Baklava

Those of you who follow us know that I recently tried my luck with phyllo dough and found it to be a lot less daunting than I had imagined. On the heels of my apple strudel success, I ventured into baklava making. Making it for the sixth time to get it blog worthy, I suggest you make this when you are expecting company, otherwise, it is easy to devour the entire lot before you know it and really, who wants all that guilt .....  
I say again, do not be afraid of using phyllo; it dries out very quickly so be sure to cover it with a damp tea towel. Some sheets tear but it all works out once it is rolled. The reason I made it as many times as I did was to get the knack of rolling and squishing it to get the creased look. If you want to skip the rolled variety, then you can layer three sheets, spread nuts on top and layer with another three sheets and then cut them into diamond shapes. I have not tried this so cannot give any clear directions. 
I also lined up the logs in a pie plate and made a coil which was rather pretty but we ate that before we thought of taking any pictures. I spooned the syrup over the top but that created a soggy finished product and also ended up topping the baklava with walnuts that had oozed out of the baklava. (See the picture of the cut baklava below; tasted good but did not look great). 
After the first couple of times you make it, you realize how easy it is and I guarantee you will never buy baklava again, it really is that simple. I have made it using walnuts and almonds. I liked the almonds, my husband preferred walnuts. Experiment and have fun with pistachios, cashews or pecans. 

Skill Level: Patience required. 

Serves: 10 - 12

INGREDIENTS:

 For the baklava filling

• 4 cups of almonds finely chopped 
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 Tbsp rose water 
• 12 phyllo sheets (thawed out - room temperature for about 2 hours)
• 1 1/4 cups melted unsalted butter

For the syrup

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp rose water

METHOD: 

1. Take your store bought phyllo dough out of the freezer and let it thaw out at room temperature for an hour and a half to two hours

2. In a food processor, pulse almonds until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add sugar, rose water and cardamom powder; mix together and set aside

3. Remove the phyllo shhets from the box and unroll it. Make sure you cover the sheets with a damp kitchen towel 

4. Melt butter and put it in a bowl

5. Take one sheet of phyllo and brush melted butter on the entire surface. Place a second sheet of phyllo over the first and brush with butter. Make sure to cover the phyllo sheets each time, it dries out very quickly. Do not worry if the corners of the sheet tear

6. When the two overlapping sheets have been buttered, spoon the nut mixture on to 2/3 of the sheet - covering the area farthest from you. Keep the side close to you empty because this is where you will start to roll to make the log

7. Carefully roll from the area closest to you going towards the part with the nut mixture, until you have a log. Gently, squeeze the roll from the two ends towards the middle, so you get creases in the log. Brush with melted butter and place seam side down into the baking dish

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

9. Proceed with the next phyllo sheet,  repeat until nut mixture is all used up*

10. Once all the baklava logs are in the baking dish, bake for 45 - 50 minutes till golden brown

11. While the baklava is baking, make the sugar syrup. Add sugar and water to a pot and stir until the sugar dissolves, add lemon juice and rose water and allow it to thicken about 5 - 7 minutes. You can use less lemon juice if you want a sweeter tasting baklava, I like the tartness you get with the lemon juice and it cuts the cloying sweetness  

12. Remove from the oven, pour the syrup over the baked baklava and allow it to cool for about 3 - 4 hours. Cut when completely cooled. 
The syrup will pool on the base. Resist the urge to do what I did - which was to tilt the dish and spoon the syrup on top -as it will make the baklava soft. If you let it rest for the required time, you will have a crisp, flaky baklava

*I made five logs, the sixth did not have as much of the nut mixture as the others

