Thomas Keller's Lemon Tart

 
After years and years of not owning a tart pan, I finally bought one, and the first thing I wanted to do was make Thomas Keller's lemon tart. My friend, Ellen, had made one with her family and they had raved about how good the pine nut crust was, so I knew I needed to try it.

The pine nut crust recipe makes enough for 3 tarts but is hard to divide since it only uses one egg. Go ahead and make the full recipe and keep the leftover dough in the fridge where it will keep for a couple of days or the freezer, where it will keep for a month, because after you taste it, you'll just want to make more.

Pine Nut Crust (from Bouchon)
makes enough for 3 tart crusts

2 cups pine nuts
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 
Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times.  Add the sugar and flour and continue to pulse until the nuts are finely ground.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

 
Add the butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate all the ingredients (the dough can be mixed by hand or in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment).  Divide the dough into three equal parts.  Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using.

 
Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.

 
Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator.  Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  I found that the easiest way to do this was to fill in the sides of the pan first, and then press down whatever dough is left into the bottom. That way you don't have to worry about making sure there is enough dough to evenly press into the sides if you started in the middle.

 
Prick the tart crust with a fork to prevent it from puffing up unevenly.  Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown.  Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling.

The filling for this lemon tart is made using the sabayon method, which means the eggs, lemon juice, and sugar are first cooked over boiling water and then incorporated with the butter.

Lemon Tart (from Bouchon)
makes 1 tart

1 pre-baked Pine Nut Crust
2 large eggs, cold
2 large egg yolks, cold
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a medium pot.  Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth.

 
Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating).  After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice.  Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice.  Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice.  Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl.  The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

 
Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water.  Whisk in the butter a piece at a time.  The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools.  Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

 
Preheat the broiler.  While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler.  Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven.  Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold.

 
As you can see from the picture above, I didn't do a great job with broiling the top evenly.  It would've been a lot easier with one of those mini blowtorches that you use for creme brulee, I think.

 
As with all Thomas Keller recipes, this is not simple to make, but delicious to eat.  Since I still had enough crust for 2 more tarts, I decided to try a super easy lemon tart recipe next.

Three years ago:  Homemade Waffle Face Off
Four years ago:  Hot Pot, Tang Yuan

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Baby Taro Roast

          I love baby vegetables, like potatoes, carrots and eggplants, I can't resist myself from picking up a bag of baby potatoes when I see them. The other day I saw this baby taro/colocasia, they looked so cute and since I don't see them that often like the potatoes, I picked a bag. I just made this simple roast with it, goes very well rice and dal or sambar saadam and looks very appetizing..

Need To Have

• Baby Colocasia - 2 cups boiled and peeled
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 to 15
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Heat oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering add the boiled and peeled colocasia and mix. Then add the asafoetida, turmeric and chilly powders and salt.

           Mix it, add some oil all around and roast it on low heat. When you start seeing brown spots, add the curry leaves and roast for a few more minutes, remove and serve it warm with rice and dal.

Note
Cook the colocasia with lots of water on stove top, till the outer skin is loose enough to peel and also the vegetable is slightly soft to touch.
But don't overcook, it'll become mushy.
Since this vegetable is more sticky it'll require a little more oil than the regular potatoes.

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Vegetable Tempura and Tempura Udon Noodle Soup

Tempura udon noodle soup is pretty much my go to order at Japanese restaurants if they don't serve ramen.  I love the contrast of the crunchy tempura vegetables with the thick, chewy noodles and the delicate broth that brings it all together. 

Tempura isn't something I'd normally make at home since deep frying can be such a pain, but being able to eat freshly fried tempura is so good that it's worth it.  You can also refrigerate any leftovers and heat them up in the oven or toaster oven, but it won't be as good.

Vegetable Tempura
serves 3-4

Assorted vegetables (I used a large sweet potato, half a bunch of broccoli, and half a red onion)
Neutral oil for frying (I used canola)
1 egg yolk
1 cup ice water
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

Peel and slice the sweet potato into think rounds.  Cut the broccoli into florets and discard the stalk.  Cut the onion into thin slices.  Spread the cut vegetables out and allow to air dry for at least half an hour, flipping the pieces halfway through.

 
Pour enough oil into a heavy pot so that the oil is at least 2" deep.  Heat on high until the oil reaches 350°F.

 
In the meantime, mix the egg yolk, ice water, and flour to make the tempura batter.  Prepare a draining rack by lining a baking tray with two layers of paper towels and then laying cooling racks on top of the towels. 

Once the oil has reached 350°F, drop a few pieces of vegetable in the batter to coat and carefully lower into the oil (I used chopsticks to do this).  Make sure you do not overcrowd the pot; you don't want the vegetables to touch each other while they're cooking, and you don't want the temperature of the oil to drop too much.

 
When the vegetables have lightly browned, remove with a slotted spoon and place on the draining rack.  Make sure the oil has heated back up to 350°F and repeat with the rest of the vegetables in small batches.  Serve immediately.

