Almost Greek salad

Yep, almost Greek. Because I used a different type of cheese to replace feta – queijo Minas frescal. And I used lime juice in the dressing, instead of red wine vinegar.

The verdict? I had a huge bowl of this salad. HUGE. I mean it – it was all I had for lunch, with a glass of wine. Ok, 2 glasses of wine. :)

I still want to try it with feta, but my Brazilian twist worked so well I’m submitting this salad to this Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by its creator, the lovely Kalyn, of Kalyn’s Kitchen.



Almost Greek salad
adapted from Kitchen: The Best of the Best

4 ripe tomatoes
2 Lebanese (short) cucumbers
1 red onion
175g (1 cup) Kalamata olives
½ teaspoon dried oregano
200g queijo fresco or creamy feta

Dressing:
juice of 1 small lime
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into chunks and arrange on a serving platter.
Thickly cut the cucumbers; cut the onion in paper thin slices. Add to the tomatoes and scatter the olives over the plate. Cut the cheese in thick slices and arrange over the vegetables. Sprinkle the salad with the oregano.
Make the dressing: mix well the ingredients. Drizzle over the salad and serve.

You can present the salad as I did, inspired by one episode of Take Home Chef: mix the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with the dressing.
Place amounts of salad on serving plates and top with the slices of cheese. Drizzle once more with the dressing.

Serves: 4 (as a side dish)

The Daring Bakers present: Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

Chocolate and caramel – a match made in heaven. That’s what I thought when Veron showed me this recipe – she was the host of this month’s challenge and asked me to be her partner in crime – thanks, sweetie! :)

We exchanged emails with many suggestions for the challenge but truth be told, who can resist this tart? I couldn’t, and didn’t.

The tart is delicious, but not as rich as I thought it would be – the chocolate topping is very light and smooth. The caramel fragments add a delicious crunch to it and the shortbread base is so delicious I have been thinking of using baking the amount left on my freezer as cookies.

I halved the entire recipe and got a 24cm round pie, with only a handful of pastry left.

There’s also some info I need to share: I ended up using the metric system to measure some ingredients and cup/tablespoon/teaspoon to measure others because some of the measurements were a bit confusing in my opinion – for instance, I weighed 2 ½ tablespoons flour and got more than 15g.

You’ll need to chill the pastry overnight, so plan accordingly.

Don’t forget to check the other Daring Bakers’ tarts – there’s a link to the complete list on my side bar.

Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

Chocolate Shortbread Pastry:*
250g unsalted butter, softened
150g confectioners’ sugar
50g ground hazelnuts
2 level teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
4 ½ cups cake flour**
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder

A day ahead:
In a mixing bowl of a food processor – I used my brand new Kitchen Aid, with the paddle attachment, yay!!! - cream the butter.
Add the confectioners’ sugar, the ground hazelnuts, and the cinnamon, and mix together
Add the eggs, one by one, mixing constantly; sift in the flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder, and mix well.
Form a ball with the dough, cover in plastic wrap, and chill overnight – take it out of the refrigerator a while before rolling it out, otherwise it will be too hard.

Caramel filling / chocolate mousse topping:
250g (½ lb) chocolate shortbread pastry (see recipe above)
300g granulated sugar
250g heavy cream (30-40 percent butterfat) or crème fraiche – I used 25% cream, which is the one available here in Brazil
50g butter
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2 ½ tablespoons flour
1 ¼ cups whipping cream
250g (½ lb) milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 160ºC/325ºF.
Line the baking pan with the chocolate shortbread pastry (roll it between plastic pieces and it will be a lot easier) and bake blind for 15 minutes.
In a saucepan, caramelize 200g granulated sugar using the dry method until it turns a golden caramel color. Incorporate the heavy cream or crème fraiche and then add butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs with the extra egg yolk, then incorporate the flour.
Pour this into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.
Spread it out in the tart shell and bake for 15 minutes (I baked for 20). Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Prepare the milk chocolate mousse: beat the whipping cream until stiff. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie, and fold it gently into the whipped cream – I set the chocolate aside for a couple of minutes to cool because adding the warm chocolate to the whipped cream did not seem right to me.

Pour the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel mixture, smoothing it with a spatula. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

Alternate Caramel Method:

If you have problems with the dry method, you may use this method.

1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Set mixture in a pot over medium-high heat and stir slowly. When the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and leave it alone. Wait till desired color is attained.
Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Caramel Fragments:
Melt 100g granulated sugar in a saucepan until it reaches an amber color. Pour it onto waxed paper laid out on a flat surface. Leave to cool. Break it into small fragments and stick them lightly into the top of the tart.

