Stem Ginger Shortbread

Being Scottish, shortbread has always been a part of my life. My mother always made shortbread in fingers (small rectangles) with the distinctive fork tine imprints. Scots are renowned for having a sweet tooth and shortbread is probably the simplest satisfier of it.

Shortbread is a combination of 3 parts flour to 2 parts butter to 1 part sugar. The key is to have the best ingredients – a flour that is not too soft, butter that is fresh and slightly salted and sugar that is not too fine. Or so it is said. The best shortbread is buttery and crispy/crumbly.

My mother, true to tradition, made shortbread for every New Year’s Eve. She had to adapt her recipe to the flour that was available in Canada but stayed true to the basic recipe. She probably made it at other times too but I remember more the platters with shortbread and mince pies at New Year’s. My Aunt Janet (my mother’s sister) told me that my mother was renowned for her pastry making. So by extension shortbread would have been a snap to make. My Aunt Christine (my father’s sister) is an amazing baker of all Scottish pastries (shortbread, cookies, pies, etc.).

I had to make my own way in the art of baking but would love to have sessions with my Aunts to find out the true techniques. I don’t get much opportunity to bake these days but I decided to give Stem Ginger Shortbread a go. Instead of kneading in the stem ginger, I pulsed it in at the end of the food processor step – this resulted in a mild evenly distributed ginger flavour rather than little hits of ginger in the shortbread. Not bad for a 1st attempt I would say.

Stem Ginger Shortbread
Makes 24 fingers

250 g (9 oz) all-purpose flour
85 g (3 oz) sugar
170 g (6 oz) butter, at room temperature
5 mL (1 tsp) ground ginger
4 pieces preserved stem ginger, chopped into pea-sized pieces
15 mL (1 Tbsp) cassonade (Demerara or other cane sugar)

Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).

Place flour, sugar, butter and ground ginger in a food processor and process until the mixture is thoroughly combined and forms a ball of dough*. Knead in the chopped stem ginger; press shortbread mixture into a 20 cm x 20 cm (8” x 8”) baking pan; level with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Score top of pressed dough into 24 small rectangles and poke evenly over the surface with a fork. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the shortbread is a pale golden colour. Allow the shortbread to cool in the pan for a few minutes; cut into 24 fingers. Carefully remove from pan when completely cooled to avoid breaking the pieces.

Shortbread can be stored in an airtight tin for about a week.

* This can also be done by hand: Cream together butter and sugar then work in the flour to form a ball of dough.

Easter Mini Meringues with Strawberries

Happy Easter!  Joyeuse Pâques! Frohe Ostern!

Easter has so many symbols – crosses, bunnies, eggs, chocolate, hot cross buns, chicks, lambs, bonnets and lilies.  Easter to me is about colour – not just the yellow and purple traditionally associated with it.  Easter marks the change from the sombre colours of winter to the ever-changing spring colours in hues from pastel to neon bright.  Last Easter we had snow and this Easter weekend brings temperatures of +20°C and sunshine.

 As a little girl, there was the promise of a new outfit complete with lovely new Easter bonnet.  Somehow the weather never cooperated in Nova Scotia to be able to wear such an outfit leading me to wonder just where that tradition originated.

In Germany, there is a tradition of hanging coloured eggs from trees.  The Easter bunny is also thought to have originated in Germany.  As the hare and the rabbit being the most fertile of animals they are therefore the symbol of new life.  In Luxembourg, men are waiting to see if the ‘bretzel’ they gave to their sweethearts a couple of weeks ago will be reciprocated with Easter eggs.  There are pageants and parades to celebrate Easter.

Easter is rather unique in that the date changes from year to year.  In France the school holiday of two weeks can start anywhere from mid-March to end of April.  The statutory holiday varies between Friday and/or Monday.     On Easter Sunday, children hunt for the hidden dyed and chocolate eggs.  We normally buy brown eggs here but this year I spotted some white eggs, which would be more conducive to dying.  The grocery stores version of coloured eggs looked gaudy and streaky to me.  I think we only got to make dyed eggs one year at Easter as kids but after seeing the beautiful robin’s egg blue dyed eggs on Martha Stewart’s web site I wanted to give them a try, but alas it was too late and all the white eggs were gone.

I decided to make a sweet treat with strawberries since they are plentiful even though not in season for tastier local ones.

