brunosdream

From market to table…

I bought this squash at one of the farmers markets here in St. Louis. The farmer said it’s great for a soup, but I had other plans for this beauty! The squash tasted like a cross between butternut squash and pumpkin, but a bit sweeter.

The red, green and orange of this gelato reflect the festive colors of the Fall holidays.

I brought this and the oatmeat wheat bread in the previous post to my friends’ Thankgiving feast.

Roasted Curry Squash Gelato w/ Pistachios and Candied Red Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

1  6 pound curry squash

1/2 cup candied red bell pepper

1 cup unsalted dry roasted pistachios

2 cups roasted curry squash pulp (follow same procedure as roasted pumpkin)

1/2 cup sugar

6 large egg yolks

1 quart half & half

Procedure:

 **For candied red bell pepper, use 1 pepper and half the amount of sugar, cider vinegar and water. Follow the same procedure as in the candied jalapeno post 

***Stir pistachios into candied red bell pepper before adding to gelato

1) Puree squash in food processor w/ a small amount of half & half

2) In a metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow

3) Place half & half in a heavy pot and heat until scalded 

4) Very slowly add warm half & half to egg/sugar mixture so as not to curdle the mixture

5) Place bowl w/ mixture over a pot of simmering water, stirring continuously until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon (do not let mixture exceed 170 degrees F to prevent curdling), then quickly place bowl in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and promote rapid cooling

6) Whisk squash puree into cooling mixture

7) Once cool, refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight

 This is a great bread to bring to a Thanksgiving feast to share w/ your friends. It’s quickly becoming my favorite bread recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour

2 1/2 – 3 cups bread flour

1/2 cup bulgar

1/2 cup toasted rolled oats

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups  tepid water & 1/4 cup

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Procedure:

1) Put yeast in a large bowl and pour 1/4 cup of tepid water over it; let sit until it becomes foamy

2) Add olive oil and remaining 1 1/4 cups tepid water to yeast

3) Mix salt, bulgar and oats into 3 1/2 cups flour (use remaining half cup of bread flour if dough is too moist, slowly adding to dough during kneading)

4) Slowly add flour mixture  to yeast mixture until fully combined, remove from bowl then kneed for 10 minutes on lightly floured surface

5) Place dough ball back into bowl,  dust w/ flour, cover bowl w/ plastic wrap  and let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes (I use a disposable shower cap because it’s reusable and fits tightly over the bowl) 

6) Remove dough from bowl and shape into 2 boules, place on pizza peel dusted w/ corn meal, dust tops w/ flour, cover loosely w/ a plastic bag, then let rise for 45 minutes

7) Preheat oven and baking stone (on middle rack) to 425 degrees F, place empty oven proof baking dish on the rack below the stone

8) After second rise is complete, snip pattern into tops of  boules w/ scissors, then slide directly onto the baking stone in the oven, place 1 1/2 cups of ice cubes into dish on the rack below (the steam from the ice helps promote the “oven spring” and crust gloss)

9) Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F, rotate loaves and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes (until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom)

10) Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and let cool completely befor slicing

Long live bread!

Bruno