Carrot Pickle

Last night we had some new friends over for dinner. They just arrived from Portland and will be on the island for the next three months to decide if they want to move here permanently. I made an Indian dinner which included papadams, okra riata, cilantro and mint chutney, naan, Marathi Yellow Fried Rice, Grilled Lobster claws and one of my favorite Indian things, Carrot Pickles. I am including the easy recipe, given to my by my friend Madhu in Chicago many years ago. It was her mother's recipe, so there are no exact measurements, but what you end up with is a delicious pickle that stays crisp in the refrigerator for several weeks. It has all of my favorite elements, spicy, sweet and tart flavors. I am approximating the amounts here so taste and make sure your base is as you want it to taste and adjust the vinegar and sugar if needed.

6 carrots peeled and cut into matchstick slices.
3 Tbs each mustard seeds, methi seeds and urad dal.
2/3 cup canola oil
1 large red onion, 6 garlic cloves & a 1" piece of ginger that  have been pureed
a hand full of curry leaves
chili powder (i used ancho and a bit of cayenne) to taste
1/2 tsp each tumeric & cumin powder
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown or raw sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a wok, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, methi seeds and urad dal. When they start to sputter, add the ginger/onion/garlic puree. Throw in the curry leaves until light brown. Lower heat and add the remaining spices & the salt and sugar. Add the vinegar and taste. Adjust spices if needed. It should be spicy, sweet and tart. Add the carrots and put into a large glass jar. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. You are going to love it!

Garlic Butter Bread Sticks

Because Pizza dough is so versatile and I also enjoy being able to spontaneously make pizza and bread sticks with the dough, I make it in large batches, freeze some, use some and keep some in the fridge. The recipe I use is one that actually matures in the refrigerator for a cold ferment.. I made some bread sticks from a ball of the dough to go with a dinner of veal picatta and brussels sprouts. The recipe I use for pizza dough is posted below. 


To make these breadsticks, just take out a ball of the dough, apply a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a bowl at least 2 X the size of the the ball of dough. 


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


Roll the dough around in the oil so that all surfaces have oil on them. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and rise till double in size.  


Punch down and roll out on a floured board a rectangle about 10 X 6 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into bread sticks about 1 1/2 inches wide. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.


Melt 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter in a small sauce pan. To the butter add 8 cloves of finely minced garlic and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes to blend flavors. 


Take each breadstick and pull through the butter so that it is covered on all sides with butter. Twist and lay on a pan lined with a silpat sheet.  Continue with the remaining sticks, placing them about 1/2 " apart. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the rise and they will still rise in the oven, just not as much. 

Before baking pour any remaining butter and garlic on the breadsticks. Bake for 20 minutes and serve hot. 

Overnight Pizza Dough

makes 8 9 inch pizzas

Ingredients: 

sponge

1 cup lukewarm water (110°F to 115°F)

1 envelope active dry yeast, divided

1 cup all purpose flour, divided

dough

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (110°F to 115°F)

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 envelope active dry yeast

6 cups (or more) all purpose flour

Olive oil

Yellow cornmeal or semolina

Sauces and toppings

Preparation

sponge

Place 1 cup lukewarm water in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon yeast (reserve remaining yeast for dough) and 1/4 teaspoon flour over water. Let stand until yeast dissolves and mixture looks spongy, about 4 minutes. Add remaining flour and whisk until smooth; scrape down sides of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge rest at room temperature in draft-free area overnight (about 12 hours; sponge will look bubbly).

dough

Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 envelope yeast, and remaining yeast to sponge, then add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating with dough hook to blend after each addition. Continue to beat until dough is smooth, comes cleanly away from sides of bowl, and is only slightly sticky to touch, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. If dough is very sticky, beat in more flour, 1/4 cupful at a time. Scrape dough onto floured surface; knead into smooth ball.

Brush inside of large bowl with oil. Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; chill 6 hours, kneading dough down when doubled (after 2 hours).

About 1 1/2 hours before baking, dust 2 baking sheets with flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead gently; shape into 16-inch log. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Knead each piece into smooth ball. Arrange 4 balls of dough on each sheet. Cover loosely with kitchen towels and let rise until almost doubled, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

If using pizza stone, place in oven.

Preheat oven to 500°F for 45 minutes. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough with flour. Press into 5-inch round, then gently stretch and roll out to 9-inch round.

