Lemon, lavender & pine nut tart.

Tags

creamy, dessert, food, Lavender, lemons, Meyer lemon, pine nut, sabayon, sweet, tart, yum

I love lemon. I love lemon curd and lemon tarts.  I especially love these things made from Meyer lemons.  Last year I made a lemon lavender ice cream and I really liked the combination of flavors.  I haven’t pulled the ice cream maker out of the closet yet because although spring is definitely here now, it’s still cold and rainy most days.  I read an Epicurious recipe for a sabayon style lemon tart and the best part was the crust was made with pine nuts!  As I read through the comments someone had added lavender and rosemary to the crust….I knew that I had to try both but individually.  Lavender first.  I will make one with rosemary soon but I think I will use a different nut in the crust or use a flour crust recipe as pine nuts are really expensive right now.  I will caution you that the recipe in the link makes enought crust for three (3?!) tarts.  I did math and reduced it to one crust although the egg was a problem.  What I did was beat the egg, weigh it and divide by three.

Unfortunately I just realized that I didn’t take enough pictures and I don’t think I have any of the finished tart and it’s long gone now…. sorry!

Crust

• 3.3 oz pine nuts
• .8 oz sugar (probably a Tablespoon)
• 5.3 oz flour
• 2.7 oz butter
• 1/3 beaten egg by weight
• 1 tsp lavender

Grind the pine nuts in a food processor, add the sugar, flour and lavender and pulse until finely ground and combined.  Put in a bowl and add the butter and egg and mix together into a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 mins.

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a tart pan with removable bottom.  I don’t have one so I used a cheesecake pan with removable bottom.  Next time I will use a tart pan.  Press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotate and bake another 10-15 minutes until crust is golden. Remove and let cool.

Lemon Sabayon 

• 2 large eggs, cold
• 2 egg yolks, cold
• 4 oz sugar (you can add more if you like it extra sweet)
• 4 oz fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer)
• zest of one lemon
• 3 oz cold unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces

You will need a bowl that will fit over a pot of water without the water touching the bottom of the bowl.  Bring the water to a boil.  Meanwhile whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar in the bowl until the sugar is dissolved (about 1 minute).

Set the bowl over the pot and whisk the mixture while turning the bowl. (I used an electric mixer) When the eggs are foamy and have thinckened add 1/3 of the lemon juice.  Keep whisking until mixture thickens again and add another 1/3, whisk again until mix thickens and add the final 1/3 and the zest.  Continue whisking until the mixture lightens and the mix leaves a ribbon on itself.

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

Lemony goodness!

Place the tart under the broiler and brown the top.  Be careful it browns very quickly!  Let sit for an hour before serving.  Can be served at room tempurature or cold.  My tart didn’t seem to set as well as I would have liked. I’m used to using a lemon curd type of filling for tarte so this seemed a bit loose.  The flavor was wonderful though, very tart and the lavender was subtle and not overpowering. The pine nuts were almost an aftertaste and an enjoyable one at that.  I can’t wait to try rosemary in the crust but I think I will go back to my usual lemon tart filling.

Lazy weekend Cranberry scones with Orange Marmalade

Tags

baking, cranberry orange scones, food, marmalade, scones, Seville orange, sweet, tart, yum

After my croissant fiasco I wasn’t ready to try making them again…just yet.  I wanted something simple and easy.   Everyone is probably aware of my love of all things citrus especially now that they are in season.  It’s the rainy, dreary season up here in the Pacific Northwest and citrus reminds me of growing up in California.  Recently ChicaAndaluza posted her recipe for Orange Marmalade. I has asked her what type of oranges were typically used and I was bemoaning the lack of variety available at the supermarkets around here.  She said you could use any kind but that Seville oranges were the best option.  The other night I walked into my local neighborhood ethnic grocer and lo and behold….Seville bitter oranges!!!!!!

The link above will lead you to her recipe.  I halved her recipe because Jason said he doesn’t like orange marmalade so I would be the only one eating it (I should have known better).  I used 4 1/2 oranges, 1/2 a lemon, weighed it and almost doubled the sugar.  I wasn’t sure whether to cover the oranges while they were cooking so I left the lid off.  It seemed like too much water was lost so next time I’ll put the lid on and see what happens.  I added more water in the pulp boiling stage and cooked it for probably 15 minutes. I was worried that it would be too runny but it turned out beautifully!!!

It made much more than this.

Now what to make to eat this with?  I did not make bread this weekend, too lazy….I’ve got it cranberry/orange scones.  That will be perfect!

