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Of late I’ve been reading a lot about Italy. Everyone and their mothers are vacationing in Italy and then documenting their summer experience on their blog. This leaves the proletariat like me yearning for the unfulfilled experience. And it doesn’t stop there – I also have Italy talk going on in my inbox with so many readers. So, what’s the next best thing I can do to allay my emotions? Cook myself something Italian, of course! With a renewed sense of hope, I set out to make some risotto from a recipe I’d bookmarked eons ago.
With corn in season, it was time I ticked this corn risotto recipe off my list. I used white and yellow sweet corn in the risotto. I was toying with the idea of using either basil or mint because I wanted to maintain the delicate flavours of the corn risotto, instead of using a strong herb like thyme. So I tried both, and am happy to report that the mint flavour paired beautifully with the sweet corn (just like in the caramelised corn with mint). I’d pick that any day over basil, despite being a huge basil lover. Another thing worth noting is that adding sugar to the risotto while cooking brings out the innate sweetness of the corn. While it’s just so good to make it with homemade stock, I cheated and used cubes because I didn’t have any chicken carcasses at hand.
My only grouse with risottos is that you need to serve it immediately after they’re cooked – it’ not something you can prepare ahead of time, unless you precook the rice, like in restaurants. Even so, you will still have to do all the other work in the kitchen. It’s a pretty perfect meal that gets even better with some garlic bread. Two thumbs up.
Double Corn Risotto Recipe
Adapted from: This Week’s Menu
Yield: 4 servings
2 cups uncooked corn – white + sweet yellow
4 cups chicken broth
3 tbps butter
2-3 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet your corn is)
1 onion, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
2 tbsp chopped mint
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Equipment: Pans, chinoise, sauté spoon.
Method:
- Puree 1 cup of the uncooked corn in a food processor until smooth. Strain it through a chinoise to get rid of all the tough corn skin.
- In a saucepan, heat the chicken broth to a simmer.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and sauté, stirring, 3 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and the pureed corn and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has been absorbed, 5-7 minutes. Continue adding the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until the previous addition has been absorbed before adding more.
- After adding 2 cups of the broth, add the remaining whole corn kernels. Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it tastes right (not overtly sweet). Add in the seasoning.
- After the last cup of broth has been absorbed, let the risotto cook 3 minutes more (I prefer it to be slightly liquid I might add a few tablespoon of broth after turning off the heat as well).
- In the end, stir in the mint, parmesan and butter and cover it with a lid for all the flavours to marry, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Last week I got a message from my friend D. that read “They have blueberries at the supermarket!!!” I sprung out of my seat and bolted. For some, it might seem like a literary exaggeration, but that’s exactly what I did. All the tasks on my Google calendar can wait because I really didn’t want to miss out on getting my hands on fresh blueberries this time.
As I approached the shelf that stocked the blueberries, I couldn’t stop smiling when I caught the innumerable boxes of blueberries in sight. One guy caught my gaze and grabbed a box too, assuming by the look on my face that it might be some sort of manna (since blueberries are unheard of here). As I picked up a few boxes myself, I thought of the endless possibilities that might be the fate of these blueberries. Muffins, a peach blueberry pie, a grand cake, or a smoothie perhaps? While I waited my turn in the line to check-out, I started snacking on some of the berries (yeah, I know, shame on me for eating them without washing). And soon after, I ate them with vanilla yoghurt – the best way to eat fresh berries. The best!
After having berries right from the box till my mouth turned blue, I finally decided to bake a blueberry almond cake with it. I’ve had this cast iron pan cake on my mind for a very long time. It’s a simple cake, with a gorgeous golden crust. It has a top that gets wonderfully chewy when baked and has a nice toasty bite that the sliced almonds bring to it. With blueberries at hand, this was the perfect excuse to bake the cake speckled blue with juices bubbling from the side of the pan.
I’m so thrilled that we get blueberries here! That makes it one less thing on my letter to God for my baking wish-list.
So when are you visiting us, dear raspberries?
Blueberry Almond Cake
Yield: One 9 inch cake OR one 6 inch cake + a tiny loaf cake
Adapted from: Baking From My Home to Yours (UK | India)
Note: I find the sugar to be a bit much for my taste, so I’d reduce it little next time, about 20-30 grams. Otherwise, a fantastic cake that makes it to my go-to repertoire. The original recipe states that you need to mix in the melted butter right in the end, but I started baking in auto-pilot and realised only after I had creamed the butter and sugar together. If you try the original method, then please report back!
Ingredients:
1 stick / 112g butter, melted
1 cup / 200g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup / 130g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4th cup sliced almonds
½ / 100g blueberries
Equipment:
Cast iron skillet or Small loaf pan
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
- Butter a cast iron pan or a 9 inch cake pan generously – this helps attain the covered golden crust.
- Beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add one egg at a time, until you find that the mixture looks homogenous and the eggs are thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold it into the egg mixture. Stir in the blueberries.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, scatter the sliced almonds, and bake for 25-30 minutes (even lesser when using a small pan), until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve warm.
Yesterday morning I got a call from a lady, “I’d like to order pesto rolls and cupcakes”, she said. Just like I do with every such call, I grabbed my order book to note down the details. I asked my standard set of questions and then finally, the address for delivery. She said, “That would be next door!”
I was pleasantly surprised! I hadn’t announced about my foray into catering around here, and we don’t really talk much except exchange brief pleasantries when we happen to bump into each other in the elevator. How did she know? She told me she was thrilled to see me in the day’s Mid Day and cooed about the details. (For those of you who don’t know about it, Mid Day is Bombay’s largest local paper, with over 150k daily readers). I knew I’d be in it one of these days, but didn’t expect it to be yesterday, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be this huge! A full page coverage, and the first page too carried a teaser to the story. Have a look at the full story, and to see me giving the camera a big, very conscious smile (it’s hard for me!).
