Spelt pain a l'ancienne

This is Peter Reinhart's recipe for pain a l'ancienne, from his book The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It's a very easy bread because it hardly needs any kneading and it only ferments once. The fermentation is retarded by mixing all the dry ingredients with ice-cold water. This time I used spelt for the bread, as I always do lately. The dough is tremendously soft, like that of ciabatta, so that's what I made: small beautiful ciabattas. Take into account that you have to start this the day before, as the dough needs to rest overnight in the fridge.


I'm especially fond of spelt. This is what La Espelta y la Sal, Spanish spelt producers located in Sigüenza say about it:

Spelt is a primitive wheat variety, whose properties are well known and appreciated since the days of old. In Europe, it is mainly cultivated in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and also in some areas of Spain, (...) Spelt is rich in magnesium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins A, B and C. By consuming it on a daily basis the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides can be lowered, and it also controls metabolism, especially the sugar metabolism. It carries a higher amount of essential aminoacids than normal soft wheat and it also has a higher vitamin and mineral content. It is worth noting the presence of silicic acid, which enhances brain activity and assists in skin and hair care. Spelt has also a high gluten content, making it therefore very convenient for baking. In Central Europe it is considered to be a gourmet's grain; in France it is known as the caviar among cereals. Its flavor vaguely reminds of walnuts.

Well, this is the producer's word and I guess they have to be positive about spelt. But anyway, I've already read about it in several places where it is said that spelt is indeed more nutritious than white wheat, and that it's been abandoned because of the yield, which is higher for white wheat, and disregarding quality. In any case, the essential thing for me is that the flour is organic and that it retains the germ, that part of the grain that keeps most of the nutrients and beneficial substances. "Industrial" flour lacks the germ, because the milling process eliminates it; it's like if you ate eggs without the yolk. And this lack of nutrients is compensated by adding vitamins, among other additives. If you want to know more about this, check In defense of food, by Michael Pollan.

Spelt pain a l'ancienne (adapted from P. Reinhart)

• 600g spelt flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 450g ice-cold water (put some ice cubes in a bowl and weigh them, then add water up to 450g)
• 5g dry baker's yeast or 15g fresh yeast
  

Leave the ice-cubes to melt. Weigh the flour, put it in a large bowl, crumb the yeast on top of the flour and mix. Add the salt and then the water. Mix thoroughly and knead 5 minutes by machine or 8 by hand. There's no need for the gluten to develop. Then oil a large bowl, put the dough ball in, cover with plastic and leave in the fridge overnight.


The next day take the dough out of the fridge. It will be expanded, but not doubled. Leave to temper at room temperature and let it double, as long as needed. When the dough has doubled in bulk, tip it on a very well floured counter as it is a very soft dough. Turn on the oven in the meantime, up to 290 ºC according to Reinhart, but my oven is not that good... Stretch the dough forming a rectangle and taking care not to degas it too much. Prepare 2 sheets of parchment paper on 2 baking trays. Thoroughly sprinkle them with semolina.

Then cut strips of the dough, around 10-8 centimeters wide, depending on the kind of bread you want to make. You can leave them as thin strips for baguettes or fold them in 3 as ciabattas, like I did. Transfer the strips to the parchment paper. Sprinkle the surface of the breads with flour for that super-rustic-wrinkled-ciabatta look. When the oven is at full heat, transfer the paper with the breads on onto the baking stone if you have one. If you don't, you can bake the bread straight on the baking sheets, no problem. Spray water on the oven walls and close the oven door immediately. Repeat this 3 times at 30 seconds intervals. Then lower the temperature to 250 ºC... I wish I could. My oven temperature was not that high. My oven had one of those days... full of personality. Bake for half an hour or until the bread has an internal temperature of 95 ºC (if you have a roast-beef thermometer).


The bread turned out delicious. Spelt has less gluten than common wheat and the crumb doesn't show the same picturesque holes. But I like spelt a lot. I was born that way. I never get a super crispy crust in my oven, unless I make sourdough bread inside my Dutch oven. I guess too low a temperature is the reason.


I encourage you to try this bread. It requires hardly any serious effort and the result is excellent. The cold water and the fridge do most of the job. Perfect for beginner bakers.

