My favorite savory pie/tart crust

For a long time, C&Z's olive oil pie crust was my go-to recipe for any savory pie/tart. The dough is very easy to work with and it gives a good and tasty pie crust. If I want to nitpick, the texture can be quite hard if it's not rolled out thin enough and it's not flaky at all.

Then I discovered Nick Malgieri's olive oil dough. This is a game changer for me. The original recipe uses olive oil but also adds eggs and baking powder. And the latter two ingredients definitely give the subtle impression of flakiness in the final baked product. However, I did find the original two-egg recipe too rich to my taste so I reduce the eggs down to one and add some water instead. This is now my favorite savory pie/tart crust. It's a breeze to work with and the taste is excellent. We are never tired of it. I've tried both olive oil and melted butter versions. Both work equally well.

My favorite savory pie crust

- 1 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb (optional)
- 1/4 vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
- You also need a rolling pin and piece of parchment paper (big enough to cover your chosen bakeware comfortably)

Mix all dried ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and dried herb if using) in a mixing bowl. In a measuring jug, combine oil (or butter), water and 1 egg. The total amount of liquid should be 3/4 cup. Gently mix the liquid part together with a fork. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to combine. The dough should be fairly easy to come together as a ball. If it seems a bit wet, add some flour to adjust the consistency, one tablespoon at a time. As soon as the dough is formed and not sticky, tip it out onto a parchment paper for rolling.

Flour the parchment paper, rolling pin and the dough lightly. Roll the dough out to fit your chosen bakeware. This recipe is enough for a 25-cm pie dish with some pastry scrape. I like to roll out to cover a 32cm x 25cm sheet pan (roughly 13in x 9in) for a large tart. I like to fit the whole parchment and the crust unto a sheet pan (or pie dish). This makes clean up so much easier and no crust even stuck on the pie dish!

The pie/tart crust can be filled immediately with toppings. If I use it for a quiche, I usually blind bake it first before I add the fillings.

To make the courgette tart as shown above, spread the unbaked tart shell with ricotta (mixed with thyme, lemon zest and a pinch of salt) or garlic&herb goat cheese. Arrange on top thin courgette slices which have been lightly salted and blotted dried previously overlapping by half. Bake the tart at 180C for 50 minutes.

I make - Rugelach

Yes, I know, it's near the end of Spring and heading towards summer, but I only found time now to try Rugelach out. Rugelach is Jewish cookie typically eaten during December Hanukkah time, even though nowadays shops sell them all year round. I was first introduced by my friend in Manhattan who kindly offered me a box(!) of these delicious pastry while I visited her one Autumn. I could tell straightaway that it's going to be a very good thing because the smell of butter, sugar and dried fruits just permeated through the box while sitting in its carrier bag. Ever since that moment, I've marked Rugelach on my wish list to make! And that was years ago.

The recipe I used is based on Dorie Greenspan's version (you can never go wrong with Dorie!). And, yes, the result is utterly buttery deliciousness one could ever hope to create at home. This makes me think of S again and her kindness. I hope you are well.

Rugelach with two fillings

For the dough:

- 100 g cream cheese, room temperature
- 200 g salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
- Round pie dish or cake tin of 25cm diameter
- egg wash (one egg mixed with dash of water)

Marmalade filling:

- 2-3 tablespoons of marmalade at the consistency of easy spreading
- handful of dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan nuts, finely chopped
- cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder)

Nutella filling:

- 2-3 tablespoons of nutella
- handful of dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan nuts, finely chopped
- cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder)

Beat cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, vanilla and sugar. Stir to combine to form a dough. Scrape the (sticky!) dough out of the bowl, dust some flour around if it's too sticky and quickly form a ball. Wrap it with the cling film and rest the dough in the fridge for at least one hour.

When you are ready to work with the dough, take it out of the fridge. Cut two big pieces of parchment paper (large enough to cover your sheet pan). Slice the dough in half horizontally (like a bagel). Wrap one half back with the cling film and put back to the fridge while you work the other one. Take one parchment paper, scatter some flour on top and generously flour the rolling pin and the dough (top and bottom). Rotate the dough by turning the parchment paper 90 degrees during rolling to help make a circle. Your aim is to roll out the dough into a big round shape, with a thickness of 0.3cm. Mark a perfect circle with a round pie dish on the dough and cut along the circle with a knife. Save the pastry scrapes.

Spread the marmalade onto the first pastry circle, leaving a border of 2-cm unfilled. Scatter cranberries, chopped pecan pieces and cinnamon sugar (you may not need to use all sugar). Now cut the circle into 16 triangles (think of pizza wedges). Starting at the base of each triangle, roll tightly the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for one hour.

Repeat the same process with the other piece of pastry and fill with nutella.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Brush the chilled rugelach with egg wash and bake them for 20-25 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan 180 degree half way through the baking time. Cool them completely on a wire rack and enjoy.

