Scrumptious Street

Roasted Chestnut and Almond Cookies

 

These are a variation on a cookie that is known by many names across the world. Mexican Wedding Cakes, Mexican Tea Cookies, Russian Tea Cookies, an Italian Butternut, a Snowball and more I'm sure. In the spirit of simplicity, I'm calling my version "Roasted Chestnut and Almond Cookies".  And I can assure you, they are really amazing and fantastic, probably my favorite variety of this cookie.

While I love chestnuts and wish they were more widely available through the year, I do get tired of having them in stuffings or dressing to accompany a protein on the holiday table or in a soft and velvety soup. So when I spied them in the store the other day I brought them home vowing to challenge myself to something new with them. 

Having also made a lovely flourless chocolate cake with almond flour earlier in the week and loving the texture of the ground almonds so much, I decided to merge the two ingredients and see if my take on the Mexican Wedding Cake would work with these two new components. Not only did it work, it's spectacular! They are also pretty quick and easy so if you have some time still to bake in the next week, give these a try. They are lighter, moister and less dense than the traditional cookies of this format. They have a creamy element to their powdered and crumbly texture.

Here's the recipe and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Ingredients
makes 2 dozen small cookies

3/4 lb. fresh chestnuts
1/2 c. or 4 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
two big pinches salt
1 c. almond flour

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 450˚F. Cut a small "x" on the rounded side of each chestnut with a very sharp knife. This scoring process will help you peel them after they've roasted. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes until they're darker brown and the "x" is curling away from the flesh of the nut.

2. Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle them. Peel away the outer shell and the brown skin covering the flesh of the chestnut. If you see any that are moldy or rotten, of course salvage what you can by cutting out the good stuff and discard the rest. I overestimate the weight of chestnuts needed, accounting for any that are spoiled. You don't need to worry about keep the chestnut flesh whole, you'll grind it up. Once all the chestnuts are removed and cool, then roughly chop them on a cutting board with a knife. 

3. Measure 1/2 c. of the chopped chestnuts and put them in the bowl of a food processor. You can use the rest for another recipe or double the batch of cookies if you had excellent chestnuts with no spoilage. Pulse the chestnuts in the processor until almost crumb-like. Add the softened butter and pulse together until combined. Add 1/4 cup of the confectioner's sugar, the vanilla extract, the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and almond flour and pulse until it comes together into a dough ball.

4. Divide the dough into two equal parts, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Combine the remaining confectioner's sugar and a few more pinches of nutmeg and cinnamon on a small flat plate and set aside.

5. Working with one half of the chilled dough at a time, form little balls with the dough that are about 2 tsp. in size. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second half of the dough.

6. Bake the cookies until they're pale golden on the top and a little darker brown on the bottom, about 15-17 minutes.  Remove and cool still on the baking sheet on top of a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Afterward, gently place each cookie in the powdered sugar and roll it around coating evenly. Place each cookie on the cooling rack and cool completely. When cooled, you may find some of the sugar melted in during the process so if you want to roll them again then go for it.

These are terrific served with milk, coffee, tea, dessert wine or your favorite liqueur or cordial. Enjoy!

 

Watermelon and Rhubarb Granita

Here is a sweet-tart-cool-crisp and incredibly refreshing dessert for the July 4 holiday weekend. It works perfectly to close out your barbecue and perfectly after a day outside frollicking in the sun when you need a quick cool down. I love it because it's not too sweet, and almost all the sweetness comes from the natural sugars in your watermelon. Make sure to get a really ripe and beautiful seedless one and it'll be perfect. This is the last week or so you can make this in most regions, rhubarb won't be around much longer.

 

Here's the recipe and have a wonderful and Happy 4th of July!

Ingredients

Ingredients
Serves 6

* seedless watermelon is really a misnomer.  It does have seeds but they're small, soft and undeveloped.  Easily ground or discarded.

2.5 lbs. small fresh seedless watermelon* (1 very small or 1/2 average sized), peeled and cut into chunks
3 large stalks rhubarb, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. Pernod or anise liquor
Maldon Sea Salt to garnish

Method:
1.  Using a vegetable juicer if possible, or a blender, juice the rhubarb and watermelon.  Skim off any bitter light-green froth and discard.   Taste as you go along, adding more of either to suit your preference. My ratio was nearly 1:1 and it was perfect for me. It should yield about 4 cups of mixed juice, not much more.

2. In a small saucepan on low heat dissolve the sugar in the water to make a simple syrup.  Stir in the Pernod, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

3. Pour the syrup into the juice and stir thoroughly.  Pour it all into a freezer-safe 9"x13" pan so that the juice is just a thin layer.  Put dish into the freezer.

4. Every 20-30 minutes, reach into the freezer with a regular kitchen fork and scrape or "rake" the granita, creating granules of ice.  Let the granita freeze for about 3-4 hours or until slushy but still quite firm, raking at the given intervals. 

5. Serve in pretty glasses and garnish with a few flakes of Maldon sea salt.  Trust me, this is INCREDIBLE and the final result isn't the same without it.  Watermelon and minerally sea salt work extremely well together.  Another acceptable substitute is Hawaiian Pink Sea Salt. 

