Blueberry Crumble Tart

That's very hard to resist in getting some blueberries when it's on sale. I just love it so much. Without thinking about what to do with it and I buy it first. Then, I came out with this recipe which is a very rich, buttery yet flavourful pastry, that's sound quite naughty and yes I think I'm quite naughty recently as for some reason I've been good for some time :)

This is something that the 'English favorites' and also my Mr. favorite. His every bite will naturally came out with an "uhmmmm......" kind of yummy voice and make me feel so happy that I've made it real good, it's just a very encouraging kind of voice. I've control the sweetness of the entire pastry which is from the tart to fragipane as well as the crumble. The sweetness from the blueberry is very fresh and juicy. I find that all ingredients are just so friend to each other which the ground almond fragipane enhance the flavour and the crumble toppings give it a bonus texture. Smell good and taste good!

English would love to serve it warm with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream. I only have the mango ice cream which I made earlier so I serve it with a dollop of the leftover ice cream. Our stomach was stuffed after finished a portion as it's a real rich pastry!

Recipe:
For the shortcrust pastry:
2 eggs
2 tbsp cold water
225g plain flour
20g sugar powder
110g butter, cold and diced

1. Separate the eggs. Add 2 tbsp cold water to the egg yolks and stir with a fork. (You can use the egg whites for another dish or freeze them.)
2. Place the flour and sugar powder into the bowl of a food processor, followed by the cold butter and the salt.
3. Turn the processor on and pulse several times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Add two-thirds of the egg yolk/water mixture and pulse again. If the mixture is still too dry, add the remaining egg and water mixture (you may not need to use all of it). Be careful not to overwork the pastry. Stop pulsing when the mixture has the consistency of chunky breadcrumbs.
5. Turn the pastry out onto a clean, floured work surface and, with floured hands, bring together to make a smooth dough, but don't knead.
6. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes. You can keep the pastry at this stage for 2-3 days if not using it immediately.
7. Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a clean, floured work surface, roll it out with a floured rolling pin until it's slightly larger than the flan ring. Using the rolling pin, lift the pastry and lay it over the flan ring.
8. With your fingers, lightly press the pastry into the sides of the ring. Run a rolling pin over the top of the ring and pull away the excess pastry at the edges. Using your fingers, gently press the pastry up to slightly build up the height of the pastry at the edges. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Place in the fridge to relax for about 30 minutes.

For the Fragipane:

142g ground almond
25g plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g butter
90g caster sugar

In a food processor, blitz the whole almonds to a fine powder and put into a bowl. Then blitz the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add this to the almonds with the lightly beaten eggs and fold in until completely mixed and nice and smooth. Spread the batter on the ready pastry case then place in the fridge to firm up slightly.

For the Crumble:

55g ground almond
140g plain flour
85g polenta (not quick cook)
140g butter, diced and cold
90g brown sugar
splash of water

1. Place the almonds, flour, polenta, butter and sugar in a food processor and pulse briefly several times, just to mix. The mixture should look like coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Tip out into a bowl and add a splash of water. Use a spoon to mix briefly - it should be quite clumpy.

To assemble the tart:

Place the blueberries on top of the ready pastry with fragipane then sprinkle over the crumble. You might not need to use all the crumble. Store them in a zip bag and place in the freezer for future use. Place the ready tart into the 180C preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. Place it on a wire rack to cool down before unmold. Carefully unmold the tart. If you find the bottom is still soggy, put them back into the oven and bake until harden. Place a piece of aluminium foil to cover the top to avoid burning the crumble.

The tart could store in the fridge or room temperature. I store some leftover in the fridge then reheat in the oven at 150'C for about 10 minutes until it's slightly warm up. Serve with a dollop of ice cream, enjoy!

A Family Favorite

COCONUT LENTIL CURRY

(2009 Cardamom Kitchen LLC All Rights Reserved)

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

1 cup masoor dhal (red lentils)

1/2 cup diced onion

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

10 fresh curry leaves

3/4 teaspoon canola oil

1/8 teaspoon black mustard seeds

3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1 dry red pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Place dhal in a stockpot. Cover with water and stir to remove excess starch. The water will turn cloudy. Drain. Repeat until water becomes clear. Drain.

Add water to rinsed lentils.

Reserve 1/4 cup of onion for later use. Add other 1/4 cup onions to pot.

Add garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, turmeric powder, and curry leaves. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. (Dhal will soften and expand as it cooks.) Remove from heat.

Place oil in a small saute pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cover. When seeds start to pop, add 1/4 cup onion and stir. Cook uncovered until onion begin to brown.

Add coconut and red pepper. Cook until coconut becomes lightly toasted.

Add coconut mixture to dhal and stir to blend throughout. Serve with rice.

Focaccia Sandwich

Focaccia bread is just nice to serve with a bowl of warm creamy soup, that's what I normally do. However, I found another way of eating it. Yes, I know some of you already knew a better way of eating it but that's just what I've discovered few days ago. It's a bit shame that I only knew it recently but nothing is too late right?!

I like to use the focaccia recipe from 孟老师的100道面包. It's just so simple to make that I don't have to knead too long for the dough. This time, I made something extra for the recipe which is sandwiched some ham and mozzarella cheese with onion, garlic, herbs and cheddar cheese for toppings.

The result ended up very yummy that I can just eat it straight a way without a bowl of soup. It's a softness and crusty combination from the inside to outside. The topping enhance the flavour which the onion and garlic almost caramelized and the herbs bring out a fantastic aroma together with the cheddar cheese. I like it very much! Hope you'll like it too!

Recipe (I used half the recipe for two):

300g bread

10g sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon yeast

170g water

10g olive oil

onion, sliced

garlic, sliced

oregano and parsley

cheddar cheese

Mix all the ingredients together then gradually add in the olive oil and continue the kneading process until it become a smooth dough. You don't have to knead the dough like making a loaf of bread. Let it proof for 60 minutes.

Divide the dough into a few small portions, it's very depends on your whether you want to make two sandwiches or more or just leave it as a big portion of serving size then give it a rest for ten minutes. As for me, I divide the dough into two portions because I want to make a sandwich. After ten minutes of resting, roll out the dough in any shape you like and place it on a baking tray, I made it into rectangular shape. Then place a few slices of ham and mozzarella cheese on top of the roll out dough and don't forget to leave a space at the edges. Roll out another dough into the same shape and place it the on top and seal the edges tightly. Let it proof for 20 minutes. Egg wash the dough then put the onion, garlic, cheddar cheese and some herbs. Bake at 190'C preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown with a crusty texture. Enjoy!