Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Chill Time |
15 MIN | 15-20 MIN | 6-8 HOURS |
This chicken broth was inspired by some of my favorite pho broths, but has a caribbean twist to it. Although the ingredients call for yellow curry, please note that the type of yellow curry used is a West Indian curry. It comes in a powder form and relies on spices like fennel, mustard seed, cloves, and cinnamon. These warm fragrances gives a sense of nostalgia growing up caribbean even if I am far away from home.
Since I am making this dish from Spain, I should note that in spain turmeric is referred to as "cúrcuma" like in the photo below. I made this broth sunday when I had little strength and we are now Monday. I guess this broth works fast for me to be up and writing. Find out how to make it yourself below.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
10-15 MINUTES | 1.5 HOURS | 2 HOURS |
1 lb (450g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped into crescents and set aside.
3 cloves garlic, whole
4-5 slices of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 can (14 oz/400ml) coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 large zucchini, sliced into rounds or half-moons
1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
2 bay leaves, 3 cardamom pods, 6 pepper kernels (optional)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional, adjust to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Green onion and cilantro stocks
Cooked rice or rice noodles for serving
In a separate large saucepan or pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and add the bay leaves, ginger, garlic, cardamom, and pepper kernels.
Stir in the curry powder and turmeric to the spice mixture and cook for a minute or two to infuse the spices.
Pour in the coconut milk and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes before adding more water.
Add the sliced zucchini, lemon rounds, and bay leaves to the pot. Let the curry simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until the zucchini is tender. Then add back the chicken.
Take this time to add additional water, salt, or other seasonings. Adjust the seasoning as per your preference.
Prepare the Bowl: add some of the other sliced onion that was set aside. Fresh cilantro and green onion garnish. And some rice or noodle if necessary. I hope you enjoyed the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments.
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Deciding to go back to a low carb diet so that I can indulge over the weekend is no small feat. As much as I want to stick to a steadfast diet of veggies and protein shakes, I need to remember why I enjoy eating in the first place.
Since I am steaming and grilling more vegetables than ever, I have been blending and playing around with different ingredients inspired by my time spent in Swiss Italy. Locarno, a small town in the Swiss-Italian region just above Milan, is a resort city with a classic charm for small town values. As I was walking along the lake that separates that part of Switzerland from Italy (Lago Maggiore), I passed a standalone pickled-bottles market. No owner in sight, you just leave the money for the price of the item in a money box. An honor system that could only exist in this small community.
There you can find many bottles from pickled onions to creamed peppers. Since they were all pickled, there was no need to worry about the shelf life which inspired me to consider making pickled marinades that I could just use for those days I don't feel like cooking.
Inspired by the idea of making a pesto, this recipe uses boquerones (a speciality white fish in Spain) or white anchovies. Preferably set in vinegar. Since I like to make a big batch of this marinade, I use about a whole package of arugula. Everything else is so simple in preparing this recipe, because I just blend it all in a food processor. This may be the lazy way to prepare this marinade, but there is really not much to it. It is just a marinade for making any vegetable taste better.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
10 MINUTES | 0 MINUTES | 10 MINUTES |
8-10 boquerones (marinated white anchovies)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh arugula leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
A small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of vinegar if not included with fish.
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Make sure the
You can adjust the quantities of ingredients based on your preferences. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice, sprinkle of red pepper flake, or add sun dried tomatoes. I have recently used this as the base for my roasted eggplants.
Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
]]>A refreshing egg roll with a spicy sensation after every bite. Perfect meal to eat throughout the day. Bokchoy, meatballs, ginger, garlic, and goodness.
At first I thought this was going to be too healthy and boring, but the release of the water from the steamed bok choy with the combination of the spicy miso marinade adds a refreshing sensation after every bite. I found myself popping one after the other throughout the day satiating my appetite without feeling sluggish or bloated.
Follow the instructions below to make this for yourself at home!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
20-25 MINUTES | 10 MINUTES | 35 MINUTES |
For the main dish:
1 pound (450g) ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or turkey)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Coconut Oil for frying
Three bushels of bok choy stripped individually with leaves intact.
Toothpicks
For the spicy miso marinade:
Rolling the Bok Choy and Meatballs:
Serve the Spicy Bok Choy Meatrolls as an appetizer or as a main course with steamed rice or noodles. You can also drizzle with more marinade to add more flavor.
Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
One of my favorite memories from childhood are snacking on Trader Joe's Triple Ginger cookies with a glass of milk at night. These cookies are not too sugary and surprises you with chewy bits of ginger in every bite. This recipe is not only an ode to my favorite cookie, but all things ginger.
For this recipe, there is no baking involved. I love whipped cheesecake and any recipe that involves tempering, so it is a no bake cake (aside from heating the crust). I would recommend a seven inch springform pan, which has a removable bottom. If you do use a nine inch one, I would definitely add another box or two cups of cookie crust. I do place wax paper on the sides so that it is easier to pull out.
The flavor of fresh ginger adds a nice kick without being too potent. Powdered ginger is fine, but you will taste the spice better with fresh ginger. I did use a generic non-fat yogurt but definitely go for greek yogurt if you can. It's a lot smoother and produces less lumps when mixing.
Prep Time |
Oven Time | Overnight Time |
40 MINUTES | 10 MINUTES | 3-8 HOURS |
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups of ginger cookies
1/8 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoons nutmeg
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
Ginger Batter:
16 oz (2 packages) cream cheese
1 cup fat free yogurt (preferably greek yogurt)
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Crust Instructions:
1. For the crust, set oven to 350 F (175C). Place cookies in food processor or blender. Once the cookies are processed into crumbs, transfer to a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and then add to the bowl of crushed cookies mixing until the crumbs turn into dark clumps. That's when it is ready to lay in a pan Once the pan is set, place in the oven for the next 10 minutes.
Ginger Batter Instructions:
1. Set a pot of water to boil and have a metal bowl ready that can fit on top of the pot. Take the four egg yolks and place it in the metal bowl. When the water comes to a boil, turn off the stove and use an electric mixer to blend the bowl of eggs on top of the heat of the water. When the yolk is fluffy and a creamier color, it is ready.
