recipes

ICC | Poush Parbon er Pati Shapta | Bengali Coconut Crepes

Nibbles

After many months absence, I finally had a chance to participate in this month’s Indian Cooking Challenge once again!

Now, if you think back a couple of weeks you may remember those scrumptious Banana Crepes I posted about. The reason I was making crepes on a summer Sunday morning was this month’s ICC recipe and I seized the opportunity to not be stuck eating them all myself by making them when we were expecting guests. The banana filling came about because Todd’s not fond of coconut, but the original version was delicious, too.

Pretty Coconut Crepes all in a row!

Poush Parbon er Pati Shapta

courtesy of Sandeepa of Bong Mom’s Cookbook

Filling
3 cups grated Coconut
1 cup Sugar
12 oz unsweetened Khoa

Crepe Batter
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Semolina Flour
1/4 cup Rice Flour
4 cups Milk (or more, as needed)
additional butter for the pan

Topping
Sweetened Condensed Milk

The only “foreign” ingredient for this recipe was the khoa, which I understood to be milk solids. I didn’t take the time to research it thoroughly but I thought large-curd cottage cheese (drained) would fit the bill and it did just fine. Later I learned that ricotta cheese would have been a closer substitute.

Coconut and sugar starting to cook

Start by mixing together the coconut and sugar in a saucepan and heat until the sugar starts to melt and maybe browns a little bit.

Completed filling for coconut crepes

Stir in the khoa (or your substitute of choice) and continue to cook and stir until the filling starts to smooth out. After about 30 minutes or so the milk solids will break down and filling will be a nice light golden brown. Set aside until needed.

Batter ingredients for crepes

Combine the dry ingredients for the crepe batter in a large mixing bowl, preferably one with a spout. Mix together with a whisk or fork and then gradually stir in the milk until the batter is thin enough to easily pour into the pan. It’ll be a bit thinner than regular pancake batter.

a freshly poured crepe

Heat a crepe pan (I use an 8-inch non-stick omelet pan) over medium/medium-high heat and prep the surface with a bit of butter (yes, even a non-stick pan needs the prep). Pour some batter into the prepared pan and swirl the pan around to spread it out until it’s a thin, even layer on the bottom of the pan.

Once flipped, the filling goes into the crepe

Once the first side is just barely cooked (the top will lose all it’s shine) flip the crepe over to cook the second side. (You can use tongs or a spatula for this, but it’s really not tough to shake the crepe over to the side of the pan’s edge and use your fingers to flip it.) Add a bit of the filling to the center of the crepe.

Crepe, filled, with one side folded over
Fold the first side over the filling, let it set for a second, and then fold the other side over and transfer to a plate or serving tray. It’s important not to cook the crepes too long or make them too thick or else they will not want to roll up and will be more likely to crack instead of gently fold.

Glazed coconut crepe

Drizzle a bit of the sweetened condensed milk over the finished crepe and garnish with a bit of extra coconut if you want.

The batter made about 3 dozen crepes but the filling only filled 2 dozen (another good reason to have made the banana filling). I even threw out some of the batter because we were at critical mass already and I was tired of making them and ready to have fun with my guests.

This particular crepe recipe is pretty sturdy and, once cold, can be quite chewy. It reheats fine, though, with a little zap in the microwave.

I never thought the ICC would have me making crepes, but I was glad for the excuse!

Sunday Chicken in a Clay Roaster

Nibbles

A roast chicken is one of those meals that is super simple to accomplish and just as easy to screw up. I’m sure we’ve all experienced of overcooked, under-seasoned bird that feels like so much sawdust in your mouth, right?

Over the years I’ve found a slow-cooker to be a near foolproof way to “roast” a whole chicken without it drying out. Of course, it’s usually falling off the bone at that point, but I was willing to trade presentation for flavor in those instances. It’s tough to say no to such a simple, one-pot meal sometimes.

I recently had a wonderful oven-roasted chicken experience, thanks to the Romertopf Ovenpot or Clay Roaster* that showed up on my doorstep last month.

