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No-Knead Apple Bread

23 Dec

It’s possible that there has never been a recipe as wholeheartedly embraced, and universally loved, as Jim Lahey’s recipe for no-knead bread that appeared in the New York Times half a decade ago.  There’s good reason, too.  Being able to make a delicious, totally foolproof artisan bread in the comfort of your own kitchen is a seemingly miraculous achievement.  And just when you thought that Lahey’s recipe, perfect as it is, could never, ever be improved upon, here comes this great tutorial from Savory Sweet Life  (our sites have very similar names, but that occurrence is nothing more than a weird coincidence) about how to make Lahey’s bread an even more foolproof affair.  By removing the least pleasant aspects of Lahey’s recipe (the very messy resting period atop a floured cloth, the even messier transfer of the rested dough into a wicked hot Dutch oven), Alice from SSL somehow managed to improve upon what I’ve always considered to be a nearly flawless recipe.

That said, a perfect recipe is still open to fiddling, and in my own kitchen I’ve recently taken to making Lahey’s bread, via Savory Sweet Life, with a bit of my own twist.  On a whim, I one day decided to fold some very lightly spiced apples into the bread dough, thinking that if I was lucky, the apples would settle nicely throughout the bread and bake up perfectly tart and sweet; if I was unlucky, the apples would sink to the bottom of the dough and form a terrible, congealed mass of wet, doughy disaster.

Success prevailed!  And I’ve now baked this bread enough times to declare it my favorite morning bread.  It’s perfect as toast, with a slice of sharp cheese, or smeared with almond butter.  Because Alice’s method of making the bread eliminates both the second rise and the step of heating up a cooking vessel in a preheated oven, you can wake up early, chop up an apple, fold it into the bread, then plop the bread straight into the oven.  An hour later, after you’ve showered, had a cup of coffee, read roughly two dozen books to your child, and managed to prepare yourself for making some breakfast, your bread is done.

Having a small child, our Christmas morning is guaranteed to begin well before the sun rises.  My plan this year is to mix up a batch of no-knead bread dough (which takes all of three minutes, if that) on Christmas Eve, leave it to rest overnight, and then fold in some apples on Christmas morning while I am preparing some coffee.  The bread will go in the oven, my son will pace around the Christmas tree, eventually tackling the presents underneath like a ferocious lion attacking a gazelle, and then, when the mayhem subsides, the bread will be ready.  Just in time for a family breakfast, we’ll have fresh bread.  Crisp on the outside, piping hot in the middle, the apples strewn artfully about the loaf, it’s a great complement to any meal, on any day.

No-Knead Apple Bread

Adapted from the New York Times and Savory Sweet Life

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon instant, rapid-rise yeast

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 5/8 cup of warm water (this essentially equals 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons of water)

1 apple, cored, peeled and diced into ¼-inch chunks

¼ teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

extra flour, for dusting

Note: You will NOT be preheating the oven while you prepare the bread dough.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt.  Don’t let the salt come into direct contact with the yeast, as it might kill it.  Add the warm water, and stir everything together.  The dough will appear quite wet and shaggy.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature overnight for at least 12 hours, preferably closer to 18 hours.

The next morning, cut a small round of parchment paper and fit it inside the bottom of a large heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid (I use an enameled cast iron pot, which works perfectly).

When you have diced up the apple, sprinkle the dark brown sugar and cinnamon on top of it.  Don’t even bother putting them in a bowl to do this—just sprinkle everything on top of the pile of apple chunks and mix it together with your hands.

With the dough still in the bowl, place the spiced apple chunks in the middle of the dough.  Sprinkle a good amount of flour around the perimeter of the dough, then, using a flexible spatula or silicone spoon, fold the edges of the dough over the apples in the middle of the dough, turning the bowl to follow your fold.  If the dough absolutely won’t let go of the side of the bowl, sprinkle a bit or flour over the stubborn spots.

Carefully turn the dough out into the heavy pot.  It will not look terribly attractive at this point, and it might have gotten a bit ripped in the process, but that’s fine.

