Food & Recipes: April 2011 Archives

Tuesday April 26, 2011

Grand Prix of Cheese

Our guide to food and nutrition, Julie Van Rosendaal, brings us the results of last week's Grand Prix of Cheese.

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Gouda Gougères

For pâte à choux:
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp. salt (if using unsalted)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated medium, flavoured or aged Gouda cheese

In a saucepan bring water and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to low and add flour all at once, then stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from side of pan.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time with an electric mixer on high speed, beating well after each addition. The batter should have the consistency and colour of thick pudding; thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough.

Preheat oven to 375°F and spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper. Stir the cheese into the pâte à choux and spoon about a tablespoon at a time an inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until puffed, golden and crisp. Gougères keep, chilled in sealable plastic bags, 2 days or frozen 1 week. Reheat gougères uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes if chilled or 15 minutes if frozen. (You must serve gougères warm!)

Makes about 2 dozen.

Categories: Columnists, Food & Recipes

Tuesday April 19, 2011

Getting inventive with Matzo

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Chocolate Matzoh Buttercrunch

4-6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets (alternatively, you could use soda crackers)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil, then cover the bottom with parchment. Line the pan with matzoh boards, breaking them to fit if need be.

In a medium saucepan, bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour evenly over the matzoh, spreading it with a heatproof spatula to cover.

Put it into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350F. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until deep golden. Remove from the oven and scatter with chocolate chips; let sit until they soften, then spread evenly over the caramel.

Let cool completely, then break into chunks, or cut/score into squares while still warm. Makes lots (but not enough).

Matzo Lasagna

1 750 mL can or jar tomato sauce

4 large square matzo boards

1 500 mL container ricotta

1-2 eggs

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Pour a bit of sauce into the bottom of a 9"x9" glass baking dish (or similar sized dish), spreading to cover the bottom. Run a matzo board under warm water (not enough to soften it) and then place on the sauce. Top with another layer of sauce.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta and egg(s); spread half on top of the sauce. Top with another matzoh board, then more sauce, the rest of the cheese, the last board (running each under warm water before placing it) and the rest of the tomato sauce. Scatter the top with mozzarella and Parmesan and bake for about 40 minutes, until bubbly and golden. Serves 6.