molten halva lava cakes

in , ,

with maya from bazek alim!

the other day i was strolling around tel aviv and i was a little bit blue because all of my travel companions had left the country without me (!!) and i still had one day until my flight. i mean, it was exciting because i still had one whole day and i could spend hours at the market debating between this za'atar and that za'atar or walk around my airbnb with no pants on if i wanted to, but that feeling of my trip being nearly over and that other feeling of having to navigate the bus system all by lonesome made me bluer than i should have been in such a sunny city. it felt like the last day of camp :(

but then suddenly, a jingle on my phone! (did you know that phones work kind of pretty well overseas now?!)

it was maya from bazek alim, saying something to the effect of, "hi! would you like to come over and make molten halva lava cakes???"

and all of my blues were gone. vanished! because halva and cake are my safe words and my kryptonite and my drugs of choice, all smashed together. maya inviting me over for halva cake was kind of like how in college if ever one of the percussion boys knew that i was in a salty mood, they could just compliment me on my hair and suddenly they'd be my best friend.

anyway.

within five minutes of sitting down in maya's apartment/prop room, i had a halva cake from test batch #1 in my belly, a stack of not-yet-available-in-the-states cookbooks sitting on my lap, and a high powered air conditioner covering my person. fantastic!

we baked the afternoon away. we made halva pizza and inbal's cake. maya introduced me to tonka bean, i perused her prop shelves, we talked about blogs... halva was everywhere, caramel was everywhere.... it was glorious. the tastiest of afternoons.

when maya offered me a molten halva lava cake, i did what i always do with dessert. i ate one bite and savored the living daylights out of it, planning to not eat anymore since i knew that there would be more sweets soon. usually i can stick to this plan pretty well. this time i absolutely could not. somewhere between the chewy eggy outer cake and the smooth puddle of caramel that was flavored with just the right amount of tahini, i tossed my plan to the wind and downed the thing. i was bonkers for it.

they're fussy cakes to make, they over bake sooo easily (and i know from experience), but when they're right, they're right. and it still amazes me that they require such basic ingredients.

this recipe is all maya's doing. it is loosely adapted from this french book. (lol, maya, do you even speak french?!) and you can find maya's post and recipe, in hebrew, here. 

molten halva lava cakes

makes 6

ingredients

3/4 c sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tb water

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 eggs

4 tb raw tahini

2 tb flour

flaky sea salt, for topping

clues

preheat the oven to 350f. grease six 1-cup individual ramekins or muffin tins. 

place the sugar and salt in a wide heavy-bottomed pan. stir in the water and cook over high heat until sugar melts into a sandy puddle. once this happens, avoid stirring, to prevent crystallization. continue cooking sugar for 2-4 minutes until it turns a light amber color. reduce heat to low and carefully stir in the cream. continue to stir until mixture smooths out. add butter, cube by cube, stirring, until mixture is thick and homogeneous. remove from heat and let cool slightly.

gradually stir the eggs into the warm (but not hot) caramel mixture, one at a time, and then stir in the tahini. add flour and stir until smooth. 

scoop mixture into the muffin tins and bake until puffed with a 1-inch jiggely circle in center, begin checking for doneness at 8 minutes. 

sprinkle with flaky salt and enjoy!

-yeh!

ricotta stuffed whole wheat challah (and everything else that i ate over labor day weekend)

in , , , , ,

one uncrustable pb + j // at adult summer camp, to soak up the fireside marshmallow vodka and to fuel a late night game of heroes' quest with my new camp friends. i was the wizard! i named him frank and killed an ork with my sword and we totally crushed that game. 

one breakfast beer // if you've ever been sad that your summer camp days are behind you, just sign up for adult summer camp and then embrace the nice bearded guy at the breakfast buffet who is dispensing fancy breakfast beer from a keg.

another uncrustable pb + j // in the car on the way to minneapolis!

a pile of cherry tomatoes from our garden // also in the car on the way to minneapolis and while considering the idea that cherry tomatoes are nature's gushers. would you agree?

a vegetarian jimmy john's sammich // i think i'm becoming a vague vegetarian.

coconut bacon // no really, i actually think i'm becoming a vegetarian.

a roasted cauliflower and chickpea taco // prepared by none other than a couple cooks!!!! **happy dance** 

an ottolenghi's black pepper tofu taco // i brought tofu to a party. who am i. 

a boozy beef banh mi taco // melissa made beef and when melissa makes beef you stop entertaining the idea of becoming a vegetarian. 

pie, cookies, one luxurious bite of a morning bun // the details of which i must keep secret because they were test runs of recipes for sarah's book (!!!!) ohmygah, you're going to absolutely *need* that book. 

a variety of swedish pancakes // savored in #thefauxhouse over blog shop talk, glorious blog shop talk <3

one bite of many different glam doll donuts // with my brunch club ladies! 

a pile of salad // from whole foods on our drive back from minneapolis. our options were: stop at the state fair for dinner of fried things on a stick or stop at the whole foods for vegetables and more vegetables. we chose the opposite of yolo-ing on that one but now we have really fantastic hard-to-find-in-our-little-town vegetables for the week and i am so excited about it. 

ricotta stuffed whole wheat challah // i made these mini loaves of challah for the drive to summer camp on friday night! they were kind of in celebration of friday pizza night, because when you eat cheese stuffed bread with a fresh tomato, you basically have pizza. 