Makes: One 22.5cm (9in) square or one 25cm (10in) round tart

* chocolate shortbread pastry can make 3 tart shells

** there’s no cake flour here in Brazil, so I used a substitute I found on the web: 1 cup cake flour = 7/8 cup all purpose flour + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Brazilian candy in tiny cups: brigadeiro, beijinho and bicho-de-pé

Brigadeiro and beijinho are very popular types of candy served in parties here in Brazil - bicho-de-pé is a bit less usual, but equally adored.

They all start with a can of sweetened condensed milk - something we love around here. Many of our dessert/candy recipes call for it.

The difference is in the flavors: beijinho is made with coconut, brigadeiro is chocolatey and bicho-de-pé is (artificially) strawberry flavored.

After the candy is cooked and left to cool down, it is shaped into balls and rolled on some sort of coating (granulated sugar, desiccated coconut, chocolate sprinkles) and then placed into very small fluted paper cups (don’t mind the horrible photo, I made these for her birthday last year):
Since I was making all the candy without any help - my sister/birthday girl/sous chef had another birthday party to go to that afternoon - I decided to spare some time and use an idea I'd seen in a couple of websites - to serve the candy inside small cups. I bought tiny plastic cups (15ml each), poured the candy while still hot inside them (before the mixture starts to firm up) and served with small wooden spoons.

The candy was a huge hit at the party – a lot more than the cake! :)

Beijinho

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut

Mix the condensed milk, butter and coconut in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with unsweetened desiccated coconut and decorate with a clove.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in unsweetened desiccated coconut or granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups. Decorate each ball with a clove.

Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

Brigadeiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Mix the condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in chocolate sprinkles and place in small fluted paper cups.


Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

Bicho-de-pé

1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ package (40g) strawberry flavored gelatin powder

Mix the condensed milk, butter and gelatin in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.
After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with granulated sugar – I preferred to use a tiny piece of strawberry.
If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups.

Makes 25 tiny cups (15ml) or 40 balls (approx. 2cm each)

Herb ricotta cannelloni

It's funny how we spend time with people and still don't know hundreds of things about them. Or we think we know something, but we don't (This is not a philosophical post, I promise).

I was going through a couple of books trying to choose something for lunch and suddenly João looked at a photo and said "why don't you cook this?" - I looked at him and replied "but you don't like cannelloni. And you don't like ricotta either". "Of course I like cannelloni. And I would definitely try your ricotta cannelloni - but don't add spinach, please"

After my jaw was back where it belongs, João was off to the grocery store to buy the ingredients and I was glad to know he's more open to trying new food. :)

I'm submitting this post for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Scott, from Real Epicurean.

I adapted a recipe from this book and used a combination of parsley, chives and basil to replace the spinach.

Herb ricotta cannelloni
adapted from Modern Classics Book 1

500ml readymade tomato sauce
4 fresh lasagna sheets, halved lengthwise
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, extra

Filling:
750g (1 ½ pounds) fresh ricotta
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil*
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 tablespoons chopped basil
4 tablespoons chopped chives
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs – I made my own with some stale Italian bread
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
To make the filling, combine the ricotta, olive oil, parsley, basil, chives, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over the base of a greased 20x30cm (8x12in) ovenproof dish.
Lay a lasagna sheet on a flat surface, spoon on some ricotta filling and roll up. Place in the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and sheets.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the cannelloni, sprinkle with the extra parmesan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

* I added the olive oil because the ricotta I used was too crumbly – it helped create a creamier filling

Serves 4

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes

One of the bad things about living in São Paulo is the huge traffic jams I have to face every single day; it takes me forever to get to work and then to get back home. So exhausting.

I don’t know what happened in one of these days but the streets were so free that I arrived home in less then 40 minutes! A miracle! That deserved a celebration – a delicious dinner that I put together in 20 minutes.



This recipe was really good so I’m submitting it to the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Zorra, from the blog Kochtopf.

Parsley polenta with balsamic tomatoes
adapted from Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry

4 ripe tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons basil leaves

Polenta:
2 cups (480ml) hot water
2 cups (480ml) milk
1 cup quick cook polenta*
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
60g (2 oz) butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Place the tomatoes, cut side down, in an ovenproof ceramic dish. Combine the oil, balsamic, sugar and basil and pour over the tomatoes. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.
Make the polenta while the tomatoes are roasting. Place the water and milk in a saucepan over medium to high heat and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the polenta, stirring, for 3-5 minutes. Stir through the parmesan, parsley, butter, pepper and salt.
To serve, spoon the polenta onto serving plates. Top with the tomatoes and the pan juices. Finish with extra parmesan and serve.

* I made the polenta little bit thicker because that’s how João likes it.

Serves 4