Go-to bread

This is my standard go-to bread recipe: it's simple, forgiving, and flavorful. Yesterday, I tried using our stand-up bowl mixer to do the kneading for the first time (technically, it belongs to the Government of Canada, not to us -- details). It worked remarkably well (at least after I discovered that the mixer has a tendency to walk across the counter -- it came within millimeters of toppling onto the kitchen floor), but I did need to add a bit of flour and do a couple minutes of kneading myself to be happy with the dough.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 2 1/4 cups warm water
• 6-7 cups bread flour (any combination of good flours will do; just ensure that you have enough gluten content)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, sunflower oil, or melted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon honey)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup wheat germ (optional)
• chopped herbs, etc. (optional)

Instructions:

• In a large bowl, combine half a cup of the water with the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let proof.
• Add 3 cups flour, the rest of the water, the rest of the sugar/honey, the oil/butter, and salt, and mix until mostly combined. At this point, add any optional ingredients.
• Gradually add the rest of the flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead until ready (about 10 minutes). Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (approximately an hour).
• Butter two loaf pans. Punch the dough down, divide in half, and form two loaves. Let rise in the pans until doubled in volume again (another hour).
• Preheat oven to 450°.
• Slash the tops of the loaves with a sharp knife. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the bread to sit in the oven for an extra five minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Belica winery pasta

Last week, we enjoyed a luxurious 5-course, 2 1/2 hour lunch at the Belica winery in Goriska Brda (Slovenia). It started with a basket of fresh cherries and a Belica Sivi Pinot, and ended with pears poached in red wine (for me; the table was also laden with two tiramisus and a white chocolate strawberry mousse) and homemade grappa. Of the menu dishes, the beef carpaccio and the pasta -- with fresh spinach fettuccine, asparagus tips, and home-cured prsut -- were standouts. Last night, we managed a respectable version of the pasta at home. Since we were having it with cold asparagus soup, we left the tips out (even when it's in season, there is such thing as too much asparagus at a single meal). The result was fantastically flavorsome and surprisingly filling.

Belica winery pasta

Ingredients:

• spinach fettuccine
• 1-2 cloves garlic (over winter, new, or wild)
• 1 leek, chopped (white part only)
• butter
• thinly sliced prsut, chopped into pieces
• freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions:

• Cook the pasta al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the leek, prsut, and half the Parmesan and simmer until pasta is done. Serve with more Parmesan.

Recipes upon request: potica

After yesterday's post, I've received requests for the potica recipe. Potica is a Slovenian desert bread which I have taken to eating for breakfast. The recipe below (and photo in the previous post) is quite sweet (too sweet, in fact, for breakfast), but delicious nonetheless. More iterations should be forthcoming.

Ingredients (for the bread):

• ~ 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package yeast
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 eggs

Ingredients (for the filling):

• 3 cups ground nuts (walnuts and almonds work well)
• 1/2 cup ground poppy seeds (optional)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg, gently beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

• In a pot, heat the milk, butter, sugar and salt until the butter is melted (do not let boil). As it is cooling, combine 1 cup of flour with the yeast in a large bowl.
• Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and add two eggs. Beat on low for 30 seconds and then on high for three minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. About five minutes of kneading should give a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a ball and let rise in a lightly greased bowl until doubled in size (1-1 1/2 hours).
• Near the end of the rising time, stir together all the filling ingredients in a large bowl.
• Punch dough down, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. During this time, prepare two loaf pans (either grease them or cover the bottoms with parchment paper).
• Roll the dough out as large as you can without ripping it on a well floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Then roll it out again, aiming to make a large rectangle. Cut in half to make two rectangles (each should be approximately 30" x 10").
• Spread half of the filling over each dough rectangle, and then roll them up as you would a jelly roll. Pinch the seams and ends to seal. Place the loaves (seam side down) in the pans, cover and let rise until doubled in size (45 minutes). Preheat oven to 325.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Do not slice until nearly entirely cool.

Elderflower cordial, potica, fish stock, and assorted garden crops

The jarring variety of this post reflects the recent hiatus. We discovered on the weekend that our yard houses (as well as cherry, apricot and pear trees) a large elderflower bush. It is in full bloom, and accordingly we now have 3 L of elderflower cordial in the fridge. I also tried making potica (a Slovenian desert bread filled with walnuts, poppy seeds, and other goodies) on the weekend -- the result is very good but not ideal. The fresh fish we brought back from Ljubljana last week gave us enough bones for stock, and the garden has finally begun supplying us with roses.

Elderflowers in the yard

Potica -- ground walnut, almond, sugar and egg filling

Fish stock simmering on the stove

 Our first crop of roses for the year!

Elderflower cordial:

Ingredients:

• 20-30 elderflowers, gently shaken to remove insects
• 1 large orange, cut into eighths
• 3 teaspoons citric acid
• 800 g sugar
• 3 L boiling water

Instructions:

• In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar and water and stir. When slightly cooled, add the rest of the ingredients. Let sit for 24 hours. Bottle in sterilized containers through a cheesecloth and refrigerate.

