Sobrasada stuffed rolls and a CSN giveaway

All the nutrition experts tell us that we must eat a good breakfast. That breakfast is the most important meal of the day, that it charges our batteries and it sets the tone for the entire day. I could not agree more, especially when breakfast includes some protein and not only varied sugars. I must admit breakfast makes me as happy as swinging on a swing set in the summer... I love it. For me the ideal breakfast is a fried egg with bacon and white bread... ahem. No, I do not have such a breakfast every day because then I would not fit through my door. Breakfast is a concept I try to instill in my children without really succeeding, even though I always try to sit with them for breakfast, especially on the weekends, when everything goes at a slower pace... Sometimes I make the effort to prepare luscious breakfasts with sausages, waffles, nuts, churros and other delicacies (not all at once...), but it doesn't really work. So today's breakfast is aimed for those that appreciate it the most at my house: yours truly. My kids do not even dare to try a bread with spicy charcuterie, what a sin to stain the bread with red... "looks like blood, Mom. Why don't you leave the bread alone?" Argggg. And they care even less for soft boiled eggs. They don't know what they're missing.


And... I am again hosting a giveaway thanks to CSN Stores! A gift certificate worth $75 to be spent on one of the many online CSN stores will be awarded to one lucky reader. So what do you have to do to enter?

• Just follow The Winter Guest on Facebook and leave me word of it in a comment to this post (the link is on the right sidebar). Those who are followers already, just tell me so to enter.
• The giveaway starts today and the final date is March 1st (00:00 AM). Each comment will be assigned a number and I will use a random generator to pick the winner. I will be posting the winner soon after.
• Please note that CSN only ships items within the United States and Canada.

So back to my recipe, this type of stuffed roll is typical of the northern region of Spain, mostly Asturias, though they usually pack whole chorizos inside the breads. These breads are called panes preñaos, which literally means pregnant breads. They are delish. But this time I have used a more Mediterranean charcuterie, a kind typical from the Balearic Islands called sobrasada. Sobrasada is a kind of very soft chorizo, almost a spread, one of the most delicious foods made with pork meat in Spain.



Sobrasada stuffed rolls

• 600g organic wheat white strong flour
• 400g water
• A dash of olive oil
• 10g fresh baker's yeast
• 1,5 tsp salt
• Sobrasada to taste (if you can find it) or a whole chorizo sausage
  

1. Weigh the flour and yeast and crumble the latter on top of the flour. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, knead well to develop the gluten, then make a ball and put it into an oiled bowl. Cover and let ferment. Mine took 2 hours, with one intermediate folding.
3. Preheat the oven to 250ºC (mine is convection type, I put some floor tiles in it to aid temperature stabilization).
4. When doubled in volume, tip the dough on the counter and press with your hands to deflate. Divide into 8-10 portions, depending on your bread-devouring ability.
5. Flatten each portion into a square and place two heaped tablespoons of sobrasada on its center (or the chorizo sausage). Roll the dough into a neat roll and pinch the seam to seal.
6. Repeat for all the rolls and leave them to ferment, covered, till almost doubled.
7. When risen, place them in the hot oven. Generously spray the oven with water two or three times during the first five minutes. I have found that turning the air off during these first minutes aids to prevent an early formation of the crust. The aim is to keep the moisture inside the oven for the maximum time possible, because the oven convection fan in fact extracts the moisture from the oven. As I have heat "accumulators" in my oven, that is the tiles, the temperature doesn't go down excessively if I keep the fan off for 10 minutes.
8. Bake the rolls 25-30 minutes, lowering the temperature to 200ºC once the breads have sprung and the crust has started to form. Check the inner temperature for doneness, it should be around 92-95ºC.

I advise you to eat them with a good fried or soft-boiled egg... well, at least that's my preference. And these breads, like any other, can be removed from the oven before they are browned and freezed after letting them cool, of course. To eat them later, take them out of the icebox and bake them straight in the oven for another 10 minutes. And there you have freshly made bread rolls... delicious. Wouldn't you like rolls like these on a quiet Saturday or Sunday morning? And yes, these penguins are egg cosies, courtesy of my sister-in-law P. Aren't they cute?

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Apple cream, John Barry and Valentine's day

I have a nasty cold. I am a wreck. And I do feel that way. This has not prevented me from feeling an urgent desire to make a dessert with apples though, being them one of my many addictions. I've said it before, inspiration is a very peculiar animal and comes whenever she wants to, not when it is convenient for you. Serves no programs or schedules. Just like death. That is why John Barry died on January 31st, the composer of such famous film scores as Out of Africa and well-known arranger of the original James Bond theme, when it was completely untimely for him to die... Any movie fan knows his music. He was also British and, as some say, that's a plus. Among his not so well-known compositions is the evocative soundtrack to the movie Robin and Marian, an utterly romantic movie with Sean Connery (sigh...) and Audrey Hepburn (another sigh...). Yes, the quintessential love story. I recommend you watch it, you will not regret it now that honeyed Valentine's day is on its way. Because the movie is not cloying in any way, it shows us the reunion of Marian and Robin Hood after his return from the Crusades, both middle-aged and already-done-it-all. But that does not prevent... sparks from flying between them. Delightful. Wonderful. Sublime. Totally underrated. And another excuse to enjoy the voice of Sir Sean Connery... a religious experience (although I might be thinking of something more profane). This is your homework for this cloying, sugary week. No complaining. Search for this movie and watch it, little children. And if you like it, you can watch it on every Valentine's day with your partner from now on. Though I don't wait till Valentine's day to celebrate.





You may wonder what is the relationship of the apple cream with everything that I mentioned earlier. Well, in the opening scene of the movie we see some fresh apples on a window sill that are displayed later rottening as a symbol of a world that is falling apart, Robin and Marian's. Okay, the relationship is difuse. But the ways of the subconscious are mysterious. And mine is even more mysterious, I tell you. Do not wish to know further. Also, I write my own scripts, just like Pedro Almodóvar. And that is obvious for both.

The recipe for this rather symbolic cream comes from an interesting monograph on reinette apples by a Spanish chef, famously cultivated among other regions in the north Castilian area of El Bierzo. Reinette apples are known for their tart and peculiar taste, the best for cooking desserts. Though who knows where the apples I find in my area come from. Maybe they are brought from the other side of the world, where the growers get a ridiculous revenue from them and then loads of fuel are wasted in bringing them here so that the oil companies are very happy... thanks to us. But that's another story. To the point:

Apple cream

• 4 large tart cooking apples
• 1 bottle natural cider (0,75 liters)
• 200g sugar
• 6 large egg yolks

1. Put the cider in a saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to a boil.
2. Peel and core the apples, cut them in chunks and add to the cider. Process everything to a runny puree.
3. Boil the mixture to a compote consistency, about 10-15 minutes. The puree must be somewhat thick, although it will thicken further with the addition of the yolks.
4. Once you have the required consistency, turn off the heat and add the yolks while stirring vigorously for the egg yolks to mix and set without forming threads. Leave to cool.

This simple cream is as versatile as pastry cream, because it is really quite similar. I like it well in small pots, but it can be used to fill cakes, pastries and whatever you can think of. Although to make it as pot de creme, I use a more fluid consistency than that of pastry cream, as a smooth cream for the sick... It has the pleasant color of coffee with milk, but it surprises you with the taste of apple and cider. And I've added one teaspoon of sugar on top of the cream that was conveniently caramelized with my brand new blowtorch, a gentle gift from my mother, in a créme brulée fashion.



And... celebrate your love everyday, not only when the department stores tell you to.

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