Garlic and goat cheese tart

We tried this Lagasse recipe a while back, and agreed that the fundamental concept was nice, but - in our humble opinion - way too rich and lacking greens in the filling. Recently, we finally came back to it and tried out this modification, which we think gives a more balanced (and therefore better) result..

Ingredients:
pie filling:
- 1 head of garlic, roasted (see below)
- 2 leeks, sliced
- fresh rosemary
- fresh oregano
- fresh thyme
- 160 g (5.5 oz) chèvre (goat cheese)
- 250 g (9 oz) ricotta
- 3 egg yolks ^[1]
- 1 dL (~1/2 cup) milk
- 5 tbsp flour
- salt and pepper
pie crust:
- 180 g (0.4 lb) flour
- 125 g (4.4 oz) margarine
- 1 tsp salt
- a little water
salad:
- lettuce
- cucumber
dressing:
- 1/4 dL (~ 1 oz) red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp onion, chopped
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tsp mustard
- 4 black olives, chopped
- 1/4 dL (~ 1 oz) olive oil
- 1/2 dL (~ 2 oz) sunflower oil


The outer papery layers were peeled of the head of garlic, and the tips were cut of each clove. The head was placed in a small oven-proof bowl together with olive oil, covered with foil, and baked at 225 C (450 F) for 50 minutes.

While the garlic was roasting, the pie crust was prepared: The margarine was worked into the flour and salt using the fingers. Water was added by the tsp until the dough came suitably together - a little extra flour can be added if to much water is added. The dough was rolled into a ball, wrapped in film and placed in the fridge for 45 minutes.

While the dough was resting, the salad and the dressing was prepared: the lettuce and cucumber were simply rinsed and cut. For the dressing, the red wine vinegar, the onion, the salt, and the pepper were mixed. After standing for 5 minutes, the mustard and the olives was added and the mixture was liquefied using a stick-blender - while continuing blending the oil was poured in slowly to give a smooth emulsion. The dressing was stored in the fridge while preparing the rest.


While waiting further, the leeks and the herbs for the pie filling were prepared.

When the garlic was roasted, the oven was reduced to 175 C (350 F). The pie dough was rolled on a floured surfaced and transferred to a 22 cm (9 inch) tart shell with a removable bottom - admittedly this part was a little tedious (the dough being difficult to transfer). The pie crust was baked for 15-20 minutes before filling it. The oven was then set for 200 C (400 F).

The pie filling was prepared by removing the cloves of roasted garlic from the remaining peel and beating them in a bowl together with the cheeses and the herbs. Then the egg yolks were beaten into the mixture one at the time, before adding milk, flour, salt, and pepper. The leeks were stirred in lastly, and the filling was transferred to the pre-baked crust and baked at 200 C (400 F) for 40 minutes.


It is advisable to let the finished tart cool a little before trying to cut it - if you can make yourself wait...

^[1] Needing three egg yolks tends to leave behind three egg whites, which can conveniently be made into fluffy sweetness..

Bière du Leman

On a recent trip to the Haute-Savoie region I saw these at a Sunday market and was quite intrigued. So I decided to bring home a couple and see how I liked them.

Unfortunately they are not very interesting. IMHO the blanche was better than the blonde, but I wouldn't go through a lot of trouble to get either of them again.

In the end, I guess there's a reason Évian-les-Bains isn't famous for it's beer so much as for other liquids...

Coalfish

This meal came about for two main reasons - the good looking filets of coalfish on sale at the supermarket and the desire to (re)create a dish similar to one I recently had at a restaurant...

Ingredients:
- 2 filets of coalfish
- bacon
- 150 g (1/3 lb) mixed mushrooms
- sambal oelek
- 1 dL (~ 1/2 cup) cream
couscous:
- 1 dL (~ 1/2 cup) couscous
- 2 dL (~1 cup) water
- salt
- ground coriander
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
salad:
- lettuce
- sun dried tomatoes
- cucumber
- roasted pistachios

The salad was prepared first, then the couscous by pouring boiling water on couscous mixed with salt and ground coriander, then letting stand covered till the water was absorbed after which the onion and cherry tomatoes were stirred in.

In a pan, bacon in smaller pieces was fried, then added filets of coalfish. When the coalfish were done they were removed from the pan. To the pan was added the mushrooms together with the cream and as much sambal oelek as was on the tip of a butter knife. After a few minutes this was deemed a sauce.

Delicious - and quite similar to the restaurant dish I was aiming for!