Place the lid on the pot, and place the pot in the cold oven.  Turn the oven on to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and set a timer for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes have passed, carefully remove the lid from the scorching hot pot, and continue to bake the bread, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes.  When the bread is done, it will be deeply browned on the outside, with a visibly crackly crust.

Allow bread to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. The apples are super hot when the bread first emerges from the oven, and they need time to calm down so you don’t burn yourself when you bite into them.

Makes 1 loaf.

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Roasted Portobello Mushroom Caps with Apple Pecan Stuffing and Caramelized Onion Mushroom Gravy

2 Dec

Recently it occurred to me that when I entered (and subsequently lost) that cooking contest, lo those many weeks ago, I created a recipe that I came to love so much, I just don’t think it would be right to let the recipe languish on the contest’s website.  I don’t think it is against the contest’s rules to take my recipe back, so, if nobody objects, I believe I will.

My hunch is that, if you never mention its absence, nobody will even think to bemoan the lack of meat in this meal.  It really is that fulfilling, and in a way that I think all vegetarian and vegan food should be.  I am not making any substitutions for meat here, I am simply celebrating and building upon what these fresh, natural ingredients have to offer.  No meat required.

The best kind of vegetarian and vegan food, I think, is the type that doesn’t need to be specified as being either.  When you eat something delicious, it should just be delicious, plain and simple, no matter if you eat beef steaks or tofu cakes (or both).  When I was developing this recipe for stuffed portobello mushroom caps, one of my main goals was to make this a dish that could be set upon a big holiday table and entice every single person at that table, omnivore, herbivore, or what have you.  Portobello mushrooms, with their undeniably meaty texture, provide a satisfying meatiness for those who call for such with their meals.  Topped with sautéed cubes of artisan bread, savory apple bits, and crisp, flavorful pecans, you can easily make a main dish out of this.  Add in a rich, thick gravy of caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and heavenly mushroom stock, and the celebratory meal is made complete.

Roasted Portobello Mushroom Caps with Apple Pecan Stuffing

2 large Portobello mushrooms, scrubbed clean

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 ½ cups crusty bread cubes, about ½ inch in diameter

¼ cup finely diced onion

¾ cup chopped, peeled apple pieces, about ¼ inch in diameter

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

¼ cup mushroom broth (if you can’t find any, vegetable stock will do nicely)

¼ cup roughly chopped pecans

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly oil a medium-sized baking dish and set aside.

Remove stems from scrubbed Portobello mushrooms and reserve stems to use later.  Using a spoon, gently scrape out the gills from the underside of each mushroom cap.  Lightly brush both the top and bottom of each cap with olive oil and set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add bread cubes and sauté until crisp and browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove bread cubes from pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-low heat.  When oil is hot, add onions.  Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown at edges, about 3 minutes.  Add chopped apples, stirring and sautéing until lightly browned and just beginning to soften, 4-5 minutes.

Add bread cubes back into skillet and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low and add sage, parsley, and mushroom broth, stirring to combine.  When broth has been absorbed, about 1-2 minutes, remove skillet from heat and stir in pecans.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Fill each mushroom cap with stuffing, dividing as evenly as possible.  The stuffing will mound up quite a bit.  Place stuffed mushrooms in prepared baking dish, and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes, until mushrooms have darkened a bit and the stuffing has become quite crisp on top.

Serve with caramelized onion mushroom gravy.  Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish.

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Gravy

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ small yellow onion, sliced into thin ribs

reserved stems from 2 portobello mushrooms, chopped medium-fine

½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups mushroom broth (if you can’t find any, vegetable stock will do nicely)

½ teaspoon chopped fresh sage

½ teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over low heat.  Add onions, and slowly caramelize over low heat, 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.  When onions are soft, brown, and caramelized, add chopped mushrooms.  Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms have softened and darkened, 2-3 minutes.  Add balsamic vinegar, and stir to incorporate until vinegar has been absorbed, about 1 minute.

