April 20, 2013

No Bake | Mulberry Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet & Mulberry Jam … In season with mulberries!

“I put everything I can into the mulberry of my mind and hope that it is going to ferment and make a decent wine. How that process happens, I’m sorry to tell you, I can’t describe.”
John Hurt

Mulberry Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet & Mulberry Jam! Here we go round the mulberry ~~bush~~ tree, and looks like I’m going to stay right under it! We’re enjoying a very short and very sweet mulberry season. I feel so inspired! Seems like it’s going to be mulberries all the way.

Mulberries are actually a good source of raw food protein, a rarity in the fruit kingdom. They are also a good source of magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, iron, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber. One of the mulberry’s greatest health assets is it’s high concentration of resveratrol, an antioxidant currently being studied for its effects on heart health.

The sudden mulberry distraction {maybe madness} arrived unannounced as usual. This post is more about the story around the fruit, than the sorbet or jam itself. The latter would barely spin a tale, though the sorbet recipe is a real winner!

A large number of us joined the very large hearted and talented Neel at Learn Food Photography to polish our photography knowledge and skills. A few of you might know that I am still very lost about the technicalities behind the camera and am a compulsive auto shooter.

So thanks to this 30 day exercise, we are down almost 3 weeks doing what we like to do best. That includes virtually meeting and interacting with a huge like minded community. {The photograph below is one of my favourite shots from last week.}

In addition to some serious photog learning, the interactions are also a huge take away. It’s fascinating to see how food photography can reunite folk from India to Mexico! Together we’ve played with light, angles, DOF, backgrounds, props, diffusers and so much more. Maybe you can catch bits in my photographs. You can see the sorbet in many different hues, from an early morning shot, to a rather deep pink late evening one. An enriching experience!

It was on the forum that I chanced upon a photograph of mulberries that Ozan from Turkey shared. That made me sit up. What happened to our mulberry season? Why didn’t I remember? Man Friday was immediately summoned and commissioned with ‘the mulberry task’.

He never fails…never! He soon brought me a bag of pretty, juicy mulberries, sweet as sweet could be. Morning saw me stirring mulberry jam! Nothing to the recipe. Just the berries with equal sugar, a vanilla bean, a dash of lime juice. I threw in some aged balsamic too. Simmered until soft over low heat, then cooked until it thickened somewhat. TADA! Jam! No pectin, nothing!

I get a HUGE bagful every alternate day. I’ve frozen some. Throw them into smoothies for the kids. A strawberry mulberry smoothie is beautiful. Then I wanted to make something I’ve waited long to make, a buttermilk sorbet. I added some mulberries instead of just a strawberry sorbet. Delightful!

This mixed berry sorbet is light, refreshing, summery and beautiful! I shot it in many different ways in the ongoing LFP exercise. It included styling – napkins, garnish, Pinterest inspiration etc. I got some right shots, and some very wrong. So much fun, and so much to learn.

It was three days of ‘mulberry shots‘! Another huge bagful came in this morning so the head is buzzing with mulberry coloured thoughts again. Any recipe suggestions are more than welcome. Hopefully I’ll have another mulberry centric post out this month!

Until then, please help yourself to really really refreshing and pretty Mulberry Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet. The Mulberry Jam is quite sweet and makes for a nice addition in a berry dessert sauce, added to whipped cream into a fool, dolloped over breakfast cereal or slathered onto a warm buttery toast! I love cooking in season!

Recipe:Mulberry Strawberry Buttermilk Sorbet

Summary: Sweet, tangy, refreshing, light, the berry buttermilk sorbet is addictive good. Great way to use summer berries. Makes about 1 ltr.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

200g mulberries, frozen
200g strawberries, frozen
150g vanilla sugar
2 tbsp kirsch
Juice of 1 lime
500ml buttermilk, frozen in ice cube tray {for Thermomix recipe}

Method:

Thermomix
Place all ingredients in bowl of TM and process at speed 10 for a minute at a time until pulverized to smooth consistency Use TM scraper to scrape down sides now and then.
Transfer to freezer safe bowl and freeze until desired {or serve immediately!}
Ice cream maker
Remove the stems of the mulberries if you like {I didn’t}
Place all the ingredients in bowl of processor and blend well until smooth. Taste and adjust sugar if required.
Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer instructions.

