Garlic-Butter Naan

Nothing beats a fresh piece of Indian flatbread, when you are eating curry. I know this will be a recipe I'll go to again and again. To me, one of the best things about this bread is that you throw the ingredients together the day before (in the food processor), then refrigerate the dough overnight for a slow rise and then the next day all you have to do is roll it out and cook it. It simplifies things if you are making a curry meal, when chances are you are making the curry and possibly rice too. Letting the dough rest overnight also makes it easy to roll out. 

This recipe makes 4 pieces of naan. I think you could serve 1/2 a flatbread per person. Unless you're like me, I ended up eating 3 out of the 4 pieces all by myself over 2 days... Oops!! 

Garlic-Butter Naan

~makes 4 naan~

Note* This recipe is made in a food processor, which makes it very simple to put together. But at one point my food processor's motor (which is a pretty nice Kitchen Aid) seized up. So you might want to be cautious about that when making this recipe. You could probably just make the dough by hand, adding a little extra flour, if necessary, because the dough is a bit sticky.

What you need:

1/2 c. ice water

1/3 c. nonfat greek yogurt

1/4 c. canola oil, plus 1 t. for cooking the naan

1 large egg yolk

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/4 t. sugar

1/2 t. instant or rapid-rise yeast

3/4 t. salt

2 T. butter

1 clove garlic, minced

What you do: 

1. In a small bowl, mix together water, yogurt, 1/4 c. oil and egg yolk. In the workbowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and yeast to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the liquid ingredients to the flour. Process until combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt and process another 30-60 seconds. It will form a sticky dough that should clear the sides of the food processor workbowl.

3. Scrape dough out onto a floured worksurface and knead just until smooth, about a minute. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl (large). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 16-24 hours.

4.After the dough has rested, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide dough into 4 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rest 15-20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the garlic. Set aside.

6. Roll the first piece of dough out into a 9 inch round. Using a fork, poke the dough all over, 20-25 times. Lightly mist the top side with water.

6. Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Wipe the oil out of the skillet with paper towels, then add the rolled out dough, sprayed side down and spray the other side lightly. Cover skillet and cook until spotty brown underneath, 2-4 minutes (poke any large bubbles that form). Flip naan, cook, covered, another 2-3 minutes until browned. Flip again, brush with butter, then transfer to a plate and cover with foil. While rolling out and cooking the remaining naan.

Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Flour Tortillas

Do you ever just have the desire to open up a package of supermarket tortillas and eat one straight outta the bag?

Of course you don't.

Because they don't taste very good.

When I was growing up I was lucky enough to have a mom that made tortillas from scratch whenever we had soft tacos. They were soft and flavorful with a distinct floury texture that supermarket tortillas just can't even begin to match. These were something of a kid-comfort food for me. I still remember when I was in kindergarten and we were asked to draw pictures of our favorite foods, I drew a yellowish circle, representing my beloved tortillas and I can still remember getting my paper back with a question mark next to my drawing because my teacher couldn't make out what I drew. (Ha!) I loved to eat them fresh with butter and I even recall a time or two requesting she make them when I was sick and didn't have much of an appetite. I wonder if tortillas were even widely available in supermarkets when I was growing up (in the 80's), because it almost seems strange to me in retrospect that my mom always made them from scratch.

But I am really glad that my childhood experience enlightened me on the simple pleasure of eating homemade flour tortillas. After I was married I was eager to share this experience with my new family and begin making my own homemade tortillas.

If you are the least bit intimidated by the thought of making these, don't be. This is literally the easiest dough you can work with. It is so forgiving, when it comes to the process of rolling out the tortillas into rounds. The only thing your may have trouble with might be making perfect circles. But no worries, the rustic appearance just means everyone will see how amazing you are for making your own homemade flour tortillas.

Flour Tortillas

~makes about 14-16~

Note* When stacking the rolled tortillas on a plate prior to cooking, be sure to sprinkle flour between the layers,(then using your hand gently rub the flour to spread it into a thin even layer) to prevent the tortillas from sticking to each other when you go to cook them.

Ingredients:

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

6 T. vegetable shortening

luke warm water

vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add shortening and using your fingers, rub the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Add in water, a little at a time stirring after each addition until the dough comes together. (I used a little more than a cup of water.)

2. Briefly knead the dough until it comes together in a firm ball. Pinch off pieces of dough in the palm of your hand and roll into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Place dough balls on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel.

3. Roll out tortillas: On a floured surface, place a dough ball and flatten into a disk using the palm of your hand. Roll into a round, 8-10 inches in diameter. (Sprinkling with flour and flouring the rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking.) Place rolled tortilla on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining balls of dough. Stack the rolled tortillas on top of each other sprinkling a little flour between the layers of tortillas (then using your hand gently rub the flour to spread it into a thin even layer) to prevent them from sticking to each other. 

4. Heat 1/2 t. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until the oil just begins to smoke. Using paper towel, carefully wipe the oil out of the skillet (a very thin layer should be left behind). Add a tortilla and cook on the first side, until bubbles appear evenly over the surface of the tortilla and it is just browning on the underside, about a minute. Flip the tortilla and cook on the second side, about another minute. Tortilla should puff when you flip it. Remove to a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas. (You won't need to add any more oil.) 

5. Enjoy. 

Classic Irish Soda Bread

I am a sucker for the food holidays. Gimme any reason to celebrate with good food and I am there! So anyhow that being said I couldn't resist the temptation whip up a quick loaf of Irish soda bread in the spirit of upcoming St. Paddy's day. This bread is incredibly easy to put together, like 5 minutes quick. The leftovers make pretty yummy toast too. Enjoy!

Classic Irish Soda Bread

~makes 1 loaf~

Recipe Source: Baking Illustrated

Ingredients:

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 c. cake flour

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 t. cream of tartar

1 1/2 t. salt

2 T. unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 T. melted butter for brushing on the crust

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together  flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Using your fingers work the softened butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

2. Add the buttermilk and mix with a fork until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out on a floured counter and knead 12-14 times, just until dough is cohesive and lumpy. (Don't over knead, or the soda bread will be tough.)

3. Shape the dough in to a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high. Place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a large serrated knife score a large X on the loaf, 5 inches long and 3/4 inch deep.

4. Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the melted butter. Cool to room temperature before serving.