One of the kind

Freddie Mercury, how can you not admire (and for me, love) someone who gave it all in? A Great Pretender maybe, but who isn't? With time, most of us have protective shells grown around us, even if some of us are smart enough to avoid the bad crowd. True talent is like fire in an active volcano, you know it when you see it. There is no way to hide it.

Yes he is flamboyant, outrageous, uncontrollable and perhaps some find offensive, but he is also exuberant, indomitable, innovative and pushing the boundaries. He's a first-rate composer, a spirited performer and a mysterious person of contradictions. That last bit matters nothing to me. I could enjoy his music as much with my eyes closed.  A rock star who loves opera, I found that out from the Documentary, A Great Pretender. That's why he wrote songs for Montserrat Caballé with whom he held highest esteem. Barcelona was born, what a groundbreaking and unforgettable album. It was the first time a rock star performing alongside with an opera singer. And it's truly magical. It feels powerful and yet so harmonious. The melodies are energetic, elegant and simply beautiful. It's my favorite.

Look beyond the exterior, if you could. Listen to his music with eyes closed, if you would. Let the unstoppable energy and sheer joy of his work flow through your inner self. I hope you would then appreciate Freddie's so much zest for life and truly one of the kind, inimitable talent, Freddie Mercury, the world is richer and less boring because of you. Thank you.

To PB

I visited my colleague in the hospital today. He had a stroke 10 days ago and he is 46. Forty-six(!), it's the age for mid-life crisis, a red sports car, Caribbean cruise or all kinds of crazy things! Rarely do you hear the word "stroke" being mentioned for a forty-something but it did and could happen. And it shocked many of us who know him, especially he's been known to be a fit person who exercises regularly and eats a very healthy diet.

Yes, you can do all the right things and still get struck by sh*t. That's just life and its capricious nature (or cruelty). As a mere mortal, I can only do what I could to stay healthy and hoping that I would have the strength and will to recover, should any unfortunate thing happens. I am also acutely reminded to enjoy the life while you can and let the loved ones know that you care. Every little thing matters in the end. A small pot of flowers you planted, a smile you give to a stranger, a kiss to your lover or a kind word to your mother. A little more "want to" and less "have to".

The good news is my colleague is responding well to the treatment and physiotherapy. His movement is almost smooth today despite a bit slow and the speech being a bit slurred. More importantly, he's talkative and in good spirits. It's only early days of rehabilitation and I have no doubt that he's on his way of steady recovery.

Best wishes to you, PB. Be courageous and humorous, as you always have been. I look forward to seeing you back and work together again.

Weekend dinner - 18/04/2015

Roasted whole sea bass on top of charlotte potato coins and fennel slices

Easy and satisfying dinner. I skipped the anchovies called for in the recipe and seasoned the fish generously with dill, thyme, black pepper and salt, inside and out. The finished dish looks just like the photo on the web!

You can't go wrong with roast fish but the roasted potato coins and fennel are the true star tonight. Will try to make more of this in the future.

Weekend dinner - 11/04/2015

Mushroom lasagna 

This is the most decadent and satisfying lasagna I've ever made. And it has no meat! Thank you, Ina.

Chopped salad

Coriander, cucumber and tomato is possibly my favorite salad combination (extra lettuce was added in the photo). The taste is just so enjoyable and refreshing. The only thing it needs is some black pepper.

Apple tart

I used store-bought pastry and it gave us a nice finish of Saturday night.

I make - Flammekueche

This is hubby's youth. I am glad that I gave it a go finally. I need to work on my yeasted dough in general but overall the taste is pretty good. I used two types of onions, one regular onion cooked to lightly golden and the other raw shallow mixed with black pepper. It was initially because I ran out of onions. As a last minute idea, I threw in some shallots which turned out brilliantly. Because shallots are sweeter than regular onions, when thinly sliced and cooked at high heat, it brings out their sweetness and particular oniony flavor. We both like it very much.

Flammekueche

- 1 portion of pizza dough or olive oil pie crust

- 1 medium onion, sliced and cooked in one teaspoon of butter until lightly golden

- 1/2-1 cup of lardon strips

- 1-2 shallot, thinly sliced against the grain (optional)

- 2 tablespoons of fromage blanc (or fromage frais or greek yogurt) 

- 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche

- dash of nutmeg

- freshly ground black pepper

- sea salt flakes

Heat the oven to 220C.

Roll out the dough of your choice on to a baking sheet.

If using shallots, mix shallot slices with fresh ground black pepper while separating each layer with your fingers. Set aside.

Mix together fromage blanc, creme fraiche, nutmeg, black pepper and pinch of sea salt flakes. Spread the white sauce onto the crust.

Scatter shallot slices onto the crust, followed by lightly golden onion slices and finally lardon strips. Season with black pepper if desired.

Put the sheet pan into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy while it's hot!