almonds Archives - Sugar et al

Green No-Cheese Pizza with Broccoli Pesto, Chicken and Sour Cream

12|06|2014

I am on a Pesto making mission. I have two jars permanently dedicated to it. The sight of it makes me feel good like nothing else. This feel-good is different from the one I get from baking cakes:-) But I guess it’s fierce and it’s related. One exists on account of the other. Well, it’s hard to describe but let’s say I have a place and passion for both in my life. Weird?

You know there are times I tell my husband that I would like to have my own little chicken farm, have them lay eggs and then bake with them. That is my favourite culinary dream. It’s not impossible but at the moment I cannot even imagine squeezing in a teeny-weeny responsibility into my daily routine. On the other hand however, I have a little herb garden that doesn’t take up too much of my time but it provides so much of the flavour, nutrition and green that is needed to complete my meals.

I don’t follow a strict recipe anymore while making pesto. Most often, it is a bit of this and that (herbs and nuts) to bring together my magic green potion. That is the amazing thing about pesto. It is versatile, adaptable and personal. The kale pesto I posted a couple of weeks ago turned out to be an instant hit so I decided to share my broccoli pesto. Unlike the kale pesto, this one goes down well with my kids. Kids seem to love broccoli. And if you love broccoli, you are going to love this pizza too. I don’t like my pizzas loaded with toppings…a few complementing flavours that you can identify as you eat does it best for me.

While broccoli is the core ingredient here, you can substitute the other herbs and nut as per convenience and availability. I’ve made this pesto with green chillies earlier but If kids are eating, I prefer to leave them out. The pesto is flavourful enough to replace tomato and cheese in a pizza. So it is certainly healthier. I LOVE cheese but it’s nice to try out different things. In this recipe I have used store-bought smoked chicken which is handy to dish out quick meals. I also tend to use leftover roasted chicken from the previous day which I reserve for making quick curries and snacks. Frozen pizza dough, a jar of home-made prepared pesto, leftover chicken and a dollop of sour cream…it is as simple as that to make your pizza from scratch.
The broccoli pesto can also be used with pasta, on toast and soups. Vegetarians can replace the chicken with tofu or mushrooms.

Now for the winner of the Harris Coffee give away who receives a fabulous Harris coffee pack.
The winner is Krissie from Pearls of Style. Congratulations Krissie! You will be receiving your package shortly.

Green No-Cheese Pizza with Broccoli Pesto, Chicken and Sour Cream
Serves 3-4

Pizza Dough (makes two 12 inch pizzas)
3 cups Plain Flour
2 tsp/7g/1 sachet dried yeast
1/2 tsp castor sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
Olive oil, for brushing
Semolina or Polenta, to dust

Pizza Topping
1 recipe Broccoli Pesto
1 smoked chicken breast (or fresh, cooked chicken), roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
Baby Spinach and Rocket leaves, for garnish
Cracked Pepper, to serve
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle (I use garlic infused extra virgin olive oil)

Broccoli Pesto
1 head broccoli (about 400 g), cut into florets
3 cloves garlic,
1 tbsp. almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup basil leaves
2 springs thyme
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper, to season
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Make the dough: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the warm water and olive oil. Mix together and use your hands to bring it to a soft dough. Knead it on a floured surface to make it smooth and pliable. Return it to the mixing bowl that has been brushed with oil. Add the dough and turn to coat.
Cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size. Punch down dough with your fist. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it gently for a minute. Halve the dough (for one 12 inch pizza) and roll it out to the desired portion and thickness.

Make the Pesto : Heat 3/4 cup salted water on medium heat in a saucepan. add the broccoli and simmer for 3- minutes until just tender. Most of the water would be absorbed by now. Cool the mixture slightly. Add to the processor along with garlic, basil, thyme, almonds, lemon juice. Process to a coarse paste. Season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Dust pizza tray with semolina or polenta. Place the rolled out dough onto the prepared tray. Spread a thick layer of broccoli pesto around the base of the pizza. Top with smoked chicken and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes or until base is crisp. Remove the pizza from the oven, dollop with sour cream and top with leafy greens. Serve with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cracked pepper.