Mini Meringues with Strawberries
Serves 6

3 egg whites
185 mL (3/4 cup) sugar
5 mL (1 tsp) white vinegar
250 mL (1 cup) whipping cream (35%)
10 mL (2 tsp) icing sugar
6 strawberries, sliced lengthwise

Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, grease and dust with flour, shaking off excess. Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; gradually beat in sugar until dissolved. Beat in vinegar. Spread into 6 circles placed 4 cm (1-1/2”) apart on baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until meringues are dry and firm to the touch. Turn oven off and leave to cool in oven with door slightly open. Beat cream and icing sugar together until stiff; spread over meringues, top with sliced strawberries and drizzle with sauce*.

* STRAWBERRY & VIOLET SAUCE:
5-6 strawberries
5 mL (1 tsp) Crèmeux du Vigneron “Violette”** (cassis or other liqueur)

Purée strawberries, strain to remove seeds and mix with the liqueur.

** made by Château Beauféran

Tajine of chicken, preserved lemon and olives

Springtime brought back memories of buying large bouquets of 50 tulips in Paris for a small price. Buying bouquets of flowers every week was a treat I gave myself for the first few years that I lived there. Flowers were inexpensive, at least in comparison to Toronto prices, and brightened up the apartment. Somehow it seemed to me to be a very Parisienne thing to do. And the spring arrival of the tulips was extra special. I even bought a large vase on one of my trips to Amsterdam to accommodate these large bouquets.

This bunch of tulips I bought in Luxembourg brought back the memories of the spring tulips in Paris.

Another bonus of this week was that I found preserved lemons. This gave me the chance to try another Moroccan recipe - a tajine of chicken with preserved lemons and black olives.

Preserved lemons are lemons (usually small ones like Myers but any will do), slit lengthwise about 2/3 of the way, then packed in salt, water and lemon juice in a sterilized jar for about a month. The tartness of the lemon is mellowed and the flavour enriched by this process. Preserved lemons are often used in North African cuisine.

Saffron is probably the world’s most expensive spice. These red filaments are the dried stamen of the crocus flower. There are large variations in the quality of saffron. Saffron is used to give dishes a yellow colour and add a subtle flavour. Saffron is common in Mediterranean and North African cuisine. Fortunately a little goes a long way with saffron.

Turmeric is a dark yellow power that also gives a yellow colour to food. It is sometimes referred to poor man's saffron. The taste is different and the two spices are sometimes used in combination.

The black olives that I used for this dish were of the large Greek Kalamata variety. They are probably my favourite black olives.

Chicken Tajine with Preserved Lemon and Olives
Serves 2-3

15 mL (1 Tbsp) olive oil
500 g (1 lb) boneless chicken breast or thigh, cut into large pieces
1 large onion, sliced
5 mL (1 tsp) finely diced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Pinch of saffron pistils
2 tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 preserved lemons, quartered, peel only
2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 2.5 cm (1”) pieces
250 mL (1 cup) water
250 mL (1 cup) black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

Marinade:
125 mL (½ cup) olive oil
7.5 mL (½ Tbsp) turmeric
7.5 mL (½ Tbsp) mild paprika
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix together marinade ingredients, add chicken pieces and leave to marinate for 4 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator). Heat olive oil in a large pot or Tajine. Brown marinated chicken pieces and set aside. Cook sliced onions until softened and lightly coloured. Add ginger, garlic, saffron, tomatoes, preserved lemon and carrots; cook for 5 minutes. Return chicken to pot or Tajine and add water; simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add olives just before serving.

Spring in Luxembourg

Happy Spring!

Living in the SaarLorLux region means that I get introduced to many different traditions from France, Germany and Luxembourg. A lot of the traditions in Luxembourg and Germany seem to involve wine or beer and sausages. However this weekend, there is a uniquely Luxembourgish tradition that involves pretzels and not wine, beer or sausages. The 3rd Sunday of Lent is Bretzelsonndeg or Pretzel Sunday. The pretzels involved are not the small salty snack ones that North Americans are familiar with but large sweet pastries. I would not have known about this tradition except for asking one of my friends what the significance was of the stands along the roadside selling pretzels this weekend, thinking that maybe it was some rite of the first weekend of spring.