Ardbeg

I got a bottle of this relatively pale whiskey for Christmas and have been trying to make up my mind about it ever since.

It's not as to whether or not it's good I'm confused - I like it a lot, that's for sure.

But...

...it seems to me this is some sort of chameleon whiskey, changing it's character from time to time. Sounds odd? Well, it is.

I have this memory - surprisingly clear as it is - of one night a few years back that I was out with friends, tasting different whiskeys during the night. One of the later ones we had was Ardbeg, and I distinctly remember being surprised at how pungently smoky the taste was after having smelled it and found the nose.. well, fairly dull.

But when I first smelled this bottle (i.e. on a day I hadn't had any whiskey yet) it did smell smoky. But the smoky notes in the nose are so faint that even after the first sip (of this or other whiskeys), I can't detect them any longer. This is in sharp contrast to certain other strongly smoky whiskeys that I like.

The result is the funny effect as just mentioned. Or maybe it's just my nose that's too flaky.

Elk Steaks

When I first saw a product called 'Wapiti' at the supermarket I really didn't know what it was. I thought it might be some kind of exotic bird (mainly because it was right next to the ostrich steaks), but after consulting my dictionary I learned that 'wapiti' is simply French for 'elk'. Remembering how much I've enjoyed venison in the past, it wasn't long before I bought a couple of elk steaks.

Ingredients:
- potatoes, peeled
- elk steaks
- salt
- pepper
- handful of raw pearl onions, peeled
- ~ 1-2 dL (1/2 - 1 cup) milk
and:
- roasted green bean salad
- a little grana padano cheese, as thin flakes

While the beans were roasting in the oven, the potatoes were boiled in lightly salted water.

The elk steaks were seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in a pan. When the steaks were cooked as preferred, they were removed, the pearl onions and and the milk was added to the pan and the volume was reduced to about half.

Trout and Noodles with Poppy Seed and Lemon

Finding ways to use yet more poppy seeds, we tried out this idea, which we found on the internet - only adding quite a bit more poppy seeds than the original recipe called for.

Ingredients:
- 250 g (1/2 lb) wide egg noodles
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- zest of 1 lemon, freshly grated
- 1 bunch chives, cut
- trout filets
- lettuce
- tomatoes

The noodles were boiled in lightly salted water till tender.
While the noodles were boiling, the poppy seeds were toasted lightly, the chives were rinsed, and the lemon zest was grated. When ready, the drained noodles were stirred with poppy seeds, lemon zest, chives, and butter.

Served with pan fried filets of trout and a very quick salad of lettuce and tomato slices.

Finally: with black lentils

Living now in a different part of the world, it's suddenly possible for me to purchase black lentils again .. and make this dish right:

Viru

I have to admit that Viru is the first Estonian beer I've tasted.

And I'm not particularly surprised to learn that it's a pilsner.

However, I am a bit surprised to learn that the curious longish octagonal pyramidal bottle is in fact NOT a gimmick introduced to market the beer when it was recently introduced to the international market (according to wikipedia it's scheduled for release in the US this year).

Enough about the bottle. What about the beer? Well, it's OK, but nothing special to my taste, so I'm guessing I would be more interested if I went to Estonia and found it at a price that didn't reflect export/import costs. (Honestly, if I went to Estonia, I would probably be looking around for what other beers they have...)

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

We have a large bag of poppy seeds .. and we're moving relatively soon. We've been talking about making lemon poppy seed muffins, but without muffin forms that's a little less fun. Mrs. Erator opted instead for this lemon poppy seed cake..

Ingredients:
- 320 g (11 1/4 oz) flour
- 225 g (8 oz) + 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 lemons (juice AND zest)
- 40 g (1.4 oz) poppy seeds
- 300 g (10.5 oz) margarine
- 5 eggs


The larger portion of the sugar was mixed with the flour, salt, lemon zest, poppy seeds and margarine. The eggs were whipped into the dough one at the time. The dough was poured into a previously buttered-and-floured bread pan and baked for 1 hour at 175 C (350 F).

Once out of the oven, holes were pricked in the top of the cake, and a solution of the smaller portion of sugar dissolved in the lemon juice was poured over the cake. After standing for 10-15 minutes to absorb this lemon syrup, the cake was taken out of the bread pan, allowed to cool to room temperature and wrapped in film.

After resting overnight, it was sort of OK - very lemony and the taste wasn't quite like the lemon poppy seed muffins I had in mind. However, on the third day (after resting wrapped in film in the fridge) it was much better: The lemon note was less overpowering and the taste was much more like I remember lemon poppy seed muffins.