Breadcrumbs Food

BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Preheat a 400°F oven. Dice and chop bread with crusts into 1/2 inch cubes.
• Scatter diced bread in a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Add rest of ingredients, tossing everything together with your hands. Bake 11 minutes, or until it is crispy.
• Cool at room temperature, and put bread and seasonings in a plastic bag. Roll with a rolling pin, or before putting in plastic bag, use your food processor to mix this up. I personally like the rolling pin method, quicker then dragging the food processor out.
• Keep crumbs in sealed bag in fridge up to 1/2 weeks.

BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• There is a real advantage to making bread crumbs instead of using pre-packaged ones, with their unpleasant preserved taste. Full tasting bread, like a sourdough or herbed bread makes for delicious crumbs. When made from fresh bread the crumbs absorb less fat or liquid than a dry crumb, making them ideal for topping off gratins, or breading meat and fish when frying. Dry crumbs are better suited for stuffings since they absorb moisture just like a sponge. Most breads can be turned into bread crumbs by simply grinding them in a food processor. Trimming crusts makes for a more delicate crumb and for very fine crumbs, strain them through a fine-mesh sieve. Store bread crumbs in a tightly sealed plastic bag in the freezer.

ROASTED ARTICHOKES WITH PARMESAN BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• For the artichokes: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Add water.
• Trim the top 1 inch off the tops of the artichokes. Use kitchen shears to trim the pointy edges off the leaves. Trim the ends of the artichokes. Cut the artichokes in half through the centers. Use a spoon to scoop out the fuzzy chokes and the purple leaves. Place the artichokes in the lemon water as you work to prevent them from browning.
• Shake off the water from the artichokes and place, cut-sides down, in a small baking dish coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the artichokes are tender, 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet. Add the panko and cook until toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove to a small bowl and let stand until room temperature, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, Parmesan and parsley.
• Make the lemon-garlic aioli: Stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, turn over the artichokes and sprinkle with the panko mixture, stuffing some between the leaves. Drizzle or dip with the aioli.

HOMEMADE BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• To make fresh breadcrumbs, tear the bread into pieces and drop into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse until you have breadcrumbs of the size you want. If you want to make very even breadcrumbs, push them through a coarse sieve. Will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
• To make dried breadcrumbs, tear the bread into pieces and bake in a low oven until the pieces are completely dried out. Pulse in a food processor as before. Will keep chilled for up to two months, or frozen for six months.

ITALIAN BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, tossing to blend thoroughly.
• Store in an airtight container and use in any recipe calling for Italian breadcrumbs.

TOASTED BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Using tongs, place bread slices directly on oven racks. Leave in oven until hard and golden brown, about 30 minutes; darker if you prefer. Remove and cool on wire rack.
• Crumble slices into a large bowl until reduced to fine crumbs, or place in bowl of food processor and process until fine.