I'm sending this bread to Susan for YeastSpotting.

Eager to know more?

Fish and shellfish soup, Spanish style

I like the type of fish soup with a somewhat thick and hearty stock, the base for various interesting and floating things like shellfish and pieces of fleshy fish. The Mediterranean in a bowl... yum. My soup includes a base stock made with fish and shellfish, a sofrito made with onion and tomato that's pureed with the stock, a picada that's added almost at the end of the boiling and little pieces of fish, shellfish like mussels or even rice added as garnish to the stock.


Sopa de pescado or fish and shellfish soup (yields around 8 servings)

Base stock:
Make a fish stock by boiling the following ingredients in 2 liters of water for half an hour:

• One large salmon bone and one large monkfish bone (any combination of fish bones is good, but the monkfish is especially flavourful)
  
• 1 medium onion
• 1 carrot
  
• 1 leek
  
• 1 bay leaf

Discard the solids after the boiling.


Then, boil the following shellfish in a different pot, in half a liter of water:

• 10 shrimps
• 4 small crawfish
  

I do this in a different pot only because you have to fish the shrimps and crawfish later and shell them, it's easier if you have them in a smaller recipient. Bring the pot to a boil and turn the heat off immediately. Leave it to cool and shell them.

Then pour a glass of white wine in another pot to steam:

• 10 small mussels
• 10 small clams

You can pour yourself a glass of white wine too... that will make for a merrier cooking process. This time I used some leftover cava I had in the fridge instead of the wine. Keep the liquid in the pot and leave aside. Shell the mussels and clams and leave aside.


Once all the ingredients are cooked, drain all the three liquids and pour them in one single pot, that is, the fish bones and vegetables stock, the shrimps and crawfish stock and the mussels stock. Then start the sofrito by dicing and frying in olive oil the following ingredients:

Sofrito:

• 1 medium onion
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 1 tsp ñora flesh
  
• 1 cup crushed tomato
  

Start by frying the diced onion and garlic. When the onion is wilted, add the ñora. Ñoras are typical Spanish sweet round red peppers. They impart a wonderful flavour and are widely used in paellas, for example. They're usually sold dry and they have to be soaked in water for some time before opening them and scraping the pepper's flesh. Anyway, you can skip it if you don't have it. Then add the tomato and fry everything while stirring, around 8-10 minutes, just enough for the water in the tomato to evaporate. It's the tomato and ñora which give the soup its healthy reddish color.

For thickening the base stock I like to add a hake or whiting fillet at the end of the sofrito, to be pureed later with the vegetables. You can also add some potato if you like your stock even thicker. Then puree the sofrito, you can add some fish stock to make it easier. The puree is added to the stock and everything is heated together for around 5 minutes, for the flavours to meld. Then you can add any kind of garnish you prefer, you can even boil a handful of rice in the stock for a heartier soup. In my case I added the shrimps, crawfish, mussels, clams and also some diced cuttlefish and squid, previously stir-fried with some oil. Try the soup for salt and add if needed.

This time I wanted to try and add some picada. The picada is a thick paste made by pounding garlic, almonds, hazelnuts or any other nut, parsley, saffron and toasted bread together in a mortar, then a spoonful of olive oil is added. It's typically added to all kind of dishes if you want more thickness and flavour. Here's a excerpt from Colman Andrews' Catalan Cuisine:

No other European cuisine has anything quite like the picada - which, as noted, is a thickening and flavoring agent made up of such ingredients as garlic, fried bread, olive oil (or some other liquid), and various nuts, herbs, and/or spices, all pounded together with a mortar and pestle. (...) The picada closest relatives are probably Italy's pesto (which likewise involves garlic, nuts and herbs crushed in a mortar) and gremolada ( the Milanese herb-and-garlic mixture traditionally added to osso bucco) - but pesto clearly is a sauce, and both substances, unlike the picada, have limited and highly specialized uses, and a more or less regularized composition.