Roast Chicken and Peppers in Romertopf Clay Roaster

I’ve used a clay roaster in the past–they look great when brought to the table for serving and it’s fun to use something different now and then–but mine have always been glazed on the inside. The Romertopf is not glazed, and uses the porosity of the clay as part of the cooking process, cutting down the need for additional fat in your recipes.

The Romertopf is made from the finest red clay and works by holding moisture in th epores of the clay which prevents the dish from drying out as it cooks.

Before you load up the clay roaster, you soak (for the first use) or rinse (subsequent uses) both the base and the lid with cold water. The clay absorbs the water and the steam that’s released in the oven contributes to the cooking process as well as retains moisture in the food. According to the inserts, this property also made the roaster non-stick, which was probably the one claim I was most skeptical about.

Since I’d been craving a good roast chicken for a while, I opted to try out the roaster with this included recipe:

Roast Chicken and Peppers

Serves 6

3 1/2 lb oven-ready chicken
7 oz small onions
1 small red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 small green pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 garlic clove
4 oz baby sweetcorn
4 oz button mushrooms
4 oz mange-tout (or French or runner beans)
1 Tbsp tomato puree
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 oz red wine or chicken stock
cornflour

1. Soak the Romertopf.

2. Place the chopped garlic,  sprig of thyme and salt and pepper inside the chicken. Place the chicken in the Romertopf and surround with onions, peppers and more sprigs of thyme and salt and pepper.

3. Mix the tomato puree with the wine/stock and pour over the chicken.

4. Cook in oven at 400 F.

5. Remove the pot from the oven and add sweetcorn, sliced mushrooms and mange-tout and cook for further 30 minutes.

6. Remove the chicken and vegetables and keep warm. Strain off the sauce, reduce if necessary. The amount of sauce can be increased by adding 5 oz of chicken stock to the sauce and thickening with 2/3 tsp cornflour dissolved in 3 Tbsp cold water. Whisk well until the sauce is brought to the boil and thickens.

7. Adjust seasoning and serve with the chicken and vegetables.

Boiled new potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley are a delicious complement to this meal.

Cal. 660, Protein: Medium, Fat: Low, Carbohydrate: Low

Romertopf is German, so there are some minor translation might be necessary for folks who haven’t cooked with European recipes before (references to Gas Marks, Celsius, and metric measurements have been omitted in deference to my mostly-US readers). I couldn’t find baby sweetcorn in the store, so just skipped that ingredient, and skipped the tomato puree out of personal preference. I took small onions to mean pearl onions, and par-boiled and peels them while the roaster was soaking–pretty good time-management. For mange-tout I used snow peas and, for those who are wondering, cornflour is the same as cornstarch in this instance, not cornmeal.

The one puzzle I had was how long to cook the chicken in step 4 (that wasn’t an omission on my part, it wasn’t in the directions). Thankfully the next recipe, for Spring Chicken in Lemon Sauce, listed the initial cooking time as an hour, so I went with that and it worked fine.

Which reminds me of another cool facet of clay roaster cooking: no waiting for the oven to pre-heat. Because you don’t want to subject this sort of vessel to abrupt temperature changes, you place it in the oven cold and let the oven and the roaster warm up together.

And not a thing stuck. Not the chicken, not the vegetables, the sauce poured right out without trouble, I was pretty impressed by that part. And the meal was excellent, a perfect Sunday supper.

Roast Chicken with Peppers, served with drop biscuits

I opted for drop biscuits over roasted potatoes, just because.

I’m looking forward to using the Romertopf again.

*FTC Disclaimer: I was given a Romertopf to use for the purposes of review. All opinions expressed are my own, based on my experience with the roaster.

Rich is Relative

Nibbles

So is difficulty, for that matter.

Crepes are something usually reserved for special occasions, Sunday brunch, or times you want to impress. To the uninitiated, they seem terribly complex when, if anything, they’re a little tedious but not at all difficult. Want to make it even easier on yourself? Buy the crepes pre-made and just whip up this scrumptious Banana Crepe filling.

Banana Crepes

Ingredients for the banana crepe filling4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 Bananas, sliced
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Brandy
6-8 Crepes (about 6-8 inches in diameter)
Optional: Creme Anglaise

1. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan until slightly foamy.

