Healthy Crepes ? Mais Oui, milk-free and fiber-loaded !

Flip that crepe !

Is buckwheat healthy ? Oh yes ! As I found out in this information-rich wikipedia entry, buckwheat has many attributes of its own, including reducing plasma cholesterol levels, a lack of gluten, and rich in iron, zinc, and selenium. But the attraction as a flour substitute is what makes it shine.
In my previous post for crepes (Mastering the Art of Crepe), I highlighted the use of whole milk and regular flour as the main ingredient for supple crepes. That's the basic crepe recipe. For advanced "creping", I present here a twist to reduce the amount of regular flour by 80% and totally eliminate milk ! Buckwheat thickens in presence of water, no need for milk, that's the trick.
Now, a word of caution. It's also much trickier to cook buckwheat crepes in the pan. They stick a lot more, and tend to break more easily during the flipping process. So make sure to practice your crepe skills first with the basic recipe ! THIS IS FOR ADVANCED CREPE-MAKERS !
Also, buckwheat adds a very strong taste to the crepe, akin to an earthy, mushroom-y flavor. As such, I find them perfect as a main dish or appetizer with a salty filling. For example, scrambled eggs, rice and veggies, chicken, etc...But they work great with sweets, for breakfast or as a dessert. Let your own tastes guide your imagination, I only provide the tools.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/3 cup white unbleached flour
• 2 cups water
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs canola oil
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In a big bowl, add both flours and salt. Pour the water slowly while mixing (I use a whisk), you'll obtain a thick liquid. Blend in the eggs and the oil, and let it rest for at least an hour. Overnight is fine too if you wish to reserve it for breakfast the following day.
2. To make the crepes, use a nonstick pan that you rub with canola oil. Remove the excess of oil to leave only a film behind. I use a folded paper towel, which helps me reapply between crepes (important to avoid sticking!). Preheat the pan until it sizzles when dropping a drop of water, then keep it on medium heat. Pour a ladle into the pan and swirl it to create a thin layer of dough all over the pan. When the sides start lifting off the pan, it's time to flip! Lately I have been using a silicone spatula (instead of wood) and I love it. Its sides are thinner and easily allow sliding the spatula under the crepe for a cleaner flip. The other side cooks much faster, usually in 30 sec.
3. The buckwheat crepes do not last as long as regular crepes. They tend to dry up more quickly because of the lack of milk. So consumme quickly, but somehow I don't think that will be a problem :)

Enjoy !

A cake for Kings and Queens

Gateau des Rois (Kings' Cake)

Tomorrow is January 6th, also known as Epiphany (12th day after Christmas), which celebrates the visit of the three kings to baby Jesus. It is a big day in France. Not for its religious practice, but as the start of a tradition that lasts all month: le gateau des Rois, or kings' cake !
In Provence, le gateau takes the form of a brioche shaped like a big doughtnut with candied fruits (fruits confits) inside and on top. Hidden inside is traditionally a big dried bean (la feve), and sometimes a little ceramic figurine in fancy boulangeries. Whoever finds the bean in his/her slice is crowned king or queen for the day with a symbolic gold paper crown, and he/she is charged with bringing another gateau the following week-end. Now you see why it lasts all month long !
Let me share this delicious recipe, just in time for you to be part of this fun tradition that will delight the little ones (a gold crown !!!) and the tall ones (sweet soft yummy bread !!!).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 oz (1 bag) of Fleischmann's highly active yeast
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz butter (1 stick)
• 1 tbs rum
• 1 tbs orange blossom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk (fat free works or use just plain water)
• lemon zest
• 3/4 cup candied fruits

Directions:

