Rye Loaf with Currants

My memory is fuzzy on when I became a fan of Poilane. I remember seeing the shop in Paris on a TV show and immediately becoming enamored with the breads and the bakery’s process, but I don’t recall what show that was or when I saw it. I’ve read a lot about this famous bakery over the years, and I recently read more in Apollonia Poilane’s own words. I received a review copy of her new book, Poilane: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery. She writes about her grandfather who opened the bakery in 1932 and began making the large sourdough loaves, how her father took the reins in the 1970s and expanded capacity by building La Manufacture Poilane outside of Paris, and the tragic loss of both of her parents in 2002 when she found herself in charge of the business. At the age of eighteen, she was running Poilane while attending college at Harvard. The book explains the changes the bakery has made from one generation to the next and the things that have never changed. The starter is maintained the same way it always has been, the bakers know by feel when the dough is mixed correctly and when it has risen enough, and the ovens are wood-fired as they always have been. The book includes all the information for creating and maintaining a starter just as they do and for baking sourdough loaves, and there are lots of other recipes too. There are other breads like the Black Pepper Pain de Mie and the Rye Loaf with Currants shown here. There are recipes for using bread including one for toast. Of course, Apollonia Poilane has a preferred way of making toast! And, she shares it. She pairs two pieces of bread and toasts them in one toaster slot so one side stays untoasted for texture variation. There are also croissants and brioche and jams for topping them all. One chapter is for main dishes that include bread or croutons or breadcrumbs, and the Savory Pain Perdu topped with chopped tomatoes looks like a great summer lunch. It was interesting to learn more about the Punitions. Those are the little butter cookies left in baskets for customers to nibble while waiting and are also sold by the box. In the bakery, they range in color from just golden to darker brown so each person can choose his/her preference. A generous, fellow food blogger once sent me a box of these cookies from Poilane as a gift. In the box, they were all light golden, and I didn’t know they’re usually intentionally baked to varying degrees of doneness. The recipes also include tarts, quick breads, crepes, and even an oat milk used in a rice pudding that I have to try. But first, let’s get back to the Rye Loaf with Currants. 

This loaf is made with some sourdough starter in addition to commercial yeast. The publisher was not able to provide the recipe and instructions for the sourdough starter, but I can tell you that my starter that I’ve used for ages and maintain at 100% hydration worked fine here. To begin, the currants were soaked in hot water before being strained while reserving that soaking liquid. The starter was mixed with rye flour, and I was fortunate to get some locally-milled rye flour from Barton Springs Mill. Yeast was added, and some of the currant soaking liquid was mixed in a separate bowl with salt before it was added to the flour mixture. The dough was shaped into a ball and left to rest before being shaped again and left to rise. After rising, it went into a loaf pan to proof for about two hours. Just before baking, the top of the loaf was brushed with the remaining currant soaking liquid. 

This is a delightfully easy bread to make once the timing is planned. The slices are delicious toasted and topped with butter, and all those currants make it taste like a sweet treat. I was surprised to read that Apollonia became interested in cornbread while living in the US and went on to develop a Corn-Flour Bread with hazelnuts that’s gluten-free and vegan with corn sourced from the Basque region. I’m looking forward to trying a Texas version of this with local cornmeal and pecans. I think she’d approve. 

Rye Loaf with Currants 
Recipe excerpted from Poilane Copyright 2019 by Apollonia Poilane. Photography Copyright 2019 by Philippe Vaures Santamaria. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. 

Makes one 9-by-5-inch (23-by-13-cM) loaf 

My father regularly ran home from the bakery before we went to school to drop off a small version of this loaf for our morning snack. He would cut it in half, add a generous pat of butter, and pack it for us to enjoy in his car. Today I still love to have a few slices—buttered or not—for breakfast or as a midmorning treat. We make this in metal loaf pans, but you can also shape it freeform. 

1 1/2 cups (240 g) dried currants 
2 1/2 cups (595 ml) hot water 
230 g (1 1/4 cups) starter  
435 g (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) rye flour 
3/4 teaspoon (2 g) active dry yeast 
1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) fine sea salt 
Neutral oil, such as canola or sunflower seed, for the pan 

Put the currants in a medium bowl, add the hot water, and let soak for 10 minutes. 

Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and drain the currants; reserve the soaking liquid. Pat the currants dry with a paper towel and reserve. 

Put the starter in a large bowl. Add the rye flour and yeast. In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) of the reserved soaking liquid (save the rest for brushing the loaf) and the salt, stir to dissolve the salt, and add to the flour mixture, along with the currants. With wet hands, mix and knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together in a smooth, homogeneous mass. Transfer the dough to a work surface and shape into a ball. Return it to the bowl and let rest for 15 minutes. 

Reshape the dough into a round, return to the bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours. Brush a 9-by-5-inch (23-by-13-cm)pan with oil. Turn the dough out and, using wet hands to prevent sticking, shape it into a 9-by-4-inch (23-by-10-cm) log. Transfer to the oiled pan. 

Brush a piece of plastic wrap with oil, drape it over the loaf, and let it rise in a warm (72°F to 77°F/22°C to 25°C), draft-free place until it rises about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) above the sides of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

Meanwhile, about 25 minutes before baking, position a rack in the lower third and preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). 

Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the loaf with the reserved currant-soaking liquid. Bake until the loaf is golden and firm, 45 to 50 minutes; if you carefully remove it from the pan, it should feel hollow when you knock on it. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour. 

Remove the loaf from the pan, return to the rack, and let cool completely before slicing. Stored in a paper bag or wrapped in linen at room temperature, the loaf will keep for up to 1 week. 

NOTE: As with our sourdough, you will either need to have the starter on hand or plan ahead to make it, which takes a couple of days.

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Orange and Currant Scones

I was delighted to read a review copy of Skye Gyngell’s latest book How I Cook: An Inspiring Collection of Recipes, Revealing the Secrets of Skye's Home Cooking. As soon as I began reading it, I remembered all the details of her style that I became familiar with in her book My Favorite Ingredients from 2010. The recipes have a relaxed and easy-going feel to them, but quality of seasonal ingredients as a route to their success is always highlighted. She has a way of describing each dish that coaxes me into making plans to make it. For instance, I now can’t let another week go by without mixing oats with lemon and orange zest and orange juice so I can add some yogurt and grated apple to a serving in the morning for Bircher Muesli. I’ve seen several versions of muesli recipes in the past, but somehow this was the first time I’ve decided I really do need to make it. Also, and this helps to explain why I like reading cookbooks like novels, there’s more to the recipes than what appears in their titles. That muesli recipe gives you a way to have muesli for breakfast every day for a week with fresh fruit and yogurt added as it’s served. Then, the Scrambled Eggs with Spinach and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes is actually a special take on scrambled eggs. Grated, cold butter is added incrementally while the eggs are slowly scrambled over low heat. The book is organized by type of meal with full menus for different seasons and times of day. An example from the Alfresco Eating chapter is: A basket of little vegetables with aioli, Poached langostines with green goddess dressing, Salad of Jersey Royal potatoes with herbs and creme fraiche, Swiss chard with Parmesan, Roasted caramelized peaches, and Shortbread. I’d love to plop on a blanket outside on a nice day with that complete menu within reach. There’s also a chapter for Afternoon Tea, and I wanted to make everything in it including Strawberry Sponge Cake and Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake. So far, I’ve only gotten as far as the Orange and Currant Scones, and again there’s a twist to how this is made. The dough is formed into one disk that is scored before baking. It becomes a pull-apart scone experience of sorts, and the center remains deliciously tender. I had seen this way of making scones in Joanne Chang Myers’ Flour cookbook and couldn’t wait to try this version.