2. Add in the bananas and stir to coat with the butter.

3. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bananas have broken up a bit and the butter and brown sugar have thickened.

4. Stir in the brandy, reduce the heat to low and let sit until needed.

5. Make the crepes according to your favorite recipe or warm purchased crepes to make them pliable.

6. Place a line of the filling in the center of the warm crepe and fold each side over. Transfer to a plate and, if desired, drizzle with the topping of your choice.

Filling is enough for 6-8 crepes.

Row of banana crepes on a plate, drizzled with sauce

Variations: Spread a little Nutella in the middle of the crepe before adding the banana filling. No brandy at hand? Try cognac or even a spiced rum for a similarly delicious finish.

They may be rich, but they were a perfect companion to a light supper we recently shared with friends. Best served with ice-cold milk or hot coffee.

A Summer Soup

Nibbles

Chowders are usually heavy soups perfect for cold, winter months to warm you up when the weather is frightful.

Corn ChowderThis chowder, though, is light, a little sweet, and full of summer vegetables. I served it as part of my book launch tasting menu this weekend and it was perfect for a rainy, summer day spent in a bookstore. The leftovers were also just as tasty the next day when our friends came over for gaming.

What makes this chowder different is the use of coconut milk for the dairy. And if you use vegetable stock (which we prefer to do, for this), the meal is totally vegan!

Corn Chowder

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
5 cups stock
2 cans coconut milk
1 # corn kernels (frozen is easiest, canned also works)
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp thyme

1. Heat olive oil on medium-high in a large pot.

2. Saute onions, cellery, and diced bell pepper until the onions are translucent and the other veggies are tender.

3. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.

4. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to mix evenly.

5. Reduce the heat to medium and cook and stir until the flour lightens in color a bit–about 5 minutes should do it but watch it doesn’t brown.

6. Stir in the stock a bit at a time until each addition is absorbed.

7. Stir in the coconut milk, corn, potatoes, and roasted red bell peppers.

8. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 minutes or so–long enough that the potatoes are cooked through.

9. Season with thyme. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

Serves 8, from What to Feed Your Raiding Party

Calories: 383 per serving

This goes great with corn muffins or buttermilk biscuits.

JC100 | Chocolate Mousse Tartlets

Nibbles

Chocolate Mousse Tartlet

Yesterday I attended (and helped judge) a Mini-Burger Challenge with our local foodie group. In addition to the burger challenge there was also a pie-off (determined by popular vote only), and I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring.

Each pie was supposed to be cut into 16 slices but I knew that was a disaster in the making for my pie plans: chocolate mousse would end up so incredibly messy once it was transported and cut. Instead, I decided to make mine into mini-pies, aka tartlets, and save everyone the trouble.

 Thanks to the JC100 campaign going on through August to celebrate what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday on August 15th, I had to go only as far as my inbox to find the perfect chocolate mousse recipe. (This was actually the recipe for 2 weeks ago, but work on my own book has kept me too busy to participate for the first few weeks.) Combined with a tender cream cheese crust borrowed from a pecan tassie recipe I’ve made many times, I hoped to wow my constituents on Sunday afternoon.

Presentation counts for a lot–we eat with our eyes, remember–and while I”m all for the wonders of simple food, simply prepared, this particular occasion called for a little extra touch. When I went to pick up the chocolate (at the local Cost Plus World Market) I happened across a tin of roller wafer cookies filled with orange-flavored chocolate. It was kismet! Julia’s mousse is flavored with both strong coffee and orange liqueur, so these cookies would make a fitting garnish. The only thing was that they were the same color as the mouse, and I was looking for a little contrast. Dipping one in end in candy coating and sprinkling with a bit of freshly grated orange zest gave me just the look I was after.

Tower of Tartlets (chocolate mousse)Sadly, I didn’t even place in the pie-off (we had 6 entries and there were medals for the top 3). Oh, well, the fact that 2/3 of them were gone when we left still tells me people enjoyed them, and that’s all that really matters.

But don’t let that stop you from giving this a try, yourself. They are phenomenal!