Cranberry Orange scones

• 400 g ( 3 cups) flour
• 80 g (1/3 c) sugar
• 11 g (2 1/2 tsp) baking powder
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
• 5 g (1/2 tsp) salt
• 150 g (1 1/2 sticks) butter
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (more or less to suit your taste)
• zest of one orange
• 1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400.  I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand but there is a trick, add 1 tsp white vinegar to 1 cup milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes and you’ll get a substitute for buttermilk. This is what I usually do for scones, pancakes etc.  I’m sure real buttermilk is much better but I don’t use enough of it to justify buying a container.

Sift together, flour, sugar, baking powder & soda and salt.  Add the butter and rub it into the flour mix with your hands until it turns crumbly.  You can use a pasty cutter too but I prefer my hands!

 

Add the cranberries and orange zest.

Such pretty colors!

Pour in the buttermilk and combine until it’s all mixed together, do not overmix.  I know many people make the dough into one big circle and cut it into triangles or wedges but every time I try that the middle stays doughy.  So I just shape individual scones and bake them that way.  Either way put them on a silicone baking sheet or parchment.  (I love silicone sheets,  I have saved a ton in parchment paper since I got one.)  You can either leave them plain or paint them with cream, sprinkle them with sugar or even paint on an egg wash, it’s entirely up to you.  You can even glaze them when they are done if you like.

Bake them for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven.  If you want to glaze them you can combine powdered sugar with orange juice (or lemon, or lime etc) until it reaches the consistency you want and then pour the glaze on them.  You can also mix 1 Tb cream with 1/4 tsp cinnamon & 2 Tb sugar which you can brush on.   I had them plain with the orange marmalade.  So Delicious!

Oh!  And how did Jason like the marmalade you might ask?  He said “This is pretty good if you like orange marmalade” (which he said he didn’t) and then he proceeded to eat it on his next scone as well. 

 

Stripe-Ed Cauliflower

Tags

cauliflower, cheese, dinner, savory, tart, yum

Jason always makes fun of how I say Cauliflower cause I say every syllable, cau-li-flow-er.  I don’t know how else to say it!  I also like to say Strip-ed as if it’s two syllables.  It’s fun, you should try it.  So when I buy some he calls it strip-ed cau-li-flow-er. Well, I’ve been seeing cauliflower at the store lately.  I decided it was time to make this recipe and post it.

It’s a delicious roasted Cau-li-flow-er tart!

Ingredients

• 1 Cau-li-flow-er cut into about 1 inch florets
• 4 Tb olive oil
• 1 large onion cut in half and then thinly sliced so you get long pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tb dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp dried mint
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese grated (you can also use swiss & I’ve used a mild Irish white cheddar too)
• salt & pepper
• 1 pie dough

Use your favorite pie dough recipe (or rather your favorite unsweetened pie dough recipe) Put it in a 9 inch pie pan, bake it at 350 for about 15-20 mins and put aside.

Random pic from the internet

Preheat oven to 425. Toss the cut Cau-li-flow-er with 2 Tb of the olive oil and salt & pepper in a bowl. Spread out on a baking sheet (covered in aluminum foil) and roast about 15 mins, turn over and roast another 15 or until tender. Some pieces will get a brown color and this is ok. Cool & slice thinly.

Cook the onion in the remaining olive oil over med low until carmalized, they should be a golden brown but not burnt and salt & pepper them.

Place the onion on the bottom of the prepared pie pan, then place the cauliflower over it.  Whisk the egg, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, mustard & mint in a bowl. Add the cheese and stir.  Pour this mixture over the cauliflower.

Bake about 25-35 minutes. The top will be golden and the center should be set.

Viola!

This dish doesn’t last long in my house.  The mint adds a very intriguing flavor that most people won’t recognize as mint.  I’ve also made it without the mint when I didn’t have any available and didn’t want to go to the store and it was just as good without.

Last piece anyone?

Comfortably Yum

Tags

apple, baking, comfort, creamy, dessert, food, peach, pink floyd, sweet, tart, yum

Apple peach comfort

Last night all I had was one Granny Smith Apple (who was granny smith anyway) and some frozen peaches. Oh and a bit of pie crust dough leftover from the pumpkin pie last week. Something had to be made but there wasn’t enough fruit for a pie or a true tart. So…..

• Roll out the dough and put in the bottom and side of a 8 inch round stoneware dish (2 inches deep)
• Cut and peel the apple and put around the bottom, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
• Put the peach slices over the apples.
• Beat together 3 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour.
• Pour over the top and bake at 350 for an hour.
• Take out of the oven and brush some peach jelly over the top.

It is so delicious. The tartness of the apple with the sweetness of the peach is just wonderful and the creaminess of the filling adds the touch of comfort.