Crackers & Dips (13 page)

CINNAMON PISTACHIO BAKLAVA CRISPS

I love baklava, the crispy, buttery Greek dessert made from layers of phyllo dough and nuts, but I seldom have the patience to layer and butter all those papery phyllo sheets. Halfway through the process, I’m ready to throw the stack of pastry out the window and hurl a few Greek curse words after it for good measure.

These little triangles are the answer to my baklava cravings and lack of patience. They have all the yummy goodness of Greek baklava compressed into just three layers of phyllo. They take minutes to put together and disappear just as fast.

MAKES 32 TRIANGLES

½ cup/70 g shelled unsalted pistachio nuts

2 tbsp sugar

¼ cup/55 g unsalted butter

¼ cup/60 ml honey

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp fine sea salt

1 roll of 9-by-13-in/23-by-33-cm phyllo pastry sheets, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit exactly into a baking sheet and a third sheet that is slightly larger. Place the nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped, the consistency of cornmeal. Set aside. In a small microwave-safe measuring cup or a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the honey, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.

Place one smaller sheet of the parchment paper on a work surface. Center one sheet of phyllo pastry on the paper. Keep the other sheets of pastry covered with a damp dish towel to keep them from drying out. Drizzle 1½ tbsp of the butter mixture over the phyllo sheet and then use a pastry brush to distribute the butter mixture evenly over the pastry. Sprinkle a generous 2 tbsp of the pistachio mixture over the pastry, and then top with a second sheet of phyllo, lining up the edges exactly to make a neat stack. Press down on the top sheet to adhere the layers.

Repeat the process again, brushing the second sheet of phyllo with 1½ tbsp of the butter mixture and topping with 2 tbsp of the nut mixture. Place a third layer of pastry on top of the first two and press firmly to adhere the layers.

Transfer the stack of buttered phyllo pastry on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover with the larger piece of parchment paper, and then place a baking sheet or inverted cooling rack directly on top of the phyllo stack to weigh it down. Bake until the dough is rich golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once from front to back while baking and peeking after 8 minutes to check for doneness.

Remove the whole setup from the oven and let the pastry stack cool for 10 minutes with the baking sheet still on top of the pastry. (This weighted cooling time will keep the phyllo layers from coming apart when you’re cutting them into triangles.)

Remove the top baking sheet and top parchment paper (reserve for the second batch), and transfer the phyllo stack on its bottom layer of parchment paper to a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the phyllo stack in half lengthwise. Cut the stack crosswise four times to create eight squares, and then cut each square diagonally to create sixteen triangles.

Repeat the buttering and layering process with the remaining phyllo sheets, butter mixture, and nut mixture. Bake, cool, and cut as with the first batch, reusing the top piece of parchment paper when baking the second batch. (Refreeze unused phyllo sheets for another use.)

When the crisps are completely cool, transfer them to an airtight container. The crisps are best eaten within 1 day.

CRACKER TIP:
Honey is the dominant flavor here, so this is a good time to splurge on single-flower honey. Experiment with local single-source honeys from your farmers’ market; you’ll be delightfully surprised at the difference between the commodity “honey bear” stuff and artisanal honey collected from carefully tended hives.

SPANISH OLIVE OIL TORTAS

WITH ORANGE-BLOSSOM WATER AND ANISEED

One of my guilty food pleasures is Spanish
tortas de aceite
—crisp olive oil crackers handmade in Seville. The tortas come individually wrapped in wax paper in sets of six, and are pretty pricey. Since I can blow through a stack of these in minutes, I decided it was time to figure out how to supply my habit in a thriftier manner. This recipe yields rich, flaky orange-anise Spanish tortas similar to the ones that tempt me at the grocery store, but they aren’t nearly as greasy or expensive.

