Torta di pere e crema pasticcera (Pear Cake with Custard)

This is a cake Carole mentioned several times, having read it in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti detective novels. This recipe figured in the recently released cookbook based on those novels. I decided to make it for her retirement party. Well I tried to make the darned thing four times, and it wasn't until, the night before the event, despairing of ever making a version that was good enough for Carole, that I gave up and just put it together any old how. And to my surprise, it turned out! Although I had some better and worse versions of it in my experimentations, I always found the cake part was too dry, until, in that last moment, while working on my final version (re-created below), I decided to use all the cooking liquid from the pears and completely saturate the cake with it. This last element was all that was really needed to make it work. I admit that I've snuck in my own pastry cream recipe, and I simplified the sponge cake recipe, but it really was the darned potato flour that I found so hard to work with!

NOTE : There are two kinds of potato flour - one isn't really a flour but is sometimes passed as a flour; it is potato starch, which is very fine and almost totally white. Real potato flour is a pale yellow and a bit grainy.

For the sponge cake
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp baking powder
1¼ cup potato flour

1. Before juicing the lemon, cut away a ribbon of the lemon zest for the pastry cream, leaving no white pith on the ribbon (which is bitter).
2. Whip egg and sugar and vanilla together in a mixer for about 5 minutes, no less! It will increase in volume and become pale and sort of frothy. Add the lemon juice and beat for another 5 minutes.
3. Turn mixer down to slowest setting and sprinkle in very slowly the flour and baking powder until combined, then whip on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Pour into a buttered and floured spring-form pan and bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes (the usual toothpick test works to find out if it's done).

For the pears
2⅓ cups Bosc (also known as Kaiser) pears, peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise into eighths
½ cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

1. Meanwhile, place the pears, sugar and ½ cup water in a non-stick pan and cook over moderate heat for about 30 minutes or more. The pears should be sort of transparent and the sauce a syrup.

For the pastry cream
1 cup milk
1 long ribbon of lemon zest (remove all white pith)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsps flour
2 Tbsps Cointreau

1. Put the milk in a saucepan with the ribbon of lemon zest and heat to a simmer, then remove from heat. Cover, and let infuse 10 minutes. When cool, add vanilla extract.
2. Meanwhile, in a mixer bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until nice and pale. Beat in the flour. Then gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture. Pour the lot back into the saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook one minute. Remove from the heat, and stir in the Cointreau. Strain into a bowl (this helps avoid any lumps), cover with a plastic wrap, and set aside to cool (make sure the plastic wrap touches the surface of the pastry cream, or a 'skin' will form on top). 

Assembling

When the sponge cake, pears and custard are completely cooled, assemble the cake. Using a very long knife, cut the sponge cake into 2 discs, and place one on a round cake plate (it will be messy when you pour the pear syrup over the cake, so make sure the plate has a lip). Measure out the cooked syrup left over from simmering the pears, and use exactly half of this juice to pour evenly over the bottom round of sponge cake so that it infuses. Then, spread the pastry cream, and place the second disc on top.
With a skewer, poke lots of holes all over the top of the cake so that when you slowly and carefully pour the remaining pear syrup over it, it will seep into the cake and not over the sides! This can take time, and if you want to poke more holes in go ahead - the pears will completely cover the top if you've made a mess of it. Once all the liquid has been poured and absorbed, garnish it with the pears in whatever design you like - a simple rose pattern does for me; you can pile on the pear slices until they're all used up. Put the cake in the refrigerator and let sit from a couple of hours to 24 hours. Serve slightly chilled (if it's been in the refrigerator for a long time, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour).
ANOTHER NOTE: This is a cake that doesn't seem to keep well, so try to eat it up as soon as you can.