If using pizza stone, sprinkle pizza peel or rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. If not using pizza stone, sprinkle large baking sheet with cornmeal. Place dough round on cornmeal; brush lightly with oil. Top as desired. Slide pizza onto stone or place pizza on baking sheet into oven.

Bake pizza until sauce is bubbling and crust is crisp and brown, lifting edge of pizza to check underside, about 14 minutes.

To speed things up, you can bake two pizzas at the same time. To ensure even cooking, be sure to reverse the position of the baking sheets after 8 minutes. Baking two pizzas at once may take longer than 14 minutes.

Lardolicious! Manteca de Hawaii

The road to Mole is paved with Manteca. So is the road to good tamales. I am making both this week and those posts will follow complete with step by step instructions. This post is about rendering lard, I kid you not. In Mexican Cooking, we call it Manteca. It is a very easy process and one that rewards you with some wonderful stuff. Many things taste better with Manteca and the Spanish word just sounds a heck of a lot better than lard.

Home rendered lard is healthier for us than many of the hydrogenated vegetable fats and surprisingly has some health benefits when of course it is used in moderation. It of course is not vegetarian or vegan. It is a 100% natural fat and one third of it is composed of stearic acid, which is beneficial to cholesterol levels & circulation. Lard is also high in oleic acids and high in monounsaturated fatty acids. Lard has half the level of saturated fat of palm kernel oil or coconut oil, often touted as more healthful replacements for partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Here is an interesting article on the subject of fats in the New York Times.

So, if you are going to use Manteca, do not buy the supermarket variety... make your own! It is easy to do and will give you the best quality and healthiest kind of lard.

While our grocery stores lack a lot of things here on the big island of Hawaii, one of them is not pork fat. The pig is Godlike in this culture and not only can you find stacks of pig fat, you can find pigs feet, pig heads and almost everything between the snout and the tail. I bought four packages of beautiful white fat for $5 at KTA.

I brought it home and cut it up then slowly cooked it until the fat was rendered and we were left with some crispy cracklings or chicharrones.

Sprinkled with a little smoked sea salt and hot sauce they are harder to resist than a potato chip. Of course I suggest a little self control and moderation where chicharrones are concerned.

You can render the fat in the oven or on the stove top. Since it was a warm day, I opted for the stove top. I had to do my rendering in two batches. Each one took about 20 minutes on a low flame.

Once the fat is rendered, the chicharrones will be golden brown and crispy. Line a sieve with a coffee filter or paper towel and place it over a large pot or bowl. Pour all of the renderings and chicharrones into the colander. Allow to drip for at least 15 minutes, longer is better. Once the lard has been rendered it will be a golden oil that eventually turns white when it completely cools. You can store it in the fridge or freezer. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge and at least a year in the freezer. You can also render goose fat, duck fat, and beef fat in much the same way.

Come on, I know you have lard envy about now...

The next post will be on making a deep velvety and complex mole colorado and then some butt kicking tamales! Tune in for more fun and food!

Pumpkin Ravioli!

I love the flavors of pumpkin and sage in the fall. Here is a recipe I have made twice in the last two weeks, once for a party and again for fun. All you need to add is a salad and some focaccia.

You can use pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potato in the filling. You can make your own pasta dough, buy sheets of pasta (if you live on the mainland in an area that has gourmet markets) or you can use won ton wrappers for the pasta. These instructions are for the later method. I did them with home made pasta sheets the first time and won tons the second time, they were equally good both ways.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter, Candied Ginger and Fried Sage

Filling:

1 1/2 # of winter squash, pumpkin or sweet potato roasted till tender and pureed.

1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

1/2 cup fontina cheese, grated

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage (you could also use basil)

1/2 of a whole nutmeg freshly grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

fresh ground black pepper

pinch of salt (I use my smoked salt here)

2 TBS maple sugar

Pasta sheets or won ton wrappers for ravioli (I used 1 recipe of pasta dough or two packages of won ton wrappers)

Water, pastry brush

Ravioli cutter

1/4 cup of butter (more if you follow the Paula Deen School)

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/2 cup sage leaves fried in olive oil (fry just before serving so they are crisp)

Stir the filling ingredients together. Lay out your pasta sheets. Depending on the size of your ravioli cutter, determine how much filling you will need for each ravioli.

