Posts tagged apricots
A thief in the kitchen – Mini vanilla polenta cake with rum roasted peach
Sep 3rd
Un voleur dans la cuisine – Mini gâteaux de polenta à la vanille et pêches rôties au rhum
Who said that polenta only needs to be eaten in savory dishes? I was so excited about this dessert, that I have been thinking about it for days. Let’s also enjoy the peaches while they last, soon they’ll no longer be available. I cannot believe it’s already September.
In France, we have some semolina based desserts like this one (gâteau à la semoule) that the kids usually love (well adults too). So I somehow decided to play with polenta. You need a medium to fine grind. I don’t like to use the coarse kind that much. This polenta has such a fragrant vanilla and milky flavor, I could not stop eating it from the pot. The peach is roasted in honey and rum, which makes every bits a real delight. If you combine on your spoon some polenta cake, peach, mascarpone and run sauce, you might end up being addicted to it.
The peaches need to be ripe but still firm so they don’t overcook quickly while in the oven.
While I was playing with my dessert, I got caught on the phone for a short time, I did not realized that someone was stealing my crumbs. My dog Enzo is as obsessed with food as I am. Of course, a dog being a dog, his obsessions limit themselves too eating food rather than preparing it. I think if I were a dog, I would be just like him. While distracted on the phone, I did not see Enzo, open the kitchen cabinet, and steel the breadcrumbs jar. He opened the lid, left the lid laying on the kitchen floor, took the bread crumbs jar in “his room”, spreading the crumbs on the rug before eating them, and of destroying the jar in pieces. Then after his fight with the crumbs, he hid underneath the bed to hide, knowing he was in trouble.
When I saw his moustache I could not stop laughing, schnauzers have funky moustaches that get easily dirty.
Ingredients for 4
For the polenta cakes
- 200 ml milk
- 30 g heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean cut lengthwise and beans scraped
- 50 g sugar
- 65 g polenta
- 2 tbs golden raisins
- 8 dried apricots, unsweetened and cut in small pieces
- 3 tbs rum
For the roasted peaches
- 2 large yellow peaches, peeled and cut in half and seed removed
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs sliced almonds, toasted
- 4 tbs mascarpone
Preparation
For the polenta cakes
In a pot, combine milk and cream, sugar and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil. Add polenta gradually while stirring. Keep stirring for about 20 minutes (you can also use express polenta). Add extra milk if the polenta gets too thick. Add raisins and apricots pieces. Mix well. Spread in a flat surface keeping the thickness to about 2 cm. Let it cool. Using cookie cutters, or rinds, cut 4 circles.
For the roasted peaches
Grease a baking dish with butter. Place peaches halves (flat part down). sprinkle with sugar and honey and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 15 minutes, then turn the peaches on the other side. Let them cook for another 10 minutes, then deglaze with rum (the soaking rum). Put peaches back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven let them cool a little.
Place one polenta cake in a plate. Add half peach on top. Add mascarpone on the side and sprinkle with rum sauce.
The entire Provence in a jar – Lavender yogurt with peach-apricot compote
Jun 16th
Toute la Provence dans un pot – Yaourt à la lavande sur lit de pêche-abricot
Lavender simply evokes Provence. Wherever I go, if I see lavender, that makes me think about the South of France but particularly about Provence, its wonderful lavender fields and cicadas singing. I adore Provence, its picturesque medieval villages, its natural light, wonderful cuisine and friendliness of its inhabitants…but most of all, the delicious sensation of the Provencal sun caressing your skin with a light breeze, making it pure heaven. I think that’s one thing I really miss about Mediterranean climate, being able to dress lightly until midnight without wearing any sweater sipping a Pastis…that is true happiness.
Does anyone know where the last picture has been shot? It’s a famous city in the South of France…
So to celebrate Provence, I wanted to make something combining summer and Southern fruits like peaches, apricots and lavender flavor; and this delightful yogurt has all of it in one bite.
Homemade yogurt can be made in many different ways, in a pressure cooker, in the oven, and of course in a yogurt maker, like I do. Well, it’s the easiest way to make them and the only way I know not to fail them, so why take the complicated route when you can take the easy one? There is definitely nothing better than homemade yogurts, nothing to compare with store bought yogurts, they can be creamy, thicker, depending on the time you leave them to incubate, and the amount of powdered milk you use. I have been substituting powder milk with evaporated milk and it works quite well.
