Fresh Trout with Capers - Just the Recipe

If you enjoy fish I highly recommend this very easy and tasty pan seared trout.


Fresh Trout with Capers
As seen on CityLine by Massimo Capra


Coating the filets with egg before frying helps seals in flavour, plus it keeps the trout nice and moist.

Ingredients
4 x 8oz trout filet
2 large eggs
3 tbsp capers
1 lemon, juiced
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter

Method

Crack the two eggs in a bowl and season with a little salt and pepper, beat them well and place the washed trout filets in them. Set aside.

Preheat a skillet and place the butter and oil in it, remove the trout filet from the egg and place into the foaming butter skin side up.

Cook until golden brown and then turn, add the capers and cook until done (about 2 minutes), sprinkle the lemon juice and remove from the fire after 30seconds.Remove from the skillet and place on top of a ragú of cauliflower, squash and leeks.

26% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread with Seeds

I have never considered myself to be a wimp but it seems that I am. I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread with only 50% whole wheat for those who prefer less whole wheat in their bread on Rose Levy Beranbaum's site which she describes as her new favourite sandwich bread. For those of us who prefer even less whole wheat in our bread she modified the recipe to 26% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread and titled it Special for Whole Wheat Wimps and that would include wimpy old me. Really, there is nothing wimpy about this bread at all. In fact it is a wonderful sandwich bread that even with only 26% whole wheat it is elevated to a healthier version than plain old white bread. I then proceeded to up the ante for an even healthier bread by adding some seeds. This recipe with a small amount of old sourdough added to it produces a lovely to work with dough and baked in a 5 x 9 loaf pan you are rewarded with a large loaf of bread worthy of man sized sandwiches.

If your omit the old sourdough Rose instructs to bake the bread in a 4 x 8 loaf pan instead. I have to admit I prefer the smaller pan size for sandwiches so next time I make this and want to keep the old sourdough in the recipe I will just remove a small portion of dough and shape it into a roll and bake it together with the loaf.

If eating this bread makes me a wimp then I will proudly carry the label, and as I am sure there are many of you out there let us raise our hands in solitarity or better yet let us roll up our sleeves and bake this amazing bread.

You can find the recipes here: http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2008/06/whole_wheat_sandwich_loaf.html

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2008/08/special_for_whole_wheat_wimps.html

Yeastspotted.

Apple Pecan Olive Oil Cake for Thanksgiving

There is nothing that says fall better than an apple cake and this one from Chatelaine recipes is pretty easy to assemble and looks amazing when baked. So with our Canadian Thanksgiving just around the corner I hope this cake inspires you to bake it for your own feast.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

APPLE PECAN OLIVE OIL CAKE

Ingredients
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, grated apples (about 1 1/2 apples) preferably Granny Smith
• 1 firm red apple, preferably Royal Gala, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 15 pecan halves

• FOR GLAZE:
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
This moist, delicious cake is chock full of apples and nuts, plus the goodness of whole wheat and olive oil — and it’s dairy-free! Pretty enough for parties, it’s also perfect for brunch

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Insert the base of a 9-in. springform pan lip-side down. Lightly spray with oil, then line with parchment. Set aside.
2. Whisk flours with cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk egg with granulated sugar and 2/3 cup oil in a large bowl. Stir fl our mixture into egg mixture. Stir in chopped pecans and grated apples. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth top. Arrange overlapping apple slices around edge of cake. Arrange pecan halves in one layer in centre. Make glaze by stirring brown sugar with 2 tsp olive oil and 2 tsp water in a small bowl. Microwave until sugar melts, 30 sec. Brush apples and pecans with half of mixture. Reserve the rest.
3. Bake in centre of oven until a tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean, about 45 min. Transfer to a rack. Brush top of warm cake with remaining sugar mixture. Run a knife between the pan and the outer edge of the cake, then remove ring. Gently remove cake from base. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream. Keeps well at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Flipping the base of a springform pan will make it easier to remove the cake.

Open Faced Peach Tart

I mentioned in the previous post that I had a couple of entries that should have been posted in August. This is number two. I thought I'd better get it in before it would no longer be relevant to the season.