Here is where we temper the eggs. You can decide if you want to add the sugar here or later. I added it later. Here is an ole insta highlight of how I temper eggs for hollandaise sauce.
2. Once the yolks are done, set aside and in a separate bowl, place the cream cheese and yogurt. Blend both until very little lumps.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients including the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and fresh ginger. Continue blending until smooth.
4. Once your batter is ready, fill the pan of crust with the remaining batter and then place in the fridge for the next 8-12 hours.
Once your cheesecake is ready, you can remove the latch and carefully take off the wax paper. The cheesecake will be solid but on the creamy side.
I decided to top it off with a mixture of sesame cracker and ginger to give a balance to all the sugar. I did not really know what to put on top. You can top it off with fresh ginger, ginger candy, or dark chocolate; whatever you prefer.
After you are done, put it on display as your friends and family salivate. Leave your comments on what you topped it off with below.
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Growing up with a Trinidadian mother, the only thing I looked forward to on Saturday mornings were fry bakes and tuna. These golden fried biscuits are a staple of Trinidadian culture. You can find them selling like hot dogs at the beaches served with shark or seasoned codfish. In fact, most Trinidadians refer to the dish as “Fry Fish and Bake” or “Bake and Shark”. For those who have never eaten shark, it has the texture of tilapia and it is usually breaded and fried, as well when served with the bake like a crispy fish sandwich.
This type of fried dough can be found in other cultural dishes. For example, when I first moved to California and attended several First Nation cultural festivals, one of my favorite dishes to eat was referred to as the “Indian Taco”. At the time as an adolescent, I was not aware of the racial connotations that came with the name of the dish but upon further research I later learned that the bread used was traditional Navajo fried bread.
The taste and texture of the bread was very similar to that of the West Indian Fry Bake. In addition, there are so many ways to dress this bread from topping it with wild rice to adding sweet toppings of Nutella and banana, such as the Canadian Beaver Tail.
What sets this fried dough apart from most?
In a typical West Indian household, this is a breakfast/ brunch meal normally eaten with fish. A measure of a good bake is if you can eat it with butter alone. Most of the time, we ate our fry bakes with tuna, but on special occasions our mother would stew codfish until it was glossy, red, and rich in flavor. Those days felt like we won the lottery since codfish was scarce and expensive to find in California.
For this recipe, we are focusing on texture and dough formations. It is very simple, easy to make, and easy to enjoy!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
20 MINUTES | 10 MINUTES | 30 MINUTES |
3 ½ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
½ cup of warm water
Frying oil
Two cans of tuna
½ onion diced
½ lemon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 tablespoon of cilantro diced
In a large mixing bowl, throw in all your dry ingredients and mix thoroughly then add the shortening, breaking it up into smaller pieces until mixed in the flour as well.
Take the warm water and add it little by little to the flour mixing to form a dough lightly kneading it. Do not over knead the dough. Once the dough is formed, let it rest for 15-30 minutes.
*Keep an eye on the texture of the dough. If the dough is too tough to knead, add more water. If the dough becomes too liquidy, add flour little by little until the dough forms a ball easy to knead.
Once the time is up, start kneading the dough again until it is a smooth ball. Then separate the dough into several small to medium sized balls.
With each ball start flattening the dough to form disks. In this time, you can start heating your oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
Once you have flattened all the balls, check the heat of the oil by hovering your hand above the pan. If you can feel the heat, it is ready. Another way to check is by taking a piece of the dough and placing it in the oil to see if it starts frying.
Fry each dough disk until it is golden brown then it is ready to serve!
So tasty and buttery, this dish serves for a great brunch item with friends. You can eat this sandwich with ingredients of your choice including my favorite, avocado and hot sauce. In fact it is a must to do so!
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Every week I visit a little shop on Carrer Torrent de l'Olla to pick up my favorite items from different parts of Latin America. From hot sauces to sweet spreads, you can find rare items nostalgic of your childhood if you grew up in a LatinX community. It is also a great place to discover new items and flavors to spice up your meals or impress party guests.
Upon one of my visits to Manjares del Mundo, I spotted an array of sausages after heading to the little butcher towards the back of the store. I got a chance to select three types of sausages, a mix of chorizo, butifarra, and one other unknown that I chose at random. These mixes of Argentinean sausages will be the main filling for this recipe.
Now it is not unusual to find empanada skins in a local grocery store in Spain, but you will most likely find one generic brand. I find these special made empanada skins from Manjares are perfect for frying. A nice flaky and buttery texture that is crispy on the outside and soft within.
For this recipe, I am spicing these empanadas up using my own homemade hot sauce, Slow Burn, made with scorpion peppers from my garden. It is a simple recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make and only five minutes to enjoy!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
15 MINUTES | 15 MINUTES | 30 MINUTES |
6 sausages
6 mushrooms
1 onion
3 twigs of thyme
1-2 teaspoons of Slow Burn Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Empanada skins for frying
Remove all the skins from the sausages and put into a bowl on the side.
Chop the onion and mushrooms separately and place into individual bowls.
Take a medium size pan or pot and heat on medium-high heat adding the olive oil and thyme.
Once the oil starts to heat up, add the onions and mushrooms. Sautee until the onions are transparent.
Add the flesh of the sausages and continue stirring with the mushroom and onion mixture. Add all the seasonings mixing and breaking apart the meat into little pieces. Cook for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
Once all the meat is cooked, take the pan off the stove, and set aside to cool. In the meantime, prepare your empanada skins making sure they are at room temperature.
Once the meat is cool enough, place less than a tablespoon full of meat in the center of the empanada skin. Wet your fingers and fold the skin over to close into a crescent shape pressing your fingers on the ends to seal them.
Once you have sealed all your empanadas, in a large pan, place enough oil to fry on medium heat. Fry until empanadas are golden brown on each side.
*You have the option to oven bake your empanadas. Just coat them with egg wash for a glossy finish.
Once your empanadas are finished frying, set them to the side to cool and then serve to your guests or do like I did, spend your day eating them while catching up on Emily in Paris.
If you liked this recipe and want to propose a different filling, leave your comments below!
