Dueling Dates

It's always nice to have options, especially when it comes to dates. I can't help you with your love life if that's what you were hoping for (and I'm not going to reveal any juicy scoop on mine, sorry). But I can share two very good dueling stuffed date (as in the medjool kind) recipes.

Tonight was Western Mediterranean Class. We made Moroccan cous cous, harissa spiced carrots and homemade pita, among other phenomenal recipes. It was my favorite class so far. If I could only cook one cuisine, this would be it. For dessert, there was mint tea and a sweet version of stuffed dates with yogurt, mint and orange zest. When I entertain a signature appetizer of mine is a savory version of a similar recipe -- I call them "Date Bon Bons." Here are the recipes for both!

Date Recipe #1: Savory Date Bon Bons

This appetizer is an easy single bite that artfully combines the intense sweetness of the date and saltiness of the prosciutto. The goat cheese adds a creaminess and the basil heightens all the flavors. Using basil struck me as weird before I tried it, but believe me it's a key ingredient. And if you want to make them vegetarian, use the basil without the prosciutto as the wrap. These are extremely simple and can be prepped ahead, then broiled at the last minute.

Ingredients

1/3 cup soft herbed goat cheese
16 Medjool dates, pitted
16 large basil leaves
4 wide, thin slices prosciutto di Parma, each cut into 4 long strips
16 toothpicks, soaked in water 10 minutes

Procedure

1 Heat broiler to low.
2 Spoon 1 teaspoon cheese into each date; wrap with a basil leaf, then a prosciutto strip. Secure with a toothpick.
3 Broil until cheese bubbles, about 3 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 187 calories per 2 dates, 3 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 36 g carbs, 3.3 g fiber, 6 g protein

Source: Self Magazine, December 2007

Date Recipe #2: Sweet Lebneh Stuffed Dates

Ingredients

24 medjool dates, split on the top and pit removed
1 cup yogurt cheese (Lebneh), make the night before (or skip this step and buy at TJs)
1 orange, zested
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
½ cup almonds, toasted and chopped

Procedure

1 To make the yogurt cheese (make the night before), line a fine mesh strainer with a thin linen towel or several layers of cheesecloth. Set over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the prepared strainer and then gather the edges of the towel together so that the yogurt is covered. Allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight to drain, or for a few days for an even thicker cheese. Or as a short cut, Trader Joes also sells Lebneh.
2 Place the pitted dates on a flat surface. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt cheese, orange zest, vanilla, and mint. Fill each date with some of the mixture. It is easiest to pipe the yogurt mixture into the dates with a pastry bag. Sprinkle the dates with the almonds and serve.

Servings: 12
Author: Jennifer Miller, Natural Chef Instructor/Culinary Administrator

Galette Recipe #2: Apple-Marzipan Galette with Caramel

Our blueberry mini galettes in class also made me think of this incredible apple marzipan galette I've made for years, topped with caramelized sugar and vanilla bean ice cream. This recipe is doable for even non-bakers like me. Sharing it as another option, and to show how versatile galettes are.

And my apologies, I am behind on class photos. You can see some baking class photos in my previous post, and I've just added pictures from chicken class. I have the full baking class and first ethnic cuisine album to upload... more soon!

Apple Marzipan Gallete with Caramel and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The original recipe calls for sugar, but you can reduce or substitute it. I've always made it as a normal pie size, however it would work just fine to create single-size servings just like the blueberry galettes.

Ingredients

1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough, or make your own if you've got time
Butter (for greasing baking sheet)
1/2 cup marzipan, softened
4 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond extract, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Dash of salt

Procedure

1 Preheat oven to 425°.
2 Line a jelly roll pan with greased parchment paper. If you want to be extra cautious, sprinkle sugar on as well.
3 Roll dough to a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on prepared pan. Roll marzipan to a 9-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place marzipan on top of dough. If it's too difficult to roll, I've also just "sliced" it into coins and laid these on top of the dough, which works fine.
4 Combine apple, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, juice, and salt in a large bowl; toss well. Spoon apple mixture over marzipan. Fold 2-inch dough border over the apple mixture, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover apple mixture). I "crimp" the sides with my fingers for presentation.
5 Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned (apple filling may leak slightly during cooking). Depending on your oven, you may want to slightly reduce the temp to 375 the last 10 minutes.

Topping options

Solidified caramel drizzle - Place 1/4 cup sugar in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring as needed to dissolve the sugar evenly (about 4 minutes). Cook 1 minute or until golden. Remove from heat; carefully stir in 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Drizzle over galette.

Caramel sauce - Start as above, but after cooking until golden, remove from the heat, whisk in the almond extract, and also add 1 ounce of butter and 6 tablespoons of heavy cream. Drizzle over the galette.

And of course ice cream!

Galette Recipe #1: Blueberry Mini Galettes with Lemon Curd

Last week’s classes were baking – both sweet and savory. By far my favorite treat of both was a blueberry galette (a pie, only more “rustic"), which I'm sharing the recipe for below. Our version macerated (marinating in acid and spices until the fruit breaks down) blueberries, tucked them into free form crusts to form individual mini pies, and baked until bubbly. As a counter to the sweet berries, we dolloped lemon curd on top. My mom, who loves all things tart and curdy (and once embarrassed me thoroughly during a nice mother's day brunch at the Ritz by asking for more "lemon turd please"), would have loved the full combination. The end result was an extremely flavorful interplay of sweet gooey filling, crispy crust and tangy citrus. And it was reasonably healthy for a dessert, since there was no refined sugar. So yes, you can have your pie and eat it too. Just don't have my mom order it for you at a restaurant.

Blueberry Mini Galettes with Lemon Curd

Galettes can be filled with seasonal fruit and served for dessert, or they can also be made savory and stuffed with vegetables. This recipe uses spelt flour instead refined white flour for the pastry crust. The combination of blueberry and lemon is perfect for early Spring, when both are in season. It would still be very good by itself if you don't want to go to the trouble of making the curd, or topped with ice cream instead.

Ingredients

CRUST
4 cups spelt flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs unrefined cane sugar, sucanat (1:1 substitution for regular sugar)
2 ½ sticks butter, cold, cut into pieces
⅔ to 1 cup ice water, as needed

FILLING
4 ½ cups fresh blueberries
3 Tbs arrowroot
1 ½ Tbs lemon zest
1 ½ Tbs fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

LEMON CURD
5 large egg yolks
1 large egg
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs lemon zest
⅓ cup honey
4 Tbs butter, cut into pieces

Procedure

1 Preheat the oven to 400.
2 DOUGH: Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand, leaving some pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press it into a disk and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3 FILLING: While the dough is in the refrigerator, prepare the filling. Mix together the blueberries, arrowroot, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, salt, honey, and vanilla. Taste and adjust sweetness and lemon flavor as desired.
4 ASSEMBLY: remove the dough from the refrigerator and break into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about ⅛ inch thick. Transfer onto large parchment lined sheet pans. Add some fruit mixture to the center of the circle and spread, leaving a border 2 to 4 inches wide. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, overlapping as you go. Depending on how much of an edge you have left, the galette will be partially or completely covered.
5 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
6 LEMON CURD: In a stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg, lemon juice, and honey.
7 Place the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until pale and thickened, 7 to 10 minutes.
8 Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon zest. Let cool to room temperature.
9 TO SERVE: Put a dollop of the lemon curd on top of each galette.

Servings: 12 - 14 mini pies, or 1 large one
Source: Bauman College