August is always bittersweet for me; the sun is noticeably setting earlier and earlier and warm days give over to cooler nights, signalling the lazy days of summer coming to an end. But the sweetest part of August is the incredable peaches that are at their peak. Our peaches come from the picturesque Niagara region just a short hour and a half drive south of Toronto, and they are at their peak from around the middle of August to early September. They are wonderfully juicy and sweet to eat as they are, but as a summer dessert, who can resist peaches baked in a flaky pastry?

So here it is, an open faced peach tart that is to die for. I could easily eat this pie all year long. You certainly can get peaches at the market all year long but they are never as good as they are right now, so I try to make as many in this short period as I can and with no regard whatsoever to the state of my waist.

I found this wonderful recipe by Bonnie Stern in the newpaper. If I recall the introduction to this tart recipe correctly, she was at at friend's cottage when she decided she would make an open faced peach tart for dessert. She didn't have a rolling pin to roll out the dough so she used a bottle of wine instead. Now that's what I call quick thinking and making do with what you have on hand. I love making this tart because it is so easy to assemble; just one piece of dough to roll out, no fluted edges to fuss over and no slitting the top.

The pie dough is prepared and set aside.

The peaches are tossed with flour, brown sugar and cinnamon to coat well and centered onto a rolled circle of dough. You must remember to place the dough on parchment paper before adding the filling or you'll never move it onto the baking sheet. I have found the easiest way to do this is after you have rolled out the dough to fold it in half, then in half again and center it over the parchment paper before opening it up again.

The dough is then folded over to encase the peach filling.

And brushed with an egg wash which will give the dough a nice sheen and bake up golden brown.

The pie dough is further enhanced with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar and put into a hot oven to bake.

I like to serve it barely warm with a scoop of ice cream.

To change it up I have added sweet plums along with the peaches

or paired the peaches with blueberries.


Open-Faced Peach Tart

Pastry

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt and sugar
¾ cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup ice water or more

Filling

4 large peaches, sliced but not peeled
½ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cold butter diced

Topping
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. coarse sugar

For pastry, place flour, salt and sugar in large bowl. Mix together, Add butter and cut into flour with a pastry blender or your fingertips. Add water and toss mixture until moistened. Lightly knead into a ball. You will probably need an extra few tablespoons of water. You can do all this with a food processor if you have one.

Roll dough out on a floured surface to a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Toss peaches in centre of pastry. Fold the edges over the peach mixture overlapping as you go leaving centre open. Brush pastry with egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated 425 F oven for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 375 F and bake 30 to 40 minutes more, until golden.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Grilled Pizza

I have a couple of blog entries that I should have posted in August but I was so busy, including a trip to Florida for a week, that I just kept putting it off. So I finally had to bite the bullet and sit myself in front of my computer and write about this wonderful grilled pizza. By the way the term bite the bullet comes from pre-anaesthetics days where soldiers who unfortunately needed amputation of limbs from war injuries were given a bullet to bite on to help endure the pain and prevent them from biting off their own tongue, while the limb was sawed off. Of course writing about grilled pizza really isn't painful at all, as a matter of fact it brings back memories of a delicious way to make pizza without heating your kitchen in the middle of a sweltering summer.

First you have to prepare the dough and you can use any favourite pizza dough. This one happens to be Fougasse Dough by Patricia Wells that I've written about before. The dough is divided; I've divided it into four pieces and each piece is stretched out on parchment paper to fit half of my barbeque grill. The parchment paper helps to transfer the dough to the grill.

The dough is placed under a large plastic tent where they are left alone to rise for about half a hour or so.

When the grill is preheated and ready I transfer two sheets of dough to my deck table.

I lift one of the sheets and quickly and nimbly invert the dough onto the hot grill. When I first heard of grilling pizza I had visions of dough dripping down between the grills making a sloppy mess. Instead as soon as the dough hits the grill it coagulates and firms up immediately. I leave the parchment on the dough until it has firmed up and then peel it off carefully. At this point with your tongs on hand you lift a corner of the dough to inspect for grill marks and to access if the heat has to be adjusted. You don't want it to be too hot otherwise the dough will burn before you put the toppings on.

I completely forgot to take pictures of toppings ready to go, so please imagine a bowl of tomato sauce, sliced mozzerlla, fresh basil leafs, and sliced prosciutto nearby.

