YOGURT TART

Breakfast desserts are a wonderful venue for experimentation. With this treat I took some morning time favorites and reframed them with an eye toward the tart/pie family. The crust is an oatmeal crumble, the body a tremble of yogurt set with gelatin, and the top is crowned in fruit. A joy eaten in the morning and a secret eaten at night, this tart will become a staple in your repertoire once you've tried it. Any fruit on top will do, I swap it out as the seasons shift. My new favorite? Fillets of mango spiraled around the yogurt. 

INGREDIENTS

Crust

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• 1 cup GF Oats

• ½ cup Brown Sugar

• ⅓ cup Millet Flour

• ¼ cup Almond Meal

• ½ tsp Salt

• 3 ounces Coconut Oil

Peaches

• 3 large Peaches

• 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup

• 1 tsp Ground Cardamom 

Panna Cotta

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• 1 packet Powdered Gelatin

• 3 tbs Water

• 2 cups Yoghurt (any variety will do)

• 2 tbs Honey

• Juice of ½ Lemon

• 1 tsp Vanilla

• ½ tsp Salt

BUSINESS

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie dish with a circle of parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl mix the ingredients for the crust with your hands. Squeeze and massage the mixture until there are no visible clumps.

3. Press the crust into your pie dish and up the sides. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes or until it is just starting to brown around the edges. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.

4. While the crust is baking slice the peaches into small wedges. Stir them with the maple syrup and cardamom, then spill them into a roasting pan.

5. Roast the peaches in your already warm oven for 20-25 minutes, until they’re just showing some color and slightly withered. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

6. While the crust and peaches are cooling, pour the gelatin over the water in a shallow bowl and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

7. In a large saucepan whisk the yoghurt, lemon, vanilla, salt and honey over medium heat. When it is quite warm to the touch, turn off the heat.

8. Pour the gelatin into the yoghurt mixture and whisk until it is completely dissolved.

9. Pour the yoghurt mixture into the pie dish, into the crust.

10. Arrange the peaches on top however you like (scattered or spiralled).

11. Put the dish in your refrigerator at least 3 hours, or overnight, to set.

12. Slice and eat!

TAMARIND APPLE SALAD

I'm not a fan of the hotel fruit salad, a jubilee of unseasonal and underripe cubes with little or no thought to structure and shape. And so when I set out to make a fruit salad it must have perspective, maturity, and reason. You'll never find a tumble of melons, citrus, berries, and grapes on my table. Our brunch was in close enough proximity to Passover that my brain subtly injected this reference to Charoset. Chopped apples, dates, and cashews, dressed with lemon and tamarind. It's a Southeast Asian take on my Jewish roots, and I'm eagerly awaiting a repeat performance. 

Ingredients

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• 3 Honeycrisp Apples
• 1 1/2 cups Raw Cashews, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup Tamarind Paste
• Juice of one Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Business

1. Peel and chop the apples into small cubes. 
2. In a large bowl mix the apples, chopped cashews, and chopped dates until evenly distributed. 
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. If the sauce is too thick, add water one tablespoon at a time until it is easily whiskable. 
4. Pour the sauce over the fruit and nut mix, toss to combine.

SAMOSA POTATOES

Beginning with an Indian inspiration I tore the insides from mental samosas and packed them into a casserole dish. The result is a tray of scoopable, spiced, tender, and crusty potatoes, perfect as the bed for some fried eggs. I add a lot of peas to my potato mixture, feel free to adjust the proportion should you be pea-averse. 

INGREDIENTS

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• 4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (~2 lbs)

• 1 tablespoon White Vineger

• 1/3 cup Olive Oil

• 2 Serrano Chilies, minced (~2 tbs)

• 5 cloves Garlic, minced (~1 1/2 tbs)

• 3 inches Ginger, chopped (~3 tbs)

• 1 tablespoon Black Mustard Seed

• 1 tablespoon Amchur

• 2 1/2 teaspoons Whole Cumin Seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Coriander

• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon Fennel Powder

• 2 cups frozen Green Peas

BUSINESS

1. Chop the potatoes into roughly 2 inch pieces.
2. Place them in a large saute pan and cover with two cups of water. Add the vinegar.
3. Cover the pan and bring to a simmer, cook at a medium temp for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender but have not lost their shape completely.
4. Drain the potatoes and partially mash in a large bowl.
5. Heat the oil in a large wok or saute pan.
6. When the oil is hot, toss in the serrano chilies, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds.  Saute till light brown.
7. Throw in all the remaining spices.
8. Add the semi-mashed potatoes, stir everything to distribute the spices.
9. Add the frozen peas.
10. Spoon potato mixture into casserole dish and drizzle olive oil on top. Slide into the oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the top.

