A quick and easy video recipe for blueberry mojito – a twist on the classic cocktail.
It’s the weekend, and I have a cocktail recipe for you. A Blueberry Mojito recipe. I have posted about it earlier (about 5 years back), but that one was from a Mojito mix. Today I want to share the from scratch version.
I love a good mojito. Pina coladas and mojitos are generally my drink of choice. If not that then I like vodka, with a little orange juice, dash of sprite, some green chilli, lemon and salt- my version of a screwdriver. But mostly my poison is a Mojito. I find them refreshing. I tried this blueberry mojito for the first time when I was in Morenci and had my Friday coffee group over for brunch. It was a hit. Even my friend who isnt big on mint, liked it. This is the perfect summer cocktail- blueberries, mint, lemon- its got it all. And it’s super easy.
I also make these blueberry mint ice cubes, that are this pretty color and add so much fun to the cocktail. They take ten seconds to put together, and take the presentation up a notch.
Soft and fluffy dinner rolls made using the Tangzhong method. These dinner rolls make great pav buns too, and are eggless.
There is nothing like hot fresh dinner rolls from the oven and today I am sharing a recipe for homemade dinner rolls/ pav buns that uses the Tangzhong method.
I had read about the Tangzhong method and always wanted to try it. Its a bread making technique that originated in Japan (and popularized by a Chinese cookbook author), where the flour is first mixed with water, cooked to make a roux, cooled and then added to your bread dough ingredients. The result is a soft and fluffy bread that remains soft for longer than the one made the regular way.
The chemistry behind the tangzhong method is interesting and one that Jenni from Pastrychefonline.com explains very well. She explains in the post that the bread is moist because of the water content in it. By cooking the flour with the water you help the starch molecules hold on to the water, and at the same time keep a portion of the flour in your dough from strengthening their gluten bonds, giving the resultant bread a slightly tender crumb. That doesn’t mean that your bread will lack structure. Since only 5-10% of the total flour used in the recipe is used in Tangzhong, you get the structure from the rest 95%, and yet get a tender and moist bread.
The other day when I was trying to look for pav buns/dinner rolls recipe and saw that Gayathri from Gayathricookspot.com used the tangzhong for her pav buns, I knew I wanted to make it. I have a good whole wheat dinner roll recipe on the blog, but you know how much I love trying new recipes, so decided to give this pav bun/dinner rolls recipe a try. Even though I always try to make my breads more whole wheat, this time I decided to not substitute any of the flour with whole wheat. I was making pav bhaji and wanted it to be exactly street style, where the pavs are never whole wheat, but the less healthy maida/all purpose.
The dinner rolls came out so perfectly soft and fluffy. The tangzhong method also yields bread thats remains softer for longer, unlike most homemade breads that become hard in a day or two. Unfortunately or fortunately, there was nothing left of the dinner rolls for me to test that theory. My dad who had been out of town and only arrived at dinner time to eat the pav bhaji, didn’t realise till I told him that the pav is also homemade. He thought they were store bought pav buns.
In case you are wondering how I served the pav buns, here it is. Click on the picture for the recipe for pav bhaji.
This easy panna cotta recipe with toasted oat crumble and roasted peaches is a great summer entertaining dessert. Sharing a video tutorial on how to make panna cotta and get the slanted presentation look.
Summer is stone fruit season. Summer also means hot days. You want easy recipes that don’t take too much time in the kitchen. And if you are like me, you want to make use of all the stone fruits possible for fruit based desserts.
If you are entertaining and looking for an easy summer dessert recipe, panna cotta is a lovely option. Despite being cream based, panna cotta is a light dessert and when you pair it with roasted peaches and some toasted oat crumble you get a myriad of textures and flavors.
The slightly tart and sweet roasted peaches complement the creamy panna cotta. The toasted oat crumble gives a crunchy texture. I love desserts where you get to experience different textures. After watching multiple episodes of Masterchef Australia, I realized how just adding a few more elements with complementing flavors and textures can lift a dessert from being simple to wow.
Both the toasted oat crumble and roasted peaches come together quickly. Make the panna cotta first, since it takes about 4 hours to set, and while the panna cotta is setting, make the toasted oat crumble and roasted peaches. The only tricky part of this panna cotta recipe is mixing the warmed cream with the bloomed gelatin. You have to be careful not to get lumps. But in case you do, that too can be taken care of by passing the mixture through a sieve.
When you are ready to serve, do not forget to add the mint. It is what gives freshness to this dessert. Panna cotta is best served immediately after it is set. If let to stay for longer than a day or two, the gelatin makes the panna cotta rubbery. You could counter that effect by letting the panna cotta sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. But I don’t think it would last that long in the refrigerator!
Remember when I used to make food videos for the blog? I took a break in between and now while I make videos for clients, I hadn’t been making for the blog any more. I am planning to change that. Today, with the recipe, I am also sharing a short video tutorial for the panna cotta.
This video would not have been possible without the help of my friend Anubhav (you can follow his work here), who helped me with shooting the footage. We worked on another video together too, and I will share the recipe and the video for that soon. Hope you like the video. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
The panna cotta recipe is the same as the one I used for the panna cotta with roasted strawberries (another great recipe to try this summer). There are so many ways you can serve panna cotta. And even though it looks super fancy, its very quick and easy to make. I hope you get to try it out. If you do try the recipe, do let me know. You can share your pictures by tagging me on instagram, facebook, twitter or by leaving a comment here.
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 tsp powdered gelatin
6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water
Fresh mint leaves, to garnish
For the roasted peaches:
6 peaches, cut into slices
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp bourbon/brandy
1 tsp vanilla
For the oat crumble
4 tbsp melted butter
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp oats
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crushed almonds
¼ tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
Instructions
For the Panna Cotta:
Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan.
Once the sugar is dissolved, and the cream is substantially warm, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Lightly grease the custard cups or any mould that you are using for your panna cotta with a neutral-tasting oil.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes till it swells up.
Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups. If you are wary whether your gelatin has set or not, strain the mixture before pouring into the cups.
Chill the panna cotta until firm, which will take at least two hours but preferably let them set for at least four hours.
If you’re pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding. To get the slanting look, hold the glasses in a slanting position with the help of loaf pan, or a dish that comfortably holds them at a slant. Pour the cream-gelatin mix mix into glasses until half full. Allow to chill in slanting position until set. .
To make Panna Cotta with sheet gelatin: Soften 25g (approximately six sheets) in a liter of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Wring the sheets out and stir them into the warm Panna Cotta mixture in step # 4, until dissolved.
For the peaches:
Preheat oven to 220 C. Slice the peaches and remove the stones. Arrange on baking tray. Sprinkle with brown sugar, honey, lemon zest, brandy/bourbon, water and add butter. Mix and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until peaches are soft and caramelized nicely.
For the oat crumble:
Preheat oven to 325/175.
In a large bowl mix the oats, flour, almonds, cinnamon nutmeg.
In another bowl, whisk the butter with the honey and vanilla; drizzle over the crumb topping and mix until well coated.
Spread the mix on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes till golden brown. Let cool completely, about an hour.
To serve:
Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate.
Top each with a little of the roasted peach and toasted oat crumble. Garnish with 2-3 fresh mint leaves.