When the underside of dough has nice grill marks like this and the top has bubbled up you turn it over and quickly start adding the toppings. It is also wise to wear oven mitts to protect your hands from the heat. At this point I add another sheet of dough on the other half of the grill.

Really you can add any toppings you wish. The key here is to not overload the dough. I think the simplicity of a Pizza Margarita works very well here. I upped the anti on a couple of the pizzas by adding sliced prosciutto after they came off the grill. I think this method of cooking pizza is the next best thing to a wood burning oven. It is incredibly delicious. I especially like to have it with a mesculin salad which makes quite a memorable meal.

I wish those poor soldiers had had this to bite on instead of that awful bullet.

Latticed Blueberry Pie

In my last post I made a blueberry pie from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts. I didn't lattice the last pie because I thought it would be fussy and since the pie in the book is latticed I thought for my second pie I should at least try it. It turns out it wasn't fussy at all. As a matter of fact the cut out leaf patterned pastry was probably a bit more involved. Who knew? So here it is.

Unfortunately I didn't photograph the weaving of the strips of pastry dough. But it is quite simple to do with alternate flipping of the strips.

I didn't have a fluted pastry wheel so it probably isn't as asthetic as it could have been, but I was pleased with the way it turned out.

The recipe is on the previous post.

Blueberry Pie

Ah June, hockey season is finally over and blueberries are in season, fresh and abundant at the grocery store. On the day that the Stanley Cup would finally be handed over to either Boston or Vancouver I came across the most amazing looking blueberries while shopping. We were having friends over to watch the game and I decided that I would make a blueberry pie for dessert. Normally making a blueberry pie wouldn't even enter my mind (hubby doesn't like blueberries, or most fruit for that matter) but I had recently purchased Martha Stewart's Pie and Tarts and remembered an amazing looking blueberry pie in the book. Martha's version has a latticed topped pie but I find the process of proper "latticing", i.e. weaving the strips of dough, too time consuming so I opted for an easier method of just rolling out the dough and cutting out leaf patterns, with my nifty leaf pattern cutters from William Sonoma that would provide vents to allow the steam to escape and the leaf cutouts would be "glued" over the crust for a decorative finish.


The filling is so easy! Just wash the berries and pick through for any bad ones (I think I discarded only one from a 2 lb. container) and add some sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. This is far easier than making apple pie (which hubby loves - he likes apples) which eliminates the peeling and chopping. The blueberries are piled onto a pastry lined pie plate and topped with the decorative pastry.

The pie is fluted and brushed with milk and sprinkled with a dusting of sugar. Martha brushes her pastry with an egg wash but I find my method also works well. The pie is baked in a hot 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and then the temperature is lowered to 350 degrees and baked for 55 minutes more.

It comes out of the oven golden and beautiful, with some of the bubbling filling oozing from the vents.

After my son had a slice he asked me why I've never made blueberry pie before. Our friends enjoyed it as well, though they weren't happy at all that Vancouver had lost. Hubby on the other hand was so thrilled that Boston won (he was rooting for an original six team) he didn't even notice the pie.

Blueberry Pie

Pastry
(Pate Brisee)
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup of ice water.

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor (or whisk together by hand in a bowl). Add butter, and pulse (or quickly cut in with a pastry blender or your fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some larger pieces remaining. Drizzle 1/4 cup water over mixture. Pulse (or mix with a fork) until mixture just begins to hold together. If dough is too dry, add 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse ( or mix with a fork).

Divide dough in half onto tow pieces of plastic wrap. Gather into two balls, wrap loosely in plastic, and press each into a disk using a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm, well wrapped in plastic, 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Dough can be frozen up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator before using.

Shortening Variation: Replace 1/2 cup of butter with 1/2 cup of cold vegetable shortening cut into to small pieces.

Filling

2 lbs. (about 7 cups) fresh blueberries, picked over and rinsed.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg yolk, for egg wash (I used milk or cream)
1 tablespoon heavy cream, for egg wash
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate.

In a large bowl, toss together berries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice until combined. Pour mixture into pie plate piling in center.

On lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disk of dough to 13-inch round. To make lattice, cut dough into ten 1-inch wide strips using a fluted pastry wheel. Lightly brush edge of dough in pie plate with water. Carefully arrange dough strips on top, weaving to form a lattice. Trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Fold edges under as desired, and crimp with a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream for egg wash; brush on top of dough strips and edge of pie shell. Generously sprinkle with sanding sugar. Refrigerate or freeze pie until firm, about 30 minutes.

