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Blackberry White Chocolate Macarons

I never liked how macarons tasted, but I loved how they looked — pretty pastel colored cookies with frilly centers, almost like they just walked out of a dollhouse. A couple of weeks ago, I tried making French macarons for the first time following Chef Pierre Herme’s world famous macaron recipe (Italian meringue method). I ground almonds to make my own almond flour and made the batter following the recipe to the gram. I had hopes of seeing perfect (smooth shiny tops, frilly feet and what not) macarons slide out of the oven. But I failed. As disappointed as I was, I had to convince myself that I got tricked by this 3-ingrdient recipe which looked so straightforward but was really not.

After this first attempt, I did decide never to waste anymore almond flour in making macarons. Soon after, we were toured around New York City by an awesome food enthusiast and on his suggestion, my sister and I visited Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery and tried their macarons. We got a box of six — raspberry white chocolate, mango-coconut, vanilla, chocolate and pistachio. These macarons were very promising — they tasted less of sugar and more of the flavor name tags beside them. Now I haven’t tried the Ladurée macarons and so I don’t know how good they are but I can assure you that the Bouchon Bakery macarons are probably better than the best.

Every time we taste an amazing baked good, my job is to come home, do some research, make it, (try to) meet the standards and perfect it. That being said, I was tempted to make macarons again, but this time, I had to meet the Bouchon standards!

This time I used store bought almond flour and used the French meringue method. I learned that making macarons was less about ingredients and a lot more about technique. Getting the meringue right is key and so is the batter consistency. After that comes recognizing the right oven temperature as all ovens differ. I still need to work on finding the suitable temperature.

Blackberry White Chocolate Macarons

Partially adapted from Byron Talbott

For the the macaron shells:
65g (2/3 cup) — powdered sugar
50g (1/2 cup) — almond flour
1 — egg white
20g (2 tbsp) — granulated sugar
1 to 2 drops — purple gel food coloring (optional)

For the White Chocolate Buttercream
3 tablespoons — butter
1/4 cup — powdered sugar
3 tablespoons — melted white chocolate

For the Macerated blackberries:
10 to15 — blackberries
1 tablespoon — granulated sugar

1) In a medium bowl add the egg white and begin whisking until foamy. Add the granulated sugar and continue whisking until the meringue has semi-soft peaks. Add the food coloring half way through the process. Be careful not to over mix or you will have to start over.
2) Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar in a separate bowl and begin to fold the meringue into the dry ingredients a half at a time. Once the batter is finished it should look like a thick cake batter. Drop a little of the batter back into the bowl and if it absorbs into the rest of the batter within 15 seconds it’s finished.
3) Scoop the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small round metal tip and pipe out the macarons slightly larger than the “Thin Mint” wafers. Tap the tray to make sure there isn’t any air trapped inside the batter and allow to dry for 15-20 minutes. Once dry bake in a 300°F oven for 12-15 minutes.Take the macarons out of the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing them from the tray.
4) While the macarons are cooling, make the buttercream filling. In a medium sized mixing bowl add the room temperature butter and powdered sugar and begin to whisk until all of the powdered sugar is absorbed into the butter. Add the melted white chocolate and begin to whisk until the buttercream is smooth. Scoop into a piping bag and reserve until ready to use.
5) Slice some blackberries in half and add to a small bowl. Add some sugar to the blackberries and gently mix until the sugar has dissolved onto the blackberries.
6) Pipe a quarter sized dollop of buttercream on the flat side of a macaron then place one of the halved macerated blackberries in the center and gently press down until the buttercream spreads close to the edge of the macaron. Top with the other macaron cookie and enjoy!

Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Makes 1 dozen.

March 9, 2014
Wholewheat Olive Oil Galette filled with Homemade Ricotta, Asparagus Pesto & Tomatoes

Last week, my roomie Disha and I visited the Butler’s Orchard in Germantown, MD.

We picked a whole bunch of gorgeous red raspberries….

Sweet plump yellow tomatoes…

Juliet tomatoes…

Basil leaves…

Mint leaves…

And a whole mass of donut peaches (sweetest and juiciest peaches we ever ate) and sugar pears along with some fresh grass-fed cow milk, red apple salsa, fig jam, fresh herb bread, white eggplants, okra and heirlooms.

And then we came home all crazy, excited and simply falling short for words of adoration at all the beautiful things that we picked.

