Blueberry and Brie Scones

This is my first post of the new year so let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2019. The year here has started with a winter storm. While we got none of the sleet and snow, the temperatures have plummeted into the low to mid 30s (F). This is the time when everyone wants hot drinks and piping hot food to keep warm. Scones are one such recipe. They are great all year around but are especially nice in winter when eaten hot out of the oven. I have a couple of scone recipes on this space but today I have a unique combination of flavors.

Our home is always stocked with fruit. Some blueberries were really ripe and needed to be used up. I decided to make blueberry scones. But then I also had some left over Brie in the refrigerator and so figured I could use that too. On a whim I decided to google if anyone had been adventurous enough to try the two together and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of people have tried this combination. This recipe caught my eye. Instead of using brie as a filling after baking the scones, it used the brie in the dough. If you have used brie before you will know that it melts well and does not have a savory or sweet taste. This makes it ideal for all kinds of recipes. This is my experiment with  blueberries and brie in scones. I just added these ingredients to my original scone recipe and the results were awesome! This is a keeper.

1/2 cup whole wheat bread (I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup milk
1 small egg or 1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup blueberries, chopped
2 oz. brie (I did not use the rind, you could use it if you like)

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Chop the berries and cut up the brie. Keep aside. On a flat work surface add the flours, salt and baking powder. Add the cold hard butter. Using a pastry cutter or knife cut the butter and combine it with the flours without melting it. The mixture will be crumbly and have small blobs of butter.

In a bowl combine the egg and milk. If using yogurt combine the milk with the yogurt. Make a well in the flour and add mixture to it. Slowly combine the mixture with the flours without kneading the dough. Add the blueberries and brie and pull the dough together. You should get a dough that just about holds together.

Place the dough on a floured surface and cut into wedges. Flatten the scones and place them on a balking sheet. I used parchment paper on my sheet before placing the scones on it. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they change color. Serve hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

Flaounes (Cypriot Cheese Pies)

Flaounes or cheese pies are made in Cyprus to celebrate Spring. These traditional pies have a filling made with indigenous flaouna cheese. This cheese is not available outside of Cyprus but halloumi is a good substitute. The owner of the local Mediterranean store suggested sweet cheese as a close substitute. I used a combination of halloumi and the sweet cheese.

Mahleb is a spice found in Cyprus. It has a mild fragrant aroma. I was able to find it at the Mediterranean store as well and its aroma permeated through the entire kitchen as the pies baked. I can see myself using it as a flavoring agent in other sweet breads.

The last of the special ingredients called for in the recipe was edible gum called Mastic. While its texture when crushed was similar to any edible gum it too added a mild flavor to the pie. Normally pretty expensive I found it on a special sale. If not for the sale I would have left it out.

I enjoyed baking these pies and they were very flavorful but I do not believe I will bake them again. They are just too heavy and filling.

You will need
For the dough
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
4 tbsp. butter
2 1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. Instant yeast
1/2 tsp. mastic
1/4 tsp. mahleb powder
1/4 cup warm water

For the filling
250 gm cheese (mixture of halloumi and sweet cheese)
1 egg
1 tsp. mint extract
120 gm raisins
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. semolina
1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup sesame seeds
egg

Make the filling first. Grate the cheese. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the baking powder. Cover and refrigerate.

Make the dough. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar, butter and milk. Sift the flour, salt, mahleb, mastic and the yeast. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the water a little at a time and knead into a dough. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand, oil, cover and keep aside. Allow it to rise to double its volume. Half and hour before putting the pies together take the filling out of the refrigerator and add the baking powder. In a small plate place the sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Divide the risen dough into 10-12 portions. Roll one portion on a floured board and roll it into a small disc. Place a couple tablespoons of filling in the center and fold it like shown in the pictures to form a square with filling showing in the middle.

Place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and continue with the remaining portions of dough. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Dip the top of the flaounes in the sesame seeds to cover the sides with sesame seeds. If you like sesame seeds you can cover the entire back of the flaounes with them. We are not fond of them so I only added a few on the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese puffs up and browns. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing. Can be stored at room temperature for a couple days in an air tight container.

Serve warm.
Flaounes do not taste very good when reheated.

Jamaican Coco Bread and Veggie Patty

I wanted to cook Jamaican food. I did not know any Jamaican dishes and so I looked for something online. Coco bread with a patty appeared to be very popular.

I referred to a lot of recipes but they all used all purpose flour. I wanted to use mostly whole wheat flour so I changed the ingredients and proportions to work with whole wheat.

As for the patty filling I could not find anything vegetarian. I wanted to keep the essence of Jamaican food so I researched the spices and vegetables they use and came up with my own recipe based on what I had on hand. Deep fried patties are common in Indian cooking and in the past I had figured out baked versions of those traditional recipes like this pea dumpling. I used the same principle to create the patty. However, for the patty shell I used cold butter and cold water as used in pie shells to keep it close to authentic.

The end result was fantastic. The patty tasted really good with the bread.

You will need
For the Coco bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup King Arthur bread flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
1/8 oz Fleishmann instant yeast
3.5 fl oz. coconut milk
2 fl oz. water
3 tbsp. butter, divided

For the Patty shell
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp. butter
1 cup cold water

For the Patty filling
2 tomatoes
1/2 head of cauliflower florets
1 carrot
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil

To make the Coco bread

Mix all the dry ingredients together. In a microwavable bowl warm the coconut milk and 1 tbsp. butter for 35 secs or until the butter melts and the liquid is heated through. Pour the liquid in the dough and mix well.

Heat the water in the microwavable bowl and using a as little water as you can form a ball of dough. Knead it well for about 10 minutes.

Cover with a plastic wrap and leave aside for about an hour or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt the remaining butter and keep aside. Punch down the dough and cut into lemon size pieces.

Take of the pieces in the palm of your hand form a uniform ball.

Place it on a working surface and roll it out to the desired size. I did not want to make the bread too big so I kept the disc to 5 inches in diameter. Brush the flattened dough with the melted butter.

Fold it over in half.

Arrange on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat for all the pieces of dough.

Bake in the oven middle rack for 15-20 minutes. Flip them over and put them back in the oven for 5-7 minutes. They should be browned on both sides.

Cool on a rack. The bread is ready.

For the Patty shell
Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the dough with your fingers until the butter is reduced to the size of gravel. Using the cold water form sticky dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For the Patty filling
Chop the tomatoes. Break the cauliflower in small florets. Peel and chop the carrot. Heat oil in pan and add the tomatoes. Let them cook and lose some of the liquid. Add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Season with salt. Let the vegetables cook completely. Mash gently using a potato masher such that no piece is larger than 1/2 an inch.

To put it together
Preheat oven to 425 F. Take the patty dough out of the refrigerator and divide into lemon sized balls.

Take one of the balls and and with the help of some flour roll it out on a working surface to about 4 inches in diameter.

Dip you finger in water and run it around the edges of the disc. Put a tablespoon of filling in the bottom half.

Fold over the disc to form a semi circle. Using a fork press down the edges to seal them.

Put the patty on a baking dish after applying a few drops of oil on the bottom and over the top. Repeat the process until all the dough is gone.

Place the patties in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes. Let them cool a little on a cooling rack.

To serve stuff the patty inside the coco bread and enjoy.

I chose Coco bread with a veggie patty for week six of the 52 Week Challenge.