Alfajores (South American dulce de leche sandwich cookies)



Ingredients to make 20 cookies:

Cornstarch -- 1 cup
Flour -- 1 cup
Baking powder -- 1 teaspoon
Unsalted butter -- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks)
Sugar -- 3/4 cup
Egg yolks -- 2
Dulce de leche -- 1 cup


Recipe:

  • Fine selection of corn starch, flour, baking powder together in a medium bowl. In a mixer in a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, beaten until they are incorporated.
  • Reduce speed to low the mixer and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, allowing every batch to become incorporated before adding the next.
  • Form the dough into a disc and does not deal with it too much. The outer packaging plastic packaging and cold storage at least 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven 350 °F. Remove the dough lightly floured work surface, and in a roll, about 1/8 inches thick. Cut a 40 X 2' wheels, and carefully place it in a lightly greased the wheels on the cookie sheet.
  • Bake 9 to 10 Minutes, but not so long that they begin to brown. Remove from the oven and cool down for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to wire rack and cool completely.
  • Spread about 2 teaspoons of the dulce de leche monitor on the one-half a cookie, and cover it with the flat of a cookie, a half a sandwich maker 3. Repeat with the remaining cookies. If you need to be done, sprinkle with cookie and icing sugar.



Chakchouka

Ingredients for 4-6 persons:
1 tablespoon paprika 
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 tablespoon harissa, for a spicier, deeper flavor (optional)
1 onion, lightly sliced 
2 -3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (good quality organic canned diced tomatoes can use)
1 potato, small diced cubes
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced, if not using put in further red and green bell pepper (optional)
1 -2 chili pepper, for those who like heat (optional)
1 cup water
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
4 eggs
Parsley or cilantro, chopped
Black olives (optional)
Capers (optional)


Recipe:

  • In a deep, warm frying pan the oil on the average heat. Add the seed of cumin to the warm oil during approximately 15 seconds before you add the paprika. The movement in the paprika and it left to the cook lightly for color the oil, approximately 10-15 seconds.
  • Add the onions and garlic (add harissa optionally here) and cook until the onions should be translucent and wilted, but not browned, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Add tomatoes and bring to rapid simmer.  Add peppers (also add seeded and diced chili peppers here if using) and the potatoes, watering and the pepper and salt. Reduce the heat to down, and boil on slow, covered, for approximately 10 minutes and add more water as required.
  • Form four (04) small notches in the peppers that they boil on slow fire to support the eggs. Break Eggs one after other, in a small bowl and slide every egg in a notch. Cover up and cooks on slow fire another 10 minutes or so until the eggs are cooked for.
  • Sprinkle with cilantro or cut parsley and black optional olives and capers.
  • Serve with creaking bread or rice.
  • Intersperse with chopped parsley or cilantro and optional black olives and capers.
  • Now serve with crusty bread or rice.

Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)

Ingredients for 4 persons
4 cups cold water
2/3 piece giant dried kelp , about 10 x 3 inches (kombu)
1/2 cup dried bonito flakes (katsuo bushi)

Recipe:

  • Put watering in the pot.
  • Wet a cloth or paper towel, wring it out, uses it to caress softly the surface of the piece of kelp, do not clean it strongly, only remove the superficial dust; a little of the white dust that fights on it is the agreeable clean flavor of the ocean.
  • Put the kelp in the pot.
  • Warm water, and when you be able to say that this be on the verge of be boiling, but before this do, remove the kelp.
  • Add the bonito flakes and get water just to a boil.
  • As soon as water begins to boil, extinguish the heat, now add katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and immediately remove of the heat.
  • Let set for 5-10 minutes, and then you can strain, doing pressing down to remove as much liquid and the flavor as possible.
  • To pull: infuriate a sifter with a piece of cheesecloth, and leak the dashi from it.
  • Dashi.is ready now.
  • Ddashi will stay for some days in a crystal container in the fridge.