Flour tortillas

I have been searching for a flour tortilla recipe.  I think this might be the one.  I used this one to make breakfast burritos for the kids.  Next time, I might try to sneak in some whole wheat or oat flour...

Combine 3 cups of flour in a mixer with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder.  Mix.  Add 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 cup warm water slowly while mixing with a dough hook on medium speed.  Reduce to low and mix another minute or so, adding more flour as needed so it comes away from the bowl.  Separate into 12 dough balls.  Flatten each dough ball and cover with a towel for about 15-20 minutes.  Then heat a griddle, or pan, on high heat and roll out the tortillas until they are very thin.  They should be 8-10 inches in diameter.  Place on hot griddle for about 1 minute.  Little golden spots should appear and bubbles on the surface.  Turn over for 30 seconds, then wrap in a towel and repeat.

Middle Eastern Pizza

I love these little pizzas.  The crust is what really makes it for me.  They are perfect to make ahead, then after they cool, wrap individually to take in the kids' lunch.  Jack reheats them at school, Sam eats them at room temperature.  Either way, they are good with a little dollop of plain yogurt.  I used pork because it was all I had and I didn't want to go to the store.  The next time I will definitely use beef or lamb.  The pork was a little too mild.  This recipe is from The New Mediterranean Cookbook.  These would be good with any filling, but I like the two below because they are a little different then your average pizza.

Middle Eastern Pizza

Combine 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour with 1 tbsp salt.  Make a well in the center.  Pour in 1/2 tsp yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water.  Flick flour over it and let sit for 10 minutes.    Put in mixer (or by hand) and stir.  Slowly add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 cup plain yogurt.   After that the dough is pretty stiff.  Slowly add 1/2 cup warm water til dough is soft, you might not need all of the water.  I didn't.  Let mix with dough hook for 10 minutes or until the dough is soft and smooth.  Let sit covered for an hour.  Meanwhile you can make the topping.

This is the Palestinian variation (except of course for the pork.)

Cook 1/4 cup pine nuts in 1 tbsp olive oil until golden.  Remove.  In a bowl, mix 2 chopped tomatoes (the recipe called to peel and seed these, but I didn't and couldn't really tell a difference), 1 minced onion, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 minced serrano pepper, 3/4 pound ground beef, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp allspice.  In another bowl whisk 1/3 cup tahini with 2 tbsp white wine vinegar.  Add to meat mixture and combine.

Another topping that I like.  

Cook 1/2 cup pine nuts in 2 tbsp olive oil until golden.  Drain.  Cook 2 chopped onions about 15 min on low.  Cool and combine in a large bowl with the pine nuts, 3/4 pound ground lamb or beef, 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper, 1 cup drained and chopped canned tomato, 1 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp allspice, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes and freshly ground black pepper.

To finish

Divide the pizza dough into small dough balls. (Mine made 15).  Roll them out to be about 5 or 6 inches wide.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Top with meat mixture.  Bake at  450 degrees for 10 minutes.  ( I cooked mine a little longer to make the sure the pork was cooked through.)

Bialys

I love these morning rolls.  I like them much better than a bagel.  The bottom image is my first attempt.  I filled the center with a poppy seed and onion mix.  The top image is without the filling.  Sanford called them my butthole rolls.  These are very simple to make.

Bialys ( From The Bread Bible)

In a stand mixer add 300 grams bread flour (2 cups) and 1/2 tsp yeast.  Mix.  Add 1 tsp salt.  Stir.  Add 206 grams room temperature water slowly over a minute while the kitchenaid is mixing.  Mix on speed 4 for 7 minutes.  Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

Punch down dough.  Cut into 6 equal pieces.   Make into 6 little dough balls, rounded on top with the bottoms pinch together.  Place on floured cookie sheet, cover and let rise another couple of hours.  Take each roll and pinch together the center while gently stretching it til it's about 5 inches wide.  (This is where you would fill it if you are filling it in it's little crater).  I put them on the pan above (a pizza pan with holes in it.  It seems to work as well as a baking stone to me.

Preheat oven for 1/2 hour to 475.  Place a cookie sheet in the bottom of the oven.  When oven is hot, throw a handful of ice into the bottom cookie sheet and bake the biayls for 6-10 minutes.  Remove and serve warm.  (We toast ours in the morning.)

Dutch oven bread.