 
You can make a dipping sauce by mixing one cup of dashi with 1/4 cup mirin and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

To make tempura udon noodle soup, heat two cups of dashi and add 2 tablespoons of mirin and soy sauce each.  Pour into a large soup bowl, add cooked udon noodles, and top with vegetable tempura.

 
If you end up with leftover batter after frying all the vegetables, drip it into the hot oil to make tempura batter "crumbs".  I like to add these to the udon noodle soup for added texture.

Four years ago:  Curry Turnovers

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Cabbage Pongal/Khichdi

          My daughter has started wearing braces, the first couple of days, she had to eat something soft. I had to make something that was easy for her to eat and at the same time nutritious too. This Cabbage Pongal is made with rice, split moong dal with skin and cabbage, rich in fiber, protein and other nutrients. An healthy one pot meal, very easy to make, yet very tasty one..

Need To Have

• Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
• Split Moong Dal/Green Gram With Skin - 1/4 cup
• Shredded Cabbage - 2 cups
• Cashew Pieces - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Black Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 - 15 
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Pressure cook the rice along with the split green gram, cabbage and turmeric powder. Coarsely powder the cumin seeds and black pepper.

          Heat some oil, add the cashew pieces, saute till it turns golden, then add the powder, curry leaves, saute for a minute.

          Finally add the grated coconut and mix it for a minute. Add this to the cooked rice mixture, mix it well and serve it warm.

Note
The time taken to cook raw rice, green gram and cabbage is about 8 to 10 minutes.
Can do the same with moong dal without the skin, but it's more nutritious with the skin.
Cook the rice mixture with three times water.
Can also add a tablespoon of grated ginger while sauteing, gives nice flavor, I forgot it.

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Brownie Cookies

          Merry Christmas ! It's cakes and cookies time, I was not able to bake anything elaborate, but I made these brownie cookies. They are very easy to make, the baking time is very less and they turned out really well. These tasted a lot like brownies, hence the name. This is for all the cookie and chocolate lovers out there..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Butter - 4 tablespoons
• Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup
• Baking Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Milk - 4 - 5 tablespoons 
• Dark Chocolate - 80 gms, broken into small pieces

Method

          Sieve the all purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Melt the butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Then add the sifted flour mixture.

          Adding the milk, bring it together to form a cookie dough. Make small balls out of it.

          Flatten a ball, place 2 small pieces of chocolate, roll it back and flatten slightly. Arrange on a greased cookie tray and bake at 180 C for 15 to 20 mins. Cool slightly and remove. Cool completely and serve as such or with some vanilla ice cream.

Note

Place 1 or 2 pieces of chocolate, depending on how chocolaty you want the cookies.
The baking time also varies, depending on the oven and also on how soft you want the cookies, baking for a longer time makes the cookies more harder.

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Svim mojim posjeteljima,pratiocima bloga, zelim

Sretne i blagoslovljene Bozicne praznike ,

te Sretnu i uspjesnu Novu 2013-tu godinu.

Sretni,zdravi i veseli bili od srca vam zeli 

Mirjana

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Three Cheese Elbow Pasta

          My daughter's favorite restaurant is the Olive Gardens (back in US), and the dish that she orders almost every time we went there is the Five Cheese Ziti Pasta. Now we are in India and she misses the Italian food. This week she is getting her braces done, and one of the foods that she cannot have much after that is cheese, which she loves. So, for the past few days it has been all pasta and pizza. I made her this Three Cheese Elbow Pasta, named so, because I had used multi grain elbow pasta and the three variety of cheese that I had. It is a very easy dish, even kids can put it together, tasted very good, my daughter's verdict was, ' tastes close to the Five Cheese Pasta', well, what more can I ask for..

Need To Have

• Multi Grain Elbow Pasta - 1 + 1/2 cup
• Pasta Sauce - 5 to 6 tablespoon
• Grated Parmesan Cheese - 3 tablespoons
• Grated Cheddar Cheese - 3 tablespoons
• Mozarella Cheese - same amount as the above cheese
• Dried Oregano - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method

          Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the box. Drain, mix in the pasta sauce, microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, add the oregano powder, pepper, salt, the grated parmesan and cheddar, mix, add the mozarella slices on the top and microwave for another 2 minutes or till the cheese melts. Serve it warm.

Note
Once the pasta is cooked, you can do the last part- mixing in the cheese and microwaving in separate bowls and serve them.
The amount of cheese added depends on individual preference, I had added a little more of each cheese and microwaved it separately for my daughter.
You can use any kind of pasta.
I had used Kraft Parmesan, local Cheddar from Auroville and Amul Frozen Mozarella.

