Sbriciolata Di Millefoglie With Sour Cherry Preserves Food

SBRICIOLATA DI MILLEFOGLIE WITH SOUR-CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Lemon Pastry Cream: Whisk together sugar, corn-starch, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks; add to pan along with butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil 1 minute, whisking constantly; remove from heat.
• Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Just before using, add lemon zest; whisk until smooth. Makes 2 cups.
• Sbriciolata: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 15-by-10-inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 rectangles, each approximately 5 by 2 1/2 inches. Place on a baking sheet and bake until puffed, about 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden and very crisp, 20 to 22 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely, about 30 minutes (do not cover, or pastry will lose its crispness).
• Whisk heavy cream to soft peaks; fold 1 cup into pastry cream. Cut 8 cooled pastries crosswise into quarters; break remaining 4 pastries into loose shards.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons pastry-cream mixture into the bottom of each of 8 parfait glasses. Add 2 pieces of pastry, a sprinkling of pastry shards, and 1 teaspoon preserves to each. Repeat twice, for a total of 3 layers. Finish each with a broken piece of pastry and a dollop of remaining plain whipped cream.

ALBALOO POLO

Steps:

• Cook rice in a large pot of salted water as you would pasta, boiling until just cooked through with some bite in center, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve, then rinse with cool water; drain again. In a small bowl, steep saffron in hot water until liquid is bright orange, 5 minutes.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add one-third of cooked rice, spreading it to edges of pan in an even layer. Scatter half of preserves on top of rice, then poke 4 holes through rice with the bottom of a wooden spoon. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces; place on holes. Spoon half of remaining rice on top, followed by remaining preserves; poke 4 more holes and dot each with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces. Stir saffron mixture into remaining rice; add to pot as final layer. Wrap lid with a clean kitchen towel and cover pot. Reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season with salt; serve.

KREMOWKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees with racks in upper and lower third position and line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats. Divide puff pastry into two equal pieces. Sprinkle work surface with granulated sugar and roll out each piece of pastry to a 9-inch-by-13-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheets and bake, rotating halfway, until puffed and deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with 3 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove pastry cream from heat.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Place remaining 3 sticks of butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla bean seeds and cooled pastry cream, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Place one rectangle of puff pastry on a cutting board and spread with pastry cream mixture. Top with second puff pastry rectangle and press gently to adhere. Loosely cover and refrigerate to set, at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. To serve, slice with a serrated knife into 3-inch squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

SOUR CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Toss together cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Wrap cherry pits in a paper towel and crack them with a rolling pin or pestle just enough to extract inner white kernels. Discard outer shells and tie white kernels in a cheesecloth bag. Stir bag into cherry mixture and chill, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Sterilize jars and lids .
• Pour cherries with liquid and cheesecloth bag into a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (sugar will not be completely dissolved). Bring to a rolling boil over moderate heat, then boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer cherries with a slotted spoon to a sieve set over a bowl to catch juice. Drain cherries 5 minutes, then add juice from bowl to juice in pot.
• Drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel 1 minute, then invert. Divide cherries among jars using a slotted spoon.
• Return juice in pot to a rolling boil, skimming off any foam. Continue boiling until juice registers 220 to 224°F on thermometer, 7 to 10 minutes. Discard cheesecloth bag.
• Gradually add pectin, whisking constantly. Return juice to a rolling boil, then boil, skimming off any foam, 1 minute. Ladle juice into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top, then run a thin knife between fruit and jar to eliminate air bubbles.
• Seal, process, and store filled jars , boiling preserves in jars 10 minutes.
• Let preserves stand in jars at least 1 day for flavors to develop.