Recipe: Mulberry Jam

Summary: Sweet, simple and full of berry goodness, this is another great way to use the seasonal berry. Makes about 2 jars.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

500g mulberries
500g sugar
1 vanilla bean
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

Pull out the stems of the mulberries.
Place the berries in a heavy bottom saucepan, crush them with the back of a spoon so that they release their juices. Bring to a simmering boil, then add the remaining ingredients.
Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook to desired consistency, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to sterilised jars. I refrigerated mine as I didn’t seal them.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

April 15, 2013

No Bake | Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits … these had me smitten! #springlove #vegetarian #meatlessmonday #glutenfree

“Eating is really one of your indoor sports. You play three times a day, and it’s well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible.”
Dorothy Draper

Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits … could there be a better way to welcome spring and summer in our part of the world? I think not! The day I saw these on Betacyanin via Foodgawker I was smitten. Sofias blog is a new discovery and matches very closely to what I like doing with food. I HAD to do the parfaits ASAP!

Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits Did I tell you I was absolutely smitten? I certainly was. I love the idea of a parfait going savoury. Make ahead, healthy, balanced, infinite options and a load of fun!

I soaked the chickpeas that very night and had them cooked the next morning. Warm freshly cooked chickpeas tossed in EVOO, some minced garlic, a squeeze of lime, some fresh herbs is like diving into a bowl of heaven! I have a love love relationship with chickpeas! What about you?

I also have a love love relationship with savoury food, bring on the garlic and life gets even better. It might surprise you as PAB is rather full of sweet stuff. That is what I like to make, but savoury is what I like to eat. I don’t have a sweet tooth at all! My family does!!

The parfaits were fun. Layering and individual servings are something I adore doing. You can pretty much paint your own palette here. I made a few changes. Olives in brine for one because I like the saltiness they add.

Cherry tomatoes because my few plants are now hanging with fruit which is slowly ripening. Those above were the very first three! Spring ♥!!

It’s a constant battle though as little Coco has taken a shine to tomatoes. Animal instinct kicks in here. She sniffs out the nice, ripe, juicy ones and devours them with great aplomb. Much to my horror, the first time she ‘discovered‘ them, the garden was strewn with half eaten green tomatoes; the ones she had obviously rejected!

This was not why I grew tomatoes. I waited impatiently for them to ripen. So had the lad. For the two of us, it’s an early morning ritual to ‘check them out‘!How would she know any better, the little thief. She isn’t as innocent as she looks; but she is so darned charming!

Playing with light 2 The battle of tomatoes has begun! I quickly harvest the ripe fruit and she looks on, hoping old butterfingers will drop one!! I have a few yellow cherry tomatoes that I salvaged 3 days ago, and some deep red beefy ones. Tomato ♥!

I have plenty of photographs of these beauties but I like this one quite abit. I love the play of light and all thanks goes to Neel @ Learn Food Photography for organising a 30 day challenge on his fabulous blog. Have you been to LFP yet?

You must stop by if you are struggling to improve your food photographs, or want to explore the technicalities at a comfortable level. We’re into week 3 of our challenge and it’s a great community of folk from across the globe. So far we’ve covered angles, DOF, light, playing with light, white balance, diffusers, bouncers, backgrounds and are currently on props.

Learning food photography... light These Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits were made the day I was experimenting with light. It’s amazing how much you can learn if you join a challenge. Such fun! All the herbs, flowers and leaves I had gathered became an inspiration for my parfaits.

The little jars are actually like an announcement of spring. Full of fresh herbs, fresh produce, light flavours and beautiful pairing. My herbs are flourishing too so I couldn’t have made this discovery at a better time.

Infinite possibilities are dancing merrily in my head. I am thinking fruit parfaits, watermelon feta and mint parfaits, mango pistachio parfaits! I think you can layer any salad you like in little mason jars, recycled jam/sauce jars, or serving glasses.

