Kaffir Curd, Vol au Vent, Lasagna and updates

Kaffir Lime Curd

Remember a month or so back I got some Kaffir limes from my friends at Pine Island Botanicals? After I made a "marmalade" that turned out more like taffy, I found a great curd recipe to try. The same recipe can be used to make regular Persian Lime, Key Lime or Lemon Curd too. I have a couple quarts of Meyer Lemon juice that I frozen last year that I'll be trying next. Here it is:

4-8 Kaffir Limes, depending on size (about 1/4 cup of juice)

Zest from 1 Kaffir Lime

3/4 cup Sugar

1 Stick Unsalted Butter (1/2 cup), shaved

2 Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk

Grate the zest from one kaffir lime. Avoid the bitter white underneath. Juice all the limes. 

 

Put the juice and the zest into a heat proof bowl or the top half of a double boiler. Add the sugar and the butter.

Whisk the eggs and the yolk together in a separate bowl.

Add water to a sauce pan or the bottom of the double boiler. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Set the lime/butter/sugar mix bowl over the top of the simmering water.

After a couple of minutes the butter will start to melt. Stir the lime juice/sugar/butter mixture until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.

Pour the whisked eggs SLOWLY into the bowl, through a wire strainer, into the heated lime mixture, whisking all the while. Straining the eggs makes for a much smoother and silker textured curd.

Keep whisking until the entire mixture is thick and gelled. It will take 5-10 minutes or more. 

 

Sally was a willing helper, stirring the curd while I took pictures.

The curd will continue to firm up once you take it off the heat as well. Pour the hot curd into a clean, sterilized jar.

Can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a couple weeks. I made the curd last weekend, and this weekend turned it into an elegant dessert:

Vol au Vent

This is a fancy French name for "puff pastry cups". You can make your own from a puff pastry sheet, by cutting and stacking circles and rings together and 'gluing' them with egg wash. Or you can buy "Puff Pastry Shells" and save yourself a lot of work. You get six shells in a box, for about $4.

Bake according to package directions. Then remove the top ans scoop out the uncooked dough in the center. Let cool a few minutes more and then fill. You can make savory dishes like Crab Alfredo or even Brunswick Stew extra fancy serving it as a vol au vent. Or you can made fabulous desserts like Kaffir Lime Curd, or Blueberries and Custard extravagant!

A dollop of whipped cream here would not have gone amiss as a garnish.

Lasagna

I had a request for Lasagna for this week's Mum Lunch. Sally wanted me to add Spinach; and she wanted enough leftovers so we'd have meals for most of the week.Break out the deep 9x13 glass pan!

16 oz box Lasagna Noodles

1-1/2 lbs 8/15 Ground Beef

2 jars Pasta Sauce (I used a Crimini/Portabello mushroom one and an Italian Sausage one)

1 tub 24 oz Small Curd Cottage Cheese

8 oz shredded Four Cheese Italian blend

6 oz sliced Crimini Mushrooms

2 Bags fresh Spinach

Parmesan in a can, and optionally additional soft cheese, for topping.

I've learned you don't need to pay extra money for the fancy no-cook noodles. Any pasta noodle can be used no-cook.

Brown the meat. Add the mushrooms and 1-1/2 jars of pre-made sauce. Doctor the sauce with garlic or oregano or whatever you like. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

While that's cooking, cut a hole in each bag of spinach, and microwave for 2 minutes to wilt. Remove from bag, drain, then squeeze to remove as much liquid as you can (otherwise the finished lasagna can end up runny).

In a bowl, fold together the cottage cheese and the shredded cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Start layering your 9x13 with a couple spoonfuls of sauce. Then add a layer of noodles. I've been "noodling" differently the last few times. Rather than laying the noodles lengthwise (they're always too short), I snap an inch or so off each one and lay them across the baking dish -- 5 noodles fit our 9x13 pan perfectly!

Alternate layers of meat sauce, cheese and spinach with layers of noodles. Dust the very top of the stack with the parm-inna-can and other cheese if you choose, and bake for 60 minutes at 350F. Let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving, so as much liquid as possible is absorbed.

 

Sandwich Update

Sally likes the idea of a chiffonade of fresh basil on the sandwich, which I admit is pretty tasty, and adds just a touch of sweetness. I still like the 'crisp coolness' that minced parsley adds. The final entry will probably have a mixture or both.  The hard part is finding eggplants large enough in diameter to properly fill the bread.  You can always cut slices apart and piece together a sandwich-full of filling.

Florida Gold BBQ Sauce Update

Well I took a batch of each of my sauces to the marina last week, got a bag of tortilla chips, and hosted a Taste Test. The overwhelming winner (2-1) was [I can't tell you yet]. I also took the sauces to Mission BBQ, and they taste tested them as well.

  [Taste Testers, the numbers I used to identify the sauces may not be the same as the numbers I've used in my own naming here. So #1 may not be #1...]  

The managers are discussing things and will be contacting their Corporate HQ to see how they want to handle things. Will I become a sauce maker? Will I sell them the recipe? License them to make my recipe? Trade for a lifetime supply of weekly BBQ? Stay tuned for further developments.