Strained Yogurt and Almond Tart

"What is strained yogurt?" you may be thinking. "And why would it make a good tart filling?" All of these are good questions. My wonderful sister, Jen, has recently been exploring fermenting vegetables as a way of preserving them. the main ingredient in this process is whey. So she purchased a 16 oz. container of yogurt and strained it through cheesecloth to separate the whey. Once the whey is strained out, the remaining milkfats and cultures are called, simply, strained yogurt. The consistency is a cross between greek yogurt and cream cheese and the flavor is light and somewhat tangy. My sister abhors anything that even remotely resembles cream cheese, so she gifted the strained yogurt to me...and then it dawned on me - why not use this delicious cream cheese-like stuff to make an almond tart!

What You'll Need:
For the Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon heavy cream

For the Filling:
1 cup (or 8 ounces) strained yogurt*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-pupose flour
2 large eggs
1/8 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds

*Any yogurt will do - you can even use low fat yogurt. Simply place a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl and strain the yogurt through cheesecloth. Reserve the whey and use it to make my Sweet Whey Bread recipe.

To make the crust, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor and whisk or pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse and resembles cornmeal. If using a food processor, pulse a few times until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine the egg yolks and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk with a fork. Drizzle the egg mixture over the flour and butter mixture. Using your hands, work the egg into the dough until the dough comes together to form a ball. Again, you can also just pulse the processor a couple times until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disk, wwrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

To prebake the crust, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a clean, floured work surface. Gently lay the crust over your tart pan and press it into the pan. Be sure the pastry is securely up against all edges, otherwise the pastry will shrink. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the crust and fill with rice, beans or pie weights. Place the crust back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the crust from the fridge and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes are up, gently lift one corner of the foil. If it sticks, the crust is not ready. Return it to the oven and check thereafter every 2 minutes. If the foil does not stick, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes with the aluminum foil and weights in place. After 5 minutes, remove the foil and weights and let cool. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.

While the crust is cooling, let's prepare the filling. Combine the strained yogurt and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. The longer you beat, the fluffier your tart will be. Beat in the flour. Add 1 egg at a time and beat after adding each one until fully incorporated. Add the cream and extracts and beat until the mixture is light and smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and sprinkle the almonds on top. Place the tart in the oven and bake until filling is set, about 35 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool. The tart will puff up substantially as it bakes, but it will fall as it cools - this is what you want. Serve chilled with blackberry preserves.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Leek Risotto with Rosemary Toscana

It seems the only thing my body craves in the wintertime is comfort food - something hot and delicious. Something that tastes best with a glass of wine and a woolen blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Sweet potatoes are great for the wintertime and this is the ultimate comfort dish for a drear mid-winter's meal. The potatoes offer a hearty sweetness and the leeks are buttery and soft while turmeric and rosemary give this dish a lively and unexpected flavor. Try serving this dish with roasted chicken or salmon on a bed of arugula.

What You'll Need:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium sized, trimmed leeks
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup grated toscana cheese*
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

*I love using rosemary encrusted toscana. You can find this at any Trader Joe's grocery store.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes. Dice the potatoes into small, 1/4" cubes. Place the potatoes in a bowl and coat with the olive oil. Sprinkle the turmeric, rosemary, salt and pepper over top and toss to coat. Place the in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes are up, reset the timer for 15 minutes and start on the risotto. Chop the leeks into rounds about 1/4" thick. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and cook until soft and slightly brown - about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice and, stirring constantly, roast the rice until golden brown and fragrant - about 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup of broth to the pan. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Next, add 1 cup of the white wine. Wait to add the wine until the broth is almost completely absorbed. Once the wine is absorbed, add another cup of broth. Continue this process, switching between broth and wine, until all liquid is absorbed and rice is soft (add 1 cup of liquid, wait until it is absorbed, add another cup and so on). Be sure to constantly stir the mixture so it does not burn.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven when the timer goes off and set aside (this will probably happen while you are adding liquid to your risotto).