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Here is a recipe that I originally made for Thanksgiving that is easy to make and perfect for a Christmas dinner for few. These roasted Cornish hens are covered in a sweet and savory cranberry glaze thickened with creamy red miso, which makes for a wonderful gravy. Since fresh cranberries are harder to find in the local supermarkets of Barcelona, I used dried cranberries. FYI, if you are looking for ready-made cranberry sauce, it is best to hit up Taste-of-America (a popular chain selling all our favorite items from back home.)
Although I used a homemade broth made with roasted chicken carcasses, garlic, and sage, a store-bought poultry broth will also work. I like to soak the Cornish hens in the broth overnight to brine the meat, but you can also simmer the hens in broth for about 30 minutes to an hour to speed up the time. We caramelize this dish first to infuse the flavour before putting in the oven on low heat. Once finished, you will be caroling about how tasty and easy this dish was to make!
Overnight Time | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
5 TO 8 HOURS | 15 MINUTES | 60 MINUTES | 2-3 HOURS |
4 Cornish Hens
¼ cup of dried cranberries
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 twigs of rosemary
5 shallots
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of red miso
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Chicken Carcass
3 Cloves of garlic
2 twigs of sage
If you are making your home broth, roast the chicken carcasses, garlic (with skins) and sage on 200 C (375 F) for 40 minutes. After the 40 minutes, submerge all the roasted ingredients in four cups of water and set to simmer for an hour.
If you decide to use store-bought broth, submerge the raw chicken hens in a container with the broth adding one tablespoon of salt. Cover the container and store in the fridge overnight.
After one night or five hours, take out the Cornish hens. On a stove, place a pot big enough to hold all the hens on medium heat. (Make sure the oven is set to 300 F (150 C)) Add the butter, brown sugar, and cranberries to the pot while heating.
While the butter and sugar is melting, take half a cup of the broth and mix in the miso in a small bowl then add to the caramel. Add the salt and pepper, if necessary, after tasting.
Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the hens, peeled shallots, and rosemary. Start stirring the hens carefully coating each hen with glaze.
After 10 minutes of stirring, cover the pot and place in the oven on low heat for the next hour.
After an hour, you can check the hens by cutting into the leg to check if it is still pink. If it is then cook for another 30 minutes until the flesh of the legs are white. Since we have such succulent hens and a glossy glaze, I decided to serve it on top of a potato purée with a side of roasted radishes.
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If you had a chance to read the review on Quimet & Quimet, you will see that it is not just one of the top tapas and montaditos restaurants in Barcelona, but it is also a specialty store for artisanal items such as the Filliers Advokaat egg liquor cream below. This cream contains about 40% alcohol, which is why I am just putting on a little for all my fritters in the end. It gives plain desserts that extra kick needed to wake up your senses.
This recipe is inspired by my love of the Spanish croquettes and is perfect for bringing to parties as an appetizer or alternative dessert. For this recipe, not only am I roasting pumpkin but adding a little orange zest for extra flavor. Light and crispy with a little egg cream liquor on top hurt no one, except make for a great Thanksgiving surprise!
150 g pumpkin
1 cup flour
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon of orange zest
½ cup bread crumbs
Olive oil for drizzle
Cinnamon sugar for finish
Set your oven to 375 F (200 C) and cut the pumpkin into medium size pieces to cook faster. Drizzle some olive oil on to the cut pieces and place in the oven to roast.
Check the pumpkin after ten minutes by cutting a piece with a butter knife. If the knife does not go through easily, cook for five minutes longer.
In a medium size bowl, add the rest of your ingredients minus the bread crumbs and beat with a whisk in small circles. Then add your smashed pumpkin. (Option to place the batter in the fridge for ten minutes while you clean up!)
Form small balls by scooping the spoonful’s of batter in to the remaining a bowl of breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs will make it easier to roll the batter into balls.
Fill a medium sized pan with a canola or frying oil (avoid using olive oil) and heat on medium low heat (between 3 and 4 on an electric stove).
Fry each ball until golden brown and then take it out and then place in a bowl of cinnamon sugar for finish.
Eat these with a nice cafe con leche or bring them to share with friends, enjoy the end of autumn with these fritters.
]]>We have all been there where we arrived to a party only to wait an extra hour or more for the Turkey to finish. Turkey is a delicate bird to cook that cannot be rushed, so you end up feeling tortured from starvation as the smell of gravy permeates the air.
Here is a recipe to satisfy those one-day fasters, a cheesy broccoli dip made with gruyere cheese and white wine, perfect for a first course meal. This dip can be easily served with a toasted baguette that you know at least one guest will bring to the party. It is easy to make and takes no more than 15 minutes! You also have the option to just use a ready-made fondue mix to cut down on time and ingredients.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
5 MINUTES | 10-15 MINUTES | 15-20 MINUTES |
400 g of Broccoli
2 cloves of Garlic
2 cup gruyere shredded
2 tablespoons of white wine
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter
Olive Oil drizzle (optional)
Or 400 g of pre-made Fondue Mix
Round loaf of bread for serving.
Set your oven to medium heat, 350 F (175 C) and place your garlic in a tin foil with a little of olive oil drizzle (olive oil is optional).
Next, separate the broccoli and then place them in a steam basket or metal colander. Start boiling water in a medium or large pot. When the water comes to a boil, place your basket full of separated broccoli on top to steam.
While the broccoli is steaming for the next seven minutes, take out a medium size pot and turn it to medium-low heat adding a teaspoon of butter. Once the butter melts, add the gruyere, heavy cream, salt, and wine. Continuing stirring lowering the heat.
At this point, check to see if the broccoli and garlic are be ready by poking a knife through both vegetables. Take the broccoli from the stove and put it in a food processor with the roasted garlic and blend until finely grated.
Proceed to add the grated broccoli to the melted “fondue” mix, stirring until the cheese is smooth and creamy.
At this point your broccoli dip is ready to be served in a dish of your choice. For this recipe, I put it in a makeshift bread bowl I bought from Flor de Gracia. The bread is made with turmeric giving it that yellow tint. You can even add extra gruyere on top and grill in the oven for 7-10 minutes to have a nice crispy top!
