Thursday, May 28, 2009

Pastry In Europe: Recipe Testing pt 2


Here was a fun recipe to try - Apple Tagliatelle (which became spaghetti) p. 199

I was still looking for recipes that would be fast and kept being drawn back to the simplicity of this one. This recipe definitely supports my assertion that you need some experience to use this book. I had to do a bit of homework just to understand it - but now you won't.

Lime Granité
Syrup 30°B, Lemon juice
This was terminology that I wasn't familiar with so I asked my friends at eGullet HERE.
I'll let you read the ongoing discussion, but here is how I translated it for a very small portion:

70 g Water
30 g Sugar
Combine these and bring to a low boil to completely dissolve sugar.
Using the 100 g of syrup (which actually reduced a bit), add 25 g of juice - I used 15 g of lemon and 10 g of key lime. Combine, pour in a container and freeze.

Spice Jelly
350 g Water
35 g Sugar
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Vanilla bean
20 g Fresh ginger
2.4 g Agar-Agar
1 Sheet gelatin (1 t. powdered)

Cook the water, sugar, cinnamon, split bean, and ginger. Simmer until reduced by half. Pour through a fine mesh sieve and add agar-agar and softened gelatin. Pour into container and let chill until firm.

Cardamom Syrup
125 g Milk
125 g Cream
3 Egg yolks
40 g Sugar
10 g Cardamom pods

Put the pods in a small skillet and toast for about 10 minutes on medium low until fragrant and starting to color. Add pods to milk and cream, bring to a simmer, remove from heat, cover and let stand one hour. Strain out the pods. Return milk mixture to heat and bring not quite to a simmer. Whisk yolks with sugar. Pour a bit of the hot milk into the yolks whisking well, and then return the yolk mixture to the hot milk whisking constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Let rest covered.

Apple "pasta"
You'll need one of those contraptions that makes strings out of potatoes. If you don't have one a julienne peeler would work too. Make strings out of your apple.

500 g Water
250 g Sugar
2 g Lemon juice
1 g Salt

Combine all ingredients and boil for a few minutes - you just want everything combined, dissolved and hot. Pour the syrup over the apple pasta and weight down with a bowl. Chill for about an hour.

To serve, drizzle your sauce, top with the apple, scrape the granité, and cut the jelly.

This is a great combination of flavors and textures - I HIGHLY recommend giving this one a try, and so does follower, Bethany Joy

2 comments:

Manggy said...

Oooh, damn. Do you have a Benriner or did you use a julienne peeler? And why do you live so far away? Grr!

Gfron1 said...

I thought you might like this one. I used the turning benriner, not the flat ones: http://www.kitchencontraptions.com/pictures/41NZEFNF1TL._SS500_.jpg