The process is the same that's used for all scones, and I do love making scones. Flour, baking soda, a little sugar, and salt were combined, and I used a mix of all-purpose flour and local whole wheat with cultured butter. I always work the butter in by hand so I can feel how much it is breaking down in size and how well it is being incorporated into the flour. Orange zest and currants were added next and mixed by hand into the flour mixture. A well was made in the flour, and egg and milk were added and mixed into the dough. Last, the dough was turned out onto a floured surface and kneaded just to bring any stray currants or crumbs together before forming a thick disk. The round of dough was placed on a lined baking sheet and scored into triangles almost all the way through the dough. The dough was brushed with an egg wash before baking until golden. 

The scones were served with more of the cultured butter used to make them and some local grapefruit jelly. I’ve made a lot of scones over the years and have too many favorites to count, but these just became my newest favorite. The golden, crunchy tops give way to a lovely, yielding middle. I liked that the sweetness came mostly from the currants, and that made the butter and jelly especially good on top. Now, I’m off to make that muesli and mark more pages in the book. 

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Sweet Potato Scones with Brown Sugar Icing

Since 2008, West Oakland has had the good fortune to have a soul food restaurant feeding the community in more ways than one. Tanya Holland opened Brown Sugar Kitchen to serve breakfast and lunch, to purchase most of what the restaurant uses from local producers, to hire local cooks, and to become a venue that supports local organizations. The food is traditional in concept and contemporary in execution. It’s real soul food made fresh with just a few updates. The recipes are in the new book Brown Sugar Kitchen, and I received a review copy. There’s a forward by Michael Chabon, who happens to be a regular customer, and photos are by Jody Horton of Austin. I was struck by Chabon’s thoughtful definition of soul food: “Soul food is the little joint at the broken heart of America where all the kitchen inheritances ingather, and get tangled like travelers’ yarns, like the paths of exile and homecoming, like strands of DNA.” If I were visiting Oakland, I would happily wait in line to try the Cornmeal Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup, the Creole Shrimp and Grits, or one of those lovely-looking Sticky Buns. And, with the book, I can try them at home without planning a trip. That more contemporary angle on soul food I mentioned shows through in the Roasted Green Beans with Sesame-Seed Dressing which I tried and which disappeared from our plates faster than any other green bean dish to date. Also, the Simply Sauteed Collard Greens, Okra Peperonata, and Green Chile-Harissa Potato Gratin are updated versions of classic dishes. There’s a Caribbean Lobster Roll with Spicy Lime Aioli, a Bourbon and Chili-Glazed Salmon, and Buttermilk Fried Chicken. There are also soups and sandwiches, desserts, and drinks. But, I got distracted in the breakfast chapter when I saw the Sweet Potato Scones with Brown Sugar Icing. 

I expected these scones to be similar to the pumpkin scones I’ve been making for years. For those, I add pumpkin puree to the flour and butter mixture. Here, the sweet potato was diced and sauteed in a little butter and left diced when mixed into the scone dough. The cooked sweet potato does need to be completely cooled in the refrigerator before being added to the dough. The rest of the process was the same as most scone recipes. I tend to always work the butter into the flour by hand rather than using a food processor. And, I used Muscovado sugar for the brown sugar, but those were the only changes I made. Once the butter was worked into the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, currants and the cooled sweet potato were added. Then, cream was added, the dough was kneaded briefly, it was formed into a disk, and it was cut into triangles and baked. The icing was a mix of melted butter, brown sugar, and cream thickened with confectioners’ sugar. 

So, about those pieces of diced sweet potato in the scones? They were delightful. The cooked sweet potato was as tender as the rest of the scone, and the sweet, chewy bits of currants were a lovely added touch. And, the icing on top was a rich, layer of the most delicious butterscotch. I’m sad those scones are gone now, but I can’t wait to try more things from the book. 

Sweet Potato Scones with Brown Sugar Icing 
Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from Brown Sugar Kitchen.

MAKES 8 SCONES 

A scone has a sweeter profile and a slightly cakier texture than a biscuit. I had an idea to infuse my sweet potato obsession into a breakfast treat, so I asked our baker to come up with a recipe for sweet potato scones and she nailed it. And who wouldn't love anything topped with brown sugar icing? 