Meringue islands

Margaret and I made tiramisu on Friday (no photos or recipe, since I am not entirely happy with either) -- which left us with five egg whites. We turned them into meringues, and today I turned those into meringue island desserts, using fresh strawberries and grated chocolate left over from the same tiramisu.

Meringues stacked in a jar

Meringue islands!

Ingredients (two servings):

• meringues
• fresh strawberries (approximately 1.5 cups)
• freshly grated dark chocolate

Instructions:

• Slice 4-6 of the strawberries thinly and reserve. Place the rest of the strawberries in a food processor or blender, add a teaspoon of sugar (unless the berries are particularly sweet) and a tablespoon of liquid (elderflower cordial, lemon juice, or other fruit juice). Purée.
• Place the meringues in individual serving bowls and top with strawberry purée, fresh strawberries and grated chocolate.

Soska pesto with shrimp

Yes, there has been a six-week hiatus. But it has been an enormously busy and fun six weeks here -- we have had visitors for the entire time (parents, parents-in-law, and good friends, not in that order) and the interruption of an Icelandic volcano.

Earlier in the spring, I planted a (very) small garden. This included "soska", which looked like a lettuce-spinach cross from the package. Last night, I bit into a leaf with enthusiasm -- to discover that "soska" is Hungarian for sorrel. Luckily, the "Two Small Farms" blog gives plenty of advice. We made sorrel pesto, and served it with farfalle and butter-broiled shrimp.

Sorrel growing on the balcony

Pesto ingredients in the food processor

The meal completed!

Ingredients (two servings):

• 1 cup sorrel leafs, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 spring onions, roughly chopped (white part only)
• 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 10-12 large shrimp, deveined

Instructions:

• For the pesto, place the first seven ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until mostly smooth.
• For the pasta, cook al dente.
• For the shrimp, heat a low saucepan under the broiler until piping hot. Remove pan from oven, add butter and shrimp, and return to the broiler for two minutes. Then flip the shrimp and broil for two more minutes.
• Toss pasta with pesto and serve with shrimp.

Black bean salad

This is terrific. Black beans, and tons of flavor: lime, lemon and orange zest, fresh coriander, red onion, et cetera. It's easy to make, pleasantly spicy, and makes for quick lunches -- at home or at the office. And it's terrifically colorful!

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 1 cup dry black beans
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• heaping 1/2 tsp of your favorite spice (non-ground) (e.g., cumin seed, coriander pod, whole peppercorns, etc.)
• 1 small hot pepper
• 1 sweet yellow paprika (or half a bell pepper)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• fresh coriander (at least 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 red onion
• zest from a lime, lemon and orange
• juice from one lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions:

• Put the beans, two garlic cloves (cut into quarters), the bay leaf and the spice into a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently until beans are cooked to your liking (do not overcook; they should be slightly crunchy for the salad). The simmering will take approximately 45 minutes, but check every 10 minutes after half an hour. When cooked, strain the beans and cool.
• Place hot pepper, paprika/bell pepper, coriander, red onion, the rest of the garlic and zest into a blender (a mini blender, if you have one) and mince. You can also do this by hand (which is how we did it last night), but it's more work than is really necessary.
• Combine beans, blender mix, and the remainder of the ingredients (cherry tomatoes, lime juice and olive oil)

Apples, strawberries and whipped cream

More specifically, apples stewed with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg; strawberry purée; and cream whipped with Cointreau -- and all served in a glass. Very yummy, very summery, very simple. The recipe is adapted from Baking Obsession. I did away with the crisps, and used Cointreau instead of Frangelico. Next time, I will cut down on the amount of whipped cream (we have enough left over to cover a cake) and half the amount of liquor -- the taste was, for me, a tad strong.

Halibut with grapes and raisins

The abject lack of good fresh fish here in Budapest means that we now by some of our fish frozen -- quite a shock from Canada and Cameroon. And it's hard to cook. But this recipe -- which uses grapes, raisins and balsamic vinegar -- worked like a charm. The balsamic vinegar turns the fish a pleasant brown, and the fruit adds an assertive sweetness.

Ingredients (two people):

• 2 halibut (or similar) fillets
• scant 1/4 cup raisins or sultanas*
• large handful seedless green grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 tbsp. good quality balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp. white wine
• freshly ground black pepper
• touch of butter

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 400/Mark 6.
• Place the fish in a baking dish and season with black pepper. Dab with butter.
• Scatter raisins/sultanas and grapes over the fish. Mix together balsamic vinegar and wine, and pour over the fillets.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, until fish is done.
• Serve over rice or couscous.

*I recommend soaking the raisins/sultanas in a tiny bit of white wine while the oven preheats. It will make them plumper and juicier.

Easter baking

Perhaps baking a large batch of cinnamon rolls and hot cross buns on the same day wasn't the greatest idea. After all, there are only two of us. But both are great, and we conjured up some gardening/eating-Easter-treats help. The cinnamon bun recipe is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and the hot cross bun recipe is a variation on those made by Chez Piggy/Pan Chancho in Kingston. Instead of sultanas and candied peel, they have sultanas, raisins, dried mango and dried cranberries.