Miz Chef

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Tag Archives: fruit


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Red Currant Jam

I hope you are all doing all right during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many of you are spending your time trying out new culinary delights, so I thought I’d throw this one into the mix.

I happened to get a container of beautiful fresh currants in a recent Misfits Market box and decided to do the simplest (and most practical) thing with it: jam.

Fresh currants are somewhat hard to find (at least in my part of the world), so this is a (really) small batch recipe. This will essentially give you enough jam for about 4 pieces of toast (or 2, if you like to slather it on).

Red Currant Jam

6 oz. red currants
¼ c + 3 tablespoons sugar

Wash the currants well by placing them in a bowl of water and adding a little vegetable wash or dish soap. Rinse them well in a mesh strainer (especially if you use dish soap).

Remove the stems and discard them. If you’re going to use the traditional canning method, prepare a small jar.

Place the currants in a small nonreactive (non-aluminum) pot and crush them lightly with a fork or potato masher.Add the sugar and 2 teaspoons water and stir. Bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil, stirring frequently, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon without dripping, about 10 to 15 minutes.Spoon the jam into a clean jar and seal it. If you’ve sealed it using the canning method, the jam will keep sealed up to a year. Otherwise, refrigerate up to 3 weeks.


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Pesche Ripiene–Stuffed Peaches

09

Emilia Romagna

Hello again. Welcome back to my Regions Italy project, based on La Cucina—The Regional Cooking of Italy by Accademia Italiana della Cucina (The Italian Academy of Cuisine). This week on our journey, we stop in Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. The capital of Emilia-Romagna is the well-known city of Bologna, but it’s also home to Modena, which is best known as the place of origin of balsamic vinegar. The recipe I have for you today come, in fact, from that city of black gold (balsamic, that is).

The technical aspects of this recipe weren’t too bad, but there were a couple of points that made me scratch my head. The first thing was the bread. The original recipe called for the “bread of 1 roll soaked in milk and squeezed dry.” What kind of roll? How big? Crust included or just the crumb? How much milk? My conclusions are in the recipe below.

The second thing was in the instructions where it said to whip the egg whites and fold it into the mixture. Well, whip them to what stage? Soft peaks? Stiff peaks? Just until thickened? In the end, I went with soft peaks.

The headnote on this recipe says that in place of the almonds, you can use finely crushed amaretti, which are Italian almond cookies. I haven’t tried this alternative yet, but I’ll bet it’s even better than the original.

Pesche Ripiene

Stuffed Peaches

1 hero roll
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 large ripe peaches
3 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup blanched almonds, finely ground, or 1¼ cup almond flour
Confectioners’ sugar

Remove the crumb from the hero and place it in a bowl. Pour the milk over it and let it soak about 5 minutes.(I used the crust as well, but only because it was really soft.)Place the bread in a mesh strainer and press it with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and squeeze out as much milk as possible.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet or casserole with the butter.

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Scoop out as much of the flesh as you can, leaving a thin layer, so that you get a shell. Depending on how ripe your peaches are, this may be more or less difficult. If the peaches are very ripe and mushy and you can easily scoop it out with a spoon, then just put the pulp in a bowl. If you have to use a paring knife and the flesh is still solid, place the flesh in a food processor or blender (a mini would be perfect here!). Process until it’s mostly pureed, then transfer it to a bowl.Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and thick, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add this to the peach pulp. Add the drained bread and almond flour. Mix well.Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 4 to 5 minutes. Fold it into the peach mixture.Fill each peach shell with the filling and place them on the baking sheet. Bake until peaches are tender and filling is somewhat firm, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Let them cool slightly. Dust them with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm.

 

 

 


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Pear-Pignoli Salad with Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette

Do you still have cranberry sauce left over after the holidays? I know some of you do. Admit it.  You’ll see lots of sites and professional chefs telling you that everything should be thrown out three days after the holiday. I have news for you—if you’ve stored it properly, that cranberry sauce is probably still good. The thing is, because of the sugar content, cranberry sauce has a long shelf life. It’s just like a jar of jam or preserves in your refrigerator. (Of course, if it smells or tastes funny, or if it has mold on it, throw it out.) For those of you who prefer the stuff that comes in cans (you can admit that, too, don’t be ashamed), you can use those up as well, so that they don’t sit in your pantry for another year.

There are many things you can do with leftover cranberry sauce. One way to use it up is to make a dressing with it, and I’ve done just that. I paired homemade cranberry sauce here with baby greens and Anjou pears. So that the cranberry doesn’t overwhelm the delicate ingredients, I strained the dressing.

So, why not start out with plain cranberry sauce (such as what comes in a can) instead of whole berry sauce, you ask. Because I think that whole berry sauce has so much more depth of flavor than flat cranberry sauce. Plus, chances are that if you have a significant amount left over, it’s probably the homemade kind, which is most likely going to be chunky.

