Christmas Cookie Exchange

The Epi Christmas Cookie Exchange was such a success that even our men got in on the baking. Diane’s husband Rob and Kaarina’s Mike faced off with their shortbreads. Mike likes the macho version - big thick jaw-breakers fit for Highland lads. Rob’s are more refined - half as thick, softer, with a hint of lemon. Caroline’s Jimmy shared his stash of authentic fennel-laced biscotti gifted by Italian friends.

Laura and Peter missed out on the exchange but Laura did bake up a batch of Chocolate Chunk Shortbread fit for Santa Claus and joined our Zoom cookie tasting on the Saturday before Christmas.

Caroline has been trying to replicate the Chilli Pepper Chocolate cookies we love so much from our local Scarborough Bluff’s bakery, the Cliffside Hearth. She’s getting closer by putting her own spin on a Martha Stewart recipe for Spicy Chocolate cookies. Diane departed from the cookie theme by roasting up a batch of delicious Teriyaki Spiced nuts.

Kaarina isn’t much of a baker having grown up in a bakery where baking was serious business, done on a large scale with huge mixers, a massive two-level oven and a staff. It took Ottolenghi, the cookbook that made Chef Yotam Ottolenghi an international sensation, to tempt Kaarina into trying her hand at baking at home. In the Introduction, Ottolenghi addresses the “angst the idea of baking evokes in some.” He acknowledges that there’s grounds for the “phobia” since things can and do “go horribly wrong” but the “gratification of good baking is unbeatable ... and a clear mark of a mature cook.” He then promised that the selection of recipes in the book were mostly beginner friendly.

Ottolenghi’s Almond and Orange Florentines were reminiscent of a cookie made especially for Christmas by Kaarina’s family bakery. As this version is simple enough for a novice, she tackled it first. Once on a roll she moved on to another popular Italian treat, Sour Cherry Amaretti. Also easy and the results for both were stellar, something one could proudly include in a Christmas Cookie Exchange.

Almond and Orange Florentines

Makes about 20

Vegetable oil for brushing

2 free-range egg whites

3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp confectioners sugar

2 3/4 cups sliced almonds

Grated zest of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper and brush lightly with vegetable oil. Next to you have a small bowl of cold water.

Put the egg whites, confectioners' sugar, sliced almonds, and orange zest in a bowl and gently mix them together. Dip your hand in the bowl of water and pick up portions of the mix to make little mounds on the lined pan, well spaced apart. Dip a fork in the water and flatten each mound very thinly. Try to make them as thin as possible without creating too many gaps between the almond slices. They should be about 3 1/4 inches / 8 cm in diameter.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Check underneath one cookie to make sure they are cooked through.

Allow to cool, then gently, using an icing spatula, remove the cookies from the baking sheet. Store in a sealed jar. 

Sour Cherry Amaretti

Makes 20

60 g dried sour cherries (or cranberries)

120 g caster sugar

180 g ground almonds

1/2 tsp almond extract

zest one lemon

pinch salt

2 tsp honey

2 egg whites

icing sugar

Heat oven to 325F (170C). Mix together the almonds, sugar, lemon zest, almond extract and salt using your fingers to disperse the zest evenly. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and honey into soft peaks. Fold these gently into the other ingredients to a soft meringue consistency.

Divide the mixture into 20 balls, roll liberally in icing sugar, and place on a parchment-covered baking tray. Bake for about 12 mins, until slightly coloured but still pale and chewy in the centre. Cool completely before storing in sealed jar.

Caroline’s Spicy Chocolate Cookies

https://www.marthastewart.com/1515705/spicy-chocolate-cookies

For this recipe from Martha Stewart, Caroline used Lindt’s dark chili chocolate for choco chips, doubled the cayenne to 1/2 tsp and topped the cookies with Maldon salt instead of sugar.

Diane’s Teriyaki Spiced Nuts

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.bigoven.com/recipe/teriyaki-almond-nuts/29897/amp

(The mixture includes almonds, pistachios and cashews)

Laura’s Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

2 cups butter

1 cup of fine sugar (blend in food processor if you can’t find instant-dissolving, fruit sugar)

3 1⁄2 cups flour

1⁄2 cup of rice flour

12 oz dark chocolate, chopped into bit-size chunks

Beat butter until light gradually add sugar until dissolved (about 5 minutes).
Sift flours together and stir into butter until well combined.
Save 50 of the biggest chunks of chocolate for the top of cookies and mix the rest into the batter.
Scoop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment. Press a chunk of chocolate in the top of each cookie.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 325 until lightly browned cool on racks and dust with icing sugar.

Mezze Christmas

When Diane announced in late November that our favourite chef Yotam Ottolenghi had turned up on MasterClass, Caroline and Kaarina rushed to share a 2-for-1 membership. When after watching the first few video lessons of Ottolenghi Teaches Middle-eastern Cooking on the online platform, Diane proposed a mezze feast,  we were immediately on board.

Menu

Muhammara

Smoky Pea Spread with Marinated Feta

Hummus with Garlic Confit

Clearly we would not be having in-person Epi gatherings any time soon. There wouldn’t be any Holiday parties and even family Christmas dinners were doubtful as the second wave of Covid-19 was taking hold in Ontario.

We missed our get-togethers, sharing news, food and wine as well as the inspiration, the challenge and encouragement we get from one another. Like virtual meetings or not, we needed to Zoom.

This time we were determined to share, if not the actual table, at least our cooking. I volunteered to be the delivery service. The food had to be prepped ahead and had to travel well. Mezze was perfect for make-ahead. And Ottolenghi was the right man to show us how to do it.