Vegetarian Lasagna sans Pasta

I realized something today - that it is a lot harder to take an attractive picture of a lasagna than it is to make one. This could also mean that I am a better cook than a photographer, but my very fancy camera may take offense so I let me get on with the recipe. I took pictures along the process so you can see the step by step and that is in no way because you do not know how to layer a lasagna but merely my way of trying to show you that the effort is worth it. It really does taste a lot better than I have been able to photograph, so please excuse this wordy, picture filled post and focus on the end result.
So, the much hyped about pastaless lasagna came out of the oven a couple of hours ago, we took pictures, ate it (of course), packed a slice to freeze, so I can tell you if that works out and selected photographs and now I am putting pen to paper (actually, fingers to keybard  - you get the idea).
This is a labour intensive recipe so I suggest that you do some preprep to make things easier. This recipe is a creation that came out of wanting to make a dish that is gluten free, egg free, grain free, vegetarian and a filling meal. I looked up alternatives to pasta and grains and found recipes using zucchini or eggplant. I love eggplant, so it was a clear choice for me. I wanted to create my own version of a pasta sauce adding more vegetables so while I will give you my version, feel free to substitute store bought pasta sauce. To make this egg free, I used 1 Tbsp of ground flax seeds to 3 Tbsp of warm water as a substitute.
I highly recommend taking the time to do this in two parts, it makes it easier. Our verdict - the lasagna actually tasted better today than a few weeks ago when we made it for the first time.

Skill Level: Time consuming

Serves: 6 - 8 

INGREDIENTS:

For the lasagna

• 3 medium size eggplants 
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 500 g sliced portobello mushrooms 
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 300 g extra smooth ricotta cheese (1 tub)
• 1 cup frozen spinach (water squeezed out)
• 1 Tbsp ground flax or ground chia seeds + 3 Tbsp warm water (or 1 egg)
• 1 cup shredded mozarella cheese

For the sauce

• 2 cups carrot grated
• 3 cups diced tomatoes (use tomatoes and liquid)
• 3 T tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 shallots sliced
• 11/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp herbes de provence (contains marjoram, oregano, thyme and rosemary)
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup of water

METHOD:

1. Peel and slice eggplants lengthwise. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 8 - 10 minutes until soft. Mid way, take out and flip eggplant over so both sides are browned. Depending on the thickness of the eggplant and the oven, some pieces may burn. Keep checking. Lay them on a tray to cool. I did this step yesterday and put them in a container in the fridge until today
2. Add 11/2 Tbsp olive oil to a pan, saute onion until transparent, add sliced mushrooms a cook until all water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside
3. Mix the ground flax seed and warm water, allow it to thicken (2-3  minutes); to the flax add the spinach (make sure to squeeze out excess water) and ricotta cheese. Mix well and set aside. (If using an egg add it to ricotta and spinach and mix well)
4. For the sauce : Add 1 1/2 Tbsp oil to the pan and add crushed garlic to the oil, stir until fragrant, saute shallots until transparent. Add 3 Tbsp of tomato paste and stir well for a minute or two. Add grated carrots, herbes de provence and season with pepper, salt and chili flakes (if using).
5. Add 3 cups of diced tomatoes to the carrot onion mixture, crush the tomato pieces so the chunks gets smaller. Check seasoning and add the 1/4 cup of water and allow to simmer. The mixture will be thick, chunky and spreadable
6. Alternatively, use 4 cups of your favourite pasta sauce and skip steps 4 and 5
7. To layer ( I used a 11" x 7" dish) : Spread a tbsp of sauce to cover the dish and layer eggplant over it. Cut eggplant slices as needed as you would lasagna sheets
8. On top of this layer, spoon the ricotta
   
   spinach mix and spread it over the eggplant and then put a layer of eggplant over the cheese mixture - like in the picture
9. Add more sauce on top of the eggplant and then add the mushrooms. Top that with a layer of eggplant and then spread the final layer of sauce and then the grated cheese

10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 - 40 minutes until the cheese is all gooey and
      bubbly. Enjoy!

Braised Teochew Soy Sauce Duck (Loh Ark)

Chinese New Year is now 3 weeks away and I already look forward to having a great feast with my family here in Canada. As a young child, Chinese New Year was my favourite holiday as it was the season when I would receive lots of red packets (hong bao in Chinese Mandarin) and had the opportunity to eat so many delicacies, snacks and desserts for 15 days!