They should be lightly stuffed, just a little puffy. I used a large round cutter and a small ice cream scoop to measure the filling. Place the filling on the pasta and then go around the filling with water using the pastry brush. Place the top sheet of pasta on the bottom sheet and lightly press the seams where you painted the water. Using a ravioli cutter, cut through the pasta and place the ravioli on a floured piece of waxed paper or silpat. Continue till you have used up the filling. The ravioli may be frozen between waxed paper at this point.

Boil water in a large pot and dunk 3-4 ravioli at a time into the water for about 2 minutes. They should be al dente. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and allow to drain slightly. Continue till all are cooked.

When ready to serve, melt the butter in a frying pan and add hazelnuts. Add Ravioli and cook just till the butter starts to brown. Remove to a platter and top with the butter and hazelnuts, then add the fried sage leaves.

Tostones!

I love Cuban Food, especially when I can add a little extra kick to it. The other day at the Hilo Farmer's Market I saw a woman sitting at a little table with a sign that said, PLANTAINS $1 a bunch. That is all she had, big fat plantains. I smiled!

They are shorter and fatter than the ones I used to buy on the mainland. But after cooking these plantains I found them to taste even better and they certainly were the same texture as green plantains I have had from Latin America, much different than bananas, which until now were my only substitute for plantains. I do have a small plantain tree, but it will be a while before it has plantains on it. I immediately knew what I was going to make for dinner. I stopped by Abundant Life and bought some black beans and when I got home I took some smoked ham hocks out of the freezer. I had a boneless turkey breast tenderloin marinating in sour orange and lemon pepper already, the perfect accompaniment to the star of the show, Tostones! Who knew that a side dish would be the star? Recipes to follow.

I started the morning off by soaking the black beans and went off to work in the garden.

So some of you are probably asking, What are Tostones? Firstly they are a Cuban staple and sometimes found in other Latin cuisines such as Puerto Rican. They are twice fried green plantains. Tostones should be crisp and golden on the outside and tender on the inside. One secret is to simmer the first fry gently in oil the first time so that they cook until tender in the middle and don't get to hard and brittle to flatten. Tostones are flattened with a wooden gadget called a tostonera or a large bottomed flat glass will do.

At El Buganvil outside of Havana the tostones are made into little cups, tostones rellenos and then they are filled with picadillo, black beans or crab salad. But I made the traditional flat tostones.

Here is the recipe for tostones and Havana Style Black Beans:

Tostones:

• Peel the plantains with a sharp knife, removing only the skin.
• Slice into 3/4 inch slices
• In a deep fryer or pan heat at least 1 1/2 inches of oil to 340 degrees.
• Fry the rounds gently until they just start to turn golden (2-3 minutes)
• Remove and drain on paper towels.
• While still warm flatten to about half of their original thickness.
• Dip in warm salt water then place on paper towels to drain.
• Shortly before serving time, heat oil to 375 and fry until crisp and dry in small batches.
• Sprinkle lightly with salt (I use smoked salt.)
• Keep warm in a 200 degree oven if not serving immediately. I serve with lime slices.

Cuban Black Beans

Step 1

1 # Black Beans

2 quarts water

1 ham hock

6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed

1 tablespoon salt

2 bay leaves

1 habanero pepper cut in half

• Clean beans and cover with water for at least 8 hours or overnight. Strain.
• Add all ingredients and bring to a boil then reduce heat & simmer on low for an hour or till beans are barely tender, skimming scum if it develops.
• Remove the ham hock to cool and then shred meat.

Step 2

1/4 cup Olive Oil

4 pieces thick cut bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large or two small red onion chopped finely

1/2 red bell pepper (green is traditional but I prefer sweet red) chopped finely

2 carrots chopped finely

8 garlic cloves peeled and finely minced

1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped (I usually use a habanero)

1 Tablespoon dried Mexican Oregano (or Greek if you don't have Mexican)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

Juice from one lime

1 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup raw sugar

• Heat olive oil in a large saute pan.
• Fry onion, peppers, and carrots. When the onions are starting to show color, add the garlic & spices.
• After a few minutes de-glaze the pan with the sherry and simmer for a few minutes. Add sugar and then pour into the beans.
• Simmer with the beans for a few minutes and remove 1 cup or so of beans and use an immersion blender to puree.
• Return the smooth beans to the whole beans and shred the ham hock meat into the beans.
• Cook until the sauce is like a thick gravy and serve with queso fresco, onion, lime and cilantro. I also add a small bowl of finely chopped habanero on the plate.