The Luxembourg tradition is that a young man gives the young lady he fancies a ‘bretzel’ on the 3rd Sunday of Lent and if she is interested she will return the favour by giving him an Easter egg on Easter Sunday. In leap years, the young women are the ones who give the bretzels.

Sadly I did not take a picture of one of the stands or the bretzels nor do I have a recipe for pretzels of any kind either but especially not one for the large sweet type that are the specialty here.

Vegetable Soup

The weather is warming up but it is still a long way off from truly feeling like spring. It is too early yet for the first spring arrivals in the grocery stores. Here there are specials on the large and not very tasty strawberries. I admit that, against my better judgement, I did buy some but they were disappointing. I really should not support buying out of season things but I get a little desperate for something different here.

I decided to make a vegetable soup to increase my intake of vitamins and shake off the late winter blahs.

Vegetable Soup
Serves 2 - 3

15 mL (1 Tbsp) olive oil
1 leek (white part only), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 small turnips (rutabagas or navets), diced
1 tomato, diced
750 mL (3 cups) water
2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) dried thyme
2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) harissa powder
15 mL (1 Tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add leek and celery; stir for about 5 minutes. Add carrots and turnips; stir until leeks and celery are softened. Add tomato, water and seasonings; cover and simmer until vegetables are cooked.

Apricot Banana Muffins

This winter seems to have been exceptionally long and severe so it is great to finally see real signs of spring. The first of the spring flowers are appearing along with buds on the trees. The colours of spring are making up for the grey skies and rain.

The taste of bananas changes as they ripen. I like them before they get too ripe - when they are past green and in the early days of yellow before they get speckled with brown. Once they are very ripe they are good for baking. I also had a bag of dried apricots so I thought why not combine the two for a change of pace.

Apricot Banana Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

170 g (6 oz) dried apricots
Boiling water

30 mL (2 Tbsp) vegetable oil
1 egg
300 mL (1 1/4 cup) plain yoghurt
2 ripe bananas, mashed

80 mL (1/3 cup) brown sugar


500 mL (2 cups) all-purpose flour


10 mL (2 tsp) baking powder

2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) baking soda

2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) salt

1.25 mL (1/4 tsp) nutmeg


Preheat oven to 180°C (375°F).

Cover apricots with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes; drain and coarsely chop.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; mix in apricots. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, egg, yoghurt, bananas and sugar: pour over dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins ¾ full and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Moroccan Eggplant Dip

This weekend the temperatures stayed above zero and even climbed to a balmy 13°C on Saturday making it feel like spring really is on its way. It was a relief not to have to scrape the car off before going anywhere. I decided to make an eggplant dip. Eggplant (aubergine) dips are very popular throughout the Mediterranean region like “Baba Ganouj” or “Baba Ganoush” made with tahini (sesame seed paste) in Lebanon, “Melitzanosalata” from Greece and “Caviar d’aubergine” from France. This time I made a Moroccan version with tomatoes, harissa and argan oil.

Argan oil is the rare and precious oil that is ground from pits of the fruit of the argan tree that grows in south-western Morocco. It has a rich golden colour and nutty flavour. The fruit is harvested and the oil produced by cooperatives of Berber women in Morocco. The cooperative provides the women with jobs that would not otherwise exist and ensures that the trees are maintained in a sustainable manner. As with most programs designed for women this one also benefits the entire community.


The oil has been highly praised for its nutritional and cosmetic properties. It was the Berber women’s beauty secret – the oil is very high in vitamin E and is excellent for dry skin and has anti-aging properties. As a food product it is best used in dips, salad dressings, couscous or drizzled over fish and meats. The 250 mL bottle I purchased in Thionville, France cost about 25€.

Moroccan Eggplant Dip
Makes approx. 250 mL (1 cup)

1 medium eggplant
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
10 mL (2 tsp) tomato paste
Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) each of harissa, ground cumin and sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
60 mL (1/4 cup) each coarsely chopped parsley and cilantro
30 mL (2 Tbsp) argan oil*

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

Use a fork to pierce eggplant all over. Wrap garlic cloves in foil. Place eggplant and garlic on baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove garlic and set aside to cool. Turn eggplant, return to oven and continue roasting for an additional 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, stir together tomatoes and tomato paste in medium pan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until reduced to a thick sauce. Set aside to cool. Split eggplant in half and scoop out flesh; chop coarsely and transfer to a colander to drain off liquid. Squeeze garlic cloves into food processor bowl. Add tomato paste, lemon juice and zest, harissa, cumin, salt, pepper, parsley and cilantro; pulse to purée mixture. With motor running, add oil in a steady stream. Add eggplant and pulse until blended to a chunky consistency.

