Flan de Naranja

Have you ever had a baked custard (flan) without milk? Well, I haven't until last week when I made 2 kinds for Christmas dinner, one with the usual fresh whole milk and a second one with clementine orange juice. We bought a large carton of Spanish clementines that are not very sweet, some are slightly bitter. I didn't want to throw them away so I have been juicing them and I peeled, sectioned, and marinated a few pieces in red wine. I will slice and cook the remaining pieces in sugar syrup to garnish cakes. The orange custard is surprisingly very good. Although it is not as creamy and smooth as the milk flan, I love that it is very light, refreshing, and citrus-y. Those who are lactose-intolerant will love this milkless custard. I encourage you to bake one recipe and find out for yourself just how yummy it is.

The recipe is adapted from my cookbook THE FOOD OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz.

Flan de Naranja

½ to ¾ cup sugar for caramel

6 whole eggs

¼ cup sugar

2 cup fresh clementine or navel orange juice, strained

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

6 small ramekins or 1 large flan mold (llanera)

• In a stainless steel skillet, heat the sugar over low heat until golden in color and caramelized. Pour equally among the ramekins. Put ramekins into baking pans with sides that are 2 inches high. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat with a fork until smooth. Add the orange juice and mix until well combined. Strain using a fine mesh into another bowl preferably with spout and handle. Stir in orange zest. Pour into the prepared ramekins. Fill the baking pans with hot water halfway up the sides of ramekins.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until set. Flan will be slightly wiggly, it will firm up when cooled. Cool for 30 minutes on a rack. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.

Vegetable Paella

One of the dishes I cooked for Christmas is the very yummy Vegetable Paella, the recipe adapted from the cookbook MADE IN SPAIN by the Spanish chef José Andrés whose restaurants are among the highest-rated and more popular here in the Washington D.C. area, most notably Jaleo and the minibar inside Cafe Atlantico. I purchased MADE IN SPAIN, the companion cookbook to his PBS cooking show, a few days before Christmas and bookmarked the Vegetarian Paella right away. I will probably try to cook most of the dishes in this cookbook which look really delicious and seem easy enough to prepare at home. I also love the photography and layout of the book which has one recipe all on one page and the photo on the facing page. It also gives helpful resources for Spanish ingredients and acceptable substitutions if necessary.

Prepare the sofrito early in the day or a day or 2 ahead.

Sofrito
10 ripe plum tomatoes
1½ cups Spanish extra virgin olive oil
4 small Spanish onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
3 bay leaves

• Slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a mixing bowl. Rub the cut surface of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skins. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes. You want the onions to caramelize, if they get too dark, add ½ teaspoon of water to keep them from burning. Stir in the tomato puree, the pimenton, and the bay leaves and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. You'll know the sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in color and the oil has separated from the sauce. Discard the bay leaves. Makes 3 cups of sauce.

slow cooked Catalan tomato and onion sauce

Vegetable Paella
¼ cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil
8 baby yellow squash, halved lengthwise
1 cup half-inch eggplant cubes
3 cups cauliflower florets
¼ pound fresh wild mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 ripe plum tomatoes
¼ cup sofrito
1 cup dry white wine
pinch of saffron
3 cups filtered water
1 cup Spanish bomba rice or medium-grain rice
2 ounces fresh or frozen green peas
sea salt to taste, about 1½ teaspoons
2 ounces piquillo peppers, cut into ½ inch strips

• Heat the oil in a 13-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the squash and brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Add the eggplant and cauliflower and cook for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the plum tomatoes and the sofrito and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
• Crumble the saffron into the pan and pour in the water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the rice and peas until well combined. Reduce the heat to medium high, season to taste with salt, and cook for 4 minutes. Do not stir the rice again, as this can cause it to cook unevenly.
• After 4 minutes, reduce the heat to low, lay the pepper strips on top of the paella, and cook for another 7 minutes. Remove the paella from the heat, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

delicious vegetable paella, the perfect rice dish to go with a meat-rich Christmas dinner of baked ham and Chicken Relleno (roast boneless chicken filled with highly seasoned ground pork)

I'm Dreaming Of A Filipino Christmas...

...just like the ones I used to know [as a child]....

Where the streets and houses are decorated with brightly lit multi-colored parols (lanterns)....
And children gather every night to sing both Western and Filipino carols from house to house....

Where for 9 consecutive days from December 16 of each year, right before dawn, people go to hear mass and enjoy native snacks and hot tea sold outside the church....

SIMBANG GABI image courtesy of filipinasoul.com

On Christmas eve people go to midnight mass to celebrate Christ's birth, have either an elaborate or simple meal with their families at home....

And on Christmas Day children wear their brand spanking new clothes, shoes, and/or purses to visit and give respect to their grandparents, relatives, and godparents who in turn give them gifts and new never-used crisp peso bills....

Pagmamano image courtesy of Wacom-Asia Community

Where Christmas has always been and still is [I hope] a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Maligayang Pasko
Merry Christmas
Feliz Navidad
Joyeux Noël

More on Filipino Christmas traditions here.

Sweet Potato Rolls

Sweet potatoes are a new favorite in my house. The past month we have had simply roasted, sprinkled with a little flaked sea salt and topped with créme fraîche, in challah, French fried, and recently in dinner rolls. We just love this root crop that makes everything taste milky sweet. The dinner rolls are super soft and delicious hot with butter or filled with cheese or meat spread. I baked another batch today for my daughter's office Christmas party and will make them again for Christmas and maybe another recipe with ube (purple yam) powder as well.

Sweet Potato Rolls
1 packet instant yeast
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 egg, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk or whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
extra flour for dusting, optional

• In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 1 cup flour and yeast, add egg and mashed sweet potatoes and mix on low for 1 minute.
• In a saucepan heat buttermilk, sugar, salt, and butter. Stir until butter is melted and temperature of mixture reaches 120°F. Pour milk mixture into the mashed sweet potato mixture. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and beat at medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Remove paddle attachment and replace with dough hook. Knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, brush top of dough with oil , cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Remove dough from bowl and transfer onto a clean surface. Knead dough lightly to remove air bubbles. Cut into 18 pieces and shape into ovals or rounds. Place on silpat or lightly greased sheet pan 1 inch apart, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• Dust tops of rolls with flour, if desired. Bake rolls in a preheated 400°F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Sweet!

I'm sending this over to Joelen's Culinary Adventures Tasty Tools Event for December, 2008: Baking Sheets