For the longest time, I wanted to try making a galette — a flat, rustic-looking French tart. The galette pastry dough is usually made of plain flour and a whole lot of butter, similar to a tart pastry. Now, I haven’t tried making it that way just because a whole stick of butter in a dinner dish yielding two servings sounds scary. So I made a lighter and healthier version using wholewheat flour and olive oil. Surprisingly, the crust turned out perfect and crispy. Galettes can be sweet or savory. I made a savory one just because I needed to get my eyes off those pretty looking tomatoes before they rotted away.

Along with the tomatoes, I filled the galette with some asparagus pesto and homemade ricotta cheese that I flavored with garlic, chili and dried rosemary.

For the Galette crust:
150 grams – whole wheat flour
100 grams – plain flour
1 teaspoon – fine sea salt
1 teaspoon dried herbs (I used mixed italian herbs)
1/4 cup – olive oil
1/2 cup – cold water (I used the cold whey from my ricotta)

1) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2) Combine the flour, salt, and herbs in a medium mixing bowl. Add the oil and mix it in with a fork. Add the water, mix with the fork until it is absorbed, then knead lightly until the dough comes together into a ball. (I just used the kitchen aid stand mixer for this step).
3) Tightly cover the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
4) Turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter. Sprinkle a little flour on the ball of dough and roll it out into a large circle. Keep sprinkling little flour underneath and on the dough when it seems on the verge of sticking to the counter.
5) Transfer the dough carefully into the prepared pan.

For the Filling:
1 – egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup – asparagus pesto
1/3 cup – herbed homemade ricotta (I used the homemade ricotta and herbed it with 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 small dry red chili – crushed, 1 tsp dried herb – I used rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon salt)
A bunch of mixed tomatoes (I used a mix of green tomato, baby yellow tomatoes and heirlooms) – deseed them, slice them and then lay them on 3 layers of paper towel to absorb the excess liquids, else the galette will be soggy.
A couple leaves of fresh basil

1) Brush some egg white on the galette base.

2) Spread the pesto and ricotta. (Make sure to leave a 1″ border along the circle).
4) Arrange the sliced tomatoes and basil.
5) Start folding the border over the filling to seal the edge of the galette.
6) Brush the remaining egg white on the edge and bake the galette for about 25-28 minutes in a preheated oven (425 degrees F). It should be golden brown all over.

7) Cool sightly to let the filling set and then slice and serve.
Bon Appetit!! 🙂

August 27, 2013
Asparagus Pesto

Green, hearty and healthy, this recipe is a winner. Spread it on pizzas or sandwiches, use it in pastas or salads. It’s amazing in every way.

1 bunch (about 1 pound) – asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces
1 bunch – fresh basil
10 – pecan nuts
2 slices (more or less) – jalapeno pepper
6 cloves – garlic
1/2 cup – olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the asparagus and cook until fully tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, reserving couple spoons of the cooking liquid, and let the asparagus cool slightly.
2) Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz together till it’s nearly smooth.
3) You can refrigerate it or freeze it for future use.

August 27, 2013
Homemade Ricotta Cheese

This summer, I had classes until mid August and soon after I got done, all I wanted to do was to try making an assortment of cheeses from scratch. I made Arabic white cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese, mascarpone cheese and ricotta cheese. Surprisingly, they were all easy to make and all of them used about the same ingredients. One morning I woke up thinking about making fresh parmesan at home too and then I LOL’d to myself when I realized it took 9 -10 months to age and mature.

Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen

3 cups – whole milk
1 cup – heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon – sea salt
3 tablespoons – freshly squeezed lemon juice

1) Pour the milk, cream and salt into a saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from sticking on the bottom.
2) Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it gently once or twice. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
3) Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. Store the ricotta in a airtight container.

Makes about 1 generous cup.

Note: Don’t discard the whey. It’s full of protein so use it up in soups, smoothies or replace the water in making any dough. I used my whey in making the galette pastry dough.

August 27, 2013
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

For the cake layer:
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups – plain flour
1 cup – sugar
3 tbsp – unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp – baking soda
1/2 tsp – salt

Wet ingredients:
6 tbsps – oil
1 tbsp – white vinegar
1 tsp – vanilla extract
1 cup – ice cold water

1) Mix all the ingredients very well with a whisk.
2) Pour all the liquids into the dry flour mixture and mix well with a whisk until the batter is smooth. Do not over beat.
3) Pour the batter in a 9″ cake pan with a loose bottom or a spring form pan. Bake the cake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until the top is springy when touched. When it’s done, take it out and cool completely.
4) Once the cake is cool, brush it with some brandy or amaretto (optional).