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Potato Parsley Curry

          Whenever I go to Nilgiris in Chennai for my grocery shopping, I stop by the vegetable shop, that's close to it, mainly to pick up some basil or broccoli or zucchini, which are not available at all the vegetable shops. This time, they didn't have basil but they had parsley and it was really fresh, so I picked up some. I have a couple of recipes that I have posted with parsley, but none of them are curries, and this time I wanted to do a gravy dish with it along with potatoes. I started doing it, with no idea about, how it was going to taste or smell (parsley has a strong flavor). But then, the final dish turned out too good, it went very well with rotis, it should also taste equally good with all pilafs. Give this a try, the next time you get some parsley..

Need To Have

• Baby Potatoes - 2 cups, boiled and peeled
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Tomato - 1 small, chopped
• Chopped Parsley - 1 tablespoon to garnish
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Parsley - 1/2 cup
• Grated Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Cashews - 5

Method

          Grind all the ingredients given under 'to grind'. Heat some oil, add the onions, saute till it turns pink, then add the potatoes an mix. Now add the salt, turmeric, red chilly and coriander powders, saute for 3 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

          Finally add the ground paste and some water ( about 1/2 cup, depending on how thick you want the curry). Simmer for another 5 minutes, switch off and garnish with the chopped parsley and serve it warm.

Note
Since the potatoes are already cooked, the curry is cooked without the lid on.
Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of chilly powder added according to your spice level.
The curry thickens slightly when it turns cold, so add water accordingly.
You can use regular potatoes too, but don't use the ones that you use for mashed potatoes.

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Chana Dal Sundal/Split Chickpeas

          I wish I could be a little more organised, have my posts ready, a week in advance, take part in events, but nothing seems to work, I am always this 'last minute' person, I edit my pictures, write and post, all on the same day. Since the next few days are going to be a little busy, I am going to keep my posts, all easy and simple. For today's post I chose this simple Chana Dal Sundal, a common snack during the Navarathiri season and a very healthy one, can also have it as a side dish with rice and some spicy kuzhambu like the Kathrikkai Kuzhambu and Poondu Kuzhambu..

Need To Have

• Chana Dal - 1/3 cup
• Dry Red Chilly - 1 broken into two halves
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Curry Leaves - 5 or 6
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Cook the chana dal with the turmeric powder and salt, either use the pressure cooker or on stove top.  I did it on stove top.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds and red chilly, once it starts spluttering add the asafoetida and curry leaves, saute for 1/2 a minute. Then add the cooked chana dal and mix. Lastly add the grated coconut and mix well and serve it warm.

Note
If cooking on stove up, soak the chana dal for at least an hour, it'll save some cooking time.
The dal should be soft when pressed between the fingers, but also do not make it mushy.
Chana Dal is split brown chickpeas.

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Homemade Udon Noodles

Compared to making ramen noodles, making udon noodles seems a lot less fussy.  There's no obscure ingredient to find (unless you live somewhere where you can't find tapioca flour) and you literally use your feet to knead the dough.  I know!  Since the noodles are a thicker cut, there's even less of a need to have a pasta machine as well, although I found the dough to be stiffer so a pasta machine can really help with the rolling part.

Udon Noodles (adapted from She Simmers)
makes 1 1/2 lbs. fresh noodles

5 1/2 cups bread flour plus more for dusting
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix together the bread flour and tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl.

 
Dissolve the salt in the warm water.  Pour about half of the salt water into the flour and mix with your hands.  Add the remaining water, a teaspoon at a time, just until you can form a ball with the dough.

 
Place the dough in a gallon size Ziploc bag, squeeze out the air, and seal.  Place the bag on the ground and knead with your feet for a minute.  (I may or may not have put on my cutest socks for that shot.)

Remove the dough from the bag, fold it in thirds like a letter, place it back in the bag, and knead with your feet again for another minute.  Repeat this process two more times.

 
Let the dough rest in a warm place for 3-6 hours.

Divide the dough in 4 quarters.  Work on a quarter at a time, leaving the rest of the dough covered.

 
Use a pasta machine or roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/8" thickness. 

 

Dust the surface of the dough with a little more flour and then fold it into thirds like a letter.  Cut the dough into 1/8" thick strips. 

 

Keep the noodles covered while you work on rolling out and cutting the rest of the dough.  At this point you can store the fresh, uncooked noodles in an airtight container (I used a Ziploc bag) in the refrigerator for a few days before cooking.  Just make sure to toss them in enough flour to keep them from sticking to one another.  As you can kind of see from my pictures, my dough was so dry already that I didn't need to add much more flour. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the fresh noodles.  After about 3 minutes, the noodles will start to float.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the noodles look swollen.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

 
Above is a comparison of hand-rolled and hand-cut noodles vs. machine rolled and cut noodles.  Can you tell which is which?

 
I like to eat my udon noodles in a dashi broth seasoned with a little soy sauce and mirin (about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of mirin per cup of dashi).  Add whatever toppings you want:  tofu, mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, etc.  My favorite is vegetable tempura, which I'll cover in the next post!

Three years ago:  Apple and Pear Cake Fail
Four years ago:  Macarons - A Lesson in Humility

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