Candied Ginger & Starfruit

Candied Ginger

Abundance, that describes life in Hawaii. There is always something in abundance either growing wild or in the gardens and farmer's market. Right now it is young ginger, starfruit, lilikoi and figs. I will tackle the first two.

Young Ginger on the left, see the thin skin and pink shoots?

You can grow ginger here, but it is so inexpensive that most people just buy it at the farmer's market in huge gnarly clumps for as little as a dollar. The edible part of ginger is the rhizome that develops underground. Starfruit, which in case you don't know grows on trees also are ripening quickly and can be found 5 for $1. I do know a few people with trees too, and they readily want to share the star fruit. In general it is used as a garnish fruit, because when you cut it into slices you find lovely stars. I use it to decorate tea glasses, fruit plates and I like to candy it to preserve it. Once candied most fruits have a very long shelf life and they are in general very pretty jewel like things that are almost irresistible to nibble on. Candied star fruit looks especially nice on cakes or cupcakes, but also looks lovely on mousse or creme puffs, shiny little stars glittering with sugar... how could that be anything but beautiful?

Ginger vs Young Ginger: Ginger is available all over the world and many cultures use it in their cuisines, especially Asian. The knobs of ginger found in grocery stores are common ginger and can be used in a variety of ways, but for candied ginger I prefer the texture of young ginger. Young ginger is tender and pink on the tips and almost doesn't need to be peeled. In addition to that, you will find that young ginger has a slightly more subtle taste with less of the burning of mature ginger. It slices easier and does not develop that woody fiber that more mature ginger does. It still offers plenty of kick and substance in flavor.

We also have many decorative gingers here honeycomb, pink, red and my favorite, torch ginger. The native ginger in Hawaii is 'awapuhi zingiber zerumbet it is a 1-3' plant with an aromatic root with red and green bracts saturated with a sudsy juice used as a shampoo here. Also it is said that if you have a toothache the root of this ginger can be chopped up and applied to the tooth and gums for relief. Edible ginger, 'awapuhi zingibe, officinale also known a s common ginger was brought to Hawaii by the Chinese. Here are some decorative gingers from my garden, the only one I do not have a picture of is the pink torch ginger that I bought at the Orchid Society Show, as it has not bloomed yet.

And so when at the farmer's market a woman offered me an entire pile of young ginger for $1, I immediately knew what I was going to do with it. Make Candied Ginger! As I rounded the corner I saw star fruit and just knew that I needed to candy that too.

Here is the very simple method for making candied ginger. Almost any fruit can be candied and dried to preserve and most any fruit that has been candied is luscious when dipped into dark melted chocolate. Even citrus peels take on a new life when candied. So go for it with whatever you have in abundance. Remember that the residual syrup you are left with after candying your fruit can be used to make your own ginger ale, just mix with some soda water at a 1:2 ratio.

Peel and slice ginger into 1/4 inch slices. Cover with water and boil. Allow the ginger to sit in the boiling water till it cools, then strain. This is ginger tea, a healthy and delicious drink that I like to add to my regular iced tea with mint. Ginger tea is good for you in many ways. It is said to be a digestive and also good in reducing mucus. For the star fruit, you do not need to do the pre-boiling as it is a more tender fruit. Just do the second process in the simple syrup!

Drain the ginger and place in a pan of simple syrup, equal parts sugar and water, enough to cover the ginger bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain & lay on a rack. Either sprinkle super fine sugar or roll the slices in it to make a fine coating.

If you live in a dry climate, just leave the slices out on a rack to dry. If like us there is a little humidity, you can either dry them in an oven with the light on (no actual heat) or use a dehydrator (which is what I do) to finish the drying process. Once dry the slices will last for at least a year if you keep them in an airtight container. They can be chopped and added to sorbets, breads and sauces. Actually if you leave a jar of them out on the kitchen counter, they will be nibbled constantly. You can aslo leave them in the syrup without drying them and they will keep in the refrigerator for a year or more.

Here they are in the syrup and here is the flavored syrup that can be used to make ginger ale!

Italian Bread BBA Challenge

IT IS BREAD TIME!

As some of you know I have been baking through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice. This week I baked Italian Bread, French Bread's softer and sweeter cousin. I was very pleased with the formula and it turned out quite nicely. I do not usually post the formulas, but this one is so easy and a real winner. I suggest that you try it if you have not done so yet.