Transfer pie plate3 to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake until crust begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat o 350 F. Continue baking until crust is deep golden brown and juices bubble, 55 minutes more. (If crust browns too quickly, tent pie with foil.) Transfer pie to a wire rack; let cool completely, at least 3 hours, before serving.

Alpine Baguettes - Alpler Baguette

These wonderful baguettes by Clemens Walch who has a bakery at the base of a ski slope in Lech in the beautiful Austrian Alps are so good that Daniel Leader included the recipe in his book Local Breads. I was drawn to this bread because of my favourite mixture of seeds in the dough, mainly sunflower, pumpkin, flax and sesame along with some rolled oats.

The seeds and rolled oats are soaked the night before to plump up and soften.

The recipe has a small amount of German rye sourdough which gives the bread a slight tang. Daniel Leader gives instruction for developing a rye sourdough culture but I have to admit that I cheated here. Making his rye sourdough culture from scratch would have meant waiting for almost two weeks to develop and I just didn't have the patience for that so I used my regular sourdough culture and refreshed it a couple of times with rye flour and water. By then there was enough rye flour in the culture that I was pretty confident that it would work as well.

The one problem I found in the recipe was the high hydration. The dough was quite wet and even after 15 minutes of mixing with the KitchenAid the gluten wasn't developing as I thought it should. I will confess that I ran out of bread flour and had to use unbleached flour so this may have caused the problem but I just added more flour along with a handful of rye flour and the dough came together just fine. It still had to be poured out of the mixer into a rising container but after a two hour rise it was manageable on a well floured surface. Next time I'll try decreasing the amount of water used to soaked the seeds and oats. I preshaped the divided dough by folding rectangles of dough into thirds and allowed them to rest covered for 10 minutes.

After the rest they were easily shaped into long baguettes, covered and allowed to rise for another 40 minutes or until they looked puffy and light.

They baked up beautifully and they crackled nicely when they were removed from the oven, a sign that they were ready.

This recipe is definately a keeper, as a matter of fact I now keep a rye culture in my fridge along with the regular sourdough culture.

The crumb is lovely and toothsome with a nice crisp crust. The only complaint I had with this bread was that there was not enough salt for my taste, so next time I'll have to remember to add a bit more salt and it will be perfect. I really like this bread alot.

Alpine Baguettes

Yield: 3 thick baguettes, ~12 inches long (368 g each)
Ingredients:

100 g mature, 100% hydration rye sourdough

28 g rolled oats

28 g sunflower seeds

28 g pumpkin seeds

28 g flax seeds

28 g sesame seeds

525 g water, divided

5 g instant yeast

500 g unbleached bread flour

10 g sea salt

Refresh the rye sourdough 12 to 24 hours before mixing. Also, pour the rolled oats and seeds into a bowl and cover them with 175 g water. Soak them overnight, so that they swell and soften.

When you are ready to mix the final dough, pour the remaining 350 g water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the yeast, bread flour, soaked oasts and seeds, and salt with a rubber spatula. Stir down the rye sourdough and add it to the mixture. Stir well to combine.

Use the dough hook and mix the dough on medium-low speed (3 on a KitchenAid mixer) for 8 minutes. Turn off the machine and scrape the hook and the sides of the bowl. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. Turn the mixer back on to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth, silky, and elastic 5 to 7 minutes more.

Transfer the dough to an oiled container. Cover it and let is rise until it has doubled in volume (2 to 2 1/2 hours).

An hour before baking preheat the oven to 450 F with a baking stone and steam pan.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Flatten one piece of dough into a rectangle and fold it into thirds like a business letter. Turn it smooth side up. Repeat this process with the other two pieces. Cover the piece lightly and let rest on the counter for 10 minutes.

Shape the pieces of dough into a baguette about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and place the baguettes on it, seam side down, about three inches apart. Cover lightly. Proof the baguettes at room temperature until they are puffy and light, 30-40 minutes.

Slide the baguettes into the oven. Bake them with steam for 10-15 minutes and without steam for another 10-15. Turn the oven off and leave the baguettes in for another 5-10 minutes. Let the loaves cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack. These are delicious enjoyed warm.