Picada:

• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 15 almonds, toasted and skinned
• 15 hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
  
• 1 slice toasted bread (I prefer it fried with oil)
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 2 stems saffron
  
• Olive oil
  

The paste must be thoroughly pounded, until no pieces of nut can be discerned. Hard job for me, I'm quite a weakling. Then add the paste to the soup, boil for a further 2 minutes then turn off the heat. Try for salt again and adjust if necessary. I loved the effect of the picada, you could make out a faint raw garlic flavour, and the nuts give the soup more thickness... delicious.


Serve the soup in bowls, as rustic as can be. I also love to float a fried slice of bread on top of each bowl... why all things fatty are so good? One of the misteries of the Universe.

Eager to know more?

My grandmother's migas

I had been feeling like making migas for some weeks already, so I was very happy when charming Mel from Bouchon for 2 asked me to put up a guest post for her while she's on vacation (lucky girl!). She wanted a Spanish family dish and I couldn't have found a more traditional one than migas. Thanks, Mel!


First of all I shall explain what migas are. Migas means crumbs, literally. To prepare them you just need a hunk of stale bread, some charcuterie, cloves of garlic and olive oil for frying. It was formerly shepherd's fare, something easy to prepare for the shepherds while up on the mountains, and also popular among peasants. Everybody had a piece of bread and some garlic and chorizo or ham to add. And apparently there is a version of migas in every region of Spain, which is not too frequent. They were eaten everywhere. And I warn you: this is not a diet dish. It has lots of olive oil and animal fats and I won't apologize for that... that's why it's so delicious. It was perfect for warming you up in the cold winter nights, up on a mountain hut.

It was my grandmother María who taught me to make migas. She was my paternal grandmother and she lived with my family till her death, some over 20 years ago. She was a very good cook, especially for pastry. She had been born in the Philippines while the country was a Spanish colony, her father being an army officer. She returned to Spain with her family when the Spaniards were expelled from the Philippines by the Americans (no hard feelings...) in 1898. Within a few years she unfortunately lost her parents and ended up in a religious boarding school for orphans in Aranjuez, where she stayed until she was 18. In the photo she's the blonde girl in the foreground, tightly holding the doll... wasn't she cute? I wonder where she learned to make migas, I never asked her...



As far as I know there are two main types of migas: diced and pulled. My grandmother used to make the diced type. According to the traditional standards, the dices must be chickpea-sized. The best bread for migas is the Spanish peasant bread, with a very dense crumb. The very open crumb of baguettes or ciabattas is not good for migas. And normally stale bread a day or two old is used. Remember migas is a poor man's dish... this makes it just perfect for the current crisis. I don't measure anything when I make them, but I'll try to figure the amounts:

My grandmother's migas

• 1 hunk of dense crumb bread
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sweet Spanish pimentón (essential!)
  
• 4 cloves garlic
  
• 2 chorizos for frying (not very dry, not all chorizos are good for frying)
  
• 2 tbsp diced Spanish jamón
• 1 handful bacon rashers
  
• Virgin olive oil for frying (essential!)
  

Well then, are you ready to start? Pick a nice hunk of stale bread and dice it carefully. I never get to make the dices as small as a chickpea... I'm not a skilled miguera, but I manage. Put the diced bread in a large bowl. Then sprinkle the bread with water, enough to slightly moisten it. The purpose of this is to soften the bread, remember migas are supposed to be made with sometimes very dry bread. Sprinkle the salt and turn them around to evenly distribute the salt. Do the same with the pimentón. Then cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest overnight.

By the way, I remember one family meal, with all my in-law family as guests, when I cooked migas for first course and a goulash-like stew for second course. I mistook the hot paprika for the sweet... on both courses... That day I had the evidence of how very well-mannered they all are... they still talk to me.

To prepare the migas the next day, pour 6-8 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep frying pan and put it on medium heat. Cut the garlic cloves in half, there's no need to peel them. Fry the garlic until lightly browned, then discard. The purpose is to flavor the oil. Then add the crumbled chorizo, the ham and the bacon. Stir-fry till they're almost done, the oil will be nicely colored, then tip the bread on the pan. Toss and turn around for the bread to thoroughly soak the oil. They will start to turn nicely red because of the paprika and chorizo drippings... Go on tossing for 3-4 minutes, depending on the heat. The migas should be lightly toasted and crisp on the outside, while they should remain soft in the inside... yes, that's the key to making good migas, my little children...



