Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Cookbooks

I have to tell you about 2 cookbooks I recently added to my ever increasing Cooking Library!
The first is Eating In by Philip Johnson of Ecco Bistro in Brisbane.  Ecco is a restaurant I have always wanted to eat at and maybe one day I will, but for now I am happy to try out his award winning dishes in my own kitchen.  As it's only new, the only recipe I've tried is a delicious Crisp cabbage salad with feta, mint and chilli.  I'm planning on making the Beetroot risotto, goat's cheese, pickled golden beetroot and candied walnuts in the near future ... so watch this space!
The other book I'm loving at the moment is called Snowflakes and Schnapps by Jane Lawson.  This is a book full of delicious scandinavian inspired recipes that is just perfect for our cool Tassie climate!`
Here is her recipe for ...
Saffron and Coriander Scrolls with Lemon Glaze... mmmm!
These have a soft texture similar to a croissant... probably because of all the butter!!

25g fresh yeast
2 large pinches of saffron threads
250ml warm full-cream milk
2 tbsp caster sugar
525g flour
1 egg
1 egg yold
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
165g unsalted butter, softened
95g soft brown sugar
2tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tbsp ground coriander

Lemon Glaze
125g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
.5 tsp natural vanilla extract

Place yeast, saffron and 1/3 cup of the warm milk in a non-metallic bowl and mash together to dissolve the yeast.  Stir in the sugar and 2 tsp of the flour, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes, or until frothy.
Mix together the egg, egg yolk and melted butter and stir into the yeast mixture.  Sift the rest of the flour and 1/4 tsp salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.   Pour in the yeast mixture and most of the remaining milk and combine well, adding a little more milk if needed to make a pliable dough.  Place in a large greased bowl and turn to coat.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place (for example, near a warm oven) for 60 mins or until doubled in size.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down the dough, then knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic and not sticky.  Roll out to a large 50 x 50 cm square about 5 mm thick.

 Spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle over the combined brown sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon and coriander.  Roll up tightly like a swiss roll.  Use a sharp knife to cut 3 cm thick slices and place the rounds flat on baking trays lined with baking paper - be sure to leave about 1.5cm between the scrolls to allow for spreading.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C.  Lightly beat the extra egg with 1 tbsp cold water, then brush over the tops of the buns.  Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 mins or until golden.  Remove the scrolls from the oven, place on a wire rack and cover with a clean tea towel for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the lemon glaze by combining the icing sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and just enough water to make a smooth, slightly runny glaze.  Drizzle the glaze over the scrolls and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Drizzle over the remaining glaze and allow to set.  Enjoy with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee!

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