* Walnut oil or olive oil can be substituted for the argan oil

Glazed Orange Loaf

Blood oranges were something new to me when I moved to Paris. The oranges look very similar to regular oranges on the outside but when cut open they reveal a surprising red and orange interior. The mix of the two colours varies from orange with a few spots of red to very red with little orange. The oranges produce a lovely red coloured juice.  I used blood orange juice in this recipe.

Glazed Orange Loaf

160 mL (2/3 cup) butter, softened

125 mL (1/2 cup) sugar

2 eggs

125 mL (1/2 cup) plain yogurt

125 mL (1/2 cup) orange juice

15 mL (1 Tbsp) grated orange zest

625 mL (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) baking powder

2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) baking soda

2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) salt


GLAZE:
125 mL (1/2 cup) icing (confectioners) sugar

10 – 15 mL (2 - 3 tsp) orange juice
5 mL (1 tsp) grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in yogurt, orange juice and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and stir until well blended.
Pour into a greased 23 x 13 x 8 cm (9” x 5” x 3”) loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan; place on a wire rack to cool completely.

GLAZE: Combine icing sugar, zest and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over loaf.

Valentina's Hot Chocolate Shrimp

While trying to come up with some new recipes, my friend T creatively challenged me to make Hot Chocolate Shrimp. We knew that we liked chocolate and chocolate with chiles. We love shrimp in many different forms. There are lots of unusual taste combinations in South American cooking and the chocolate and chiles combination is used in mole sauces in México. So why not something similar for shrimp? I checked and this had been done before and as a main course even. I gave it a try and had some brave friends try it as well to rave reviews.

For me, I think this works best as an appetizer. A few chocolate coated shrimp on a plate garnished with orange or lime slices.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, why not surprise your favourite person with this interesting combination?

Valentina's Hot Chocolate Shrimp
Adapted from a recipe by Chef Jim Shirley

SHRIMP
16 jumbo shrimp (about 300 g or 10 oz), peeled, deveined and butterflied
45 mL (3 Tbsp) cornstarch

INFUSED OIL
125 mL (½ cup) vegetable oil
45 mL (3 Tbsp) freshly ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chile pepper (Jalapeño, Habanero, Serrano, or other hot pepper), thinly sliced*

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
30 g (2 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
30 mL (2 Tbsp) Tequila reposada
Juice of 1 orange

Heat oil in a skillet, add ginger, garlic and chile; sauté for 3 minutes, remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes. Strain solids and set aside.
Melt chocolate over double boiler (or in microwave). Stir in orange juice and tequila. Set aside. Reheat oil in large skillet. Coat shrimp in cornstarch and sauté in batches until opaque and lightly browned.
Dip shrimp in chocolate sauce. Serve hot or cold.

*Adjust amount of chile depending on the type used and personal taste.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

There is something wonderful about the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate. It is the combination in Nutella, a favourite spread in France. It is used on bread, toast and crepes that are served for breakfast or snacks.

These cookies just melt in your mouth. And they taste so good.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies

250 mL (1 cup) butter, softened
250 mL (1 cup) icing sugar
375 mL (1-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
80 mL (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
125 mL (1/2 cup) ground hazelnuts

GARNISH
170 g (6 oz) semisweet or bitter chocolate
180 mL (3/4 cup) hazelnuts, finely chopped

In bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix together flour, cocoa and nuts; stir into creamed mixture. Turn out onto waxed paper; shape into 2 logs about 3 cm (1-1/4 “) in diameter. Wrap in the wax paper and chill until firm.

Preheat oven to 160 °C (325°F).

Cut logs into 65 mm (1/4”) thick slices. Bake on ungreased baking sheets for about 15 minutes or until set. Leave to cool then dip cookies in melted chocolate*, place on a rack and sprinkle with nuts. Let stand until set.

* To melt chocolate, bring water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler, place chocolate in top and stir until melted. Alternatively place chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of hot water or use the microwave.