Serve the migas on a beautiful earthenware dish, while warm, and distribute them with a large wooden spoon... this is just for the sake of authenticity. You can add some grapes to the migas too, although I don't remember my grandmother doing it. This was very typical in the wine growing regions, but then they are called migas de vendimia or grape harvest migas. I love the contrast between the roughness of the migas and the sweetness of the grapes. Some other day I've got to try to add some pomegranate... it must be an interesting addition. And also you can serve the migas in small bowls or portions for a very tasty tapa... yum!

Eager to know more?

Daring Cooks' challenge November: Sushi

To put it mildly I'm not a sushi person. Or rather I should say I'm not a Japanese food person. You can't like everything, right? It doesn't really attract me, therefore there are few dishes that I've tried. Fine, I admit I'd never tried sushi in my life before, mostly because of the raw fish thing... So when I learnt about the November challenge I must admit I felt a bit discouraged. But nevertheless, this is what the Daring Cooks is about: cooking things you wouldn't even think of cooking otherwise (sushi, me?). That's the point, the DC lead you to the verge of the abyss... right beyond your comfort zone. The bad thing is that there's a slight possibility that you end up smashed at the bottom of the precipice.


This time the challenge consisted of three different types of sushi, although the main goal was to learn to make proper sushi rice. Am I weird if I say that I didn't find it difficult? If I may say so myself. On the other hand, I wasn't sure about me finding the results appetizing... that's why I decided to invite my niece M., fond of sushi and lover of many other dishes of various nationalities, for her to help me make the sushi and above all eat it... that's why the photos were taken in a hurry and it shows.

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

I'm including almost the complete instructions, but visit Audax and Rose's sites for more information.

PART 1 : SUSHI RICE (makes about 7 cups of cooked sushi rice)

Preparation time: 1¾ hours consisting of :-
Rinsing and draining rice: 35 minutes
Soaking rice: 30 minutes (includes 5 minutes making the vinegar dressing)
Cooking and steaming time: 25 minutes
Finishing the rice: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

* 2½ cups uncooked short grain rice
* 2½ cups water
* For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water

Optional Ingredients

* 3 inch (75mm or 15 grams) square dashi konbu (or kombu) (dried kelp seaweed) wipe with a damp cloth to remove white powder & cut a few slits in the sides of the kelp to help release its flavours
* 2½ teaspoons (12.5 mls) of sake (Japanese rice wine)

Sushi vinegar dressing

* 5 Tablespoons (75 mls) rice vinegar
* 5 Teaspoons (25 mls or 21 grams) sugar
* 1¼ Teaspoons (6.25 mls or 4.5 grams) salt

DIRECTIONS:

Rinsing and draining the rice

1. Swirl rice gently in a bowl of water, drain, repeat 3-4 times until water is nearly clear. Don't crush the rice in your hands or against the side of the bowl since dry rice is very brittle.
2. Gently place rice into a strainer and drain well for 30 minutes.

Soaking the rice

1. Gently place the rice into a heavy medium pot with a tight fitting lid (if you have a loose fitting lid use a piece of aluminium foil to make the seal tight).
2. Add 2½ cups of water and the dashi konbu.
3. Set the rice aside to soak for 30 minutes, during this time prepare the sushi rice dressing.

Preparing the Rice Vinegar Dressing

1. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat on low setting.
3. Stir until the mixture goes clear and the sugar and salt have dissolved.
4. Set aside at room temperature until the rice is cooked.

Cooking the rice

1. After 30 minutes of soaking add sake (if using) to the rice.
2. Bring rinsed and soaked rice to the boil.
3. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this process. Turn off heat.
4. Let stand with the lid on, 10-15 minutes. Do not peek inside the pot or remove the lid. During this time the rice is steaming which completes the cooking process.

Finishing the rice


* Turning out the rice

1. Moisten lightly a flat thin wooden spatula or spoon and a large shallow flat-bottomed non-metallic (plastic, glass or wood) bowl. Do not use metallic objects since the vinegar will react with it and produce sour and bitter sushi rice.
2. Remove the dashi konbu (kelp) from the cooked rice.
3. Use the spatula to loosen gently the rice and invert the rice pot over the bowl, gently causing the cooked rice to fall into the bowl in one central heap. Do this gently so as not to cause the rice grains to become damaged.

