Puffed Up Lurrvve Pastry

I just looked back at my last three posts and these are what I made and blogged about:

1. a purple-colored pie,
2. black-colored sushi, and 
3. frozen pink-red colored fruit named after a fiery animal!

Pretty random, don't you think? Ahh yes, colorful too. I very much like to play with color, and the natural colors of food allow me to go crazy with my some of my, ahem, creations. Then there's the taste factor. I have to make sure the flavors go together too, and not just have a visually enticing dish. Otherwise, my nibbles will be like those 3rd and 4th runners-up in beauty pageants... unmemorable and never to be heard of again.

Yesterday, I decided to experiment with puff pastry, not for the first time but probably the first time in many moons, or light years. Long time ago, anyway. I made it from scratch (yeah, I wish!) store-bought frozen puff pastry. For the record, I have NEVER attempted to make puff pastry in my entire life. The thought of rolling, folding, rolling, layering the butter in between the dough sheets over and over and over again scares the apron off of me! I mean, I can't even pronounce the darn dough in French - Pâte feuilletée - my eyes read the words, yes, but my brain and mouth wouldn't compute. My tongue just cannot seem to wrap itself around all those dashes, umlauts and silent "e"s and "l"s. The fact that I never progressed beyond the Beginner's Level at the Alliance Francaise has something to do with this, I suppose. I totally reek in French, sad... because I do love their culture, food, chicness and all that. 

Diva D, my fellow home dweller, on the other hand, HAS made puff pastry in our Red Kitchen! This momentous occasion took place a few weeks ago, and although the puff pastry was not perfect, she was very patient and persistent in her efforts. Below was the result - breakfast Croissants. Completely unglazed, because I'd forgotten to remind her about this step... 

The pastry was light and flaky and was simply fab! I was both proud (that Diva D did it on her own with only a cookbook and YouTube as references) and ashamed (that I still can't get over my puffpastryphobia). How did it get to be this way? 

That was a slight detour from my recipe for this post. Yesterday, I had sent some of these baked puff pastry parcels to the office (not mine, since I no longer work there) and my ex-colleagues dug in and well, really dug them. Only one problem, I had no clue what this dish was called when queried by friends! You see, I'd only just invented the munchies in my head, then in my kitchen, but the recipe itself had not yet been committed to paper.

Postman's Surprise? No, Puffed Up Lurrvve sounds much better!

Since there are so much good flavors and even more love in this pastry parcel, how about we just nick it "Puffed Up Lurrvve?". LOL! The names get crazier each time. Admittedly, the puff pastry was ready-made but if you're interested in making it yourself, here's a recipe by Chef Carla Pelligrino of Rao's in Las Vegas. If the culinary terms detrempe and beurrage don't put you off, maybe the level (Difficult) and prep time (almost 2 hours) will. You get a medal for bravery if you complete this task, just please let me know and yeah, you're completely entitled to rub it in.

Well, I did make the filling....does that count? I used bulgur wheat, and mixed it up with beef rashers, Feta cheese, yellow capsicum, black olives and seasoned it with garlic, shallots and coriander leaves. Delish-shuz! Here's the low-down:

Puffed Up Lurrvve Pastry

Makes: 18 pieces

Ingredients:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (10"x10")

125g bulgur wheat

600ml water

4 strips beef rashers

100g Feta cheese, crumbled

8-10 canned black olives, pitted and sliced

2 yellow capsicums, roasted, deskinned and diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 shallots, diced

4-6 stems coriander leaves, chopped

salt and pepper, to season

1 egg, for glazing

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C, and thaw frozen puff pastry for 5-10 minutes before using.

2. Boil the bulgur wheat for 15 minutes until most of the water has been absorbed, then drain. While it is still hot, add the beef rashers, garlic, shallots, coriander, capsicum, olives and mix gently until evenly distributed. When the mixture has cooled, add the Feta cheese and mix further. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

3. Cut each pastry sheet into 9 equally-sized squares while still slightly frozen, then place each small square in a muffin cup (below).

4. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling into each pastry cup, then pull the 4 corners of the pastry towards the middle to "seal" the parcel. Brush top with beaten egg to give it a golden glaze when cooked.

Crusty Avocado Treasure Balls

I cook exactly the same way I work – literally, by throwing my whole being into the task at hand. Nothing is too difficult or complicated or even impossible if you break it down into small steps. Oh, having a strategy, being well-informed and organised helps too, as does good delegation. Well, perhaps there is one difference in that when cooking, I NEVER delegate. I am the female Gordon Ramsay of my own kitchen, trusting only my own tastebuds, my own heart and no-one else’s. Having other people around when I'm cooking just makes me agitated – never a good thing when one is yielding a sharp knife! *grrrrrrh* *grins*

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to write about this dish for ages but haven’t yet been able to find any decent avocadoes in the market. Either they’re rock-hard or mushy-like - why do people sell these sub-standard produce? - and nothing much can be done with them except play hand-ball (with the hard ones) or make guacamole/facemask (mushy ones). But today, today I found perfect ones for my Treasures recipe! Well, almost perfect because they’re a tad on the small side. Still, good enough to throw my whole being into making this eye-candy of a dish.