Kaarina selected Lesson 1 - Muhammara

This gorgeous roasted red pepper dip with shiny pomegranate seeds looks like Christmas on a plate. It originates in Syria and Lebanon but is made across the region. The walnuts add crunch and the pomegranate seeds provide a sweet, slightly acidic pop. You scoop it up with flatbread. Crackers with seeds also work well. 

Muhammara Walnut Dip

Ingredients

• 3 red bell peppers, halved, stemmed, and cored
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more if needed
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, preferably Aleppo-style
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, preferably unseasoned, fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Arrange red bell peppers and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until peppers are tender and slightly charred, about 20 minutes. Transfer roasted peppers to a plate to cool, and squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins.
Meanwhile, toast the walnuts. In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts in an even layer, stirring occasionally until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Rub warm toasted walnuts in a folded kitchen towel to remove as much of the bitter skins as possible. (It doesn't have to be perfect.) Transfer the walnuts to a plate to cool.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine cooled roasted peppers, garlic, walnuts, salt, Aleppo pepper, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, cumin, and remaining olive oil. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with flatbread.

Diane chose Lesson 2: Smoky Pea Spread with Marinated Feta

It seems an unlikely pairing - peas and feta - but the combination is downright addictive. 

The feta adds richness and saltiness to the sweet, peas. 

Ottolenghi’s MasterClass directions for the Pea Spread are super simple:

Add into a food processor
600 grams of defrosted frozen peas
10 grams tarragon and 5 grams mint, roughly chopped
1 crushed garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pulse a few times to form a coarse paste. Taste, add more lemon juice and/or salt. It should taste fresh and bright.

Ottolenghi’s Smoky Marinated Feta  recipe makes lots and can be made well ahead of time. “It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Have it on toast for breakfast or with pita and a glass of wine for an anytime snack,” Ottolenghi recommends.

Ingredients

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1-2 lemons – zest finely shaved into 8 strips, and juiced, to get 1½ tbsp
• 4 bay leaves
• 2½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes
• 1½ tsp paprika
• 250ml olive oil
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt
• 2 blocks Greek feta (360g), cut into 2cm cubes

Put a small saute pan on a medium-high heat. Once very hot, add the garlic and cook for about three to four minutes, turning halfway, until charred on the outside. Add the lemon and bay leaves, cook for 90 seconds more, then add the chipotle and cook, stirring continuously, for about 30 seconds, until well toasted and fragrant. Off the heat, stir in the paprika, oil and salt, then leave to cool completely.

Once the mix is cold, stir through the feta, then transfer to a bowl or glass jar and leave to marinate, at room temperature if you plan to eat it within the next couple of hours, or refrigerated (and covered) if you’re having it later. Take the feta out of the fridge about an hour or so before you want to serve it, for the oil to come back up to room temperature.
To serve: Spread the pea mixture on a shallow plate and top with 100 grams of smoky marinated feta including 3-4 tbsp of the marinating oil, bit of lemon peel and few garlic cloves. Sprinkle it 1/2 tsp of toasted and crushed crushed cumin seeds. Enjoy with flatbread.

Caroline mastered Lesson 3: Hummus with Garlic Confit

Store-bought and even restaurant-made hummus pale in comparison to Ottolenghi’s version of the Mideastern staple.

 
The key is cooking your own chickpeas, Ottolenghi says. Start by soaking 200 grams of chickpeas overnight in water and 1 1/2 tsp of baking soda, which helps to break down the skin and allows the chickpeas to absorb more water, making for a smoother hummus. His advice is not to salt the water until the final 15 minutes of cooking or the chickpeas will never soften. Cooking can take from 30 to 60 minutes. They need to be soft but not mushy.

As to tahini paste (ground roasted sesame seeds) Ottolenghi prefers ones from Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian and Palestine.

Hummus

Ingredients

• 60 grams Tahini Sauce (see recipe linked below)
• 12 confit garlic cloves, plus 4 tablespoons Confit Garlic Oil (see recipe linked below)
• 550 grams cooked chickpeas
• 180 grams to 210 grams tahini paste (depending on the brand)
• Salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 5 tbsp plus 2 tsp ice-cold water, plus extra
• 1 ½ tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Set about 100 grams of the cooked chickpeas aside in a small bowl.
Add the remaining chickpeas, tahini paste, 8 of the confit garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until smooth, 2–3 minutes.
With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the ice water until completely smooth and aerated. You may have to add slightly more water to reach the desired texture. Taste and adjust for seasoning if necessary.
Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of Confit Garlic Oil, and a pinch of salt to the bowl with the reserved chickpeas, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Transfer the hummus to a shallow platter and smooth it out with the back of a spoon, creating a slight well in the center. (It’s okay if the hummus is a little runny; hummus will set as it cools.) Spoon the herbed chickpea mixture over the top of the tahini. Top the dish with the remaining confit garlic cloves along with some of the aromatics in the jar (thyme and chili). Finish with a drizzle of Confit Garlic Oil.


Garlic Confit

Ingredients

• 12 peeled garlic cloves
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 1 green chili
• 200 ml olive oil
• Salt

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce- pan over medium-low heat. Cover and cook until the garlic is soft and just beginning to color, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Leave the lid on, remove from the heat, and set aside for 10 minutes; the garlic will continue to cook in the heat of the oil.
Strain the oil into a clean glass jar and spoon in the garlic, thyme, and chili.
Once cool, transfer everything to an airtight, sterilized jar and store at room temperature for several weeks.