Guiltless Vegan Chocolate Mousse

June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

Although taking a break from my “Heroes” marathon was a touch painful, I was happy to do it for further work on this recipe. I have been intrigued for some time by the concept of paleo chocolate mousse with no added sugar, but initial attempts did not satisfy me. The base is comprised of only three ingredients– cocoa, coconut milk, and dates– and the flavor of the dates was too strong for me. I wanted more chocolate, more depth of flavor throughout, and a touch of sweetness that didn’t come from the dates.

I am very happy with the result, which is rich, creamy, a touch coconutty, and very chocolatey. Feel free to experiment a bit with the level of sweetness– cut out the sugar entirely if you’re a purest, or try it with a tablespoon more or less to suit your palate.

Oh and when I say “guiltless”, I mean “doesn’t have any eggs or dairy, so it makes me feel super righteous.”

Guiltless Chocolate Mousse

1 c pitted dates
1 can coconut milk (do not use low fat)
2-4 T powdered sugar or honey
1 t tapioca or potato starch
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 t instant coffee powder
1 vanilla bean or 2 t vanilla extract

Refrigerate the coconut milk overnight. Be careful not to shake the can when you open it and spoon out the top layer of thickened cream. Put into a large bowl and back into the fridge to keep cool. In a food processor, puree the dates until you have a paste, adding some of the coconut water from the can to loosen it up a bit. Pass the pureed dates through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium-sized bowl. Mix in the cocoa, melted chocolate, coffee powder, and seeds from the vanilla bean or the extract. Remove the coconut milk from the fridge and whip with a hand mixer on high until it fluffs a bit. Sift in the powdered sugar and tapioca starch and whip on high. Spoon in the chocolate mixture and continue to beat until fluffy and incorporated. Spoon into serving dishes and chill until ready to eat.

This goes very well by itself, but would also be quite tasty with some shortbread, slathered on a piece of cake (if you’re feeling extra decadent), with shredded coconut and espresso salt, or with some toasted almonds on top.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests

June 22, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

Here I am again with potatoes. My old friend. Loyal. Beautiful. Delicious. It’s hard to say no to something this sexy.

Am I right? Can I get an AMEN?

And what better friend to pair with potatoes than an egg? There is no partnership in the universe that can top this dynamic duo (although Bert and Ernie do a damn fine job of trying).

A crispy bed of hash browns, cheesy filling, and soft baked eggs make this a wonderfully indulgent breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, etc. The filling is really the key here– it nicely ties together the egg and hash browns with a salty kick from the Gruyere and a sweet slap in the face from the caramelized shallots.

Be sure to wring out your potatoes well to get out as much moisture as possible, or else you’ll have soggy nests. Yum. Soggy. A great word to use when describing food.

Baked Eggs in Crispy Hash Brown Nests
1.5 lbs Russet potatoes
4 T melted butter
4 oz cream cheese
1 c shredded Gruyere
1/3 c milk
6 shallots, diced fine
1 T butter
12 -15 eggs
1/4 c cream
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Chives

You can either make this recipe into 18 egg nests or 12 nests and 1 small ramekin, about 6″ diameter (I chose the latter). Grease your pan of choice.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt the 1 T butter. When hot, add the diced shallots and reduce heat to low after 2 minutes. Continue cooking slowly over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until very soft and brown. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425. Scrub and peel the potatoes, then shred them in a food processor or with a box grater. You should have about 4-5 cups. Place into a dishtowel or cheese cloth and wring out over your sink. This is best done in smaller batches, to maximize the moisture expulsion. Mix the shredded potatoes with melted butter and press into your greased pans so that you have an even wall of potatoes up the sides and on the bottom of your nests. Bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes or until brown.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375. When the shallots are good and caramelized, place them in a bowl with the cream cheese, red pepper flakes, pepper, milk, and Gruyere. Mix thoroughly. Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baked nests and smoosh down to flatten (for the larger ramekin I used about 1/2 c). Crack an egg into each nest (2-3 for the ramekin), spoon about a teaspoon of cream onto each one, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs are set (ie, they don’t jiggle when you shake the pan). Cool for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge of each one, and then lift carefully onto plates. Sprinkle with more pepper and the chives, then serve immediately.

Summer Peach and Apricot Pie

June 16, 2013 - Elspeth 3 Comments

Pies are a beautiful thing. When I passed the fresh apricot bin in the grocery store the other night, I couldn’t resist picking up some to turn onto a bed of crust and deliciousness. The peaches were calling to me, too, so here we have a combo of some of my favorite summer fruit treats.

I was lucky enough to have some pie last week that had marzipan incorporated into the filling, which completely blew my mind. It was fairly subtle, but oh so dreamy. Ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg play supporting roles here, but the real shocker is the crust.

It’s made with vodka. I felt like a real lush walking into the store this morning at 9am and picking up a flask-sized bottle of the cheapest stuff on the shelf, but Cook’s Illustrated has never steered me wrong and this case was no exception. The beauty of it is that it prevents too much gluten from forming, which allows you to add additional liquid without making the crust tough. That little extra liquid makes the dough easier to roll out and your life more enjoyable. The alcohol completely evaporates during cooking and there is no taste of it left in the final product.

Two things to be extra cautious about when dealing with pie crust: temperature and geometry. The fats and liquids MUST be cold (this is not a drill) and the dough discs you form should be as round as possible.

Summer Peach and Apricot Pie

Crust from Cook’s Illustrated

Innards inspired by Cook’s Illustrated, Martha Stewart, and Suzie

Crust

2.5 c flour
1 t salt
2 T sugar
12 T unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1/2 shortening, cut into 4 pieces and chilled {do not substitute the shortening for butter. It is very key in getting the right texture)
1/4 water, chilled
1/4 vodka, chilled (do not substitute)

In a food processor, process 1.5 c of the flour, salt, and sugar until incorporated, about 2 1-sec pulses. Sprinkle the butter and shortening over the mixture and process for 15 seconds, or until the mixture resembles cottage cheese. Fluff the dough and distribute it evenly around the blade, then add the rest of the flour. Go another 4 to 6 1-second pulses, or until the dough mass breaks up a bit. Empty into a mixing bowl, sprinkle with the water and vodka, and press together gently with a rubber spatula. When it is sticky and comes together, divide it in two, press each ball into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days. If the later, let stand for about 3o min at room temperature when ready to use.

On a heavily floured surface (and with plenty of flour on top of the dough), roll out one of the dough discs. Be gentle and only go one “forward and back” motion with your rolling pin at a time, turning the dough 45 degrees between each roll. When you have a 9-in round, flip the dough over (using the rolling pin to support it) and continue rolling without moving the dough (just angle the rolling pin in order to make it all even). When you have a 12-in round, gently fold the dough into quarters and transfer it to the pie dish. Unfold it and pick up the outer edge in order to work the dough down into the crease of the pie pan. Place the dish into the fridge while you work on the filling.

Filling

3 large, ripe peaches
12-15 apricots
1 c sugar
1 T lemon juice
3-5 T tapioca or potato starch (if your fruit is very juicy, use more starch)
pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and ground ginger
1/2 c marzipan

Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath for the peaches. Score the bottom of each peach with a paring knife, making a small “X”. Place the peaches in the boiling water for 1 minute (more or less depending on the ripeness of the peach) and remove with a slotted spoon into the ice bath. After a couple of minutes, use a paring knife to peel away the skin from each peach. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, lemon juice, starch, and spices. Cut the peaches and apricots into half-inch (you should have about 8 cups when all is said and done) and add to the mixing bowl. Mix everything together so that the peaches and apricots are well coated with syrupy goodness.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and place a baking sheet on the middle rack.

Roll the marzipan into a ball and roll it out to a 9″ round on the floured work surface from the dough. Take the pie dish with the dough out and place the marzipan on top of the bottom crust layer, so that it will be under the filling. Pour the filling in and take out the other disc of dough from the refrigerator. Using the same method as before, roll out to a 12″ round and place over the pie and filling. Cut the edges so that you have about 1″ hanging off. Tuck this edge under itself, as if the edge of the crust was diving back into the pie dish. Using your thumb and forefingers, flute the edge all the way around. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with 1 T granulated sugar. Place the pie on the baking sheet in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is starting to brown. Reduce again to 375, rotate the pan and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until the pie is bubbly and golden brown. Let rest on a cooling rack for 2 ish hours.

Muy bueno.