almond-orange tuiles {ffwd}
I’ve been baking cookies for most of my life. For my 13th birthday, I received a copy of the classic Betty Crocker’s Cookie Book and a cookie press and I’ve been at it ever since. (I still have both the book and the cookie press!) I’ve dropped them, rolled them, and made them as bars. I’ve made biscotti, icebox cookies, and would say I’ve tried most of the cookie techniques out there. However, I was surprised at how challenging it was to make the seemingly simple recipe for this week’s French Fridays with Dorie assignment, Almond-Orange Tuiles.
Dorie tells the delightful story of enjoying these cookies in a Parisian bistro and after inquiring about their unusual flavor, being sent home not only with a container of dough but also the recipe to make them herself at home.
The tuile dough is simple to whip up. The cookie has only five ingredients, and the batter is light enough to mix by hand. You start with finely chopped blanched almonds. I chopped slivered almonds (the only kind I can easily buy that are already blanched) in my mini-chopper, then whisked in sugar and a small amount of flour. Next, the secret ingredient, orange juice, is stirred in, followed by melted butter. The dough needs to rest overnight.
Tuiles are named after the curved Provençal roof tiles they resemble. Shaping the cookies sounds simple enough. You bake the cookies until they are lacy and golden. Then, hot cookies are draped over a rolling pin to give them a perfect curved shape. For me, this was much easier to read on the page than to execute.
I baked a dozen balls in the first batch. The cookies spread and bubbled, and the edges turned golden. It was easy to transfer the first few from the pan to the rolling pin. Even though I was working fast, they were cooling too quickly and stuck to the pan. A few revisits to the oven helped, but none were as easy to transfer as those first 2 or 3.
For the next batch, I decided I’d try baking just six at a time. The smaller batch baked much faster than the first and didn’t transfer so well, so for the next six I turned the oven temperature down. Things got worse instead of better. In between batches, I ran cold water over the pans to cool them down and scrubbed the pan to remove the caramelized bits. I even stowed the bowl of dough in the fridge between batches. Even so, each batch seemed to race towards being burnt, in less and less time per batch.
A Rainbow of Browned-ness
I had VERY mixed success with these cookies. I don’t know whether I was overcooking them or undercooking them. All I know is that it was a struggle to remove the cookies from the pan, a key step in the process. After I made these, I saw a photo of what they should look like. These are much more golden than mine, but mine would have burnt before they reached the same even hue.
I did like the curvy shape and also how I could nest the cookies in the tin. However, these cookies were much more trouble than I have patience for. I don’t think I’ll try them again. In the meantime, we’ve been nibbling and enjoying them while they last.
If you are braver than I and want to try, you can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. To hear other tuile tales, follow my Dorista friends’ links from here.
One final note, decades after the gift mentioned above, today is my birthday again. It’s one of my favorite days of the year! Many thanks to all of you who’ve already left me good wishes on Facebook. Each one makes me smile and feel so lucky to have friends from all over the world who are fellow food enthusiasts.
Escape to Morocco
When I started my blog a little over 4 years ago, one of my goals was to be motivated and inspired to cook from my overflowing freezer and pantry. I’ve had mixed results with that objective. Howard would say it’s more of a negative flow, in other words, the coffers seem to fill more and more instead of emptying.
I was reminded of my resolution though when I recently had trouble finding something that I just knew was in the freezer somewhere. I can’t remember what it was, but I know that, with frozen fingertips, I did eventually find it in the back of the bottom shelf of the upright freezer. This experience renewed my intention of being creative with ingredients I have on hand.
In my search for the mystery item, I came across a package of goat stew meat from back when we were in a meat CSA, before the meat delivery outran the pace of our consumption. With the weather decidedly colder, a pot of stew seemed in order.
After a survey of the food on-hand, and a little internet browsing, I was inspired to make a tagine, no further grocery shopping required. I had canned tomatoes and chickpeas on the shelf as well as onion, garlic, and butternut squash from our Winter CSA. The Moroccan spices added culinary warmth that was lacking outside. Served over a bed of quick-cooking couscous, the pseudo-exotic stew made a satisfying meal.
If goat is too exotic for you, or you don’t have a ready source, this would be delicious with lamb instead. If you’ve never tried goat, do! Globally, it’s the most popular meat. It’s not as strong and gamy as lamb, yet it has a different taste than beef or pork. Try it, you’ll like it!
Goat Tagine with Chickpeas and Roasted Winter Squash
Serves 4
1 lb goat stew meat, trimmed of fat and membranes, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
Salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, drained (juice reserved) and coarsely chopped
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
In a bowl, season the meat with salt and pepper.
In a medium-sized Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Brown the meat on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, coriander, and cumin. Allow flavors to bloom for a few minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes and the juice. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400F. In a bowl, toss together the butternut squash pieces and the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and somewhat browned.
Add the roasted squash and chickpeas to the stew. Continue to simmer for about 10 more minute to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve over couscous.
A Plateful of Happiness 