First, I qualify this as an Italian American Bread, a loaf that holds up to juicy sandwich making, bruschetta and great garlic bread. It however is not like the more rustic loaves I have eaten in Italy. The formula also includes the option of adding barely malt which adds some color and flavor to the basic formula. I used Barley Malt Syrup, because that is what I had on hand. I think it was a nice addition. You can find Barley Malt Syrup at your local health food store.

If you prefer a crustier loaf, you can lower the baking temperature to 400 degrees after steaming and increase the cooking time.

This formula, like many of Reinhart's uses an Italian Biaga, a pre-fermented dough which is done 1-4 days in advance of the baking day. This adds depth of flavor to the bread and is essential in most rustic breads. The use of this biaga insures a maximum sugar break out from starches which belies the small amount of actual sugar in the formula.

Biaga

2 1/2 Cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounce) instant yeast

3/4 plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) water at room temperature

1) Stir together flour and yeast in a 4 quart bowl or electric mixer. Add the 3/4 cup + 2 tbs of water stirring till everything comes together and makes a course ball (or mix on low with paddle attachment.) Adjust the flour or water according to need so that the dough is neither too sticky or too stiff. (it is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier during kneading. It is harder to add water once the dough firms up.)

2)Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for 4-6 minutes (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook for 4 minutes), or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The internal temperature should be between 77 and 81 degrees.

3) Lightly oil a boil and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 2-4 hours or until it doubles in size.

4) Remove the dough from the bowl, lightly knead it to degas and return it to the bowl, covering the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze in an airtight bag for up to three months. I make up a few of these to keep on hand and freeze them.

The Bread

Makes two 1-Pound Loaves or 9 torpedo (hoagie) rolls

3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) Biga

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1 2/3 teaspoons (.41 ounce) salt

1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) sugar

1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast

1 teaspoon (.17 ounce) diastatic barley malt powder (optional)

1 Tablespoon (.5 ounce) olive oil

3/4 cup + possible additional (7-8 ounces) water or milk if making torpedo rolls lukewarm (90-100 degrees)

Semolina or cornmeal for dusting

1) Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for one hour to take off the chill.

2) Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and malt powder in a 4 qt. bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the biga pieces , olive oil and 3/4 cup of water. If using malt syrup it should go in now. Stir together or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until a ball forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not at all batter-like. If the dough feels too stiff, add water to soften. It is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point.

3) Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or use the dough hook with medium speed) adding flour as needed for about 10 minutes. At this point the dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky and supple. The dough should pass the windowpane test (take a small piece of dough and pull on it to see if it will make a thin membrane that you can see through. If it falls apart before you can achieve this you need to knead more. The dough should also register about 77-81 degrees at this point. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

4) Ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.

5) Gently divide the dough in to two equal pieces of about 18 ounces each (I used three as I wanted smaller loaves) or into 9 pieces of about 4 ounces each for the torpedo rolls. Gently roll the dough into batard shapes degassing the dough as little as possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.

Then complete the shaping, extending the loaves to about 12 inches in length or shaping the torpedo rolls. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment or silpat and dust with semolina or cornmeal. Place the loaves directly on the pan and mist with spray oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

6) Proof at room temperature for about 1 hour or until the loaves have grown to about 1 1/2 their original size.

7) Prepare the oven for hearth baking (using a baking stone if you have one.) Pre-heat the oven to 550. Score the breads with 2 parallel , diagonal slashes or one long slash. I use a razor blade for this. Have an empty steam pan on the lower shelf and have a spray bottle of water available.

8) Rolls can be directly baked on the sheet pan. I used perforated batard pans or you can bake directly on your baking stone. If using the baking stone, dust a peel with some semolina or cornmeal and very gently transfer the loaves to the peel, then slide them onto the baking stone. You can also bake directly on a sheet pan if you do not have a stone. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds spray the walls of the oven with water and close the door. Repeat once more after another 30 seconds. After the final spray, lower hte oven setting to 450 degrees and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees half way through the baking process. It should take about 20 minutes for loaves and 15 minutes for rolls. The loaves should be golden and register at least 200 degrees at the center.

9) Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least one hour before slicing or serving.

As I cut into the bread and tasted it, my first thought was that it would be a terrific bread for a meatball sandwich. I am going to make this formula again and make torpedo rolls.