Why the impossible title? Well, I had wanted it to be longer to include the description of the filling, but my sensible side stopped me from embarrassing myself (further). Here’s the title reasoning:

Crusty - The de-skinned avocadoes were coated in white rice crumbs (breadcrumbs will also do).

Avocado – Well, it’s the main player in this show, of course!

Treasure – Describes the filling, made up of tabbouleh – bulgur wheat, tomatoes, olives, shallots, pesto. Fresh coriander and mint would have made it more authentic and brilliant, but I had neither, so there.
Balls – The split avocado was put back together into a ‘ball’ shape before being encrusted.

At centrestage: Avocado, tomato, lemon, white rice crumbs, black olives, bulgur wheat, basil pesto, shallots

              Cooked bulgur wheat

 

 The Bald and the Crustyful.

Okayyyy…. Let’s move on from this nonsense and get on with the recipe.

Crusty Avocado Treasure Balls

Ingredients:

8 small or 4 large avocadoes

White rice crumb or breadcrumbs, enough for coating avocadoes

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:

125g bulgur wheat

600ml water

10 black olives, chopped

1 large tomato, diced

2 shallots, finely diced

1 tablespoon pesto sauce

½ lemon, squeeze for juice

Method:

1. For tabbouleh filling, add bulgur wheat to water and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 15 minutes until most of the water is absorbed. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine chopped olives, tomato, shallots and pesto sauce. Add the cooked bulgur wheat to the bowl and then add lemon juice. Mix tabbouleh gently, season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Prepare the avocado ‘shells’. Slice each fruit into two and carefully peel the skin by hand, remove seeds. Scoop out a portion of the core of each avocado half, still leaving a thick layer to hold in the filling. Add the scooped-out avocado to the tabbouleh.

4. Spoon the filling into each shell and after that’s done, press the two halves together to form what looks like a ‘whole’ avocado.

5. Carefully dip the avocado in the beaten egg and then roll it in the crumbs.

6. Place avocado in a broiler for about 3-5 minutes to just brown the crumbs. Roll over once and do not let the avocado cook or split! Serve immediately.

Even if you’d stopped at Step No. 4, this dish would still be the “Wow, Homaygad!” talk of the table. Eat it as an appetizer, mains or just to curb that hunger whenever it hits. I have a big smile every time I make this (not very often) because I know the effort, no, the LOVE, is just so worth it!

Just some post Posting notes:

White rice crumbs are my new discovery. They look like dessicated coconut except they have a rather neutral taste. Wonderfully crispy, I didn't even wait till they were properly browned before chowing these down! Can't find these? Just use regular breadcrumbs or even toasted nuts, chopped very finely. If your imagination is as wild and uncontrollable as mine, the possibilities for the coating and the filling are endless! 

Tabbouleh is just the best combination with avocado. Just in case, in case you didn't know, this is a Middle-Eastern salad - more about it on Wiki. Okay, I'll stop insulting your intelligence now.

Parmesan Crusted Fish with Carrot Flowers

Funnily enough, ever since Ivanka Trump tweeted that this was one of her favourite dishes (not that she actually cooks it, of course. She has people to do that!), I've been wanting to try it out. Maybe my inner psyche was in actual fact wanting to experience what it must be like to be Ivanka, even if it's only through this one dish and even though I have to cook it myself.  Sigh...

Luckily, she had posted the recipe up on her FB profile, so off I went to the kitchen to ahem... be Ivanka's chef, and later on, her. Lol! At least she has a good head on her shoulders and is a great role model for women everywhere.

Parmesan Crusted Fish with Carrot Flowers
Ingredients:
1 large (1 inch thick) cod fillet (or you can use sea bass, halibut, even grouper)
3 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1 tsp grated ginger
1 lime, squeezed
Ground pepper salt

For the crusted topping:
2 tblspn grated Parmesan cheese
2 tblspn butter
2 tblspn plain yoghurt
½ cup breadcrumbs

For the carrot flowers:
1 medium carrot, grated thinly lengthwise
1 egg

Method:

1. Preheat broiler/oven to high.
2. In a small bowl combine parmesan, butter, yoghurt and set aside.
3. Chop the garlic and shallots and mix together with the grated ginger. Set aside.

I love the smell of fresh ginger!

This one's just after being grated, with the fibres standing upright at the top.

4. Season fillet with lime juice, salt and pepper, then place it on a lightly greased broiler pan. Sprinkle garlic, shallots and ginger mix over the top and broil 6 inches from heat for 10 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and spread cheese mixture on top of the fillet - top that with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.

6. Return to the oven and broil for about 3 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and bubbly. The breadcrumbs burn easily so do keep an eye on it.

7. While the fish is cooking, prepare the carrot flowers. Use a potato peeler to thinly slice carrot strips along the length of the carrot.

8. Arrange carrot strips in a microwave egg poacher (below), spoon in the egg white that has been separated from the yolk and season with black pepper. If you don't have this poacher kitchen gadget thing, just use a shallow bowl.

9. Microwave for about 1 minute and it’s done. Take this out and arrange on top of each other to form “carrot flowers” and serve with the crusted fish fillet.

  

I retired to the dining table and ate this accompanied by some iced jasmine green tea laced with lime and  raspberries. 

Like Ivanka, I'm a very happy girl indeed! (To The Donald - If I can't be your daughter, can I at least be your Apprentice?)