Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”

My grandmother is a very creative cook – sometimes, too creative.

A friend of mine from school once had lunch at my house and told grandma that the breaded fish was delicious, to what granny replied “oh, sweetie, thank you! But that is not fish – it’s banana skin”. :D

After that story I bet that tuna “meatballs” sound perfectly normal to you. :D

Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Meatballs:
2 x 185g cans tuna, drained
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
¼ cup pine nuts
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pasta and sauce:
400g spaghetti
¼ cup pesto sauce
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream
finely grated parmesan and fresh basil, to serve

Place tuna, breadcrumbs, parsley, chives, pine nuts, lemon zest and egg in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the tuna meatballs and cook, turning, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Keep warm in the oven.
Cook pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. In the meantime, add the pesto and cream to the saucepan you cooked the meatballs in (remove excess oil if necessary) and heat over medium heat. Drain the pasta, add the sauce and toss gently to combine. Top with the meatballs, sprinkle with parmesan and basil leaves and serve.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe above, used 1 ½ packed tablespoons of mixture per meatball and got 12 (I used the whole egg and the mixture was easy to roll into balls)

Baked’s granola, getting older and embarrassing secrets

I’ve decided to confess some of my deepest secrets today in order to celebrate my 32nd birthday. :)

Secret #1: I don’t like hazelnuts. I used to, but not anymore (only in creamy, chocolatey form). That’s why next time I make this granola I’ll be using almonds only.

Not embarrassing enough? Watching (again) “Miami Vice” the other day I thought that Colin Farrell looked really good as Sonny Crockett, mustache and hair included. :D

Baked’s granola
from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups (230g) rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (50g) whole almonds
1/3 cup (48g) whole hazelnuts
2/3 cup (75g) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined. Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: gather up some of the mixture in each hand, and make a fist. Repeat until all the oats are coated with the honey mixture.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return to the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool completely, then sprinkle the cranberries and use your hands to transfer the granola to an airtight container.
The granola will keep for 1 week.

Makes 450g (1 pound)

Almond and jam bars

You probably won’t believe me, but the universe conspired for me to make this recipe. :D

I was watching one of Bill’s shows – aren’t his daughters the cutest things ever? – and he made these bars. On the following morning, I found the exact amounts of almonds and jam in my fridge; I considered it a sign – you know how much I’m fond of signs – and started baking the bars right away. :D

Almond and jam bars
from Holiday

Almond topping:
4 ½ tablespoons (63g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (56g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g flaked or slivered almonds
2 tablespoons whole milk

Base and filling:
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40g) corn starch
160g raspberry jam – I used a different flavor, fruits de bois

Preheat an oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly grease a 24x20cm baking pan*, line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the paper as well – I used foil.
To make the almond topping, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla extract with the almonds and milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Cook over a low heat until the butter has melted, and then leave the mixture out to cool.

Make the base: combine the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Sift the flour with cornstarch into a small bowl and add to the butter mixture in 2 batches, beating on low speed until just mixed – you might want to finish incorporating the dry ingredients with a spatula to avoid overmixing. Press the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove the pastry from the oven and leave it out to cool for 10 minutes.
Carefully spread the raspberry jam over the pastry base, and then spread the cooled almond topping over the jam. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until golden.
Cool completely before cutting.

* I used a square 25cm pan and tried to remove the entire baked good from the pan – using the foil hangers – before cutting: it was a complete disaster; I highly recommend it to be cut inside the pan to avoid breaking the bars

Makes 20

Rhubarb tarts

A dear friend of mine once blogged about “good envy” – is there such thing? I mean, can we associate envy with a positive adjective, even if it’s to show admiration for someone/something?

An example: during all these years into blogging I’ve been “envying” my lovely friends from Europe and USA for having lots of rhubarb around; now I could finally find it here in São Paulo (thank you, Ana!) and it is absolutely delicious! :D

A non-food related example: I “envy” the Argentineans for their wonderful movies, far superior than ours – and they have Darín, too. ♥

What do you think? Can I call that feeling “good envy”? Any suggestions? :D

Rhubarb tarts
from Good to the Grain

Rhubarb compote:
2 pounds (900g) rhubarb stalks
1 ¼ cups (218g) dark brown sugar, packed

Dough:
1 cup (135g) corn flour
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ cup (82g) fine cornmeal
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1.25cm (½ inch) pieces
¼ cup (60ml) + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 egg yolks

Start by making the compote: rinse the rhubarb stalks and trim off the very ends. Unless the stalks are very slender, cut them in half lengthwise. Cut the rhubarb on the diagonal into a little less than 2cm (¾ inch) chunks. You’ll have about 6 cups of rhubarb; set 2 cups aside and put the remaining 4 cups in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan (with about 4 liter/5 quart capacity).
Add the brown sugar to the saucepan, give the mixture a few stirs, cover, and turn the heat to medium-low (it’s important to begin slowly so the rhubarb warms up and begins to release its liquid). Cook the rhubarb for about 15 minutes, covered, until the mixture is saucy. Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 15-17 minutes, stirring continuously, until the rhubarb is completely broken down and thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan.
Add the remaining rhubarb to the saucepan and stir to combine. Immediately pour the compote out onto a large plate or baking dish to cool.
The compote will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Now, the dough: sift the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.
Add the butter and using the paddle attachment mix on low speed and mix to break up the butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is as coarse as cornmeal. Add the heavy cream and the egg yolks and mix just until combined – the mixture will appear crumbly, but when squeezed between your fingers it will become one mass.
Now, shape the tarts: divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Lightly flour a work surface, grab one piece of dough and using the heel of your hand flatten it into a 13cm (5in) circle.
Spoon ¼ cup of the rhubarb compote into the center of the circle of dough. Fold the edge of the dough toward the filing and up, to create a ruffled edge. Slice a metal spatula underneath the tart and transfer to a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough, then place the tarts in the freezer to rest until firm, at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Place the tarts onto the prepared pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until the tarts are brown and the filling is bubbling and thick.
Tarts can be eaten warm or at room temperature; they can be kept for up to 2 days if tightly wrapped in plastic.

Makes 10 – I made 1/3 of the recipe above, got 3 tarts and ¼ cup of the compote left

Brown sugar and chocolate chip pound cake with maple glaze

Every once in a while I go through my recipe stash – Joao kindly calls it my “mess” – and find ripped pages/prints I did not remember existed – like this recipe from when I was a Bon Appétit subscriber, ages ago.

It’s a good cake – I expected it to be a bit more tender, but one of my official Guinea pigs said it was great; however, it was the icing that won me over: I left the espresso out and the maple flavor was all over the place. Yum!

Brown sugar and chocolate chip pound cake with maple glaze
from Bon Appetit

Cake:
1 12-ounce (336g) package semisweet chocolate chips – I used 70% cocoa solids
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (262g) light brown sugar, packed
2 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk

Glaze:
1 cup (140g) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (or more) whipping cream

Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray pan generously with nonstick spray. Dust pan lightly with flour*. Mix chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of the flour in a medium bowl. Sift remaining flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chip mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

Make the glaze: combine powdered sugar, maple syrup and 2 tablespoons cream in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more cream by ½ teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to drizzle. Spoon glaze decoratively over top of cake; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature).

* I halved the recipe above and used a regular 6 cup-capacity ring pan, buttered and floured (I did not use cooking spray)

Serves 12