GRILLED PÃO

It wasn't until I was in college that my family (all living gluten free at that moment) discovered the wonder of this Brazilian bread. No yeast, no complicated blend of gluten free flours, this batter comes together in a few minutes with a small list of ingredients. You can make it with or without cheese. Adding handfuls of something sharp will amp up the flavor, though I must admit an addiction to this simple, dairy free, version. Traditionally, the batter is baked into small muffins, small rolls, but I've taken this opportunity to present you with my favorite alternative: the grill. Pour the batter directly onto a cast iron grill/griddle and you'll be rewarded with an alchemical transformation. 

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 Egg
• 1/3 cup Olive Oil
• 2/3 cup Coconut Milk (or regular milk)
• 1 1/2 cups Tapioca Flour
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional: 1/2 cup Grated Cheese

BUSINESS

1. Heat a cast iron grill pan over medium-high flame.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients fiercely, until the batter is smooth and shiny. 
3. When the grill is hot, pour the batter directly onto the iron. If it resists spreading, you can give it a nudge with a spatula, though gravity will most likely take care of the job. 
4. Let the bread grill until it curls up at the ends, about 10-15 minutes. Check the bottom for good color, then flip it over and grill the nude side for another 10-15 minutes (or until sufficiently toasted).
5. Remove and tear into fingers for serving.

SALT AND PEPPER KALE CHIPS

It's downright irresponsible to have a late breakfast without some sort of vegetable on the table. Though it may run counter to your upbringing, the breakfasts of my young adulthood have always featured something green to accompany my meats and starches. But I'll cut you some slack here, it is the morning after, after all. Have a bunch of kale in your fridge? Is it starting to wilt? Yes, of course it is. Well strip the leaves from the stems and let them crisp up in the oven. Everybody loves a good chip.

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 bunch Kale (curly leaf)
• 3-4 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper (don't be shy here)

BUSINESS

1. Heat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Strip the leaves from the stems of your kale, add them to your largest roasting tray/pan. If they are too bunched in the pan (i.e. on top of each other), bake them in batches.
3. Drizzle olive oil, and sprinkle salt and pepper over the kale, then toss with your hands until evenly distributed. 
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan intermittently, until crisp and dry.

SPICED BACON

Bacon needs no introduction, it begs no accoutrements, but sometimes (just sometimes) it likes to be treated like a GD star. It doesn't take much to put bacon in the spotlight, just of touch of sweet spice and some proper cooking. I like my bacon straight and stiff as a board, thick and crisp. For my tastes, there is no better purveyor of the porky strip than John O'Groats in LA. I base my cooking technique on their expert presentation, and it doesn't fail. 

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 pound Bacon, thickly cut
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar

BUSINESS

1. Heat your oven to 475 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl mix together both the Garam Masala and brown sugar.
3. Dredge each bacon slice through the spice mixture, coating both sides liberally.
4. Line a large roasting tray with the bacon slices, keeping them in one layer.
5. Place a rack on top of the bacon slices, to keep them flat while they bake.
6. Bake the bacon for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and crisp all around.
7. Remove the bacon from the oven and, using a fork, take each slice out of the roasting tray while still hot and let it drain on a separate rack.

BANANA CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Whether or not you had an inadvertent overnight guest, take a few minutes and flap some jacks this morning. Pancakes aren't complicated, and if you make them a semi-regular part of your morning routine (say, perhaps, a weekend tradition) you'll find you know the formula by heart in no time. I threw some bananas into the mix, but if you don't have any on hand, skip 'em. Pancakes ahoy!

INGREDIENTS

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• 2 Bananas
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Milk (alternatives will work)
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Safflower Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 cup Corn Grits
• 1/2 cup Millet Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

BUSINESS

1. Mash bananas in bowl, whisk in egg, milk, sugar, oil, and salt.
2. Stir in grits, millet flour, and baking powder.
3. Heat griddle over medium-high flame and ladle batter onto surface.
4. Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles appear around edges, then flip.
5. Cook for another 2 minutes, then remove to plate and enjoy.