]]>That is correct, I am giving you a cold version of a sweet potato pie that may take longer to make but is so worth it when you bite into that smooth rich filling. Now I know it sounds crazy to skip the warm gooeyness to be expected from a fresh-out-the oven sweet potato pie, but I like being different and I came across this recipe by accident.
It all started when I botched the white chocolate dip for my Halloween cake pops. (There is a reason why there is no recipe on that one yet.) I made the grave mistake of adding a spoon of cream cheese to my melted white chocolate, because I thought it would add great flavor. WRONG! It turned my white chocolate into playdough –– not the ideal texture for dipping. So I stored my chocolate mound in the fridge as I pondered what to do with it.
Luckily white chocolate can withstand a couple weeks refrigerated, because we are now mid-November and I am writing a recipe about what became of that mound. Last year I once made a sweet potato pie with melted white chocolate that was a hit, but I had baked it. This time around, I wanted to use the same technique you would use to make the filling of a tiramisu and apply to this cold treat.
The reason for doing so is because I wanted to play mad chemist and see if I could remelt the white chocolate that had already taken a grainy texture crumbling like dirt after a dry heat. In this method, I am melting just the egg yolks with white chocolate over a double boiler of boiling water.
You can refer to my recipe for the fig pie for a nice cookie crust, however, I would recommend less sugar in the crust since this filling will be quite sweet between the yam and white chocolate. With all that said, let’s get into this recipe!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Overnight Time |
15 MINUTES | 1 HOUR | 3-8 HOURS |
1 Large Sweet Potato
½ cup (120 g) already whipped whip cream
180 g (4-6 oz) white chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
5 egg yolks
Cover the yam in aluminum foil and bake at medium high heat or 200 C (375 F) for about an hour. If the yam is still hard, leave it in the oven for another 30 minutes to an hour until a butter knife can easily cut through it.
Take out a medium sized pot and metal bowl that can fit on top. Break up the white chocolate and place it in the bowl. Bring the pot of water to boil and once boiling, lower the heat placing the bowl of chocolate on top.
Stir the white chocolate until it starts to melt. Once the chocolate is melted, take off the stove to cool.
Once cooled to room temperature, add the egg yolks and vanilla. Start whisking with an electric mixer over simmering water until the creamy yellow color turns to creamy white. At this point, you can turn the stove off.
In a larger bowl, add your already whipped cream, white chocolate mix, remaining spices, and the roasted sweet potato. Start whisking with your mixer until smooth. (Potato lumps are debatable and if you like that kind of thing, I won’t judge. Each to their own.)
Once the filling is smoothened out, fill your prepared pie crust and store it in the fridge for a minimum of two hours. Due to the white chocolate, it can stabilize in no time.
If you are able to tap the surface without disrupting the top layer, it is ready. If it feels too soft, leave it in the fridge longer. Although I left it in the fridge overnight for good measure, I could already feel it setting after three hours.
After it is done setting, you can take it out of the fridge to serve. I find it tastes great on its own, but a little whip cream never hurt. I even decorated it with some pastry leaves for pizzazz. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Since we are working with clams, I decided to pair it with a squid ink pasta to add that extra fish flavor and authenticity. Before I came to Europe, I ate pasta that was yellowish or multicolored. If you had intensely colorful pasta, it was because you were making macaroni art for your parents in kindergarten.
The first time I ever heard of black ink pasta was during an episode of the Sopranos; when crew visits Italy. How memorable was the scene where Paulie sifts through the black spaghetti asking the Italian waiter for “gravy” (referring to tomato sauce) instead? It was then I was intrigued to taste such a dark dish but knew it would not be easy to find the ingredients in a regular American supermarket.
Made with seppia or cuttlefish ink, this type of spaghetti is now more popular and readily available in specialty stores or Italian markets. The brand I use for this recipe is called Garofalo, a well-known brand of pastas found here in Spain. This dish is Mediterranean to the core from the sun dried tomatoes to the white wine and clams. You will taste all the flavors of the sea, so let’s get into it!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total time |
1 HOUR | 15-20 MINUTES | 80 MINUTES |
1 eggplant
1 bulb of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup (35 g) of sundried tomatoes
1 lb (½ kilo) of clams
150 g Squid Ink Spaghetti (or a pasta of your choice)
3 tablespoons of butter (50 g) of butter
3 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 bottle of white wine
1 cup (8 oz) of pasta water
Chopped chives for garnish
If you have not already cleaned your clams, you can do so by soaking them in salted cold water in a metal or porcelain bowl, not plastic. Then set the oven to 175 C (or 375 F).
Cut off the tops of the eggplant and garlic. Then cut the eggplant in half and place on a metal tray. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle salt on top of both the garlic and eggplant before placing in the oven. The ingredients will take about 45 minutes to one hour to roast. If the ingredients have already softened before the allotted time, you can take them out of the oven to rest.
While your roasted vegetables are resting, fill a large pot of water to a boil adding a teaspoon of salt. Once the water comes to a boil, add about a quarter of the spaghetti from the packet. (This spaghetti can be quite filling and expands larger than normal spaghetti in size.)
Stir the spaghetti until it is completely submerged and set the timer two minutes less than the recommended time. In this case, it is boiling for only six minutes to keep it al dente.
In a separate pan, heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat (setting 6 on an electric stove). Once the butter is melted, add 1 teaspoon of salt, lemon, and two cups of wine.
Allow the wine to start simmering and then add the clams cooking for the next seven minutes placing the lid on top of the pan.
While you are waiting for the clams to open up, blend the eggplant and garlic with a teaspoon of salt in the food processor until smooth.
At this point you should check on your pasta and remove once the time is up and set aside, drizzling a little olive oil to avoid sticking. Save a cup of pasta water for later!
Check on the clams and remove any clams that have opened in a separate bowl. If there are still some clams closed shut and the wine has evaporated, add about a cup more and continue steaming for another five minutes.
After the time is up, any clams that are still shut should be thrown away. These clams are dead and poisonous to eat. Remove all the clams and add the sundried tomatoes, eggplant puree, black pasta, and a cup of the pasta water. Turn the heat up to medium high for three minutes constantly stirring.
Once the texture of the pasta is to your liking, turn off the stove and pour into a bowl adding the clams, chives, and parmesan, or in my case Grana Padano, for garnish.