Lamb Stew with Lemon and Thyme

This is a quicker than usual stew recipe, taking under an hour of actual cooking time, therefore very little actual stewing time. The original recipe was published in the New York Times, and this is a slightly altered version of it. To be truthful, our friend Susan was over and I'd invited her for dinner and made her wait longer than I should have since I usually buy my stewing meat as whole roasts which I cut up and de-fat (to my liking), and hadn't prepared the meat beforehand, compounded by the fact that it was my first time making this recipe. I only really changed the amount of wine from 1 cup to 3/4 cups because, er, I only had that much left in the bottle. But I think it was a happy accident because the end product was such that Susan asked me to post in in my blog right away, and to forego the usual testing I put my recipes through. This, therefore, is for Diyan, to make for Susan; or so I've been informed. Enjoy!

1½ lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 ½-inch chunks, fat removed
2 Tbsps flour (I use rice flour)
2 Tbsps grapeseed oil
2 shallots, minced
3 leeks ends trimmed, green parts discarded, thinly sliced (total (18oz/510gr)
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp thyme, minced
1 cup chicken stock
¾ cup dry white wine
2 tsps lemon juice
2 strips lemon peel
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley

1. Heat the oil over medium heat until it's shimmering.
2. Meanwhile, toss the lamb cubes with the flour; you can do this in a bowl or shallow plate, but I find it's easier and I get more even coverage if I put it in a bag and shake it around... and it's more fun. Immediately dump the floured lamb cubes in the hot oil (otherwise the flour draws out moisture from the lamb and they start to stick together. If this happens though, it's no big deal, you just have to work harder at separating them).
3. Cook the lamb until it's browned on each side, about eight minutes total. Remove the cubes and set aside.
4. Add shallots, leeks, garlic, and thyme to dutch oven, adding a little oil if the pot is too dry. Cook, stirring often, until the leeks are lightly browned, about four minutes. The temperature should allow for the moisture from the alliums to start unsticking the browned bits at the bottom of the pot so that, in the next step, very little of the fond is left stuck to the bottom.
5. Pour in the stock, white wine, lemon juice, and lemon peels. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the Dutch oven with a wooden spoon. Season with pinch of salt and pepper, put the lamb back in.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer, and partially cover (the lid to my pot doesn't fit perfectly, and this is enough for me). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is very tender, 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with the chopped parsley.

Chicken and Barley Stew

This has all the markings of comfort food for me - the creaminess of the broth and the chewiness of the barley, the brightness of the dill and the warm bursts of the chicken. But be forewarned, this is best served immediately. Since it contains barley, the stuff will just keep absorbing liquid and expanding, so if you refrigerate the stew for later, it will have become a mass that you'll need to break apart, and the flavours will be muted. Since the recipe makes a lot, I usually halve it, which is easily done (just eyeball the barley measurement, it'll be fine).

¼ cup flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup grape seed oil
2 carrots, sliced in half-moons
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 leek (6oz/170gr) sliced in half moons
1 garlic clove
1¾ cups pearled barley
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
½ tsp salt (yes, again)
¼ tsp pepper (ditto)
1 bunch fresh dill
1 Tbsp lemon juice
fresh tarragon
grated parmigiano

1. Cut chicken into 1.5" cubes. Combine flour, salt, pepper in shallow plate and dredge chicken, shaking off excess.
2. In cast-iron casserole or pot, heat 2 Tbsp oil and cook chicken in batches until golden, 2 minutes per side, adding 2 Tbsp oil each time you put in fresh chicken. Set chicken aside.
3. Add 1 Tbsp oil and cook carrots for 3 minutes, then add celery, leek and garlic and cook until softened, 2 minutes. Add barley, salt and pepper. Cook until barley starts to toast, a few minutes; you'll notice that the barley will take up the oil and moisture, this is a good thing. Browning and toasting all add flavour. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barley is almost tender.
4. Return chicken to pot, cover and simmer until cooked through, 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with tarragon and cheese to serve.

