Artichoke Pie With Gouda And Herbs
Makes 6 to 8 servings
For convenience, we use frozen puff pastry as the crust instead of homemade pie dough. Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.
Marinated artichokes, which are highly seasoned, won’t work here; Canned artichoke hearts packed in water are suitable for this recipe.
Be sure to pat the artichokes dry so their moisture doesn’t water down the filling. When adding the artichokes to the custard, do not submerge them completely, as the finished pie looks best when bits are visible on the surface.
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, quartered if whole and patted dry
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
¾ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
¾ cup lightly packed fresh basil, finely chopped
8 large eggs
½ cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 ounces Gouda cheese, shredded (½ cup)
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (½ cup)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack on the middle position. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 12-inch square. Invert a 9-inch glass pie plate onto the square and cut the dough with a paring knife or pizza cutter, using the edge of the pie plate as a guide into a circle about 1 inch larger than the pie plate all the way around.
Lift the pie pan and place it right side up on the counter. Remove and discard the puff pastry remnants. To transfer the dough, roll the circle of dough around the rolling pin, then roll it out onto the pie plate. Make the dough easy in the corners and along the sides of the board. Fold the edges down and then crimp. Refrigerate, uncovered, until slightly firm and chilled, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the artichokes with the oil, garlic, and half of the parsley and basil; put aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, remaining spices, and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
Remove the puff-pasted pie pan from the refrigerator. Poke holes in the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork to prevent it from puffing up. Sprinkle both cheeses evenly over the bottom of the dough and pour in the egg mixture. Place the artichokes in the filling, arranging them so that the inner layers are visible and sprinkle any remaining spice-garlic mixture into the bowl.
Bake until center of filling does not shake when pie plate is gently shaken, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Melon salad with arugula, pistachios and goat cheese
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Look for sumac in the international section or spice aisle of the supermarket, or in Middle Eastern supermarkets.
Make sure to salt the melon and cucumber. The salt will draw out some of the water and help prevent the dressing from thinning.
4 cups diced watermelon (1-inch cubes), chilled
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and then crosswise into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons ground sumac
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 5-ounce container of baby arugula
½ cup toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
2 ounces fresh goat cheese (chèvre), crumbled (½ cup)
In a colander in a large bowl, toss the melon and cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt; put aside. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, sumac, cayenne pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Stir in the onion and let stand for 5 minutes.
Add the melon mixture, arugula and pistachios. Toss gently, taste and season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with the cheese.
Plum Pie With Spiced Almond Crumble
Makes 12 to 14 servings
This fruitful adaptation of a recipe from the award-winning book suqari by Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf is ideal for weekend brunch, but special enough for dessert after a summer meal. To prepare the baking pan or dish, we use cooking spray, which is a mixture of oil and flour, to ensure that slices of the cake are easy to remove for serving. If you don’t have cooking spray, butter the pan or dish, flour it and tap out the excess. Keep in mind that if you use a glass or ceramic baking dish instead of a metal pan, the baking times will be slightly longer.
Do not let the crumb mixture sit at room temperature while making the cake batter. Freezing it, as the recipe states, will bake the crumble with a pleasant pebble-like texture. The cooled crumb mixture is sprinkled on top of the cake halfway through baking so that it stays on the surface and doesn’t sink into the batter. Keep in mind that the butter for the streusel should be room temperature, but the butter for the cake should be room temperature so it froths easily and produces a light, fluffy batter.
Dust the cake with icing sugar just before serving, if desired, or top with a little whipped cream, ice cream or ice cream.
For the crumble:
½ cup (48 grams) sliced almonds
½ cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (109 grams) packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons (57 grams) salted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, cool room temperature
For the cake:
1½ cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (114 grams) sour cream, room temperature
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1½ sticks (170 grams) salted butter, room temperature
1¼ cups (267 grams) white sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1½ pounds (680 grams) ripe, semi-solid red or black plums (4 to 6 medium-sized), halved, pitted, and each half cut into 4 wedges
To make the crumble, in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small plate and let cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cardamom, coriander, allspice, and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat the pieces, then rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until mostly incorporated and into pea-sized pieces. Stir in the almonds. Transfer to a pie plate and press the mixture with your hands into an even layer about ¼ inch thick. Freeze uncovered until use.
To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees with a wire rack on the middle position. Mist a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or baking dish with cooking spray; put aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and white sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping bowl if necessary. With mixer running on medium-high, add eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition, scraping bowl if necessary. Increase to medium speed and beat until mixture is fluffy and fluffy, about 1 minute.
With mixer on low, add about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by about half of the sour cream mixture. Then add about half of the remaining dry ingredients, then the remaining sour cream mixture, and finally the remaining dry ingredients. Blend on low until just combined, about 1 minute. Fold a few times with a spatula to make sure no flower bags are left behind. The batter will be thick.
Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread in an even layer. Arrange the plum wedges on the surface in three rows along the length of the pan, overlapping slightly if necessary. Bake for 25 minutes if using a metal pan or 30 minutes if using a glass or ceramic dish; the cake will be light brown on top and have some or all of the fruit encased.
Remove the crumb mixture from the freezer and the cake from the oven (close the oven door). Working quickly, sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the cake, breaking it into pieces no more than ½ inch (the topping should resemble a mixture of moist sand and pebbles). Continue baking until the crumble is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, an additional 20 to 25 minutes if using a metal pan or an additional 25 to 30 minutes if using a glass or ceramic bowl used. Let cool for at least 1 hour on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Christopher Kimball is the founder of Milk Street, home to a magazine, school, and radio and television shows. Globe readers get 12 weeks of full digital access, plus two issues of Milk Street print magazine, for just $1. Visit 177milkstreet.com/globe. Send comments to [email protected]