Cream Cheese Crust

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour

Combine the butter and cream cheese and stir until evening mixed before adding in the flour and working into a soft dough. A spoon is just going to make a mess once the flour is in there, so use your hands and gently combine everything. Don’t over-knead, though, as this can toughen the dough.

Scoop or shape the dough into 1-inch balls and chill until firm (half an hour or so).

Preheat your oven to 350º F and grease 2 mini-muffin pans or 24 tartlet molds.

Press the chilled dough balls into the molds, making as even a layer as crust as possible.

Blind-bake the crusts for 12 minutes, turning halfway through, and let cool for 5 minutes or so in the pans. Unmold (use a toothpick to help lift them out of their wells) and let cool completely on racks.

Makes about 2 dozen tarlets.

Julia’s Chocolate Mousse aka Mousseline Au Chocolat
(from Mastering the art of French Cooking, Volume 1)

4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur
6 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, broken up or chopped
1/4 cup strong coffee
6 oz unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup finely diced candied orange peel (optional)
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

From Julia’s description:

Among all the recipes for chocolate mousse this is one of the best, we think; it uses egg yolks, sugar, and butter, and instead of cream, beaten egg whites. . . [It] may be unmolded after chilling, or served in a bowl, or in dessert cups, or in little covered pots. (Note: When served in pots, this dessert is sometimes erroneously called pots de crème au chocolat. French dessert crèmes are custards [this mousse is not].

Making the Mousse:

Separate your eggs into yolks and whites, the yolks into a bowl large enough to hold the final mixture and allow for folding in of the egg whites, the whites into the bowl of a stand mixer (if you have one). Set the whites aside, for now.

Start a pot of water (an inch or so) on the stove so that it’s just below simmering and prepare an ice bath in a pot big enough to accommodate your yolk bowl. Sprinkling a little salt on your ice cubes before adding the water will keep them from melting quite so quickly.

To the yolks add the superfine sugar (granulated sugar pulsed in your food processor is a decent substitute if you can’t locate superfine–it’s not the same as powdered sugar, not that fine) and whisk together until the “mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon.” Whisk in the liqueur. (I used Cointreau, Grand Marnier would also be a good option. If you come near this recipe with Triple Sec I will disown you.)

Whisk the yolk mixture over hot water for 3-4 minutes until “foamy and too hot for your finger.” This gently ‘cooks’ the egg yolks to a safe temperature and the constant whipping keeps it from scrambling and causing lumps in your mousse. Move your yolk bowl to the ice bath and continue to whisk until it’s cool, thick, and doing the ribbon thing again. Set aside.

I broke a whisk right about here, so choose a sturdy one to start with.

Combine the chocolate and coffee in a bowl and melt over that hot water bath the yolks just vacated until nice and smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter a bit at a time until nice and smooth, then add the chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture and beat until totally incorporated–no streaks. Now is when you would add the candied peel, if you’re going that way (I did not, I wanted the smooth mousse, not bits of peel laying in wait, but that’s me.)

Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form, sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form and hold when you raise the whip. Doing this by hand is possible, but a pain (though a great arm workout); use a mixer for this step if no other and save yourself.

Stir 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, get it nice and uniform, and then oh-so-gently fold in the rest of the whites until it’s all a nice, even, color and consistency. The first quarter of the whites are like a sacrifice, they lose a lot of their loft in loosening up the chocolate and yolks, the remaining whites are what give this mousse a light, airy texture and you want to be gentle getting them incorporated or you’ll stir all the air out of them and have wasted your time. It’ll still taste okay, but the texture won’t be right.

Makes about 5 cups.

Spoon (I used the mini-ladle from my gravy boat) the mousse into the waiting pie shells and chill until set. 2 hours minimum, overnight is better. What doesn’t fit into the shells can go into ramekins or coffee mugs or whatever. I made a double batch of the mousse and it was WAY more than enough for the triple batch of crusts I made plus 6 ramekins and one small casserole dish. Seriously, I could have made a single batch and still had extra, but where’s the fun in that?

In case you couldn’t tell, I have paraphrased the hell out of the source material, though I like to think she would have understood my vehemence against the Triple Sec, seeing as how she was a devotee to butter and cream and all things delicious.

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.