For the dark chocolate mousse:
150 gms – mini marshmallows
50 gms (1/2 stick) – unsalted butter
250 gms – dark chocolate (at least 60% cacao), chopped
1/4 cup – boiling hot water
250 ml – heavy cream
1 tsp – pure vanilla extract

1) Place all the ingredients except heavy cream and vanilla in a non-stick saucepan and stir together on med-low heat until it’s all smooth and melted. Take off from the heat and let it cool.
2) While the chocolate mixture is cooling, whip the cream and vanilla until soft peaks form (not stiff).
3) Gently fold in the cooled chocolate mixture until it’s all mixed. Pour this mousse on the cake layer and chill it in the fridge until it’s well set.

For the white chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup – white chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp – heavy cream
1/2 cup – sour cream

1) Heat the heavy cream till it’s hot but not boiling.
2) Pour it over the chopped chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes. Then stir it up till all the chocolate melts. Let it cool to room temperature. Then whisk in the sour cream and pour the glaze over the dark chocolate mousse layer. Refrigerate till set.
3) Decorate with berries of your choice and serve.

July 25, 2013
Pesto Paneer Wraps

A friend was over for the weekend and we spent hours trying to decide what to make for dinner. We opened the refrigerator and cluelessly stood there staring at what we had but yet not being able to decide. We saw a whole bunch of fresh basil and tons of garlic, so thought we should make pesto. Then we thought we should make pesto pizza with goat cheese. We didn’t have any goat cheese on hand so we decided to make pesto and eggplant panini. Then we realized we didn’t have any bread for the panini on hand. So instead of running to the store and getting the missing ingredients, we challenged ourselves to make a delicious dinner out of the few things we had on hand. With some veggies, pesto, paneer cubes and tortillas, I thought of making paneer pesto wraps.

This wrap was a cross between Indian paneer tikka stuffed Kati Rolls and an Italian roasted eggplant panini. And then the friend suggested to spice up the wrap with some sriracha sauce… and that totally hit the spot!

For the Marinated Paneer
1 cup – sliced paneer (cottage cheese)
1 recipe – homemade pesto

For the Roasted Veggies
1 – green bell pepper/colored peppers, cut into thin strips
2 – zucchinis OR 1 medium – eggplant, sliced
3 cloves – garlic, sliced (optional)
2 teaspoons – olive oil
salt & black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon – fresh/dried rosemary

For the Caramalized Onions
1 tablespoon – olive oil
1 medium – onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon – sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon – fresh/dried rosemary

To Assemble the Wrap
8 – whole wheat tortillas
Marinated paneer
Roasted Veggies
Caramelized onions
Fresh mozzarella to your liking, sliced/any other kind of cheese that melts well
To serve – sriracha sauce (optional)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msemny0oous&w=560&h=315]

July 25, 2013
Raspberry & White Chocolate Tart

White chocolate and raspberry is my favorite dessert combination in the world. I love how the sweetness of matte white chocolate and sourness of bright juicy raspberries complement each other. And, needless to mention how pretty they look together!

DC vs. Baltimore food truck Saturday..out of the 50 trucks there, I had my eyes stuck on this one truck that sold white chocolate raspberry cheesecake on a popstick.

A few months back, we had a friend visiting from the Midwest. So I made Paneer Pesto Wraps for dinner and tarts for dessert. I filled some of the tarts with the classic PBJ and some with pastry cream and strawberries. Then I had some leftover tart shells (they keep well for a good month) with which I made these Raspberry & White Chocolate Tarts.

The usual tart pastry recipes call for rubbing cold cubes of butter into the flour, forming the dough with egg or water and refrigerating the dough before baking. But this tart shell recipe is the complete opposite — uses melted butter, doesn’t use any egg and no refrigeration required. And good news is that it’s a guaranteed fail-proof recipe so do give it a try.