MAKES ABOUT 24 CRACKERS

7 tbsp/105 ml warm (120°F/50°C) water

6 tbsp/90 ml extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish

2 tsp active dry yeast

Zest of 1 organic orange (about 1 tbsp)

1½ tsp orange-blossom water

2 cups/255 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

½ tsp fine sea salt

6 tbsp/75 g sugar

2 tsp aniseed

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the warm water, olive oil, yeast, orange zest, and orange-blossom water.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the olive oil mixture and mix using the dough hook attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes or knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise and relax in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into four equalsize balls. Dust a work surface and a rolling pin (a dowel-type tapered rolling pin works best) with flour and divide one ball of dough into six equal-size balls about the size of an unshelled walnut. Roll out the balls into 3½- to 4-in/9- to 10-cm rounds, picking up the dough and rotating it a quarter turn after each stroke so that the dough does not stick and the cracker will be an even round(ish) shape. If the dough springs back as you roll, let it rest and start rolling out a second small ball of dough. (As the first ball rests, the gluten will relax and it will be easier to work with.) Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheets and repeat with the remaining dough balls (you will need to bake the crackers in batches).

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and aniseed. Sprinkle a scant 1 tsp of the sugar mixture over each cracker and tamp down lightly with the bottom of a measuring cup. Prick the crackers all over with a fork or comb and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once from top to bottom and from back to front. Cool the crackers on racks and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

6

DIPS, SPREADS, AND SCHMEARS: DELICIOUS WAYS TO DRESS YOUR CRACKERS

SPICY RED LENTIL DIP

This spicy lentil dip is similar to ubiquitous hummus, but instead of using dried garbanzo beans, which require soaking and a long boiling time, I use red lentils. Red lentils don’t need to be soaked, and they cook in a speedy 10 minutes. Because they are so much smaller than garbanzo beans, they also yield a smoother dip—silky smooth, in fact.

MAKES 2½ CUPS/600 ML

1 cup/195 g red lentils

1 bay leaf

Fine sea salt

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves

2 tsp harissa

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain. Combine the lentils, bay leaf, and 1 tsp salt in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 4 in/10 cm and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the lentils are tender and falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drain the lentils in a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the bay leaf and let the lentils cool for 10 minutes in the sieve.

Transfer the lentils to a food processor and add the lemon juice, tomato paste, garlic, cilantro, harissa, cumin, and olive oil. Blend until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Season the dip with salt, if desired, and transfer it to a serving bowl. Allow the dip to stand for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to develop. The cooled dip can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

TANGY ROASTED TOMATILLO AND AVOCADO DIP

A little creamy, a little zesty, this is a nice alternative to the same old salsa from a jar. It’s great with the Corn Bread Crisps (
page 29
), Amaranth Crackers with Cheddar and Pepitas (
page 70
), and, of course, tortilla chips. The flavor of this dip improves (and gets spicier) with time, so it’s a great do-ahead dip for entertaining.

MAKES 2⅓ CUPS/555 ML

12 large tomatillos

1 Anaheim chile

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

⅓ cup/5 g loosely packed chopped cilantro leaves

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tbsp ground cumin

½ tsp sugar

½ sweet onion (such as Walla Walla or Vidalia), finely chopped

1 ripe Haas avocado, diced

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Adjust the oven rack so it is 6 in/15 cm below the broiling element. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it lightly with cooking spray. Soak the tomatillos in a large bowl of hot tap water for 10 minutes. Drain, peel the papery skins from the tomatillos, and discard the skins.

Preheat the broiler. Place the peeled tomatillos, chile, and unpeeled garlic on the baking sheet and broil, turning the vegetables once with tongs, until the vegetables are lightly charred and have begun to collapse, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and when the chile is cool enough to handle, peel away the charred skins and remove the seeds and stem. Peel and discard the skins from the garlic. Finely chop the chile, garlic, and tomatillos or pulse in a food processor; the mixture should still be slightly chunky. Place the mixture in a serving bowl.

Add the cilantro, lime juice, cumin, sugar, onion, and avocado and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and allow the dip to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

DIP TIP:
You can blend this dip without the avocado and whiz it in a blender to make an excellent enchilada sauce. It will make enough sauce to cover eight corn tortilla enchiladas.