Recipe: Matcha Shortbread

Matcha powdered green tea is traditionally whisked into hot water to make a frothy beverage, but I think matcha's herbal and tannic notes complement sugar and butter nicely in western desserts.

I took the French Laundry / Bouchon Bakery shortbread recipe from Claire Clark's Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts and reworked it into the following matcha version.

1/3 cup + 1 Tb granulated sugar (75 g)

1 1/2 Tb matcha green tea powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour (225 g)

1 stick + 3 Tb butter, cut into small pieces (150 g)

1/4 cup additional granulated sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit (180 degrees centigrade)

2. Put the 1/3 cup + 1 TB granulated sugar, matcha, and salt into a food processor and process for about 15 seconds.

2. Add the flour and pulse until incorporated. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated into a loose mass.

3. Turn the dough out onto a service and knead a few times until the dough comes together. Flatten the ball and roll it about 1/3 inch think.

4. Cut the dough into about 15 rectangles and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20 minutes - the shortbread should just be beginning to color.

5. Remove from the oven and use a strainer or sifter to dust the shortbread with the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Let the shortbreads cool on the baking sheet.

Quesadillas De Flor De Calabaza

There are many wonderful things to eat in Oaxaca, Mexico, but one of my favorites was this simple quesadilla with squash blossoms.

This senora had set up shop on the sidewalk making quesadillas de flor de calabaza over a charcoal fire.

She pressed the masa dough using a handmade wooden tortilla press and cooked the tortilla on the comal.  After flipping the tortilla over, she added quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese), squash blossoms, and epazote (an anise-flavored herb).

She folded the quesadilla in half and turned it over on the comal a couple more times until heated through.

To finish the dish, she added a spoonful of salsa roja or salsa verde inside the quesadilla. Wonderful!

Radishes with Chèvre, Nori, and Salt

I was intrigued by the unusual combination of goat cheese and nori in this recipe from Jeremy Fox of Ubuntu Restaurant.

In this dish nori flavors the goat cheese, contributing umami and balancing the soft lactic acid in the cheese. The nori-enriched goat cheese contrasts nicely with the crisp, peppery radish slices and an assertive mustard dressing.

The other way I like to eat radishes is sliced thinly on an Acme baguette with unsalted butter and sprinkled with flakes of Maldon salt:

Udon with Vegetables and Tofu in Shitake Broth

Kenchin Udon

This soup features fresh udon (soft wheat noodles), fresh shimeji mushrooms, dried shitake mushrooms, daikon radish, carrots, snow peas, yu choy (a mild Chinese green), and two types of tofu:

Abura age is thin, fried tofu - also used to make inari sushi (tofu pouches stuffed with sushi rice).

And yuba is a tofu skin which forms on simmering soy milk and is dried into thin sheets:

Although I liked the variety of vegetables and tofu in this udon dish, I didn't think the shitake/kombu broth had much depth. It's difficult to create full-flavored vegetarian broths, and traditional buddhist cooking has the additional constraint of not using onions either.

I like the idea of augmenting the udon with a healthy selection of vegetables and tofu, but I would add some dried fish (katsuo-bushi or iriko) to enhance the stock, since I consider the broth to be the sublime pleasure of soup noodles. Or perhaps Elizabeth will be able to rework the shitake/kombu broth to be more flavorful.

Recipe: Risotto of Fresh Peas and Pea Shell Infusion

I developed a recipe for the pea risotto I described in a previous post for those of you who are more comfortable working from more explicit directions. Enjoy!

Risotto of Fresh Peas and Pea Shell Infusion

2 pounds fresh peas, in the shell

1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Shell the fresh peas, reserving both the peas and the shells.

Roughly chop the pea shells. Microwave the pea shells in two batches in a glass bowl or dish for three minutes, adding 1/2 cup water to each batch. Add 4 cups water total and the salt to the pea shells and puree them in batches in a food processor or blender.

Line a colander or sieve with a clean dishtowel. Place the colander in a large bowl or pot and pour in the pureed pea shells. Allow the infusion to drain through the dishtowel for about two hours. Gently squeeze the towel to extract some additional liquid; you should have about five cups.

Saute the chopped onion in a saucepan over low heat until translucent. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains. Add two cups of the pea shell infusion and bring to a simmer, stirring occaisonally. Continue adding additional infusion, about a cup at a time, as the rice absorbs the liquid just until the rice becomes tender. If you run out of the infusion, just use water.

While the risotto is cooking, blanch the peas in boiling water for about two minutes. Drain the peas and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.

Once the risotto is done cooking, gently stir in the parmesan cheese and peas. Serve. Enjoy!

Lemon Verbena Poached White Peaches with Red Miso Sauce

Hakuto No Dengaku

I saw Elizabeth's recipe for "Poached Peaches in Lemon-Ginger Miso Sauce" in her published cookbook, Washoku, and decided I needed to investigate her improbable pairing of white peaches with red miso sauce.

In this recipe, the white peaches are simmered in a syrup flavored with ginger and lemon. Elizabeth's recipe calls for lemon zest and lemon juice, but I decided to substitute lemon verbena since I thought the lemon verbena would better accentuate the perfume of the white peaches.

Tree-ripened white peaches are wonderfully fragrant, but I often find this low-acid fruit to be one-dimensionally sweet. In this recipe, the ginger and contrasting miso sauce provide some structure to the fruit.

The red miso sauce is softened by adding the poaching syrup to it, but it's still quite assertive - pungent and salty. Just a smear of the red miso sauce is enough to create an interesting contrast with the fruit, emphasizing its sugar and fragrance.

Koya Tofu Braised with Shitake and Vegetables

Koya-Dofu To Hoshi Shitake No Taki Awase

This dish features koya tofu (pronounced dofu in this context) - a freeze-dried tofu attributed to the Buddhist monks at Mt. Koya near Osaka.

The koya tofu is available as shelf stable dry cubes:

When reconstituted in warm water, the koya tofu softens and becomes resiliently and absorbent. In fact, they resemble small latex sponges!

Another uncommon ingredient in this dish is gobo (burdock root). I'm wondering how gobo is cultivated to allow it to grow to a full yard in length?

In this dish, the koya tofu is braised with shitake mushrooms, lotus root, gobo, carrots, and snow peas. Gently seasoning the dish with soy sauce, sake and sugar allows the textures and flavors of the tofu and vegetables to remain distinct and clear.