I now do these as a make ahead salad for Mr PABs lunchbox to take to work. The dieting diva enjoyed it as well. It’s nice coz the raisins at the bottom take all the released juices and plump up nicely. You could always use dried cranberries instead! And of course you could always toss everything together in one big bowl, but it might not be that much fun!

Strawberry, Kiwi, Basil Parfaits

My post is a little delayed because all this parfait talk inspired me to make some fruit parfaits for the kids after school snack! I made Strawberry, Kiwi, Basil Parfaits! Parfaits are always fun. They are a nice make ahead snack, salad or even a simple dessert. Refreshing, colourful, delicious & FUN!

Tell me dear reader what you would include in a parfait? What would your ultimate savoury parfait have? And a sweet version? Try and cover as many food groups as you can … nuts, fruits, veggies, herbs, spices, beans, chickpeas, quark, ricotta, mascarpone, granola. Play with colours and seasonal produce. Just make sure you enjoy what you do because that is what matters most!

Recipe: Minty Chickpea Yogurt Parfaits

Summary: I love the idea of a parfait going savoury. Make ahead, healthy, balanced, infinite options and a load of fun! This one covers all the food groups, and deliciously so – fruits, nuts, dairy, pulses, herbs … you get ‘em all in a jar!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

1- 1.5 cup cooked chickpeas tossed in evoo, garlic, fresh coriander
2-3 small cucumbers, grated, squeezed
2 cup homemade yogurt, hung for about 3-4 hours
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ranch buttermilk dressing {or a dash of lime juice, garlic and finely chopped green chili}
handful chopped mint
1/2 cup raisins
olives, cherry tomatoes, pistachios
lightly toasted walnuts and more mint, for garnish

Method:

Whisk the hung curd with buttermilk seasoning until smooth. Alternatively, add minced garlic, a dash of lime juice, green chilies and salt and mix until smooth.
Begin layering…
Starting with the raisins, followed by chickpeas, grated cucumbers, and yogurt, layer each of the ingredients, divided between jars. Top with olives and cherry tomatoes, chopped walnuts, slivered pistachios and a few mint leaves. Chill well until ready to serve.
Alternatively, if you’re not into the layering thing, you can just mix it all together and store accordingly.
Sofias note: It’s really important to draw most of the juice out of the cucumbers, otherwise the end result will be swimming in cucumber juice. Once the cukes are grated, use your hands to squeeze out as much juice as you can. Drink it, it’s really refreshing! Set aside in a strainer to let any remaining liquid drain.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

March 21, 2013

Baking | Millet & Whole Wheat French Fougasse … rustic bread with caramelised onions, walnuts, dehydrated tomatoes and mozzarella

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
Robert Browning

Millet & Whole Wheat French Fougasse … this bread is like music to my ears; a celebration of all things ‘breadily‘ good! Rustic, earthy, chewy … good to grain! Warmer days are here. Feels like we missed spring somewhere along the way and landed up in summer. The days can only get hotter as the mercury hits 32C. At times like these, yeast is my BFF, performs beautifully, making me want to experiment endlessly.

We had a beautiful wholewheat soda bread that Sangeeta made while we drove from Pune to Baramati for the vineyard visit. I think I ate most of it, greedy me. It was bursting with earthy flavours of whole wheat and sun dried tomatoes. The whole wheat was stone ground and you could tell because of the texture. It had been given a good dunking of extra virgin olive oil too.

Bread like this makes you wake up and notice how good whole grain can get. Plain flour just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. The more I see plain flour breads on menus across eateries and in stores, the worse I feel. Whole grain is good and it’s a good choice to opt for.

Someone once told me that the luxury of plain flour bread is the way to go. You can eat salad and maybe soup on the side, other greens and veggies to tank up on fibre, and yet not feel guilty about ‘white bread’. I beg to differ.

Bread Whole grain isn’t a punishment. Get used to it gradually and it might be difficult to return to plain flour. It’s a choice you have, and a good one you might make especially if you have young kids with changing palettes. Make a gradual change and you’ll be surprised at how they jump to fresh home made whole grain bread.