A couple things to note about cooking with clams is soaking them before cooking. I had a mishap where I decided to soak the clams in salt water overnight in a plastic container, unfortunately, killing the majority of my clams. Clams should really be bought and cooked the day of to ensure freshness.
If your clam shells are wide open before cooking and do not close to your finger’s touch, you can discard those clams as a safety precaution. It is very important not to eat dead clams. I had a close family member once collapse on the dinner table eating a closed clam. Luckily, he survived to see another day. As long as your clams start to open after you start cooking them then they are safe to eat!
This recipe not only challenged my confidence and technique in making clams but improved it for the better. It took a couple tries before I got the proportion and timing right, which is why it is so exact in taste and preparation. This recipe is still one of my favorites because every bite feels like a return to summer dining beachside drinking wine at a local chiringuito.
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One of the special ingredients being used in this recipe is the flesh of the concentrated Choricero pepper. Now that it is winter, the mini-barbecue has been put away but I still miss the smoky flavor that comes from it. Choricero peppers are the perfect ingredients for meat stews and this brand by La Legua adds a bit of smokiness to everything.
If this Choricero pepper concentrate is not easy to find, you can substitute for two teaspoons of tomato paste but it will not have the same affect, maybe even be a little more acidic so I would recommend less tomato paste.
This dish is quick and easy, takes no more than 20 minutes to make and because it is still pumpkin season, I even plate it on top of curried pumpkin. That recipe will be coming soon.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
5-7 MINUTES | 15 MINUTES | 22 MINUTES |
1 kilo lamb
1 tablespoon concentrated tamarind sauce
1 tablespoon Choricero peppers concentrated
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 onion
½ cup beef broth
4 cloves of garlic unpeeled
3 twigs of thyme
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Turn the oven to low heat to keep your lamb warm. In a medium size bowl, put in the lamb and massage in one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and black pepper and set aside. Then slice the onion into crescent shapes and set aside.
In a large pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of white sugar. Heat the pan on medium high until the sugar starts to melt.
Upon seeing first signs of the sugar browning, add the lamb, garlic and thyme. Start to cook the lamb for the next 10 minutes or until the lamb starts to brown on both sides.
Once the pinkness of the flesh starts to disappear, put the lamb back in the same bowl and now add the sliced onion to the already heated pan. Sauté the onion until glossy and almost transparent.
Add the concentrated Choricero pepper (or tomato paste substitute) and tamarind, continuing to stir the onions. Once mixed, add the beef broth and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.
When the sauce thickens to a glaze, put back the cooked lamb and stir for another five to seven minutes then turn off the stove. At this point, you can put the lamb in an oven dish and cover it. Leave it in the warmed oven for ten minutes for juicier results!
Once you are ready to eat, you serve it on top of a starch ingredient like I did here with the pumpkin and broccoli, or eat it alone. Either way you will enjoy this savoury dish with so little time to make! Let me know what you eat your lamb with in the comments below!
]]>When travelling to Dominican Republic, I try eating this fruit every chance I get before an intense workout. Due to its richness in potassium and fiber, this fruit digests slowly releasing moderate levels of blood sugar. We are lucky that these fruits can be found in most warm climates and if not, you will most likely find them in your local Asian, Latin, or African market.
For this recipe, I am introducing a refreshing brunch substitute for your standard pancakes and bacon that is sweet and slightly spicy. These fried sweet plantains are served with a homemade bruschetta different from traditional Italian ones served on baguettes, incorporating unconventional ingredients like corn nuts and green spring onions. I not only like the sweet and salty taste, but the crunchy texture of the corn nuts in every bite.
Finally, the dish is finished off with a chipotle drizzle to give it that much needed kick to counteract all the sweet flavor. The chipotle peppers I used come straight from the can in adobo sauce. I preferably like to use the brand La Costeña, but if that is not available any canned chipotle peppers in adobo will do.
Prep Time |
Cook Time |
Total Time |
10-15 minutes |
5-7 minutes | 20-22 minutes |
2 ripe yellow plantains (nearly brown)
Oil for frying (preferably coconut oil)
½ cup (about 15) of cherry tomatoes
2 sprigs of green spring onions
2 or 3 chipotle peppers (straight from the can) with a tablespoon of adobo sauce
½ cup (122 g) Greek yogurt
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
½ teaspoon of cumin powder
1 small onion
1/8 cup (20 g) of chopped corn nuts (optional)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of water
In a blender, add garlic, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder, and the chipotle peppers. Blend all the ingredients until the texture is smooth.
If the chipotle sauce is still too thick for your liking, add water little by little to thin it out enough to form a smooth drizzle.
Cut each plantain in half then remove the peel. Then cut each plantain in slices half an inch or a little over a centimeter at slanted angles.
Tip: To reduce the amount of trans fats released, you can substitute for coconut oil.
Dice onions, cherry tomatoes, corn nuts, and green spring onions. Add them to a small bowl.
Add the remaining olive oil, salt, and lemon juice and stir for a minute. Once you are done you can plate the bruschetta mix on top of your plantains. You can add extra seasonings of your choice at this point and a dash of sugar if the bruschetta is still too acidic.
Brunch does not always have to be high in simple carbs and sugar. It can be refreshing and somewhat healthy without feeling sluggish or like you need a nap afterwards. I particular like eating this dish because I am still getting that sweetness I want out of the first morning meal without getting the toothache. In addition, this meal can be eaten at any time of the day as a midday snack or a quick lunch.
For more recipes like this, check out Hearty Lifestyle Recipes and share your thoughts on this recipe here.
]]>There is no limit to the amount of apple recipes available online, but I wanted to add that missing touch to the traditional coffee crumb cake. Not to be confused with an apple crumble which focuses solely on the baked apples, this recipe follows a french trend of baking whole fruits directly into the cake batter adding a delicious surprise to every bite.
Although the majority of the sugar in this recipe is in the chewy cinnamon crumble, I definitely try to cut down on the amount of sugar normally used. Most coffee cake recipes require about a cup sugar in the crumble and then an additional cup in the batter. For anyone trying to lose weight or cut down on their sugar intake, this is a crazy amount of sugar for one dessert!