Move onions and mushrooms to the edges of the skillet, leaving an open space in the middle.  Turn heat up to medium.  Sprinkle flour in the open space in the middle of the skillet, and cook flour, stirring frequently, until browned, 3-4 minutes.  Slowly whisk in mushroom broth, incorporating the broth and flour into the onions and mushrooms and whisking to eliminate any lumps of flour that might initially form.  Simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently, until gravy thickens, about 5 minutes.  Add sage and parsley and whisk to incorporate.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes a tad more than 1 1/2 cups of gravy.

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Salsa Roja

17 Nov

Do you ever get into a cooking rhythm that leads you in one direction, and one direction only?  Like, say, south, to Mexico?  And all you want to cook are luscious sauces, flavorful side dishes, and a variety of salsas?  Yeah, I’ve been there.  I am there.  All I want to eat is Mexican food, all the time, every single day.  And with a couple of incredible Mexican food cookbooks at my disposal, this little habit of mine could go on for quite some time

This salsa is a direct recipe from Rick Bayless, he of the encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to the cuisines of Mexico.  So embroiled in the specifics of the foods is Bayless, I admit that I am actually somewhat intimidated by a large chunk of his recipes.  I have to roast that thing for how long?  And then find fat from what animal?  And do WHAT with it?  That’s the part where I close the book and walk away, wondering for the tenth time that week if it’s possible to actually hurt yourself by eating too many corn tortillas.

Now that I have thoroughly scared you away from Mr. Bayless, allow me to attempt to reel you back in.  Not all the recipes in his books are head-spinningly complex.  Bayless, though unfailing in his ability to bring authentic Mexican foods to the American masses, is also a great source for recipes that are simple, straightforward, and utterly delicious.  His salsa roja (red chile and tomatillo salsa) is one of my favorite basic salsa recipes, and it’s a great addition to anyone’s Mexican cooking repertoire.  Last year I used this salsa to flavor some flank steak for my husband’s birthday dinner, and it was a mighty fine success.  Paired with some slices of crisp red peppers and cool, creamy avocado, it made tacos that were deemed some of the best to ever cross one’s plate.

Slowly and steadily, with this salsa as my entry point, I plan on tackling more of Bayless’ catalog.  Perhaps I’ll baby-step my way there, sitting calmly at my dining room table while I peruse some books and eat this salsa.

Salsa Roja (Red Chile and Tomatillo Salsa)

From Mexico One Plate at a Time, by Rick Bayless

You can use any variety of small hot dried chile in the recipe.  I used dried chipotle peppers, since I happened to have some on hand.  Bayless specifies that you can also use cascabel, arbol, piquin, and many others.  If you don’t have a kitchen scale, Bayless helpfully mentions that ½ ounce of dried chiles corresponds to 6 red chipotles, 4 tan chipotles, 16 arbols, 3 cascabels, or ¼ cup piquin.

½ ounce small hot dried chiles, stemmed

6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 pound tomatillos (about 10-12 medium), husked and rinsed

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

about ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)

In an ungreased skillet set over medium heat, toast the chiles, stirring for a minute until they are aromatic and start to develop little darkened spots on them.  Transfer to a bowl, cover with very hot water, and rehydrate the chiles for 30 minutes.

In the same skillet, roast the garlic, turning frequently, until soft and blackened in places, about 15 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly, then remove the papery skins.

Roast the tomatillos on a baking sheet set 4 inches below a very hot broiler.  Roast until the tomatillos are soft and slightly blackened, about 5 minutes on each side.  Cool the tomatillos, then transfer them, along with any juices that were released during the roasting process, into a blender or food processor.

Drain the chiles and add them to the tomatillos, along with the garlic.  Puree, then pour into a serving dish.  Stir in enough hot water to give the salsa a spoonable consistency, about ¼ cup.  Add salt to taste, then, if desired, add in a small amount of sugar (I never add the sugar, but I like the tartness of tomatillos).

Salsa will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

Makes about 1 ¾ cups.

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