 

Fresh Ricotta, Parmigiano and Ramp Wafers

My love affair with ramps has grown more experimental and luscious this year. I've been doing everything from sauteeing, to creating pesto, braising and juicing. This cracker was inspired by wanting to really get that ramp flavor INTO my food rather than on it. It shows another way to celebrate the wild leek and some of the stunning fresh sheep's milk ricotta cheese we have in New York this Spring. Here's a peek at "Fresh Ricotta, Parmigiano and Ramp Wafers".

This really turned out just beautifully, and accomplished the craving for that unique ramp taste to be really integrated yet subtle, rather than a sauce or simple garnish. These are hearty, and I struggled with the name. They're not super crispy so I hesitate calling them a cracker. They're more like a cookie or a savory biscuit but in the end Mr. Scrumptious and I settled on Wafer. They were absolutely divine as shown composed here with a slather of very fresh sheep's ricotta, paper thin slice of Macoun apple and a leaf of watercress. When served with a soft and effervescent Lambrusco, it turned into a special hors d'oeuvres on a Monday night.

Here's how I made them:

Ingredients
Makes about 26 wafers

1/4 c. fresh ramp leaves, finely sliced into chiffonade
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 c. very fresh sheep's ricotta
1/4 c. grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Mix the ramps, thyme, ricotta and parmigiano in a large bowl, folding gently to incorporate ingredients. Add the salt and pepper and mix again.

2. Slowly add the flour and mix together. Bring together with your hands and gently form into a dough. Turn out onto a clean counter or cutting board and form the dough into a long cylinder about 2 inches wide by 18 inches long. 

3. Rub the teaspoon of olive oil over all of the dough. Cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. (No longer or the dough will be too hard).

4. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Remove the dough from the freezer and slice into 1/4" slices or wafers and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

5. Bake for 13 minutes until golden brown. Turn over each wafer and bake 13 minutes more until evenly golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to completely cool. Serve with a rich, fresh cheese and slice of firm sweet-tart apple and enjoy as snack or hors d'oeuvres.

 

Mache and Farro Salad with Salmon

After a snow-dumping, deep freeze kind of winter in New York, it's nice that the pounding, driving rains have arrived. Why? That means sunshine, spring and amazing produce are weeks rather than months away. Matter of fact, my raised flowerbed on my balcony currently has sprouting leaves from 10 of the bulbs I planted last Fall.  Hooray, looks like I will soon have crocuses and tulips! We're already starting to see some spring produce in the stores and a local farmer is now selling Mache, one of my favorite salad greens.  Thus, a quick and delicious main-course salad or elegant appetizer you can make now to bridge that gap between seasons. Here's my "Mache and Farro Salad with Salmon".

 

Farro is another really incredible product, an ancient grain that is packed with flavor, chewy texture and nutrition. It's a protein bomb! My favorite variety is from a producer that also has incredible oats and polenta and must be soaked first for the highest quality result. You can soak it overnight before you'd like to use it or just soak it and have it ready for a day or two in your fridge. Use these Instructions from the farro I most recommend.

After you've soaked and strained the farro, you can pick up with my recipe below. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Serves 2

2 six-ounce portions fresh salmon, filleted and de-skinned
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 c. farro that's been soaked overnight, drained
2 1/2 c. homemade chicken or vegetable stock
1 fresh heirloom tomato, chopped
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Season the salmon liberally with kosher salt and black pepper, sprinkle on the smoked paprika and rub gently into the flesh. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and roast the salmon until cooked all the way through and opaque, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a saucepan bring the stock to a boil and add the farro and a couple pinches of kosher or sea salt. Stir occasionally and simmer gently until the farro is tender and cooked but still a bit chewy. Remove from the heat and place a lid on and let the farro absorb the rest of the stock for 5 minutes.

3. Wash and spin dry the mache and arrange on wide plates. Chop the tomato and sprinkle on the mache. Top each plate with a piece of salmon. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, three pinches of kosher salt, a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously to create a thick lemon dressing.

4. Remove the lid from the farro and fluff up. With a large tablespoon, sprinkle the farro all over the salad. Drizzle the salad with the lemon vinaigrette and enjoy!

 

Shortbread Lingonberry Cookies

 

Recently I was given some delicious lingonberry jam and knew that a simple yet phenomenal treatment of the jam was in order.  I often think that when you have a spectacular ingredient, the best thing to do is find a simple way to show it off.  At the risk of sounding cliche, this recipe really is all about using the best possible highest quality ingredients.  That means not only excellent jam, but high-quality and luscious butter and vanilla.  Yes you can substitute other kinds of jam, stick to the dark berries and fruits that are free of preservatives or artificial ingredients so you can REALLY taste the fruit.  Also, the dough is quite sweet so I find it best to use a jam on the tart side so that these aren't totally sugar bombs.  If you haven't had lingonberries before, they are somwhat tart like a cranberry so stay with a jam that has a tinge of tartness and they'll be great.

Serve these with a perfectly brewed pot of Early Gray tea and you'll love your little afternoon break or midnight snack.

Ingredients:

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 c. butter, softened at room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. good vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. lingonberry jam

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in vanilla; gradually add flour until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm enough to handle. Scoop off dough with a large melon baller and roll into 1 inch balls. Place about one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center. Squeeze together any areas that crack apart.  Fill the indentations with jam.
2. Bake about 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack with a spatula.  Cool completely and enjoy!