SWEET POTATO SCONES 
3/4 CUP/170 G unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled, plus 1 TBSP 
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 
3 TBSP firmly packed brown sugar 
 Kosher salt 
2 CUPS/255 G all-purpose flour 
1 TBSP baking powder 
1/4 TSP ground cinnamon 
1/4 TSP ground allspice 
 PINCH of grated nutmeg 
1/2 CUP/70 G dried currants 
3/4 CUP/180 M L heavy cream, chilled 

BROWN SUGAR ICING 
1/4 CUP/20 G powdered sugar 
 1 TBSP unsalted butter 
1/4 CUP/50 G firmly packed brown sugar 
3 TBSP heavy cream 

To make the scones: In a wide sauté pan, melt the 1 tbsp but¬ter over medium heat. Add the sweet potato and cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of the brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until the sweet potato caramelizes, 12 to 15 minutes. Just before the sweet potato is done, stir in a pinch of salt. Refrigerate to cool completely, about 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, baking powder, the remaining 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Scatter the chilled butter cubes over the flour mix¬ture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Do not overprocess. 

Transfer the flour-butter mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the currants and the chilled sweet potato, and toss to coat with the flour-butter mixture. Add the cream, gently stirring with a fork to incorporate. The dough should just barely come together. Do not overmix. 

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead into a ball, taking care not to mash the sweet potato cubes. The dough will feel slightly dry. Form into an 8-in/20-cm disk and cut into eight triangles. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. 

Bake until the scones are barely golden brown, 18 to 22 min¬utes. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the icing: Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and cream over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the but¬ter is melted and the mixture is well combined. Pour the butter mixture over the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Let cool completely. 

When the scones are cool, set the wire rack with the scones over the baking sheet. With a small offset spatula or a table knife, spread about 1 tbsp icing on each scone. Let set for at least 15 minutes before serving. 

(To make ahead, store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.) 

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Rugelach

I always like a theme especially when it comes to choosing cookies to bake for the holidays. One year, it was pretty sandwich cookies, and last year, it was swirl cookies. I think this year the theme became classic cookies I’d never baked before. It started with the Linzer Cookies, and then I really wanted to try making Rugelach for the first time. I’d seen the Barefoot Contessa episode in which Ina makes Rugelach several times, so I wanted to use her recipe. It’s in her book Barefoot Contessa Parties!, and it’s also available online. I knew rolling up the little cookies from the wide end of a wedge to the point, just like rolling croissants, would be fun. I went with a classic filling of apricot preserves, chopped toasted walnuts, and currants for half of the cookies. The other half were filled with raspberry preserves and walnuts. These are great cookies to bake as needed just before serving. I filled, cut, and rolled all of the cookies and stored several of them in the freezer. Then, I baked some for dessert for a dinner with Kurt's parents, some a few days later for a party, and more when a cookie craving hit. With the tender, golden pastry encasing fruity preserves and nuts, they’re like little bites of pie in cookie form. 

First, the dough should be made in advance and chilled. Softened cream cheese and butter were creamed with sugar and vanilla before flour was added. This makes a sticky dough, but it’s much easier to handle after it’s been chilled. It was divided into four pieces that were each wrapped in plastic, and I left them in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, the dough was rolled out on a floured surface into a nine- or ten-inch circle. Apricot preserves were pulsed in the food processor until smooth. Some preserves were spread on the dough circle and topped with chopped, toasted walnuts, currants, and a mix of granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The filling was lightly pressed into the dough before the circle was cut into twelve wedges. Next came the fun part. Each wedge was rolled into a cute cookie with the point of the wedge neatly tucked under the bottom edge. For half of the dough, I used raspberry preserves, that had been strained to remove the seeds, and chopped walnuts. Before baking, the cookies were brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. 

I love finally attempting classic cookies like these. Now I know what a delight they are to make and how delicious they are warm from the oven. I have more holiday cooking that I can’t wait to tell you about, and I’m trying to decide what to make for New Year’s. I hope you’re having a great holiday season with lots of fabulous food! 