A big thank you too all for your calls, emails, Twitter and Facebook messages! Your support made my day.
And just so I don’t have another post without a recipe, I’m going to share with you a recipe for a corn and spinach quiche I made a few days ago.
The filling is a little more for a 6-7 inch quiche, but would be perfect for a 9 inch quiche. I scrambled up the leftover filling and topped it over a bread brushed with garlic oil and then toasted it in a cast iron pan (that makes the bread so crunchy) for a snack.
Corn and Spinach Quiche Recipe
Yield: One 9 inch tart
Shortcrust Recipe
Adapted from: The Ottolenghi Cookbook (India | UK)
300g flour
160g butter
70ml ice cold water
Corn and Spinach Filling Recipe
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup / 200g corn
½ cup spinach, washed and chopped
½ cup / 100ml cream (heavy ream would be lovely, I used 25% fat cream)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp chilli flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
- Make the shortcrust pastry following the instructions for a perfect pie crust. Blind bake the quiche for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden in colour. Brush with eggwash and bake for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- For the filling, heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and let it cook for another minute or so, until fragrant.
- Add the corn and then finally the spinach and cook for 5-7 minutes until the corn is cooked. Set aside, and let it cool.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and add the chilli flakes. Add the cooled corn and spinach mixture and check for seasoning.
- Pour the filling into the precooked quiche base and bake it in the oven at 175°C/350°F for 15-17 minutes until the egg mixture has firmed up.
- Remove from the oven, and let it cool.
- Slice up, and eat!
I’ve had this recipe of baked yoghurt tucked away in my recipe file for the longest time. Maybe because it’s so simple, I didn’t come around to making it. It’s just three ingredients (if you don’t count vanilla), takes barely any prep time and tastes so good, especially with fresh fruit.
All you have to do is mix together the yoghurt, cream and condensed milk, along with the vanilla pod innards, and pour the resultant mixture into ramekins, Then, bake on a really low temperature until it’s just set. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the ramekin. Plus, the yoghurt will continue to firm up as it cools.
I was debating with myself on the better flavouring to use – vanilla or cinnamon. The Pod from the South won. There is something about those gorgeous black specks of vanilla scattered in every bite that makes it so alluring! Although, I reckon spices like cardamom and saffron would be stellar too when used in the baked yoghurt. I made the baked yoghurt for dinner, but I find myself running to the refrigerator to grab a bite every now and then. And this so creamy, that you can actually feel the subtle crunch of the vanilla seeds in the yoghurt. Mighty good dessert!
Baked Vanilla Yoghurt Recipe
Yield: 3 large ramekins or 6 small ones
Ingredients:
1 vanilla pod
200g. / 8oz. fresh cream (heav cream preferable, I used 25% fat cream)
200g. / 8oz. condensed milk, sweetened
200g. / 8oz. plain yoghurt
Method:
- Split and scrape the innards of the vanilla pod and transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add the yoghurt and stir till the vanilla looks evenly dispersed and there are no lumps in the yoghurt.
- Stir in the cream and finally the condensed milk.
- Pour into ramekins and bake at 120°C/250°F until just set – approx 15-20 mins. Switch off the oven, and let it cool in the oven.
- Refrigerate for a few hours, and serve chilled.
Popping back in to say a big hello to you again!
My new camera: I have been a delinquent blogger and there is no excuse for it. I’d like to think I have a good enough reason, but I’d rather keep it to myself. Why? Because every time I hear a blogger complain they don’t have time to blog, I wonder why they started blogging. To add to that reason, my long serving camera died (RIP). I loved my tiny P&S – it gave me results that look like dSLR quality, and for that I’m going to miss it deeply. Luckily, I didn’t spend too much time moaning over its loss because I got a spanking new Canon T1i / 500D just a few days after, much thanks to orangefoodie!
I’ve been playing around with it and it’s been incredible. Now I understand what people mean when they said that photos from a dSLR would be “something else”. If you have any suggestions/tips/tricks/favourite online resources on how you use your dSLR, I’d love to hear them!
Food Blogger Dinner: Friday night was the high point of my week. I attended this amazing dinner with fellow food bloggers and writers at a great new restaurant. I was looking forward to meeting them and discussing their blogs with much anticipation. I exchanged words with so many interesting people – some of whose blogs I read regularly, and others that I was only too happy to discover. You have got to read The Knife’s detailed commentary on the event. I only wish there was more time to chat up with everyone; for 15 odd food bloggers and writers, 3 hours just won’t cut it. And what made my evening was Vikram Doctor (yes, he was there too!), India’s best food writer, who works with the Economic Times, telling me that he reads my blog and was looking forward to trying my Hazelnut Cookies. I think I did a pretty good job at not looking too star struck.
Indian Blogger Meetup: Today, I was at a huge blogger meetup hosted by IndiBlogger. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people that recognised me at the event. More than a few came up to me to say that they enjoy reading my blog or that they tried a recipe from it, and I felt honoured. Thank you, guys! Felt great. 
Incidentally, The Purple Foodie is ranked the No. 1 food blog in India.
PurpleFoodie in The Hindu: Looks like the blog’s on a media roll, this time The Purple Foodie got featured in The Hindu on Saturday! The Hindu is India’s 2nd largest English daily newspaper.
Coming Up: I’m itching to get back to regular food blogging with photos and recipes of sweet goodies, and all the fun that comes with baking and writing. I think I’m going to read my favourite baking books tonight and bake something up tomorrow! It’s probably going to be something from Popina, my new favourite book. And I’m also going to write about this Spanish dish made of bread, tomato, and olive oil. Can you guess what it is?