* Dressing the rice with vinegar

1. Slowly pour the cooled sushi vinegar over the spatula onto the hot rice.
2. Using the spatula gently spread the rice into a thin, even layer using a 45° cutting action to break up any lumps and to separate the rice. Don't stir or mash rice.
3. After the rice is spread out, start turning it over gently, in small portions, using a cutting action, allowing steam to escape, for about a minute.

* Fanning & Tossing the rice

1. Continue turning over the rice, but now start fanning (using a piece of stiff cardboard) the rice vigorously as you do so. Don't flip the rice into the air but continue to gently slice, lift and turn the rice occasionally, for 10 minutes. Cooling the rice using a fan gives good flavour, texture and a high-gloss sheen to the rice. The vinegar dressing will be absorbed by the hot rice. Using a small electric fan on the lowest speed setting is highly recommended.
2. Stop fanning when there's no more visible steam, and all the vinegar dressing has been adsorbed and the rice is shiny. Your sushi rice is ready to be used. (I didn't fan the rice, I just put the bowl by an open window. And it didn't take as long as 10 minutes, I'm not patient enough. I believe the rice was conveniently sticky and shiny though.)

* Keeping the rice moist

1. Cover with a damp, lint free cloth to prevent the rice from drying out while preparing your sushi meal. Do not store sushi rice in the refrigerator leave on the counter covered at room temperature. Sushi rice is best used when it is at room temperature.

* Tip: To make sushi rice: for each cup of rice use 1 cup of water, 2 Tbs rice vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp sake. For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water when cooking the sushi rice since the weight of rice can vary. Weight of 2½ cups of uncooked rice is about 525 grams or 18½ ounces.

NOTES:
Sushi Rice – choose a short or medium grain rice. Do not use Arborio, long-grain, or parboiled white rice. Medium-grained calrose is a suitable rice. Rice expands (about 3 times) when cooked so make sure your pot is large enough. Washing the rice removes the rice flour that coats the rice and gives a fresh flavour and scent to the cooked rice. Look for rice that is labelled 'sushi' rice. Cooked sushi rice can be placed in plastic bags and frozen for 3 months, microwave when needed. Cooked sushi rice should be sticky, shiny and the individual grains of rice can been see.

Dashi konbu – or ( dashi kombu) – dried kelp, it looks like broad, leathery, wrinkly greenish ribbon often coated with a white powder. The darker green the leaves, the better the quality of kelp. Dashi konbu adds a refreshing light ocean taste to sushi rice. (I had no kelp, so I used wakame instead.)


Rice Vinegar – this gives prepared sushi rice its unique clean, crisp taste. Do not use bottled “sushi vinegar” as it is too harsh and has a bitter after-taste. Look carefully at the label of the rice vinegar it should have NO SALT and NO SUGAR in the product. Apple cider vinegar is a good substitute if rice vinegar is not available. You can use mild white wine vinegar or mild red wine vinegar if you cannot find rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar. DO NOT USE NORMAL WHITE VINEGAR it is too harsh.

Sake – Japanese rice wine. Do not use cooking sake or Chinese cooking rice wine, look for a reasonably priced drinkable sake. Refrigerate opened sake & use within two months. You can use vodka or a mild tasting gin if sake is not available.

Sugar – you can use mild honey or any other vegan substitute to give the equivalent sweetness.

PART 2 : Dragon Rolls (also called Caterpillar Rolls)

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice
Cooking time: about 5 minutes (grilling the eel)

Yield: 2 inside-out (uramaki) sushi rolls

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 sheet 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm) of toasted nori (dried seaweed sheets), cut into halves
* 1/2 Japanese cucumber
* 2 cups of prepared sushi rice
* Glazed Barbecued Eel (ungai) (about 3½ ounces or 100 grams)
* 1 Avocado
* Vinegared Water – ½ cup of water combined with a dash of rice vinegar
* Various small amounts of sauces to use as the flames of the dragon (or legs of a caterpillar)

Optional

* 2 tablespoons (25 grams or 1 oz) Fish Roe (Fish eggs)

DIRECTIONS:
1.Cut cucumber into strips ¼ inch (6mm) x 7” (175mm) long, then salt, rinse & dry the strips.
2.Grill (broil) the eel for about 2-5 minutes until bubbling. Cut into two lengthwise strips.
3.Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Cut the avocado halves into thin even 1/8 inch (3 mm) slices. Fan out the cut avocado into a 7 inch (175 mm) overlapping pattern.
4.Cover bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down, lengthwise, on the edge the mat.
5.At this point I found really essential to follow the video below. So just do it!