you can go a few different directions with these little loaves. i made a few personal-sized rolls and a few that are perfect for sharing with a friend (or perhaps... a date!). you could also make one large loaf, but that's not as fun. i tossed a bunch of za'atar into the dough to add extra flavor, and topped them with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds for protein and prettiness. the seeds also add such crunchy textural fun to a fluffy challah and creamy ricotta party. these loaves are round because rosh hashanah is coming up (!!!), and yeah, with the whole wheat and seeds and everything they're definitely healthier than last year's marzipan challah and brown sugar challah, but you should go check those out too because the more challah the better the new year!

ricotta stuffed whole wheat za'atar challah mini loaves with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds

makes 8 personal rolls or 4 medium shareable loaves

ingredients

dough:

2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast

3/4 c warm water

1/4 c + 1 teaspoon sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour

1/4 c za'atar, optional

2 large eggs

1/3 c flavorless oil, like canola or vegetable

filling

1 c ricotta cheese

additional shredded cheese (optional... i like using a sprinkling of parmesan cheese)

kosher salt

eggwash + topping

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

kosher salt + black pepper

clues

dough:

In a medium bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar and give it a little stir. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it becomes foamy on top. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl or the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the salt, flours, za'atar (if using) and remaining sugar. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil.

When the yeast is foamy, add it to the dry mixture immediately followed by the egg mixture and stir to combine. Knead, either by hand on a floured surface or with a dough hook for 7-10 minutes, adding more white flour as necessary (but try not too add too much), until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. 

to shape:

Divide the dough into 4 or 8 parts, depending on how big you'd like your loaves to be. Pat them out into long rectangles (about 2 1/2" x 9" for personal rolls, 2 1/2" x 18" for medium loaves) and then spread with a thin even layer of ricotta. top with a sprinkling of additional cheese, if desired, and a sprinkling of salt. Roll up the rectangles the long way so you have long skinny snakes and and pinch the edges well to seal in the cheese. Roll the snakes into spirals to get round loaves and then let them rise for 30 more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375ºf. 

Brush the loaves with a thin even layer of egg wash and then sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper and bake until golden brown. Begin checking for doneness after 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy! Preferably with a fresh tomato. Do the challah/fresh tomato double fist.

-yeh!

photo credit to alex for that second to last photo (of what melissa titled "the real housewives of food blogging" 😂), and photo credit to eggboy for the photo of me with a wooden spoon that i whittled at camp!!!! 

 

cauliflower, two ways: cauliflower swiss soup + cold curried cauliflower

in

we are in the midst of sugar beet pre-haul right now!

eggboy and his crew are working on opening up the sugar beet fields and doing little harvest test runs to make sure that all of the equipment is running smoothly before sugar beet harvest officially starts on october first. this is a super important step because sugar beet harvest is the mother of all harvests: it's so intense, it goes for 24 hours a day, and it can be really unpredictable. last year's harvest was a dream because the weather was perfect, but who knows what this harvest is going to bring. luckily, i've still got a month to prepare myself mentally for the long eggboy-less hours. (and you've still got a month to plan your trip to visit me and keep me company!)

of course, even during pre-haul, eggboy needs a lunch! this week, cauliflower is on the menu. sometimes i question cauliflower and need to google it to make sure that it's actually healthy because aren't healthy foods supposed to be really colorful?? whatever, the internet says it's healthy so i'm gonna go with it. i am slowly but surely expanding my arsenal of cauliflower recipes, which until recently has just included dan barber's cauliflower steak and smitten kitchen's cauliflower fritters, but this summer i got some inspiration in california via an alarmingly good curried cauliflower salad at lemonade. so this cold curried cauliflower recipe is totally based on that. it's sweet and nutty and curry-y and great. and then this soup represents my excitement about soup season being around the corner. it's pretty simple to make and packs creaminess and flavor thanks to the addition of swiss cheese and paprika. so go get thee some heads of cauliflower! 

cauliflower swiss soup

makes 4-6 servings

ingredients

2 tb unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

kosher salt and black pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tb sweet paprika

5 cups chicken broth

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 c shredded swiss cheese

Hot sauce, to taste

clues

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, a good pinch of salt, and a few turns of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1-2 more minutes. Add the broth and cauliflower and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Add the swiss and then use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve with additional swiss and a few shakes of hot sauce.

enjoy!

cold curried cauliflower

makes 4-6 servings

ingredients

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

2 tb olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

 curry vinaigrette (ingredients below)

1/2 c golden raisins

1/2 c toasted almonds, roughly chopped

 

curry vinaigrette:

1/2 c canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tb curry powder

1 tb dijon

1 tb honey

1 tb apple cider vinegar

1 tb lemon juice

kosher salt and black pepper

clues

Preheat oven to 400. Toss the cauliflower in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread out on a sheet pan and roast for 20-30 minutes, until brown and tender.

to make the vinaigrette, first make a curry oil: coat the bottom of a pan with about a tablespoon of the canola oil and then cook the onion over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1-2 more minutes. Pour in the remaining oil and let it sizzle over medium heat for 1 minute. remove it from heat, let it cool, strain out the onion and allow the curry to sink to the bottom.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the dijon, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and then pour in the oil (carefully as to not disturb the curry at the bottom). Whisk together the vinaigrette. add the roasted cauliflower, raisins, and almonds, and toss to coat. Chill until serving.

enjoy!

-yeh!

i'll be packing up eggboy's cauliflower lunch in genuine thermos brand®'s new dual compartment food jar, which has two separate compartments, one for your soup and one for your curried cauliflower. it is super sturdy, holds enough for a filling meal, and is perfect for the tractor. for more info on this great new thing, check out genuine thermos brand®'s site.

thanks so much for providing compensation and products for this post, genuine thermos brand®!