Sun-dried tomatoes are a wonderful addition to breads. My last experience of store bought ones from Fab India was pathetic. I didn’t have time to make some, so figured the Philips AirFryer could help a bit. I have now begun caramelising onions after Abha mentioned it to me one day! Great discovery! 1 tsp of oil for 1 sliced onion is all it takes, and a few minutes.

In went sliced tomatoes tossed in olive oil, dried herbs, garlic and some sea salt. Can say YUMMM? Just wonderful… it took about 15-20 minutes as I experimented on different settings but was thrilled to get just what I wanted. I always have a batch bottled in the fridge now.

Millet & Whole Wheat French Fougasse The fougasse is as rustic as it gets. You will find a selection of French Fougasse, this flat French bread, on my blog as we love it at home. I began with a plain flour bread, graduated to part pain flour, part whole wheat, and this time did a version with some sprouted ragi flour / millet.

Rustic, moorish, and delicious! If you are a new to whole grain breads, the earthy flavours will gradually grow on you. It’s a dough that takes well to additions. Roasted garlic, roasted bell peppers, salty olives, sun dried tomatoes, caramelised onions, feta, fresh herbs, nuts {I particularly like walnuts in here} but let your imagination lead you.

Recipe: Millet & Whole Wheat French Fougasse

Summary: Millet & Whole Wheat French Fougasse … bread as rustic as it gets. If you are a new to whole grain breads, the earthy flavours will gradually grow on you. It’s a dough that takes well to additions. Roasted garlic, roasted bell peppers, salty olives, sun dried tomatoes, caramelised onions, feta, fresh herbs, nuts … let your imagination lead you!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour {plus resting time}
Ingredients:

250g all purpose flour
100g wholewheat flour
75g finger millet {sprouted ragi flour}
300ml warm water {divided 200ml + 50ml+ 50ml}
2 tsp instant yeast
30g olive oil + 15g for garlic
10g /1.5tsp salt
1 head of garlic, roasted
2 plum tomatoes, sliced & dehydrated {or sundried tomatoes}, chopped
2 red onions, thinly sliced, caramelised
100g mozzarella, chopped
100g walnuts, chopped
Extra olive oil for brushing
Sea salt for sprinkling

Method:

Squeeze out the roasted head of garlic and mash with 15g /1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Reserve in a small bowl.
Take 50ml of water {lukewarm} & dissolve the yeast into it. Stir the salt and 30ml of olive oil into 200ml of water.
Mix the flours, make a well in the centre and pour the yeast/water mixture into it. Use the remaining 50ml water if required.
Knead to a dough, kneading further on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes, till smooth & elastic.
Thermomix: Place both flours, salt and yeast in bowl of TM and whiz for 5 seconds on speed 10. Add the 250ml water and olive oil and mix on Speed 6 for 30 seconds. {Gradually add remaining 50ml water as required}. Knead in closed position for 5-6 minutes.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling wrap & leave in a warm place for about an hour until doubled.
Punch down & divide into 2.
Roll one half out to about an 12″ oval, spread half the roasted garlic olive oil mixture on the base, sprinkle over half the snipped tomatoes, caramelised onions, half the walnuts and half the cheese. {Reserve some tomatoes and onions for topping if you like}
Season lightly salt and freshly ground pepper. Roll up gently like a swiss roll.
Fold over the dough 2-3 times on itself to incorporate the stuffing.
Shape each back into a flattish ball, then fold the bottom third up, & top third down to make an oblong. {I made one big round bread and one oblong, but the latter is tradional}
Roll into ovals with a flat base, cut slits diagonally, three on each side. Pull slightly to open the cuts. {Repeat with the other half.}
Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover with cling wrap & leave to double for 35-40 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 220C, brush the loaves with olive oil, sprinkle over sea salt {and tomatoes and onions if you like} and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes till golden brown. Brush with more olive oil as they come out of the oven. Cool on racks. Serve warm {that’s how we love it} or at room temperature with extra virgin olive oil or butter!