* Tip: The most common mistake is having too much filling the golden rule is less is more when it comes to making sushi it is easier to roll an under-filled roll than an over-filled roll.

* Tip: Dampen your knife with a moist lint-free towel before every cut – this prevents the sushi rice from sticking to your knife. (I simply moistened the knife in tap water, it worked out fine.)


* Tip: Excellent videos on making Dragon Rolls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQZGRohVNFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo55iBN9FQs&feature=related


NOTES:
Bamboo mat (makisu) – A 10 inch (25cm) square mat made of thin slates of bamboo tied together with string.
Substitutes: a thin magazine cut to size wrapped in plastic wrap or a few layers of parchment paper cut to size about 10 inch (25cm) square.

Nori – Sheets of seaweed (laver) processed into thin sheets about 7 inches x 8 inches (17.5cm x 20cm) in size. Always re-toast the nori sheet over a gas stove on low flame for 5 to 10 seconds, or place nori on a clean oven rack and bake it in a preheated 350F-degree (180C) oven for 30 seconds. (I forgot to toast it!)
Substitutes: Thin cooked egg omelette cut to same size as a nori sheet (7 inches by 8 inches or 17.5cm x 20cm). Also soya bean wrappers, rice paper, tofu wrappers, dosas, crepes or an overlapping layer of thinly sliced cooked vegetables.

Glazed Freshwater Barbecued Eel (unagi) – Deliciously rich and a little like pork they are sold in packs in the freezer (and sometimes the fresh fish) section of Asian markets.
Substitutes: Teriyaki chicken, cooked crab meat, smoked fish, smoked chicken, seared beef with BBQ sauce, deep fried tofu with dark soya sauce, tinned pink or red salmon, smoked salmon, fresh cooked soy beans with a selection of dark sauces, caramelized onions, firm cream cheese, or extra avocado with BBQ sauce as the filling. Any remaining eel should be left in the package re-wrapped in plastic and returned to the freezer as quickly as possible. (I used some scrumptious tea-smoked salmon leftovers instead of the eel. No Asian market in my neighborhood.)

Japanese Cucumber – Japanese cucumbers are thin-skinned, seedless and contain much less water than normal cucumber.
Substitutes: English or hothouse cucumbers which have been peeled, de-seeded and salted as above. If not available try matchsticks of your favourite crisp vegetable.

Avocado –
Substitutes: If not available use slices of roasted capsicum (bell pepper), slices of roasted tomatoes, lightly cooked whole snap (snow) peas, slices of Japanese daikon radish or other cooked thinly sliced vegetables, or slices of 'sushi' grade fish such as tuna, yellow tail and red snapper; smoked salmon, pastrami, salami, various colours of fish roe, or various colours of sesame seeds.

Fish Roe (Fish eggs or caviar) – most roes (fish eggs) are rich so they are served in small portions. Try salmon roe (ikura), smelt roe (masago) or seasoned flying-fish roe (tobiko).
Substitutes: You can use toasted sesame seeds or black onion (nigella) seeds as a vegan choice.

PART 3 : Spiral Sushi Roll
This is easiest 'decorative' sushi roll.

Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice

Yield: One Roll, cut into 8 pieces

INGREDIENTS:

* 2½ cups prepared sushi rice
* 2 sheets of toasted nori, each sized 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm)
* Six assorted fillings, each filling should be the size of a pencil (see note below)

DIRECTIONS:
1.Join 2 sheets of nori by moistening the adjacent edges and overlapping them about ½ inch (12mm).
2.Place this double sheet shiny side down on a rolling mat, part of the nori will extend beyond the mat.
3.Using moist fingers place 2½ cups of rice on the nori and gently rake your fingertips across grains to spread rice evenly, leaving ¼ inch (6mm) nori showing on the both ends of the sheet. Do not mash or squash the rice onto the nori, the rice should appear loosely packed and be evenly distributed over the entire sheet, you should be able to see the nori sheet in a few places.
4.Using your fingers form six grooves (in the same direction that you will be rolling the mat) at even intervals across the bed of rice. Make the first groove about 2 inches (50 mm) from the edge of the nori sheet. Form the grooves by pushing the rice away, do not mash or squash the rice, leave a loose one grain layer of rice in the bottom of the grooves. Level the areas between the grooves where you have pushed the rice.
5.Place your fillings in the grooves. Fill the grooves a little higher than the surrounding rice bed.
6.Then roll the sushi up from the edge closest to you, this will form a spiral pattern of nori, rice and fillings inside the roll.
7.Slice into 8 pieces with a very sharp wet knife, wiping the blade with a damp cloth after each cut.
8.Place the pieces on a platter and garnish.


NOTE:
Make each groove about a finger-width wide they will hold about 1-2 tablespoons of filling. Use fillings that compliment each other and are highly coloured. Use parboiled vegetables cut into strips, seafood, left over eel, smoked fish or chicken, whole cooked beans, edible flowers etc....

PART 4 : Nigiri Sushi
Nigiri sushi is the type of sushi most often made in sushi bars. In Japanese, nigiri means “squeeze”.

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice

Yield: 14-16 pieces of sushi

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups prepared sushi rice
* 8 pairs of assorted toppings, 200 gms/7 ozs total of fish, meat or vegetables (see note below)
* 1 tablespoon Wasabi (paste, reconstituted powder) or any other paste to adhere topping to rice

Optional

* Garnishes such as Ginger (pickled), chilli strips, vegetables flowers etc
* Thin strips of nori or vegetables (for tying topping on)

DIRECTIONS:
1.When handling sushi rice, make certain your hands are very clean. To keep the rice from sticking to our hands moisten your hands with vinegared water.
2.Form nigiri sushi by scooping up a small amount (about 2 tablespoons) of rice with your forefinger and second finger of your right hand and placing it in your cupped left palm.
3.Use the fingers and thumb of your right hand to form it into a long, narrow mound (about 2 inches x 1 inch wide or 50mm x 25mm) in your cupped palm.
4.Press enough to make the rice hold firmly together. Place the nigiri on a damp cutting board flat side down. Don't let sushi touch or they'll stick to each other. At this point, you can cover the sushi with plastic wrap, and they'll keep at room temperature (not the refrigerator) for several hours.
5.Smear a thin line of wasabi on top of the rice and place the topping piece on it. You may need to press the topping down lightly with your fingers and adjust the shape of the rice accordingly to form an attractive piece of nigiri sushi. If your topping is very loose like fish roe you can place a strip of nori (higher than the rice) around the nigiri and form 'battleship' sushi. The cavity that the nori forms holds the topping so it does not fall off.
6.Garnish as desired and use strips of nori (or vegetable) to tie the topping to the nigiri if needed.
7.It is customary to make nigiri sushi in pairs, so make two of each variety.

My nigiri sushi were a bit too big. It's easy to criticize me, but you would understand me if you touched that SuperGlue rice that sticks to your hands to death.

* Tips: A great video on making nigiri sushi
http://www.howcast.com/videos/270-How-To-Make-Sushi

NOTES:
Seafood nigiri must use sushi grade (sashimi grade) fish. Try tuna, red sea bream (red snapper), yellowtail or salmon. Cooked shrimp, cooked crab, cooked meat can also be used! You can use any vegetable you wish try asparagus, pumpkin, carrot, avocado, cucumber, shiitake mushroom, tofu, thin sliced egg omelette, etc... Thinly slice or julienne vegetables, parboiling if necessary tie on with a thin (1/4” or 6mm) strip of nori or vegetable strip wrapped around the whole sushi if needed..