You can adjust the recipe to any flavor profile you like. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette

Makes ¾ cup dressing.

1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup water. Drizzle in the oil and whisk together well. Using a rubber spatula, strain the dressing through a mesh strainer into another bowl. Taste for seasoning and adjust if you like.

Pear-Pignoli Salad with Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette

Makes 4 servings.

2 Anjou pears (ripe but still firm)
6 oz. mixed baby greens
¼ cup pignoli (pine nuts), toasted
¼ cup Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Slice the pears about ¼ inch thick. You want them somewhat thin, but not so thin that they fall apart in the salad. Place them in a large bowl. Add the greens and pignoli and toss gently. Add the dressing and again toss gently. Transfer the salad to a serving platter and arrange neatly. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top.

Serve immediately.


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Macerated Mulberries

Berries are beautiful things. They are filled with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, most are low calorie, and all are pretty to look at. How many desserts have been made works of art just by the addition of berries?

Macerating berries takes them a step further. Macerating berries involves simply soaking them in liquid. You can start with fresh or dried berries, or any fruit. This techniques softens the fruit (and rehydrates dried fruit) and draws out their sugars, resulting in a syrup-like consistency, perfect for topping cake or ice cream. Sometimes people add sugar to sweeten them even more. You can use almost any liquid to macerate fruit, such as juice or wine. I chose rum for a nice boozy flavor.

For this recipe, I used mulberries. Mulberries can be found in various parts of the world, including Asia and the United States. They come in white, black, and red, and they are similar in appearance to blackberries, except they’re longer and narrower. Aside from being a good source of magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber, as well as antioxidants, they’ve been known to help improve circulation, lower blood pressure, improve eyesight, boost immunity, improve digestion, and reduce blemishes and age spots. I’ve also read that mulberries are one of the few fruits that contain protein.

I purchased my mulberries in dehydrated form, so macerating was the perfect way to use them. They’re sweet-tart in flavor and complement any dessert, and can be used in place of preserves.

If you can’t find mulberries, try macerating any fruit you like. Enjoy.

Macerated Mulberries

1 cup dried mulberries
2 teaspoons maple sugar
2 cups vodka or dark rum
1 cinnamon stick

Place the mulberries in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add the sugar, vodka or rum, and cinnamon stick. Seal the jar and shake well.

Let it sit at least a few hours.Store in the refrigerator or room temperature up to two weeks. (Because of the alcohol, the fruit will stay well at room temperature.)

 


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Pear, Walnut and Abondance Salad

Last week, I mentioned that the great people at the French Cheese Board were kind enough to get me some cheese samples. I created a recipes with one of my new favorite cheeses, Mimolette. That recipe was Caramelized Onion Rings with Chipotle Cream and Mimolette. This week, I’m featuring Abondance cheese.

Abondance is a semi-hard, unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese. It has a creamy texture, similar to Swiss cheese, and has a natural rind that tends to have a granular residue (it kind of looks like sawdust). It’s quite fragrant and has a nutty, buttery flavor. Although it’s yielding, it hold up well in this pear-walnut salad, where it blends beautifully with the nuts and fruits.

Pear, Walnut and Abondance Salad

2 Bartlett or Anjou pears, ripe but still firm
1 lemon
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
8 oz. Abondance cheese, cubed

Slice or cube the pears, depending on how you want your presentation to be. Place them in a bowl and spritz lemon over them and toss gently. (This is to keep them from browning.)In a medium bowl, combine the oil, honey, balsamic, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well blended.Add the pears, walnuts, and cranberries to the dressing and toss gently.Add the cheese and stir again.Arrange on a platter, if that’s how you’re serving it. Otherwise, transfer to a clean bowl. Serve.

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Boozy Watermelon

IMG_5288I was passing by a market that had some fruit on display outside. I was paying no attention to it, but something caught my eye. They had a box of mini round watermelons. They looked so cute, I had to have one. So, I picked one out and took it home. (I paid for it first, of course.)IMAG3106

When I cut it open, I discovered that it was a yellow watermelon. They hadn’t labeled it yellow—the sign only said “sweet.” I love finding yellow watermelons. They’re like yellow topazes, sparkling in the light.

Unfortunately, it was a lot prettier than it was tasty. They lied. It wasn’t sweet.

Now I had to find a way to enjoy this melon without resenting the money I paid for it.IMG_5274

So, I cut it up and put some booze in it. But not just any booze. I had this beautiful elderflower rum that I picked up at a farmers’ market in Vermont and it paired perfectly with the melon. Then I decided to mash it and make it into a slushy. Continue reading →