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Hot Cross Buns

This year, for a sweet breakfast bread for Easter, I turned to tradition, sort of. I had made hot cross buns once before, but that first time I didn’t choose well among recipes. That was a few years ago when I set out to make proper hot cross buns as they were originally intended to be made. The dough wasn’t particularly sweet or rich; there weren’t very many currants in the buns; and the flavor and texture were lacking in every way. What I learned was that the cross on each bun was traditionally made by piping a simple flour paste on top which baked into a white cross shape. Eventually, that white cross on each bun came to be embellished with icing after the buns baked and cooled. I learned something, but I didn’t especially enjoy those traditional buns. This time, I followed a new-fangled recipe from the Bouchon Bakery book. This dough was very rich, with plenty of sweetness, and it was filled with both currants and dried cranberries. The buns were brushed with egg wash before the final rising and again before going into the oven, and that produced glossy, browned tops. The white cross on these buns was made with a very thick icing flavored with cinnamon and cardamom. They were as delightful as I expected them to be considering the source. 

Like all the recipes in this book, the one for the brioche dough for these buns is very precise. There’s a page devoted to brioche with four variations one of which is brioche for hot cross buns. In the ingredient list, you’ll find 186 grams or one-half cup plus three and a half tablespoons of eggs and 167 grams or 5.8 ounces of butter. I broke eggs into a measuring pitcher and determined that three of the size of eggs I had that day was close enough, and just under eight tablespoons of butter is pretty much 5.8 ounces. Weighing flour, yeast, sugar, and salt and measuring milk was easy enough. The rich brioche was made in a stand mixer, and the recipe suggests a rather long mixing time for the ingredients before the butter was added. I left the machine turning until it really seemed like it had been quite long enough, and then I started adding pieces of butter. I was sure there was more butter than dough, but eventually, it was all incorporated. Dried currants and cranberries were plumped in boiling water for a few minutes before being drained and dried, and then they were spread into a layer on the dough which had been stretched into a rectangle. The dough was folded up and around the dried fruit, and it was placed in a bowl to rise for 45 minutes. The stretching and folding of the dough was repeated, and it was placed back in the bowl for another 45 minutes. After the second rise, the dough was divided into twelve rolls which were placed on a baking sheet, brushed with egg wash, covered with plastic wrap, and left to rise for an hour. Rich, buttery dough like this does need lots of time to rise. Before baking, the buns were brushed with egg wash again. They baked for about 30 minutes and were left to cool. The icing was made with confectioners’ sugar, a bit of cinnamon and cardamom, and just a dribble or two of milk. Thick stripes were piped across the buns. 

I snickered a little at the precision of the recipe, but I can't argue with the results. Unlike my first foray into hot cross buns, this is a version I’ll make again. And, I’ll happily, meticulously measure my eggs and butter for lots of other things from this book too. 

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Rum Raisin Shortbread

I have one more cookie to show you before Christmas gets here. This is number three from the cookie swap I started talking about last week, and this is one I had wanted to try for a while. Last year for Christmas, I made a rum raisin pie, and the thought of those flavors in a cookie sounded like a great idea to me. The recipe is found in the Martha Stewart's Cookies book. I've said before that I'll eventually try every recipe in that book, and this gets me one cookie closer. As the name suggests, rum is involved in this recipe. However, there are no raisins as currants are used instead. For added interest, there's some orange zest and unsweetened coconut, and it all combines to make some very tasty cookies.

Although this is an easy recipe, you need to soak the currants in rum overnight before starting. Then, the dough was a simple shortbread to which the drained, rum-soaked currants, unsweetened coconut, orange zest, and some reserved soaking rum and vanilla were added. It was divided in half, and each portion was placed on parchment paper and rolled into a cylinder. At this point, the dough needed to be refrigerated for at least a couple of hours but could have been chilled for a couple of days or frozen for a couple of months. I left it for a few hours and then pre-heated the oven while slicing the cylinders into cookies. There’s something fun about slice and bake dough.

For such a simple cookie, there was a lot going on with its flavors. The rum and coconut were subtly delicious, while the orange zest grabbed more attention. Their small size made it easy to lose count of how many I’d eaten in one sitting, but who’s counting when it comes to cookies at this time of year?