Not too bad as another experience in life. Now when I'm old (older) I can tell my grandsons about how I once made sushi. Unfortunately I found mine singularly insipid. My niece informed me that it was meant to be like that... really? Well, I had no reference for comparing. Maybe they lacked soy sauce, wasabi, or some other sauce. I thought it would be nice to make a deconstructed paella-sushi next time, with yellow rice, conveniently sticky, and the paella garnishes for filling... I need to try that. The good thing in this challenge is that I got to know that raw fish is not an essential ingredient of sushi. I've got to give them extra flavor next time. But indeed it's not difficult to make. Thanks Audax and Rose!

Eager to know more?

Buñuelos de Todos los Santos or All Saints beignets

Buñuelos are a very traditional pastry eaten on the 1st of November, All Saints day, in the region of Madrid, as well as in many other parts of Spain. They are devoured by the dozen in every household to celebrate this day. And this year I attempted to make my own homemade buñuelos... I wasn't disappointed.


Buñuelos are round little beignets stuffed with a variety of creamy fillings. The buñuelo dough is a choux type of dough, although it is fried instead of baked. The dough balls puff up on frying, that's why these sweet things are called buñuelos de viento, literally wind beignets, when without filling. The fried balls can be stuffed with whipped cream, pastry cream, chocolate cream, apple compote... you name it. The most classical fillings are whipped and pastry cream and I like to stick to them.


Buñuelos de viento (Thermomix recipe, makes approx. 36 buñuelos)

• 250g water
• 170g all-purpose flour
  
• 4 large eggs
  
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• Sunflower oil for frying (this kind of oil is often used for frying sweet things because of its very mild flavor, which doesn't interfere with the taste of the other ingredients)
  

Weigh the flour, mix with the baking powder and set aside. Put the water with the butter, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat and tip the flour mixture in one go while stirring vigorously. Stir until the dough forms a homogeneous ball and comes off the side of the pan. Check this video for a more visual explanation. Leave it to cool slightly and add the beaten eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly till you get a nice soft dough. Again leave it to cool a little.

Pour the sunflower oil in a deep pan, enough for deep-frying the beignets. Put the heat on medium. Use two teaspoons to scoop out little dough balls, smaller than a walnut, and dip them in the hot oil. The dough balls increase their size almost by four. Buñuelos are very collaborative little creatures and they turn around by themselves when one of the sides is done. So sweet of them. Make sure they are completely expanded before taking them out, otherwise the dough could be uncooked in the inside. The buñuelos you find in the pastry shops of Madrid are perfectly round... mine weren't, but I love them all the same. They have a lot of personality and you can't tell them what shape they should end up with... When golden brown and well puffed, take them out and put them on kitchen paper. Leave to cool.

Pastry cream for filling (Thermomix recipe)

• 3 large eggs
  
• 750g milk
• 150g sugar (better with vanilla)
  
• 50g rhum
• 60g all-purpose flour
  

You preferably need a double boiler for this or do it on Bain-Marie. You can thicken the cream on direct heat, only it's more risky as the cream can curdle if you overheat it, but it's quicker than the Bain-Marie method. Put all the ingredients together in a saucepan and stir, stir, stir, until the cream begins to thicken. It can take quite long, mine took more than 10 minutes in my Thermomix, heated to 90ºC. Some recipes use only the egg yolks for thickening, which make the cream thicken faster. Others use cornstarch instead of plain flour, but personally I don't like the consistency of cornstarch. Once reached the desired consistency (quite thick for filling), turn off the heat and pour the cream in a shallow dish or pan so that it cools more rapidly. Cover the cream with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool.


When the cream is at ambient temperature, fill a pastry bag preferably fitted with a tubular tip (it makes the filling process easier) with the cream. Then pierce each buñuelo (how painful!) with the tip and fill it with the cream. This is the most time-consuming part... I ate quite some unfilled buñuelos while filling the rest... they were so yummy! If you want to eat the buñuelos straight away, sprinkle them with a lot of powdered sugar... and enjoy without mercy. I must say the cream was luscious, you could notice the flavor of the old rhum from Venezuela... delicious.


Making buñuelos is not as difficult as it seems, trust me. The result is worthwhile. Besides they include two of the basic recipes every good cook should know how to prepare: pastry cream and choux paste. It's a good chance to try your hand at it. A bit time-consuming perhaps... but, is there a better way to spend a cold Autumn afternoon?

Eager to know more?