. How's that for some cool food chemistry at work!


Back to my effort - I though the first two turns were pretty hard, I had to concentrate on rolling evenly to get the butter out to all the corners. Definitely time to put the upper-body strength to use! It got a bit easier to work with on subsequent turns but I did have the occasional tear or butter leak, so I was pretty much on tenterhooks till I had the vols-au-vent baked. After anxiously peeking into the oven several times hoping it was going okay, I was rewarded with this sight: well risen puff pastry shells, waiting to come out of the oven and be filled!

Though I had several excellent ideas for the vol-au-vent fillings, both sweet and savoury, I had no time to execute them all, so I decided to keep it simple. I filled the shells with lemon-scented crème fraîche and fresh raspberries, and added a swirl of raspberry coulis to liven things up.


Overall, I was really thrilled to have pulled off the puff pastry challenge! And yippee - I still have some dough waiting in the freezer for when a vol-au-vent craving strikes again :)