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Irish Wholemeal Scones

It had actually been three and a half months since I last made scones, and that’s kind of a long time. Every scone recipe looks good to me, and I found five of them in Vegetarian Classics. The ginger cream and the double almond were very tempting, but I chose to make the Irish wholemeal scones first because they sounded kind of healthy. They look like healthy scones too, don’t you think? Of course, they’re not health food of the strictest variety given that they have a good dose of butter in them. The author, Jeanne Lemlin mentioned some scones she had in Skibbereen, County Cork that were like Irish brown bread. She set out to re-create them at home using whole wheat flour which is the closest we have to Irish wholemeal flour. Hopefully, my friends in Dublin can let me know if these look like authentic Irish scones or not.

They’re made with unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, oats, and wheat germ. A scant two tablespoons of sugar sweetens them just enough, and butter, buttermilk, and one egg give them rich flavor. I had a small handful of currants leftover from another recipe, so I added them to the scone dough. The dough was patted into a disk, and it was to be cut into 12 triangular scones. I may have left the disk a little thicker than I should have, and 12 cuts would have made rather slender scones, so I went with eight larger ones instead. The tops were brushed with milk, and I decided to sprinkle on some extra oats and a little turbinado sugar just for the added visual appeal. The oats on top give them that healthy look.

Scones and muffins are Kurt’s favorite things for breakfast because they’re very grab and go. He liked that these were only lightly sweetened, and the combined flours, wheat germ, and oats gave them an almost nutty taste. They were light and tender, and if you take the time to sit down with one of them, they go very nicely with strawberry preserves. It won’t be long before I try the other scones in this book or recipes from elsewhere, but I’ll definitely be making these again too.

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Chicken Salad with Yellow Squash, Lemon, and Pine Nuts

No, I’m still not done with salads. It’s only July, and all those salads I see in books and magazines continue to catch my eye. In the April issue of Food and Wine, there was an article about wine country recipes in which chefs from four different wine regions around the world presented dishes that pair well with their local wines. The regions represented were northern California, Mediterranean France and Spain, coastal Chile, and south Australia. This salad is from Armand Arnal of La Chassagnette outside Arles. Some interesting ingredients and flavors are combined in the salad, and I made one substitution but probably shouldn’t have. As you see in the title, my version of the salad included yellow squash, but zucchini was used in the original. As it happened, I had a yellow squash in the refrigerator but I had used all the zucchini. I thought it would be pretty much the same difference. The problem, however, was the color. You see, this salad also involves the use of preserved lemon, and once the lemon rind was sliced, it looked very much like the sticks of yellow squash. In fact, as Kurt was eating his salad, he started pushing the yellow things to the side of his plate and said that he didn’t require that much lemon. I had to explain that all that yellow stuff was squash which he then ate while realizing the actual quantity of lemon was just right.

The first step in preparing this salad was marinating the zucchini or squash in olive oil with thinly sliced garlic, cumin, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Plumped currants were added to the squash, and it was left in the marinade for two hours. At the same time, chicken was marinated in olive oil with minced shallots and lemon juice. Then, pine nuts were toasted, the chicken was sliced and sauteed, arugula was cleaned, and the preserved lemon peel was slivered. All of those items were then tossed in the marinade with the squash and currants. It came together very simply once the marinated items had been prepared and allowed to sit.

For a simple salad of some chicken on some leafy greens, there was actually a lot going on here in the flavor department. The pinch of cumin added an interesting hint of earthy spice, and the sweet currants balanced the peppery arugula. The lemon juice and preserved lemon peel were bright notes in the mix, and the marinated chicken made it all deliciously more substantial. This was a thumbs-up meal, and it’s going into the permanent file with one note: don’t willy-nilly substitute yellow squash for zucchini. My lesson of the day was to always remember that color can matter more than you might think in a dish.