For these ingredients, I am using a brand of sugar cane from Madrid called Azucarera. This brand of sugar is not only great for making streusel toppings but also good as a regular topping for plain yogurts or cereals. I decided to forgo using granulated sugar for unrefined brown sugar (or sugar cane) instead, because the flavor is nuttier and the texture is chewier. This makes a huge difference when you start using this type of sugar to make a caramel.
Although this recipe does call for apple sauce, in this version I blended the flesh of two rotting apples because the acidity and bacteria would act as a good rising agent for the cake filling. With all that said, let’s dive in (starting with the baked apples, because they take the most time) and make this dessert that is rotten to the core, but delicious to the mouth!
PREP TIME | Cook Time | Total Time |
60 MINUTES | 3 HOURS | 4 HOURS |
Set oven to 175 ℃ (350 F). Cut in half and peel all the apples, scooping out the core using the teaspoon of a measuring spoon to round out the perfect circle.
Once all the apples are peeled and cored, take out a sauce pan large enough to fit all the apples. Turn the oven to medium low heat and melt the butter, sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg, and star anis together.
Once the caramel starts to thicken, add the apples stirring them around for about 10 minutes. This is to infuse the caramel and apple flavor.
After 10 minutes, take only the apples out of the saucepan and place them in a glass dish or on a sheet pan between parchment paper. We will dry out the apple some more in the oven for the next two hours on low heat.
Since the apples will take time, we can move on to the cake filling.
In a large bowl, mix all your dry ingredients and the butter with an electric mixer on the lowest setting.
If you are mixing with a handheld mixer, use your fingers to break up the butter in the flour. When mixing the batter, whisk in small circles so as not to not release the gluten. We’re making Apple Crumb Coffee Cake, not bread.
Prepare to add the rest of your wet ingredients, starting with the yogurt. If you have rotting apples, peel them and blend them into a sauce to use as a wet ingredient, otherwise just add a regular apple sauce next.
Lastly add the eggs one at a time. Once the eggs are blended then stop mixing so that the batter is not over-mixed. The batter should look fluffy.
Afterwards, pour the batter into a small container and store in the fridge up to 30 minutes or until the remaining time you have left for the baked apples to be ready.
In a medium size bowl, mix all your dry ingredients.
Add the room temperature butter and start breaking up the butter with your fingers making fine crumbles. If the crumble feels too dry and sandy, add another tablespoon of butter and form little balls of flour before crumbling again to create bigger chunks of crumble then set aside.
Once your baked apples are ready after two hours of baking at 175 C, take them out of the oven. Separate the apples from the remaining juice and set aside to cool down. Leave the oven on at the same temperature for the cake.
*You can save the remaining baked apple juice to create more caramel as a topping by just heating the excess juice in a small saucepan, adding ¼ cup (55 g) more of brown sugar.
Butter a cake pan on all sides, then press half of the crumble mixture on to the bottom of the cake pan to create a chewy base.
Next take the cake batter out of the fridge and pour half of it into the cake pan on top of the crumble base.
Now you can start strategically placing all your baked apples on top of the first half of the batter. (I also poured a layer of thick caramel on top, which is optional.)
Pour the remaining batter on top and then proceed to top it with the remaining crumble mixture. Then put cake into the oven and set the timer for 60 minutes.
After 60 minutes, poke the cake with a toothpick. If the stick still shows batter, continue to let it cook checking every 10 minutes.
Once the toothpick comes out dry, turn the oven off and take the cake out to let it cool for the next two hours.
If the cake is too moist, you can leave it in the oven with the oven off for 30 minutes to an hour so that the cake can dry out more. Due to the moisture of the apple and almond flour, the cake can take longer to dry out.
Once your cake is ready and cooled down, you can serve it to friends with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of plain whip cream. This Apple Crumb Coffee Cake has less sugar than a traditional coffee cake and you can even cut out more if necessary. The focus is on the apple and chewy crumble, making for a nice after dinner treat.
Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
]]>With so many versions of Mac and Cheese, what makes this one so special?
Gruyere cheese is not budget friendly outside of Europe, or even Switzerland for that matter. In most places, the Emmi Swiss brand is the one that is readily available. This is the one I will be using for this recipe.
I have come to adore Gruyere because of some similarities it shares with its American equivalent, old cheddar. Its sharpness and level of saltiness really elevates the taste of any cheese dish. From fondue to gratin, gruyere cheese adds a natural smokey flavor that makes you feel as if you are dining in a Swiss chalet.
Having had the chance to visit the city of Gruyere, I was lucky enough to try Swiss cheeses aged so well that when you took a bite, little salt crystals burst in your mouth like pop rocks. The only other cheese I tasted similar with salt crystals was Trader Joe’s, Unexpected Cheddar Cheese. (Some would consider it the poor man’s equivalent, but I disagree; it’s one of the best store bought cheeses coming from America.)
This recipe is going to combine my love gruyere with an aged Welsh cheddar into a béchamel sauce flavored with spinach and bacon. Some of the best Spinach Mac and Cheese to try before the start of winter.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
10-15 MINUTES | 20-25 MINUTES | 40 MINUTES |
2 cups macaroni
1 cup gruyere
1 cup of old cheddar
2 cups of spinach
½ cup chopped bacon (optional)
1 tablespoon of butter
½ cup cream (18%)
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon of flour
2 egg yolks
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Fill a large pot of water and set to boil. Turn the oven on broil using the top grill.
Grate gruyere and cheddar and mix in a separate bowl.
Slice the spinach into ½ inch strips and chop the bacon into cubes.
Using a Creuset pot (or any pot that can be transferred to the oven after), turn the stove to medium heat (7) and cook the bacon and butter together.
Once the bacon starts browning, add the spinach and cook it until the leaves reduce to half the size and the water evaporates.
While the spinach and bacon are cooking, pour the milk and cream into one bowl with the flour and whisk together. Once the dairy and flour is mixed, pour it into the pot of bacon and spinach.
Keeping your eye on the pot, start stirring the cream mixture lowering the heat more (6 on an electric stove). Continue stirring until the sauce starts to thicken and then add the 1 ½ cup of cheese. (If you have extra cheese for topping, you can add the full two cups.)