Once the last cup of liquid has been added and absorbed, add the sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Add the cheeses and stir until melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet Whey Bread with Fresh Rosemary Cheese and Bourbon Fig Compote

My, my that sounds complicated - but it isn't! I came up with this bread recipe because I hated to waste the left over whey that comes with making cheese. It is a sweet, dense bread with a light crust and it only uses a few ingredients that you most likely have on hand (with the exception of the whey of course). The compote is great for canning and looks beautiful when spread over the cheese*. With the sweetness of the bread, the saltiness of the cheese and the tanginess of the compote, this tasty tidbit it sure to please!

*see my previous post for the cheese recipe

What You'll Need:

Sweet Whey Bread

3 cups white flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup of whey

1 egg

1/3 cup of sugar

Bourbon Fig Compote

1 ½ cups dried, chopped figs

¼ cup bourbon

¼ cup fresh orange juice

2 tblsp brown sugar

¼ tsp orange zest

¼ tsp ground clove

For the bread:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine the flour, soda and salt in a large bowl. Sift them together, or do what I do and run a whisk through the mixture a few times.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the whey, egg and sugar. Beat on high until foamy and tripled in volume.
4. By stand mixer or by hand: 
• By stand mixer: switch to the kneading attachment and turn on to a low speed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 parts. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky and soft.
• By hand: slowly fold in the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 parts. Once all flour is incorporated, turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky and soft.
5. Once your dough is ready, form it into a loaf and place it on a buttered and floured cookie sheet. Brush the top with any leftover whey or melted butter. Run a knife down the center of the bread to make a slit for air to escape as it bakes.
6. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
7. Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before serving. Be sure to slice the bread as thinly as possible, about ¼" thick to serve.

For the compote:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a medium size sauce pot over medium heat.
2. Stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed and the fig starts to break down, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Serve warm or can it to save for later.

Yield: About 12 ounces

Enjoy!

Fresh Rosemary Cheese

When I first thought of making cheese at home, I approached the subject somewhat warily. Surely it must be a very involved process involving multiple steps, weird appliances I have never even heard of, and strange specialty ingredients that require driving across town to get. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this is not at all true. After looking over dozens of recipes and techniques, I have come up with this simple recipe for fresh cheese. I suppose this is not technically cheese because it does not use a starter, but it sure is tasty! It's airy texture and flavor are delicious with crackers and compotes or spread on a juicy bosc pear. Check out my post above for another yummy serving option.

What You'll Need:

1 quart of milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 tsp finely ground rosemary

1 tsp kosher salt

Juice of half a lemon

Special Equipment:

Cheese cloth (this can be found at most grocery stores)

1. Rinse the cheese cloth and drape 3 layers over a mesh sieve. Place the sieve inside a large bowl. Make sure the bottom of the sieve sits at least 4" above the bottom of the bowl.

2. Combine the milk, cream, rosemary, and salt in a medium size sauce pot. Slowly stir over medium high heat until the milk comes to a rolling boil.

3. Once the milk begins to boil, reduce the heat down to low and add the lemon juice. Continue to stir until curds separate from the whey, about 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Once separated, gently pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth. Let the curds drain for about 45 minutes. The longer you let the curds drain, ultimately, the more solid your cheese will be. I usually let mine drain for about an hour.

5. Once your curds have drained, join all four corners of the cloth and twist the extra fabric. Using the twisted fabric, tighten the cheese into a ball and squeeze out any extra liquid. Secure the twisted fabric with a piece of string or a rubber band.

6. For storage, refrigerate your cheese in either tupperware or wrapped in wax paper. Because this is a soft cheese, it is susceptible to other flavors that may be floating around.

Yield: about 1 cup of cheese

And that's all there is to it! Don’t know what to do with all that whey? Check out my next post - Sweet Whey Bread.