This bread recipe comes from Michael Ruhlman's Twenty.  I keep coming back to this bread for an everyday bread.  It's super easy to make.  The kids like it for sandwich bread for their lunches, and it's pretty.  I have substituted up to half of the all purpose flour for other flours with some mixed results.  I have used atta flour and whole wheat.  Today I made it with half brown rice flour.  It stuck to the pan, but still was pretty good.  It is best so far with all white flour.

Mix together 4 cups flour, 1 tsp dry yeast, 1 1/2 cups water and 2 tsp salt.  Mix with dough hook for about 10 minutes.  Place in dutch oven and let rise for a couple of hours.  Punch it down and make a ball then let it rest for another 15 minutes.  Shape it into a tight ball.  Oil the dutch oven and put the dough ball in it.  Cover and let rise another 1/2 - 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Oil the top of the bread, cut slits in it and sprinkle with salt.   Put covered dutch oven with dough in it into oven and bake for 30 minutes.  If it is done, reduce heat to 375 and uncover and cook until finished.

Sardinian sheet music

This recipe comes from CIA's Mediterranean Cuisine cookbook.  They are more cracker like than bread.  We loved them.  

Sardinian sheet music

Mix:  1 cup flour, 3/4 cup water, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 1/2 tsp salt in kitchenaid for 5 minutes.  (It should resemble a soft pasta dough.  I had to add much more flour to get that consistency, the recipe says to add more water or flour as needed).  Let rest 30 minutes.

Make 5 3 oz dough balls.  Roll through pasta roller.  ( I rolled them out to the setting of 7).  Place on cookie sheet.  Prick holes in them.  Cook at 450 for 4 minutes.  When they come out of the oven, brush olive oil on them and sprinkle with salt.

Apple pancakes/Apple turnovers

No pictures for this entry.  Last night I made apple turnovers for the boys' lunches.  I used Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.  For the turnovers I used his recipe for puff pastry and his apple turnover recipe for the filling.  I had about half of the filling left over, so I put it in pancakes this morning.  This was amazing.  I think letting the apples sit overnight in the refrigerator mixed with the sugar, cinnamon, etc helped develop the flavor.

Puff pastry

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with 1 tsp salt in food processor.  Add 1/4 stick of butter.  Pulse until combined.  In a bowl add about 1/4 cup ice water to make a dough.  Knead lightly for 2 minutes, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1/2 hour.

In a kitchenaid mix with a paddle 1/2 cup flour and 3/4 cup butter until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Roll the flour mixture (1st) out into a 4x8 or larger rectangle, 1/4 inch thick.  

Roll out butter mixture into 2x4 rectangle, or slightly larger, 1/4 inch thick.

Place the butter mixture on the flour mixture.  Fold the corners in to make a hexagon.  Pat into a rectangle.  Chill 15 minutes.  

Remove, roll out to 1/4 inch thick, making sure to keep the thickness uniform.  Fold the short sides in to the middle.  Roll again.  Fold the short sides in again, like a letter with the sides on top of each other.  Roll out, cover and refrigerate.

Repeat the last step 2-4 times, refrigerating for 30 minutes between each rolling.

(Or you can just buy puff pastry)

Apple turnovers

Grate 4 cored and peeled apples.  Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp grated lemon zest, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar.

Roll out puff pastry.  Cut into 12 4x4 squares.  Roll out each square a little.  Put 2 tbsp apple mixture into square and fold over.  Seal with a little water around the edges.  Poke a couple of holes in the top, brush with water and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Pancakes

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar.  

In another bowl mix 2 lightly beaten eggs, a little olive oil, the leftover apple mixture including the liquid, and about 1/3 cup of milk.  

Mix into dry ingredients and mix until moistened.  Add enough milk to make it a pourable batter.  Cook the pancakes in olive oil.

Frittata

I am not in love with frittatas.  They are often too dry and often bland.  But I love this recipe.  It reminds me of a tortilla espanola.  It comes from Ciao Italia.

Frittata

Microwave or boil 4 med potatoes until tender.  Cool, peel and dice.

Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a pan.  Dice one large onion and add it to the oil.  Cook about 8 minutes, or until soft.  Add diced potatoes and cook until the potatoes are starting to brown.  

Beat in a bowl:  5 large eggs, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup grated parmigianno reggiano, salt and pepper.  

When potatoes are ready, pour egg mixture evenly over potatoes.  Treat it like an omelet, tilting the pan and pushing the edges toward the center, so that the uncooked egg slides under the cooked part.  When it's almost cooked through (when you shake the pan and it moves as one unit) put a plate over the pan and invert it, then slide it back into the pan and finish cooking for about 3 minutes.