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Greens Tart with Goat Cheese, Currants, and Pine Nuts

When I read Sunday Suppers at Lucques, there was a handful or so of recipes that I wanted to experiment with as soon as possible, and this was one of them. This tart is the second item I’ve tried from the book so far, and the greens we’re getting from our CSA were the inspiration for it. Now, Kurt is perfectly happy with a vegetarian meal here and there, but the deluge of greens we sometimes have can make him want to be a strict carnivore. At some point, he begs for a greens-free meal, and that means I have to get creative with how they’re incorporated into dishes. This tart worked perfectly and happily was not an eat-your-vegetables experience. Instead, this was an oh this is good, and oh by the way, those are greens aren’t they kind of meal. In other words, this tart combines great flavors that work really well together.

In the book, it’s described as a swiss chard tart, but I had beet and collard greens to use. Those were cleaned and chopped and sauteed in olive oil with shallot and thyme. I’ve used Whole Foods’ all butter puff pastry with good results a few times now, and that’s what I used here. The puff pastry was thawed and then just unfolded onto a baking sheet. No rolling was required. That was topped with a mixture of ricotta, egg yolk, olive oil, creme fraiche, and salt and pepper. Goat cheese was crumbled on top of that. Then, the cooked and cooled greens were squeezed to remove liquid and then spread on top of the cheese mixture and were topped with more crumbled goat cheese. It was baked for 25 minutes while the relish was assembled. The pastry with cheese and greens was a great start, but what really made this dish was the currant pine nut relish. Pine nuts were toasted and set aside. Olive oil was heated in a saute pan and a rosemary sprig and a dried chile de arbol were added. Minced onion went into the pan, stewed for 10 minutes, and then was transferred to a small bowl. The saute pan was then used to reduce a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar down to one tablespoon. Meanwhile, currants were plumped in hot water and then drained. The bowl of sauteed onions was mixed with the toasted pine nuts, plumped currants, and reduced balsamic, and chopped parsley was added.

The richness of the ricotta and creme fraiche was fanastic with the greens. And, this could, of course, be made with milder spinach, but let me tell you about the relish first. The currant pine nut relish with the sauteed onions and reduced balsamic vinegar was such a perfect complement to the greens, I would recommend using the boldest flavored greens you can find. The layers of sweetness and spice and the hint of acidity mingled with the bitterness of the greens in amazing ways. Instead of making this to use up some greens, in the future, I’ll be making this because it’s really delicious.

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Cranberry Currant Oat Muffins

Decadent items like Mushrooms and Leeks with Pecorino Fonduta and Smore Brownies find their way onto my plate often enough, but I do try to stick to healthy options most of the time. Tofu oven fries are good; they really are. And, I really am a big fan of broccoli. Last Saturday, I wanted to bake something for breakfast, but I wanted a healthy option. When I’m feeling like upping the whole grains, limiting the saturated fats, and getting plenty of antioxidants, I turn to The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook which is where I found these Cranberry Currant Oat Muffins.

All of the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks are well done, and I use several of them. Soup and After Dinner are two other favorites. They all include photos for every recipe and good, clear information. In the MC WS Cookbook, each ingredient amount is listed by volume, by weight, and by metric equivalent. Also, nutritional information is listed for each recipe. If you’re curious, the nutritional stats for one of these muffins (if the batter is divided into 18 muffins) are:
180 calories
5 g protein
35 g carbohydrates
3 g fat
< 1 g saturated fat
13 mg cholesterol
145 mg sodium
3 g dietary fiber

They’re made with whole wheat flour, oats, buttermilk, two little tablespoons of canola oil, one whole egg and one egg white, brown sugar, and nutmeg. One cup each of dried cranberries and currants is used, and all that dried fruit keeps the muffins very moist. Just before they go in the oven, each muffin is topped with cinnamon sugar. I used turbinado sugar in the topping which added a little crunch. Freshly grated nutmeg in the batter makes the muffins deliciously fragrant. In fact, the nutmeg is the secret to these muffins’ success in my opinion. The warm spice flavor mingles with the nuttiness of the whole wheat and oats and delivers all the goodness you expect based on the aroma.

When Kurt tried them, he requested them warm from the oven every day. They were great for breakfast and equally enjoyable for dessert last night.

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