For the tart pastry:
90g – unsalted butter
3 tbsp – water
1 tbsp – vegetable oil
1 tbsp – sugar
Pinch – salt
1 cup – flour

1) To make the tart pastry, preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
2) Place the butter, water, oil, sugar and salt in an overproof bowl.
3) Put the bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the butter is melted, bubbling, and just beginning to brown around the edges. This step can even be done by placing a saucepan on a stovetop on low heat.
4) Carefully remove the bowl from the oven and dump in the flour. Stir quickly, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the dish.
5) Put the dough into the base of one 10″ tart pan or divide it equally into six 3″ tart pans.
6) Press the dough around the base of the pan with a spatula, and then once it is cool enough to handle, use your hands to evenly press it into the base and up the sides of the tart tin.
7) Prick the dough all over with a fork and place the tart pan(s) on a baking tray.
8) Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown all over. Remove the pans from the oven and cool completely before filling.

For the white chocolate filling:
3/4 cup – heavy cream
2/3 cup – whole milk
1 tsp – pure vanilla extract
6 oz – white chocolate, chopped

For the topping:
1 cup – fresh raspberries
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1) Whip the heavy cream till soft peaks form. Refrigerate.
2) Bring the milk and vanilla to a simmer. Pour it over the white chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes. The hot milk will help melt the chocolate. After 2 minutes, give it a good stir until it’s smooth. Cool this mixture to room temperature.
3) Gently fold in the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture.
4) Pour this filling into the tart shell(s) and refrigerate for about an hour or till the filling is set.
5) Arrange the fresh raspberries on top.
6) Dust the confectioner’s sugar on those gorgeous red rubies!

July 24, 2013
Kale & White Peach Salad with a Honey Dressing

After eating spinach salad for lunch for almost a whole week, I desired for a change. A couple weeks back, my friend Bhavana and I went to dinner at Tapas Teatro and there I had a Kale & Pine Nut Salad with raisins. It was absolutely amazing. It was sweet, juicy and refreshing. I wanted to make something similar to what I had eaten and so I came up with this Kale & White Peach Salad that I sweetened with a honey dressing.
1 tbsp – olive oil
1 small – onion, chopped
1 handful – kale leaves
1 – white peach, chopped
2 tbsp – honey
1 tbsp – lemon juice
1 tsp – lemon zest
salt & pepper to taste

1) Saute the onions in olive oil.
2) Turn off the heat and toss in the kale and peach.
3) Pour in the honey, lemon juice and zest.
4) Season with salt and pepper.

May 14, 2013
Brazilian Limeade

5 cups cold water, divided
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar (more or less depending on your taste)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Zest of 3 limes
1/2 tsp coconut extract

1) Combine 4 cups cold water (if your blender fits 5 cups well enough then you can add all 5 at this point), coconut milk, sugar, lime juice, lime zest and coconut extract in a blender. Cover with lid and blend on low speed for one minute.
2) Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher, then using a rubber spatula press and rub lime zest back and forth against strainer to release oils from the zest into pitcher.
3) Pour in remaining 1 cup cold water and stir. Serve over ice. Store in refrigerator and stir each time before serving.

May 6, 2013
Avocado Tartine

I made this avocado tartine for our Sunday lunch this afternoon. I was amazed at how well I replicated this dish after eating it twice at Le Pain Quotidien — once in New York City and once in Washington D.C., especially because the menu vaguely read 3 things “chickpeas, cucumbers and spicy tahini.” Now obviously, that didn’t help. But I put together a few things and the final product was no different from the one at Le Pain Quotidien.

A tartine is basically an open-faced sandwich, generally slathered with a rich spread; in this case, creamed avocados. This dish is pretty bland but I still find it flavorful in its own way.

For the avocado spread:
1 – ripe avocado
3 – spring onions, only the green part
1 tbsp – olive oil
1 tbsp – sour cream
salt and lemon juice to taste

1) Cut the avocado in half and scoop out the fleshy bit.
2) Tip it into a blender along with the spring onions, olive oil, sour cream, salt and lemon juice.
3) Blend until it’s a smooth, spreadable paste. Chill it in the fridge while you prepare everything else.

For the spicy tahini:
2 tbsp – tahini
1 tbsp – chili olive oil
salt and lemon juice to taste

1) Mix it all together. Add in a few drops of water if it’s too thick.

6 slices – multigrain bread
1 can – chickpeas, drained and washed
1 handful – organic spring mix (baby lettuces, spinach, arugula, red swiss chard etc.)
chopped spring onions
slices of cantaloupe and cucumber

1) Toast the bread slices.
2) Slather with the avocado spread.
3) Top with the chickpeas.
4) Set the tartines on a plate with the mix greens, cantaloupe and cucumber slices.
5) Drizzle the spicy tahini all over and serve immediately.

May 6, 2013