Now you can start adding the salt and nutmeg as you continue to stir and then leave the cheese mixture cooking on low heat (between 3 and 4). Once the heat is low enough, you can mix in the egg yolks lowering the heat more or turning off the stove.
Checking on your boiling water, add the macaroni and cook two minutes less than what the package suggests.
Once your macaroni is ready, mix with the cheese sauce in the same pot and then top the Mac & Cheese with the excess grated gruyere and cheddar. Place the dish in the oven for about 7-10 minutes, or until the top of the pie has grilled golden brown.
I made this recipe in less than 30 minutes during my lunch break, but for first timers it may take longer. To save on time, you can opt out of grilling the cheesy top part and eat it as is. It is still good and saves on time.
I also like to check in with my boiling water regularly, cooking both parts (the cheese sauce and noodles) simultaneously. As long as you have a timer, you will not need to worry about over boiling. I like to cook the pasta al dente or under-boil, so that the pasta can absorb the sauce once I combine it afterwards.
Once you are done, let it cool and put on the latest Netflix docu-series as you get ready for a relaxing weekend. Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
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NOT YOUR AVERAGE EGGS BENEDICT. In this recipe, we’re making a simple hollandaise and serving it with soft-boiled eggs on rye bread with avocado, smoked salmon, tomato, and diced purple onion. Get the recipe here!
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The hardest part of Eggs Benedict is poaching the eggs. So often I have failed poaching eggs because I did not buy fresh eggs, which is important for poaching because the protein membranes are strongest when the eggs are just hatched, otherwise you are left with stringy egg water.
Although I am now more confident in my poaching skills (poaching up to two eggs at a time. *Pats self on the back). For unplanned brunches, I prefer soft boiling my eggs. A soft boiled egg produces a sturdier egg white and there is less risk of the yolk breaking before it hits your plate. In addition, less stringy egg water.
In this recipe, we’re making a simple hollandaise and serving it with soft-boiled eggs on rye bread with avocado, smoked salmon, tomato, and diced purple onion. The meal is already rich, why not make it HEALTHY...
For the hollandaise sauce, you will need a small pot and a bowl that you can fit on top without the bowl being submerged under water. I like to use a metal mixing bowl with pronounced edges that can fit on top of the pot.
We will do a double boiling technique that will cook the egg yolk without curdling it under low heat using an electric mixer. If you don’t have an electric mixer, no worries; today will just be arm day. As you patiently mix the egg yolk with a handheld mixer, you will finish this meal enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
10 MINUTES | 10-15 MINUTES | 20 MINUTES |
5 egg yolks
¾ cup (150g) butter
½ small lemon
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of water
Fill a small pot with water and set to boil on the stove.
Separate five egg yolks and put into a small bowl that can fit on the pan. Do not put the bowl of egg yolks directly on the pot yet.
In a separate small saucepan, melt your butter on low heat without burning it. (You can also put it in a microwave. I use pot, because I don’t own a microwave.) Once your butter is melted, set aside.
Once your water starts boiling, turn the stove off and remove the pan from the heated part of the stove. Have an electric mixer (preferred) or whisk ready. You must quickly start whisking once you place the bowl of egg yolks on the pan for about 10 minutes or until the color of the yolks go from yellow to a light cream color.
Once your egg yolks reach a rich creamy color, take it off the pan and start adding the melted butter little by little from the side of the bowl, not directly in.
This is in case the butter is still too warm, pouring down the side will lower the heat preventing any possible curdling. You can switch to a handheld whisk for this part.
Once you have whisked in the remaining butter in, you can start adding the lemon, salt, and paprika. You can also add tablespoon by tablespoon of water to stretch it out to your desire. No more than three tablespoons max.
Now that your hollandaise is ready, let’s move on to making the perfect soft-boiled egg.
Take a medium size pan to fill the water to half the height of the egg without putting the egg inside the pan yet. Afterwards, set the water to boil on the stove.
Once the water starts boiling, lower the heat to medium-low (setting 5 on an electric stove).
Place a cover on top of the pan and set your timer to six minutes and 30 seconds. (6:30 sec)
Once the timer is up, place the eggs in a bowl of ice water and let it sit for minute or two. This will help peeling the egg without ruining the membrane.
At this point you can start setting up your breakfast slicing the bread and vegetables. In the image you see, I diced purple onion into small cubes and added sliced tomato, avocado, and salmon.
You will notice that the egg yolks in this picture are very yellow to the point of being orange. This is something very common in southern Europe which baffles my American friends every time. That is not photoshop magic, but the result of a free range hen's diet made up of leafy vegetables and possibly insects with high levels of carotenoids, the fat-soluble pigments responsible for the brilliant orange color.
With this method, you will have perfect runny eggs every time without the hassle of messing up your pot or the kitchen. Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
]]>This recipe is mainly using butternut pumpkin, but other pumpkins are welcomed. The focus is on the sage butter, because this is what enhances the flavor of the pumpkin. I have also added roasted Butifarra sausages in the soup, because I like to live life dangerously and enriching foods is my forte.
Butifarra is one of my favorite sausages well-known to Catalonia. You can eat it roasted or cured and, in this case, we are roasting them over green beans and cherry tomatoes. It is not easy to find Butifarra if you are not in Spain, so I would recommend just using regular sausages of your choice.
This pumpkin sage butter soup is a very rich and hearty dish but is so satisfying to the stomach, especially on a cold and rainy day!
*Note: All recipes are measured originally in grams.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
15 minutes | 60 minutes | 1 Hour and 15 Minutes |
9 cloves of garlic unpeeled
¼ cup of butter
2 cups (500 g) raw butternut pumpkin
53 g butter (1/4 cup)
2 twigs of thyme
2 tablespoons or (30 g) of garlic
½ cup of heavy cream (18%)
½ cup of chicken broth
1 teaspoon of salt
A pinch of white pepper
Set your oven to 200 C (or about 400 F) to prepare roasting the pumpkin.
Next in a small saucepan, add the butter, thyme, sage, and garlic. Melt the butter on low heat (between the setting 3 and 4) and then set aside for 10 minutes. We do not want to brown the butter.
