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Salad with Fig Flatbread, Confit Cod, and Sweet Potato

ingredients for 4 people 1 pizza dough base. 2 cod loins. 2 garlic cloves. escarole. fresh figs. 1 onion. 1 large sweet potato or 2 small ones. salt. extra virgin olive oil. caramelized balsamic vinegar.   preparation Cut the pizza dough into four rectangles and bake them in the oven until they're golden brown. Set aside. Wrap the sweet potato and the onion separately—both unpeeled—in parchment or aluminum foil, and roast them in the oven until they're tender. Peel them and slice into rounds. Set aside.  Put the cod and garlic cloves in a small pot and cover completely with oil... Place the pot over very low heat—don't let it actually fry. You're aiming for around 80°C (175°F). Let it sit there for 12 minutes, then lift the cod out of the oil and keep it somewhere warm. The oil can be saved in the freezer for the next time you want to confit cod—it's too good to waste. Peel the figs if you like, or just rinse them well. Slice them thinly.  Arrange the cleaned, drain...

Butter Easter Mona





Easter is coming, and with it, the chance to show off a bit in the kitchen. Here's the recipe if you want to try your hand at making a proper mona. These are some of the monas I made last year. When I bake this year's batch, I'll update with step-by-step photos of the whole process.
All three use the same ingredients, just different designs on top.


Ingredients

These monas start with a sponge cake that's 28cm wide
  • 1 round sponge cake, cut into three layers.
  • Chocolate vermicelli.
  • Homemade peach jam.
  • Soaking syrup.
  • Butter cream.

For the soaking syrup

  • 250ml water.
  • 200g sugar.
  • 25ml sweet liqueur.

For the butter cream

  • 500g sugar.
  • 350g water.
  • 400g butter, at room temperature.
  • 25g dark chocolate.

Instructions

  1. Make the sponge cake first: Follow the recipe here.
  2. For the soaking syrup: Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved completely, stir in the liqueur and let it cool down entirely.
  3. For the butter cream: Bring the water and sugar to a boil, then let it cook until it reaches the thread stage. You'll know it's ready when you put a drop between your fingers and pull them apart—a thin thread should form. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
  4. Put the 400g of butter in a bowl and slowly add the cooled syrup (400g). Everything needs to be at room temperature. Beat it with an electric mixer—if you have a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, even better. Keep beating until the butter and syrup are completely combined and smooth.
  5. Set aside a portion of this butter cream to make chocolate butter cream. Melt 25g of dark chocolate in a double boiler. Put some of the plain butter cream in a bowl and beat in the melted chocolate. Don't dump it all in at once—add it gradually until you get the color you want. It shouldn't be too dark.
  6. Assembling the mona: This is crucial—the three layers you cut from the sponge cake must be straight and level. Do the assembly directly on the serving plate with its doily, so you don't have to move it later.
  7. Place the first layer, the widest one, and brush it well with the soaking syrup. Spread 2 or 3 tablespoons of peach jam over it, making sure it covers evenly.
  8. Add the second layer and brush with syrup. Spread a layer of butter cream on top—doesn't need to be thick, just smooth it out nicely.
  9. Place the third layer upside down, so the golden bottom becomes the top. Brush this one more lightly with syrup than the others. Spread a layer of butter cream over it and smooth it well.
  10. Cover the entire side of the cake with butter cream. Fill a piping bag with the cream and decorate however you like, mixing the white and beige colors with different tip sizes and shapes.
  11. Press the chocolate vermicelli all around the sides.





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