Ingredients for 8 yogurts
- 4 cups milk
- 1 plain yogurt or 1 bag of lactic ferments
- 6 tbs evaporated milk
- 2 tbs unsweetened condensed milk
- 3 yellow well ripe peaches, peeled and cut in pieces
- 2 apricots, cut in pieces
- 2 tbs sugar + 2 for the milk
- 2 tbs lavender
Preparation
In a pan combine peaches, apricots and sugar and cook to obtain a thick mixture. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Boil milk with lavender, then remove from heat and let it cool to less than 45C. Drain to remove lavender flowers.
In a mixing container, mix yogurt with condensed milk, evaporated milk and sugar. Add gradually milk.
Divide the fruit compote in each jar, then pour carefully milk mixture. Place yogurt in yogurt maker and let it incubate for about 8 hours. Remove from yogurt maker, place lids on and place in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
So did you find out where this is?
The cat lost its tongue – Grilled apricots with goat milk yogurt, figs, cardamom, honey and “langues de chat”
May 18th
Le chat a perdu sa langue – Abricots grillés au yaourt de chêvre, cardamome, figues, miel et langues de chat
One of the best meals I have ever had was in Biarritz, for those who have traveled to France and who went to Pays Basque, must know Biarritz. It’s located in the Southern part of France on the Atlantic coast, close to the Spanish border. I remember this rustic restaurant that looked more like a chic cabin with dark wood decor and an amazing menu. The dessert I ordered was quite simple, just the way I like it. It was a long glass filled with a sheep milk yogurt type of mixture, a cherry compote and topped with honey but it was so good that I still vividly remember at this time the sensation of pleasure I got at the first spoonful.
In the Basque region, you can find wonderful cheeses made with sheep milk since the Pyrénées Mountains are close by, where lots of sheeps are raised.
It’s been a while, I felt like having this particular combination of grilled fruit and goat milk yogurt. I adore grilled fruits, the grilling makes the flavors and sweetness stand out but I find sheep milk yogurt to be stronger and goat yogurt suits my taste buds better. This can be a snack, a dessert or something you make anytime because you have some cravings.
After seeing some beautiful juicy and sweet apricots at my Greek barn, next door, I decided that apricots were part of the game…Summer fruits are out, maybe not at their best quality yet, since it’s still the beginning of the season but Mr. Greek grocer found delicious and sweet ones. He picks himself his fruits and vegetables and gets up at 2am to go to the market, so he always get gorgeous produce.
Langues de chat is literally translated into Cat’s tongues, just because those flat cookies do have that long shape resembling a tiny tongue. They’re usually longer and narrower than the ones I have made.
Their origin is traced back to the XVII century, and their deliciousness kept their popularity through the times. They’re traditional French cookies, and very easy to make, you cannot fail making langue de chat, I promise. Even the beginner bakers will make great langues de chat.
Ingredients for 2
- 3 apricots
- 1 goat milk yogurt
- 2 tbs lavender honey
- 2 figs
- cardamom powder
- 1 tbs pistachios, chopped
For the langues de chat
- 2.64 oz (or 75 g) butter
- 3 egg whites
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) flour
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) powder sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
For the langues de chat
Take the butter out of the refrigerator to room temperature about 30 minutes before using it. In a mixing container, mix butter and sugar together, add vanilla extract. Beat the white slightly (don’t whip them), and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Add flour and mix again.
Using a piping bag (douille) lay a small amount of batter on a silicon sheet (silpat) or parchment paper. Leave some space in between each cookie, they tend to spread when cooking. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 355-360F for about 10-15 minutes until the langues de chat are slightly golden from the sides. Let them cool and set aside.
Grill apricot halves in a grill pan or grid, on each side. Sprinkle some honey on top. Mix cardamom with yogurt.
In a bowl, place 3 apricots halves in the bottom. Add yogurt, top it off with remaining honey, figs and pistachios. Serve with 2 or 3 langues de chat.