If your pumpkin is not already cut up into big cubes then go ahead and deseed the pumpkin and cut it into four to six large pieces. No need to peel them, because it will be easier to remove the skin once the pumpkin is fully roasted.
Afterwards, place the pumpkin in a bowl and add the sage butter and garlic mix that has been resting; massaging the butter all over the raw pumpkin.
Next place a piece of parchment paper in a baking pan and set the pumpkin on top saving some of the excess butter in the bowl. Put the pan of your marinated pumpkin in the bottom rack of the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, take a knife and poke the pumpkin. If it cuts like butter, it’s ready! Otherwise, leave it in another 5-10 minutes and continue checking until it cuts easily.
Once your pumpkin is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.
*If your pumpkin still has the outer layer, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin. You can also remove the skin of the garlic at this point.
Keeping the same bowl that was used to mix up the pumpkin and sage butter, throw in the Butifarra and green beans and mix around so they are well coated.
Next heat a pan to medium-high heat adding a teaspoon of oil. Then start cooking the sausages first until the skin browns on all sides for about 5-10 minutes. Then remove the sausages from the pan into a separate oven pan.
Without turning off your pan, lower the heat to medium, then cook the green beans constantly stirring around for two minutes. (You can even add more garlic, because you can never have too much garlic.)
Once done, place the green beans in the same pan of the sausage along with the cherry tomatoes and roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the sausage is fully cooked.
Once you are done, you can either serve your sausages on the side of the soup or in my case, directly in the soup adding that extra meaty flavor. One thing I would like to note is that I started the sausages as soon as I put the pumpkin in the oven, so that I could time my sausages to be ready to serve once the soup was done.
I even took some of the roasted garlic and spread it on toast with olive oil, my breath hasn’t felt the same since.
Let me know how you feel about this recipe, leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback!
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Growing up in southern California, I am embarrassed to say that I only ate figs in Fig Newton bars. Despite California producing the majority of figs in the U.S., I have not encountered many recipes with figs outside of fig jam. I have really come to appreciate the joys of eating figs as an addition to the charcuterie board of good aged cheeses and cured meats, such as the classic Pata Negra.
After three trips eyeing the figs at my local fruteria, I felt inspired to make a fig cream pie. Seeing the figs on sale for so cheap luring me with their dark aubergine color, I knew right away these would be ripe and tasty for an autumn dessert. Since the fruit was in season, I was able to buy half a kilo for under five dollars (3 euros)!
After many failed attempts with pie crust recipes, I have finally created my favorite so far with the help of @preppykitchen. I never knew vodka would make for a better and crispier crust. This crust does have more brown sugar and almond flour than a normal crust, but it adds to this perfect soft and crispy cookie like texture which I prefer for a fruity pie.
Here is a recipe that tests my newfound love of figs using a fig custard base on a sugary crust then decorating with both baked and fresh figs to make your mouth jump for joy!
*Note: All these recipes are measured using a gram scale.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Overnight Time | Total Time |
120 MINUTES | 30 MINUTES | 6 HOURS | 8 HOURS AND 30 MIN |
*15-20 figs will be needed for this recipe
½ cup (60 g) of almond flour
1 ½ (192 g) cup of flour
¼ cup (32 g) of brown sugar
4 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of lard or shortening
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vodka
2 tablespoons of ice water
5 egg yolks
5 figs (flesh only)
1 cup (240 g) milk
½ cup (120 g) of whip cream (unwhipped)
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 Lemon
¼ cup (75 g) of granulated sugar
½ cup (60 g) of cornstarch
The flesh of 5 figs
Set your oven to 175 C (350 F). Mix your vodka with ice water and set aside. I like to take two ice cubes and pour the vodka over it and let it melt together. Same effect.
Now for the dough. There are two methods to building this pie crust, you will find both the easy and challenging method below.
*Challenging method: First start by mixing all your dry ingredients in a bowl first then pouring the flour on to a wooden board. If you have a marble counter, even better.
The original kneading method I used was inspired by a Bon Apetit recipe. Here you will flatten the butter and lard into the flour with a rolling pin until it creates thin layers.
Afterwards, return those new layers to a bowl to add your vodka mixture to mix a bit with your hands. Then return to your board to scrape and roll until your dough forms into one mold l ready for the fridge.
This method does require a scraper, strength, and a lot of patience so skip to the easier one below for beginners if you want to avoid a challenge.
*Easier Method: Mix your dry ingredients first and then throw them into a food processor with the butter and lard mixing for one minute or less. You do not want the flour and butter/lard mixture to be fine crumbles like sand, keep some chunks of butter for better flakiness.
Then throw everything into a bowl pouring in your vodka mixture kneading until your dough forms a solid mold.
*Careful not to knead too hard because you do not want to release the gluten, that is how bread is made.
As you can see here, the crust is fully cooked with a golden-brown color. I was constantly checking my crust so that this color could be achieved.
Moving onto our fig filling.
Heat the milk, whip cream, and vanilla extract in a saucepan on medium-low heat.
In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
Once the milk is moderately heated to the point of warm, pour the mil into the bowl of the egg mixture whipping for two minutes.
Once everything is mixed, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and continue whipping on low heat until the texture starts to form a custard. (I used an electric mixer in this process.)
The key to this process is not leaving the pan alone, continuing to whip until the custard forms and turning off the heat once it does form. Make sure to take the pan completely away from heat once custard forms!
As mentioned, we are using half-baked and fresh figs. So cut up between 5-7 of each type of fig in quarter crescent moon slices and style as you desire.
On parchment paper, place 5-7 figs cut into quarter pieces. Sprinkle salt, brown sugar and nutmeg. The brown sugar helps crystallize the figs.
Bake for about 10 minutes at 175 F (350 C) or until the sugar has crystallized.
Once the figs are ready, place how you want half of your fresh and half of your baked figs. For a longer lasting pie, you can use baked figs only.
The final step is placing it in the fridge for more than two hours so that the custard can stabilize and then it is ready to present!
A fig cream pie great to bust out at the end of any dinner party or surprise your friends at a potluck. Leave comments if you have any suggestions or feedback about this recipe!
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