Gluten-free Amaretti Cookies

12|07|2013

‘What are you baking Mama?’ asked my 3 and a half-year old as soon as he opened his eyelids in the morning. The house was filled with the smell of freshly baked amaretti cookies. He leaped out of bed in excitement and stood in the kitchen trying to peek into the oven. The smell of almonds and caramelised sugar was enough to drive anybody crazy, let alone the rapidly developing senses of a little sugar hungry boy. He ran to tell his brother.

“Wake up, We will have cookies for breakfast’

When did I say that! I couldn’t help but smile at the sweet exchange of words taking place between them, around the cookies.

The temperatures have been dropping a wee bit every day and I find the best way to keep warm is to switch on the oven. Even if it means 6.30 in the morning.

These Italian cookies are little bites of Heaven. They are so so good. Almonds and sugar…what a magical pair! And the good news for you..no butter, no flour! They are ready in no time and they tend to leave me with a ‘is that it?’ kind of feeling. Delicate, light, airy with a crunchy exterior and a soft chewy centre. And the scent…Oh! I could bake them every single day.

You know, I just had a thought! If I should rename my blog..

…Sugar, Almond, Raspberry et al..

Amaretti Cookies (recipe adapted from Eugenie kitchen)

Yields 15

1 egg white (strictly medium size)
1/3 cup castor sugar (75 g)
4/5 cup + 1 tablespoon ground almonds (85 g)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract/essence (or vanilla extract)
A Pinch of salt
Additional confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cookies are sticky. So if you want, use silicon pad or butter the parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites until doubled (not too firm). Add in the sugar and whisk just until combined. Fold in ground almonds, almond extract, and salt cutting the batter carefully with a spatula.

Make small balls with hands and place the cookies on the parchment paper. Dust them with confectioner’s sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack before serving.

Rhubarb Almond Crumb Cake

2|07|2013

I love using almonds in my cakes. I am always looking for recipes where I can substitute flour with almond meal or any other nut meal. Not only is it healthy, but it gives an amazing texture to the cakes. Rich but not heavy. Last time I paired it with orange to make a gluten-free treat but this time I wanted a recipe that would also use up the flaked almonds lying in my cupboard. The rhubarb almond crumb cake is sweet, tart, moist, crunchy all at the same time.

I made it for my friends who were coming over for afternoon tea. And everybody like it. The best thing about this cake is its different textures…the cake with the rhubarb and then the crumb topping. And the flaked almonds. This is one of those fuss free cakes where you just toss everything into a bowl and mix. I love recipes where you don’t need to cream the butter.

Rhubarb can at times be quite tart but in this recipe it just balances out. Being a colour fanatic, I also love the way it looks. Rustic brown and pink. I kept the styling to a minimum as I thought it didn’t need any. The cake is best served warm with some whipped cream on the side. Alternately, you can use hulled, chopped strawberries, peaches, apricots or any other fleshy fruit.

Not very long ago, I had a reputation of making everyone wait at the table because I had to photograph the dish. Especially warm dishes. I would end up on a guilt trip after that. And though I actually make loads of savoury dishes, I stopped photographing them. Gradually, I am learning the different tips and tricks of the trade.

This one however, came out of the oven and was a breeze.

Rhubarb Almond Crumb Cake (adapted with variation from Taste.com)

Serves 8-10

1 (550g) bunch young rhubarb
240g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar
50g (1/2 cup) plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
125g almond meal
185g unsalted butter, melted
6 egg whites
1 1/2 tablespoons Demerara sugar/brown sugar

Crumb topping

40g castor sugar (3 tbsp)
60g plain flour (1/2 cup)
40g unsalted butter, softened
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
60g sliced/flaked almonds

For topping, combine sugar and flour in a bowl, then rub in butter until mixture forms clumps. Rub through the orange zest until evenly combined.

Trim leaves and ends from rhubarb and discard, then cut into 2cm lengths.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 24cm square cake tin (or a rectangular tin, 32cm by 16 cm) and line with baking paper. Push sugar, flour, cinnamon and almond meal through a coarse sieve over a bowl, then stir in butter and egg whites until just combined. Spoon into tin, scatter with half the crumb topping, then rhubarb, then remaining topping. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and demerara sugar and bake for 40 minutes or until firm. Cool in tin for 10 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.