Kitchen Ready Soup - Lentil Soup

This is a great soup for me because it contains ingredients that are usually always in my kitchen. It's quick, tasty, and easy. The first time I made it was this past month, with my niece Isabelle, for our last meal together before she left us to, of all things, spend the summer with her parents! I know! Kids these days have their priorities all mixed up!
Addendum: I didn't have red lentils on hand, but I did have green lentils and tried the recipe using these as a substitution, and it was quite tasty. This makes the soup far more flexible!

1 large onion (10oz/285gr), chopped

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves (20grams), finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 1⁄2 cup split red lentils or green lentils

3 1⁄2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

2 cups water (add 1 cup more if you want it soupier)

1 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsps chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

lemon wedges as accompaniment

1. In the soup pot, heat the oil and start by cooking the onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened. This should take about 8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, bay leaf, and thyme and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the lentils, broth, water, salt, and pepper; simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very soft and falling apart, about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Optional - coarsely blend with an immersion blender.
4. Stir in the parsley and adjust the season until it tastes right to you.
5. Serve with a spritz of lemon to brighten the soup.

Poulet au Paprika

It's always such a pleasure when I discover that a negative prejudice I have about food is wrong. I've never had anything against paprika, but it always seemed like an afterthought kind of seasoning that I often wondered what it's use was. That is, until I tried Laura's Poulet au Paprika. It creates such a smooth blend of flavours, all couched in this noticeable taste of paprika. I strongly recommend exploring different types of paprika each time you make this recipe. And I'm fairly confident that you will want to make it again and again.

The original recipe required only chicken thighs, but the cooking instructions are the same as cooking a whole chicken in pieces that I just did that, and it turned out wonderfully.

1 whole chicken cut in 6 to 8 pieces

1 pinch salt and pepper

1 Tbsp bacon drippings or oil

1 red pepper, julienned

1 onion, sliced

half of a small fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 Tbsp hot or sweet Hungarian paprika (or try with other types of paprika)

1 clove garlic, minced

1⁄2 cup white wine

1 tomato (6 to 7oz) roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsps crème fraîche

garnish with a wedge of lemon

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a sauté pan and, working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
2. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan.
3. Lower the heat and add the julienned pepper, onion, fennel, and paprika. Cook until soft, but not coloured, about 12 minutes, adding the garlic for the final minute.
4. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Put the chicken back in. Cover the pan, and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes or until breasts register 165°F on a meat thermometre.
6. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
7. Turn up the heat under the sauce and boil down to sauce consistency. Turn off the heat, stir through the cream, check the seasonings (including the paprika, adding more if you like), then pour over the chicken, and serve with wedge of lemon. Squeeze lemon before eating if desired.

Herbed Chicken Saute

Yes, another wonderful recipe from Laura Calder. The first time I made this I used parsley with some dill, and Ben didn't seem to like it as much, but I did. I figured it was probably that the herbs were subtle flavours, and my Ben tends to like stronger flavours (although he has an amazing palate). The second time I made it was with tarragon and parsley, and Ben, Susan and Diyan loved it. It was also a confirmation that following through with each step is very important. I think the first time I made it I didn't brown the chicken at a high enough temperature (the time was the same, but the result was different). Browning is where loads of flavour comes from, so why skip this step?

The one thing was the cooking time - the last 15 minutes may be a bit too long. I checked about half-way through with a thermometer and immediately pulled it off the heat because it was way over.

1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter or vegetable oil
1 chicken (about 3 pounds) cut into eight
salt and pepper to season
½ cup dry white wine
4 Tbsps chopped, fresh herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives, dill, tarragon, chervil or coriander)
Half a lemon, for seasoning

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and brown well on all sides, 5 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Remove the chicken. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the good bits from the bottom. Put the chicken back in the pan, cover, and cook gently for 15 minutes.
2. Sprinkle in the herbs, cover, and continue cooking until the chicken is tender, 15 minutes more, or until white meat reaches 165F and dark meat 180F. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and allow to rest while boiling the pan juices down, if necessary. Check the seasoning, adding a squirt of lemon if you like. Serve.