As promised in my last post, today I am featuring a great dish that is commonly served on Chinese New Year's Eve called Braised Teochew Soy Sauce Duck or simply named Loh Ark (Braised Duck in Fukien- Chinese dialect). Teochew, also known as Chiu Chow in Cantonese, is an ethnic originated from Southern China. Today, most Teochew people live in South East Asia, particularly Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Its cuisine is known for good soup stock, braising, steaming and poaching. Compared to other ethnic Chinese cooking, Teochew cooking is considered to be healthier. Today's dish: Braised Soy Sauce duck is a well-known Teochew specialty. If you happen to dine in a Teochew restaurants in Canada,you will have no difficulties finding this special duck on the menu.

The recipe that I am featuring today is somehow different to the braised ducks that you commonly find in Teochew restaurants in Canada. My mother-in-law's recipe incorporates lemongrass and galangal (lesser ginger). To my belief, the Teochew who migrated to South East Asia might have incorporated local ingredients into the original recipe which making this dish special! 


Ingredients from left to right: Chinese rock sugar, lemongrass, black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, star anises, cloves and galangal









Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 

INGREDIENTS:

Duck simmering in the flavour-packed sauce

• 1 young duck (about 3.5 to 4 lbs)
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 inches cinnamon stick
• 4 star anises
• 4 cloves 
• 1 inch of galangal 
• about 2 tbsp rock sugar
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce 

METHOD:

1. Run 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tsp five spice powder evenly all over the duck, including inside the cavity
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, mix together all ingredients with remaining salt and bring to a boil
3. Reduce toe heat to medium and gently lower the duck into the pot/Dutch oven. Cover the lid, turn up the heat to boil, then lower to medium
4. For the first 25 minutes, baste the duck every 5 minutes or so to colour it evenly
5. Cover and simmer for another 60 to 80 minutes or until the meat is tender
6. To check for doneness, lift up the duck and poke it in the thigh with a chopstick or knife. The juice should run clear 
7. Turn of the heat and if desired, leave the duck in the pot with its sauce overnight for in-depth flavour 
8. Skim the fat off the sauce and drizzle the sauce over the duck before serving

Cranberry Almond Cake

HAPPY 2014

A brand new year and what a bitterly cold one it has been for us here in Eastern Canada. We've shovelled more snow in a week than we did in the last two years. Frigid temperatures with windchill causing it to feel like - 30 to 40 degrees C. Brrrrrr......
I continue to bake despite the holiday season having ended and am using cranberries which are abundant right now. I can't explain my love for these tart little red pearls. I was thinking of making cranberry ketchup or a chutney over the holidays; that has yet to materialize, but this cake did and was so easy to make. I wish I could say this was my creation but the credit goes to www.budgetbytes.com 

I realize that it is the end of the week and my promised baklava recipe has not been posted yet. It's Ju's fault, she and Jason gave us this amazing new gadget called The Instant Pot. (please go to www.instantpot.com to see what this wonder pot can do). For those following us on this blog, my love for my pressure cooker is no secret, well I now have an electric pressure cooker and made a really flavourful chicken soup in half an hour. I am exploring different dishes that I can make in record time. So, while I am grateful for my new toy, it has distracted me (in the nicest way possible) from sitting in front of my computer.  Hmmm, so maybe that was the plan after all, cook really fast so I can actually post more recipes on our blog!  Seriously though - Thank you J & J : )

I baked this yesterday for my buddy's birthday and heard it tasted good so had to make one again today to taste, photograph and post. While I usually reduce sugar in all baking recipes, I followed the recipe and am glad I did because it balanced the tartness of the cranberries. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy 

Makes: 10 - 12

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of milk (I used 2%)
• 1 1/4 cup fresh cranberies (6 oz)
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

METHOD: 

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9" round cake tin 
2. Mix together flour and baking powder and set aside
3. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar on low speed, gradually increase speed until the butter and sugar are pale in colour 
4. Add eggs, vanilla and orange extracts. Start at low and then increase to high speed. Mix well for about a minute
5. Add half of the milk and half the amount of flour to the butter. Mix well until combined
6. Add in the rest of the milk and flour. Mix until you have a light and fluffy cake batter
7. Rinse and cut cranberries in half. I leave the small sized ones intact so they can pop in the oven
8. Fold in the cranberries and then press the almonds on top of the cake 
9. Bake for 35 minutes until the edges are a rich brown and a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean
10. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing