Cookbook Love: Ottolenghi, Plenty, and Jerusalem

Happy Tuesday!!!

This is the first post of a new sporadic feature where I will share some of my favorite cookbooks and recipes from these books. 

Yotam Ottolenghi is an english chef, he focuses on fresh middle eastern flavors in his three cookbooks. His book, Plenty, has one of my favorite tofu recipes of all time and has many other recipes that are delicious, fresh, and healthy. Finding one recipe to share in this post was difficult considering all of his recipes are delicious! I would highly recommend any of these books. 

Black Pepper Tofu (serves 3-4)

2 cups canola oil, or any oil that has a high smoke point so you can fry in it

2 # firm tofu, cut into ~1 inch cubes

cornstarch

11 tbs. unsalted butter

3 tbs. finely chopped ginger

12 small shallots, thinly sliced

12 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 hot red peppers, seeded and minced

5 tbs. coarsely ground black pepper

3 tbs. sweet soy sauce (you can find this at any asian market)

3 tbs. light soy sauce (this is the normal soy sauce)

4 tsp. dark soy sauce (you can find this at any asian market)

2 tbs. sugar

16 small scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Cooked white rice, for serving

Heat the oil in a frying pan until the temperature is high enough that it will bubble if you drop a tiny bit of cornstarch into it. At this point dip the tofu cubes into the cornstarch and fry in the oil, turning as necessary, to get all of the sides a consistent golden brown color. Once all of the tofu is fried, empty the pan and wipe it out with a paper towel. Add ginger, shallots, garlic, hot peppers and saute them until they are soft. Add the pepper the soy sauces and the sugar and stir together. Now add the tofu and warm through. Just before serving toss in the scallions and serve over white rice. 

This recipe is DELICIOUS! But spicy. If you aren't a huge fan of spice dial back the hot peppers, I wouldn't change the amount of pepper though since you want that strong black pepper taste! Enjoy! 

xxC

Sunday Muffins: Æbleskivers (Gluten-free)

Good Morning! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend spent with loved ones -whether it was a significant other, good friends, or a loved pet! I know I did, my weekend was filled with brunch with friends, dates with Matt, and spending an early morning with one of my dearest friends at the tea shop she works at. In my opinion this has been one of the best weekend in a long time. 

This recipe isn't exactly a muffin but they are delicious and you top them with the same type of things that you would top muffins with - such a jam, butter, chestnut cream, and lemon curd. While you do have to have a special pan to make them, they are super easy to make! 

Æbleskiver (serves 4)
1 cup gluten-free flour (when my mom makes them she uses this gluten free flour)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
3 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Toppings

In a small bowl mix the dry ingredients together. In a larger bowl whisk the egg yolks, milk, and 2 tbs melted butter together until combined. Add the dry ingredients to this mixture and mix until just combined. Beat the egg whites until dry peaks form, now fold the whites into the other mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX NOW OR THEY WON'T BE FLUFFY! 

Heat the pan over medium heat, use the extra butter to grease each of the little holes and fill with the batter (about 3/4 of the way up). Cook until the sides are golden about 3 minutes. Now the tricky part, using some bamboo skewers turn the aebleskiver over so the other side will cook. Cook about 2 minutes more, until golden, and remove from the pan. Repeat until you have used all of your batter. Serve warm with your favorite toppings! 

Happy cooking (and eating)
xx C

*this recipe was adapted from here

Holiday Cookie Inspiration

Good afternoon,


I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was filled with yummy food, good friends, and lots of cuddles. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it's not because of the presents that always come along with it. I love the fact that I can count on being able to spend the day with all of my favorite people. Since getting older, I haven't been able to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins as much as when I was younger (one of the cons of moving across the country). But every year we all make the trek to my grandmother's house in Fryeburg, Maine. I always know that there is going to be a tree, lots of lights, a fire in the woodstove, and cookies...lots of cookies. For most of the year I am not a huge fan of cookies but during the holidays I am a sucker for all sorts of cookies (especially sugar cookies with the little melted cinnamon candies)!

This year I am also participating in a cookie swap with some of my friends from school so I have been trying to figure out what type of cookie that I want to make for that! Here are a few that I am considering:

// Stained-glass cookies // My mom's ginger snaps // Peppermint-chocolate biscotti //
// Vanilla-Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies //

For almost two years while I was growing up I was gluten-free so I know how disappointing it is, especially around the holidays, to miss out on some of the baked goods. Here are two recipes that I think sound super yummy (actually the almond cloud cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies) and are gluten free. The almond cloud cookies (left) are dairy-free as well and the gingerbread men could easily be made dairy free too. 

// Almond-Cloud cookies // GF Gingerbread-Men //

I hope that all of your holidays are filled with sweet treats!

xx -C