Coffee & Donut

PANNA COTTA
(Adapted from Italian Classics by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated)

1 cup whole milk
2¾ teaspoons flavourless powdered gelatin (reduce to 2 5/8 teaspoons if making a day ahead)
3 cups heavy cream (I used whipping cream)
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure extract
6 tablespoons (2½ oz) sugar
Pinch of salt

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin evenly on its surface. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with 2 trays of ice cubes and 4 cups of cold water. Measure the cream into a large measuring cup or pitcher. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the cream; place the pod in the cream and set the mixture aside. Place 12 small glasses on a tray small enough to place in your refrigerator.

Heat the milk and gelatin mixture over high heat, stirring constantly until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture registers 135 degrees Fahrenheit (around 65 degrees Celsius) on an instant read thermometer (about 1½ minutes). Remove the pan from the heat. Add the sugar and salt; stir until dissolved (about 1 minute).

Stirring constantly, slowly pour the cream with vanilla into the saucepan containing the milk, then transfer the mixture into a medium bowl and set the bowl over the ice water bath. Stir frequently until the mixture thickens to the consistency of egg nog and registers 50 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) on an instant read thermometer, about 10 minutes. Strain the mixture into a large measuring cup or pitcher, then distribute it evenly among the glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until just set (the mixture should wobble when shaken), about 4 hours.

ESPRESSO GELÉE
(Adapted from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course)

1 cup espresso (cold filtered)
1 teaspoon flavourless powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons sugar

Place ¼ cup of the espresso in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over it. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, until the gelatin softens. Bring the remaining espresso to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the sugar. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the softened gelatin mixture to the warm sweet espresso. Return the saucepan to low heat, whisking until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let the mixture come to a simmer. Strain through a fine sieve. Let the espresso mixture cool to room temperature. Gently pour it over each portion of panna cotta. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

To serve, fill a small saucepan with sunflower oil (the oil should be approximately 3 cm deep). Heat the oil to 150 degrees Celsius and fry the still frozen “donuts” for 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown and start to float. (You may need to adjust cooking temperature and time.) Drain and coat with castor sugar. Plate alongside glasses of espresso panna cotta and serve.

“Coffee & Donuts”

Makes approximately 25 “donuts” and 12 small portions of panna cotta with espresso gelée

GANACHE
(Adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Secrets)

80g bittersweet chocolate (I used a 66% cacao Valrhona and added 1 tablespoon castor sugar because CH prefers sweeter chocolate)
40g unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons double cream (I used whipping cream)

Chop the chocolate into rough pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the rest of the ganache ingredients. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until evenly combined (the ganache should look smooth). Remove from the heat, cool, then refrigerate until firm.

Use a small melon baller to scoop approximately 25 balls of ganache. Place them on a tray lined with greaseproof paper and freeze until required.

CHOUX PASTE
(Adapted from Oriol Balaguer’s Dessert Cuisine)

200g milk (I used regular whole milk)
100g unsalted butter
100g weak flour, sifted (I used cake flour)
150g eggs (I whisked three large eggs together and used 150g of this)
2 whole pieces of star anise
1 vanilla bean (I used 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla paste instead)
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange zest (I used the zest of 1 orange)
1 lemon zest (I used the zest of 1 lemon)

Infuse the milk with the butter, spices and zests (I heated the milk until small bubbles rose to its surface, took it off the heat and let the mixture stand for at least 30 minutes). If you choose to use a vanilla bean, presumably, you should split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds and add them to the milk along with the other spices and throw the pod in.

Strain the milk. (I added my vanilla paste into the milk at this point.) Bring the milk to a boil, remove it from the heat and add the flour. Stir it with a wooden spoon and return it to a low fire. Continue stirring (using a smearing action) until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and begins to look like wet sand (it should also look shiny). Work it slightly in the blender at low speed. (I put it in my KitchenAid and worked it with the paddle attachment. This cooled the paste much faster than when I did it in my food processor.) Add the eggs gradually. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and work it a little more until it is smooth. (If you prefer, follow the techniques in your favourite choux pastry recipe in place of the instructions here.)

Fill a piping bag with the paste. Fill ice cube moulds with the paste. Stop when each mould is only filled to the halfway point. Insert a ball of chocolate ganache (or chocolate drops) into each mould, making sure that it doesn’t push though the dough. Cover with more paste. Smooth down the tops of the dough with the back of a wet spoon. Freeze and unmould. Store in the freezer until they need to be served.

Pot Stickers

1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. ground pork
1/2 cup minced fresh garlic chives
or regular chives
1 Tbs. light soy sauce
1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp. Chinese rice wine
1 1/2 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
45 thin round wonton wrappers
4 Tbs. canola or peanut oil
1 cup chicken stock
Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce for serving
(see related recipe at right)



Put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, add warm water to cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, and remove and discard the stems. Blot the caps dry and mince.

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage and salt and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out the water from the cabbage. Using your hands and a kitchen towel, wring out as much of the water from the cabbage as possible. Put the cabbage in a clean bowl and add the mushrooms, pork, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, garlic, cornstarch and white pepper. Using a rubber spatula, mix vigorously to combine the ingredients well.

Lightly flour a baking sheet. To fill each pot sticker, place a wonton wrapper on a work surface and brush the edges with water; keep the other wrappers covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Place 1 tsp. filling in the center of the wrapper, fold the wrapper in half to enclose the filling and pleat the outer edge. Place the finished pot sticker on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat an oven to 250°F.

In a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the canola oil.

Add 10 to 12 pot stickers, flat bottom down and in a single layer. Sear until golden brown on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour 1⁄4 cup of the stock into the pan, cover and let steam until all the stock evaporates, the pot stickers are tender but still firm, and the filling is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, cover with aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining pot stickers and stock in 3 more batches. Serve the pot stickers hot, accompanied with the dipping sauce. Makes about 45 pot stickers.