1. In a mixer bowl place flour, butter, sugar, salt, rum, orange blossom and mix for a minute.
2. Add the eggs and mix again.
3. Dissolve the yeast into the warm milk (or water) and add to the bowl slowly while mixing. The dough is likely to be still very sticky. Add more flour until you feel comfortable pulling the dough out and onto a work area for some kneading action.
4. Sprinkle some flour on your work area and knead the dough for several minutes, while adding 2/3 of the candied fruits and the lemon zest by portions. The dough will stick to your hands, so keep the flour close to add some more until the dough is off your fingers.
5. Make a ball with the dough and place it in a bowl in a warm place for 1h. That's the first rise. Then knead it for at least 5 minutes and place the dough in the fridge overnight.
6. The next day, you'll have to "warm up" the dough a bit by kneading it again for a few minutes. Then shape it into a big bagel (at this point you can insert the dried bean to keep with the French tradition) and place it in a warm place for several hours. It should double in volume. To help keep the doughnut hole during this process, place a glass in it. You'll remove it before baking.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F.
8. Remove the glass and brush an egg yolk on the dough surface for a brown color.
9. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. A knife slid through will come out clean when it's ready.
10. Cool down, then brush a little bit of apricot jam to make the top sticky, and place the remainder of candied fruits for colors.
11. Better to consumme the same day, as it tends to dry quickly. If that's the case, microwave the slice for 10 seconds and it'll be soft and warm and so yummy :)

Happy New Year !!!!

Lemon and Nuts Tart

010110....today's date, not a binary code :)
I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year celebration. Getting rid of 2009 was a celebration in itself, what a dreadful year ! Brrrrr, I am looking forward to 2010 and hopefully a full time job to fuel my hobbies :)

I celebrated the last year of '09 in the kitchen. Very fitting since I started this blog in the Summer. We had a couple of guests over for dinner. Deal was, I cook, they bring the wine. Being the wine connoisseurs that they are, I had to make sure my meal was going to be on par ! Their wine choice was absolutely delicious. A 1999 Margaux (red Bordeaux) so soft and oaky, the bottle did not last long !!! (mental note: invite them more often)

So here is my menu. I kept it simple with only one course with dessert.

• appetizer: foie gras on wheat toasts, and mixed nuts with white wine
• main course: ribeye in a wine mushroom sauce, with lobster tail, grilled polenta slices, and garlic spinach
• dessert: a lemon tart with pine nuts and almond slices

The foie gras came from my last visit to France. It is a staple in France for Christmas and New Year celebrations, and so foie gras was non-negotiable :) For the main dish, I cooked sliced crimini mushrooms in half and half with shallots and marsala wine, for about an hour. I poured the sauce in the same pan that I used to sear the steaks in order to get some of the meat juice into the sauce. The lobster tails were steamed to keep their juices inside. The polenta I bought premade into a log. It's easier to slice. The slices were quickly dipped in olive oil and baked in the oven until crispy. The fresh spinach was cooked with bits of fresh garlic and some curry powder in olive oil.

For dessert, I had a craving for a lemon tart. I had some lemons in the fridge for a couple of weeks already, I had to act. So I revisited my lemon meringue tart recipe to make it a fluffier (no butter cream) and healthier (nuts!). I'll share the recipe with you.

The crust: (see previous post on the subject)
To 1 cup of flour, add 1 stick (100g) of softened butter and 3 tbs of almond flour, and mix well with your hand. Add an egg, a bit of vanilla flavoring, mix again, and add more flour until the dough does not stick to your hand. Place the dough into a baking pan of your choice and prebake it at 350F for 10 minutes. (don't forget to prick the dough with a fork to release air formed during baking, or it will lift !)

The filling:
Beat 3 eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar until frothy mixture is obtained. Slowly add 3/4 cup of half and half, 1 tbs of almond flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring, 2 tbs of flour, juice of 3 lemons and their zests. Mix until homogeneous and pour onto the crust. Add pine nuts to the filling (I used about 2 handfuls, but you can use more or less to your liking). Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Cool down.

The decoration:
Lightly brush the top with apricot jam (carefull not to break the filling, it's kinda soft) then sprinkle almond slices on top. No need for meringue.

The filling turned out somewhat soft with a very strong lemon flavor. If it's too strong for you, try with 2 lemons instead of 3. Overall, it does not taste very sweet and it melts easily in your mouth.

So yummy I had two pieces last night !